Wee wee wee all the way home

After one baby you'd expect to bounce back faily quickly.. isn't that what they all say? 9 months of pregnancy - 9 months to return to 'normal'!! Pigs bum! I have always been a fairly active person and during pregnancy I maintained a modified exercise regime. But no one tells you about the possible side effects of giving birth, what is normal, what is abnormal and how best to correct problems. I think POST natal care is an oxymoron in Australia (unless you know where to seek help from).

For example - during pregnancy people say "Make sure you do your pelvic floor exercises"... yeah yeah, whatever (says a 1st time pregnant'ee). Rarely do you learn what they are or how to do them properly, but some things can actually be counter-productive... like doing weight bearing exercise, or incorrect tummy exercises. To do a pelvic floor contraction, you must sqeeze (like stopping the flow of urine) and draw the muscle up up at the same time (it's a big muscle that takes up the whole pelvis cavity, holding all your organs up - LIKE YOUR BLADDER!!!). If you are doing abdominal exercies like sit ups, you put pressure on your pelvic floor muscles and that pushes it down.

It is important to exercise all tummy and pelvic muscles but make sure you learn to do them correctly and keep them up after birth. See a Physio specifically trained in this for more advice. Pilates is great if you learn from a pro.

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Charlie

  #2      

trampoline

Yeah, I concur Charlie!

I have 2 kids and we bought a trampoline a year or two ago. My brother who was helping us erect the thing insisted that I get the first go. I said "Sure, right after I relieve any pressure on my bladder before I bounce" because I know the dirty little secret of many mothers!

Like you I do my pelvic floor exercises regularly : actually while brushing teeth, standing in a lift and often while sitting at traffic lights......just to maximise my time there......

But give me an unexpected coughing fit ( like I swallowed a fly while camping last year ) and I suddenly have a problem at both ends!

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:::iona:::

  #3      

Never the same again

Yes, I agree, those pelvic floor exercises are very important! Before the first one it was hart to imagine that I would ever have such a problem....after the third one...well another story. Keep working those muscles!!!!
Mitzi

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mitzi

  #4      

i'm sorry but i don't agree i have 4 children and have never had a problem. i have always done my exercises more so with the last two and continue to do them every day of my life as i have for the last 14 and half years. Tracy

  #5      

wow - I wish I was as disciplined as u cat4eva. I try and do mine when I think about it, but I can't say I'm as conscientious as I should be Do u have any ritual in the day that helps remind u to do them?

BTW - welcome to our board! looking forward to getting to know u.

ezcema in pregnancy

I've never had ezcema before but now that i'm pregnant I've covered in a red blotchy rash... I've heard I cannot use cortisone cream - any advise to stop the itchies!!

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Charlie

  #2      

How about oatmeal in a stocking... my friend had it really bad all over her body and she found it to work best out of everything. You put oatmeal(homebrand is fine)and run a warm bath. rub it over the infected area/s. the oatmeal goes gooey(sp?) so dont worry its meant to be like that. After a few days of doing that she found it cleared up quite good.


Are you sure it is eczema..

I too have red blotchy rash like symptoms and it is known as spider viens or something I can't remember. It is joined with me capilliaries and it does get itchy i have alot of them over my chest.. When my Obs saw it he recgonised it straight away. I never got it last time. But I did get what I thought was eczema on my arms. He said it is related to alot of extra estrogen within my system alot of preg women get it . (I thik it is cos this time it is little gal)

  #3      

Thanks for the reply... i love oats - maybe i can eat my porridge in the bath next time!! of course I won't eat the oats from the stocking cos that would be just wrong!! I dont see my Obs for a while cos he's on holidays, but I will show him and see what he says. My rash doesnt look like my son's ezcema, it is more of a bunch of small red dots all grouped together under my arms, all over my back, chest and tummy... it's really not as itchy as it looks like it should be... just unsightly! Thanks Kaz I'll try your remedy and let you know how it goes.

