Practical tips and advice for staying active after the baby arrives

Lifestyle habits… Oh la la! Definitely one of the hardest things to acquire, but easiest to lose!

The arrival of a baby disrupts 100% of the habits of a family and/or parents, and that's okay. Of course, the habits of the future mother change from the moment she finds out she's pregnant, and sometimes even before the pregnancy: her diet, her sleep and, very often, her physical activity which quickly goes down in her list of priorities!

The two questions to explore are therefore:

• “Why maintain healthy lifestyle habits with the arrival of a new baby?”
• “How to get there?”

Why maintain healthy lifestyle habits with the arrival of a new baby?

As soon as the baby is born, the latter becomes the most important thing in the mother's life; it is human, I would even say cellular. However, I am convinced that, to be available for their child, the parent must also flourish, be well in their head and in their body and give themselves importance . The woman's body has undergone a lot of stress during pregnancy and childbirth. As a kinesiologist, I confirm that, if we do not take care of our body, it will not be able to "heal" naturally. Your body and your head deserve to be pampered, and this thanks to specific rehabilitation exercises in a progressive manner. By taking this time, you will avoid long-term problems.

In addition, it has been proven time and time again that regular physical activity brings a ton of psychological benefits . As we know, lack of sleep, hormonal drops and isolation are psychological challenges. Thus, integrating physical activity daily will allow you to benefit from the happiness hormones secreted by its practice, but will also allow you to regain control of your body, connect to it, gain self-confidence and perhaps even socialize.

How to maintain healthy lifestyle habits?

Of course, a pregnancy lasts nine months and each delivery, although each one is unique, creates a lot of stress on the body. Thus, the first step to reintegrate physical activity is to quickly start muscle strengthening exercises for the deep muscles . Of course, I advocate here the support of a health professional who is an expert in the field!

Next, it is important to ensure that a progression is respected in the intensity of physical activities . For example, it is better to start doing short walks, then integrate brisk walking rather than doing nothing or starting running from the start.

The body LOVES progression; it allows it to adapt, build muscle, respond to demand and tolerate better. It doesn't like it when you jump three steps at once.

Practical tips for keeping a place for physical activity in your life as a parent

I know, I know, it's not easy to make room for physical activity when you're a new parent, so I'm sharing my list of the most effective tips:

1. Tell family members and your spouse that this is important to you and that you want to be encouraged.
2. Plan the night before when you will take time for yourself. If the schedule has to change, don't give up and quickly put this appointment with yourself back in your schedule.
3. If possible, take a friend, neighbor or colleague with you and write to yourself to motivate and congratulate yourself.
4. Sign up for a group class ; just having something on the agenda will give you a better chance of success.
5. Don't let guilt creep in. If you have a bad day, too bad; tomorrow is another day, always come back to the big picture!
6. Note the small successes and congratulate yourself!

Having a new baby changes your life. It's a great time to review your priorities, what's important to you, visualize the life you want. Taking care of yourself also means giving yourself importance as a woman, as a whole human being and not just as a parent. Yes, lifestyle habits are not easy to acquire, but I'm sure you can do it!

To help you start moving again gently, here are some exercises perfectly suited to postpartum, to be done from the first days after giving birth!

This blog post is part of our special "New Baby" feature. To see all the content in this feature, which offers tips and advice to make the arrival of a new baby easier, check out this article !