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Charlie

  #4      

excema

I don't think that looks like eczema either......I think you might get want to that checked out.

I scored dreadful acne all over my back and shoulders with pregnancy. Has anybody else had that one?????

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:::iona:::

  #5      

Thanks heaps, i looked up some rashes on the net and I reckon i have something called PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules or Plaque of Pregnancy)... I'm going to ask the Obs when I see him. It is not itchy, just looks aweful. If you google the words PUPP and pregnancy you'll see some good pics of some bad cases.

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Charlie

  #6      

Pregnancy may affects the skin

Yes my friend Pregnancy may affects the skin in many ways, even in women who don't experience excema (stretching, itching, changes in moisture level). I just found out I'm pregnant and that helps explain some of the skin troubles going on with me in recent weeks! I went to the dermatologist, who gave me medications that are safe for pregnancy and nursing (since I'm pregnant and still nursing a baby). I suggest keeping skin all over your body moisturized with a good lotion or emollient that is gentle to the skin. Moisturization, for me, has been key in keeping excema under control.

I hate Biggest Loser!

The Biggest Loser inspired me to check out their website, weight calculator and all! After punching in weight (82.2kgs) and height (1.65cm), I was told that I am obese! I love being told that!

Although my GP who has been my doc for 8 years says that although I'm on the cuddly side of life, I am far from obese.
I have always had broad shoulders and hips, even as a size 8 17yo and I am rather large chested. I also have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (which limits what I can eat) and Polycystic Ovaries (which helps me gain weight!)

I have my bad habits too! I am so busy that I snack on what I can and despite my IBS, I still eat too much chocolate!

So typing in my weight on the weight calculator, I knew I was going to register as overweight but I didn't expect to be classed as obese!

So I am making a decision here and now. As of midnight, I will eat as healthy as I can, drink heaps of water (love the stuff anyway!) and walk every night.
I am 82.2kg. I will lose SOME weight.

So here goes...............


Belle.
P.S. The midnight start time allows me one more coffee and some chocky.

  #3      

Well done!

Well done, Belle! Well done for making the decision to be in control of your health, but also, and I think this is so important, Hun, well done telling us here, because you now have a cheer squad, and friends to keep you accountable to something you have told us you want to do! I'm so proud of you! hehe.

Please, come tell us when you're having success, when you've made a good choice over a bad choice, when you've learned something new, and if/when you stuff up.

I'm sure most of us here have had our own weighloss or "health chase" journey, so if you want to hear what we've learned along the way, ask, as we'd all love to help, but recognise (well, I certainly do!) that unsolicited advice isn't nearly as helpful as advice you get when you're ready to ask for it!

I also want to acknowledge that doing this with IBS can't be fun, either!

Here's to your journey towards better health, I'm so excited about how good you can feel when you take control!

Enjoy!

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

  #5      

mmmmmmmmmm.......chocky!

I did it! I gave in!........Only a little though!
Last night I ate a mars bar. Gee it was nice! Lol!

Okay, so as I told you, my weight was 82.2kgs. That was two weeks ago when I weighed myself. So I decided on Saturday that I would weigh myself only on Sunday nights. So I jumped on the scales last night............................................. ................................
78kgs!!!!!!!!!!!

So I celebrated with a Mars Bar....

I have decided that I will not deprive myself of chocolate but I will limit it to one bar on a Sunday only. God I'm weak!

So that's my update. I will be back in next Monday with the new weight.

Cheers, and thanks for the support!

Belle

  #7      

Dude, i gotta tell you, those BMI (body mass index) charts are not a good indicator of whether you're overweight or not... stuff em I reckon! Chuck your scales out, and consider this - if a big berly weight lifter put his height and weight into a BMI calculator it will ALWAYS tell him he is obese - cos muscle weighs a lot more than fat (that's why on the Biggest Loser they do light weights and high repititions so they don't gain muscle mass). So keep up your walking, do some light weights (cos having a bit of lean muscle actually burns fat) and keep lovin life. Good on ya!

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Charlie

  #8      

Me bad you grt

You go girl 4 kilos that is awsome. and that choc is a grt idea I might do that to only on sunday. OK my confession: I got on scales and wow well woops. I need to walk I am such a lazy I put on 1/2 klio. Bub had a shit week and here I go making excuses. It starts now!!!

  #9      

uh uh

"uh uh uh.." noone's bad breemummy - we're just successful at reaching our goals or brave to try to reach them . I'm with Charlie on the scale thing - that's true with the muscle thing. maybe we should congrats ourselves on more than just what's happening with the scales - like if we "no" once in a week when we nearly said "yes" to a whatever.........

keep going!!

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poppyg

Me - 37
DH - 39

  #10      

Don't feel bad!

Getting BACK into shape

Does anyone know of some remedies for returning to a pre pregnacy waistline measurement? my 2nd bub is expected anytime and a am worried about returning to my original figure. Since number 1 is only 15 months i didn't get a chance to get back into shape, not to mention the extra 15kgs added while brestfeeding. i am scared of a repeat offence. before number 1, just 26mths ago i was 64kg and happy, now am 91kg and realise that i can't loose that much wieght when bub arrives and have some work to do. My main motivation is that my husband and I would like more children but i don't want to keep gaining wieght at the rate i am. Did anyone else put on weight while breastfeeding and does anyone have suggestions about combating this extra weight gain???

Last edited by alison : 22-12-2006 at 08:25 PM. Reason: spelling!

  #2      

no easy answers but...

didn't put much weight on after but i did at the end of my pregnancy b/c i ate like a pig u probably don't want to hear this, but what has worked for me both times is just making fitness part of my lifestyle, and just doing it even when i couldn't see the results in my dress-size (v.hard for a long time but worth it in the long run).

BTW, i don't think my body really got back to 'normal' until about 2years after the birth both times - and u haven't had the benefit of that length of time yet.

3 things have worked for me:
* to TRY and stop the late night munchies that became a habit in pregnancy
* walking as much as poss. for as long as poss. in the first six months (ie. be happy with a 10min walk around the block 3x a week just to get into routine)
* having a day off. pigging out on chocolate and no excercise for one day a week but trying to be good every other day

hope this helps

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poppyg

Me - 37
DH - 39

  #3      

I'm writing a book and have just written a bit about getting back in to shape.....here is a summary.....me, I was too exhausted to even think much about exercise until my boy was about 15 months! Breastfeeding is good for losing weight so long as your food intake isn't too much higher than your output.

- Ask someone to buy you a clothing gift voucher as a 'birth' present - it feels good just to get out and buy some new clothes, and putting maternity clothes away makes you feel heaps more positive.
- Healthy diet
- Gentle exercise (unless you really want to join the gym!)
- Brisk morning walks
- moderate exercise is best, so that you are just a little short of breath
- 10 minute exercise videos
- Baby and mum exercise videos or classes

Hope that helps, I like Poppy's idea of a day off every week!
Me, I wouldn't worry too much about 'missing' a walk etc, more focus on every thing that I did helped a little bit more.

Good luck with new bubba!

  #4      

Variety & no huge "don't eat this" lists!

Hey, how are you? Hopefully you're now enjoying getting to know your brand new little one.

Here's what worked for me, when I was (finally) ready to tackle extra weight. My body got used to each form of excercise pretty quick, so I mixed it up a bit. Walking is good, if I could swim, I was pretty happy. There's a book you can get in newsagents that's pretty easy to follow, it's only 10 mins a day and is set out by the Canadian air force after lots of research, it's really simple, but grows with your abilities, you need no special equipment! it's called XBX. funny name, but it works!

Food wise, I took it reall slow. I didn't start with a huge list of "no" items to overwhelm myself with. I gave up my once a week plus hot chips, reduced it to maybe once a month. 3 months later I noticed I'd lost weight. THis excited me, so I looked for something else to cut. We were eating a bag of corn chips between the two of us before bed 3 times a week (in a bad week) so I stopped buying corn chips... when I noticed that worked, I added blocks of chocolate to my "if I don't buy it, we can't eat it" list. then it was cream & bacon banned from evening meals, pasta sauces are now tomato based. so I just kept cutting things out gradually. I dropped 2 dress sizes in 12 - 18 months (so long ago, I can't remember) and I kept it off!!!!!!!


These are things that worked for me, you may already be doing one or all of them, or they may not be a problem, but hopefully something can help, when you're ready to tackle it.
. don't limit your food while recovering from birth or breastfeeding unless your dr is behind it 100%, they just know more than we do!

. be consistent, stick with it, and patient, even if it's slow progress, the difference from one Christmas (birthday, any other mile marker) to the next is a great thing to watch for. It might be slow, but if you didn't make these improvements, you'd be gaining more weight!

. set non food rewards, like a movie (take carrot & celery sticks & hummus, not popcorn) or a new clothing item - the money I saved on corn chips & chocolates had to go somewhere!

. learn to taste, rather than eat it all because it's there , it's healthy for your body not to eat everything on your plate.

. talk positively to yourself, teach yourself that you can do it, review your successes. If you tell yourself you've blown it, chances are, you'll make worse food choices because you've already stuffed it. Wrong - instead move back to your healthy "love my body" choices as soon as you possibly can, and get on with it, don't get hung up, or beat yourself up over it!

. if you're out, or decide to have a break from whatever you do decide to do, and you eat something you won't usually allow yourself, let yourself enjoy every taste of it. I have a personal theory (it's not scientifically based, I promise!) that if we feel guilty about something we're eating, our body can't process it as efficiently as if we're relaxed about it. So relax, enjoy, and get back to it as soon as you can...

But for now, I hope you're just enjoying your new baby & figuring out how he/she fits into your beautiful family.

Enjoy!

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Cookiemother2
"Bubble" born 2 July 2007.

  #5      

Thanks for the advice.

Well for a, quick update:
Bub arrived very late, but safe and sound. Another beautiful little girl.
Well I had a lot of trouble with my back and i have only just been given the ok to try a little bit of genltle exercise. Unfortunatly the damage is done and i have gone yet another dress size
I was doing well for the first month (even though i was restricted to bed for most of it) and i was able to watch the wait disappear. but then i seemed to start putting wait on. i have tried to eat healthy, you know lots of salad and veges. but i seem to be constantly ravenous. Is this because of breastfeeding??
Anyway i tried denying myself snacks but i coulden't make the distance. i would end up feeling faint, no concentration, and weak. There goes that idea.
As for exercise. i am allowed to walk, as long as is is slow, short and on completly flat sufaces. Not very useful for weightlose! Is it possible to loose weight without exercise?

  #6      

backs

BTW alison - welcome back and congrats on your new little girl!

bad backs and post-birth are not much fun. And it's awful feeling so frumpy and u don't feel like u can do much about it. I've got a bulging disc among other things which meant that, try as i might, i couldn't do what i'd call decent excerise for a long time after DS2. i have no easy solutions only that with me it has eventually got better but i am still fairly restricted. Go easy on yourself though - you've got a lot of demands on your body and on your time at the mo.

maybe set yourself some very small and very achievable goals so u can feel good about yourself for meeting them. i don't know about u, but if i feel like everything is hopeless and i get down on myself i'm likely to get stuck into the chocolate more (helpful i don't think )

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poppyg

Me - 37
DH - 39

  #7      

Yes the chocolate is now perpetually off the shopping list. I can't handle the temtation!!
What sort of small achievable goals?? somthing around the house i could do maybe? I have these problem that small and simple doesn't figure in my mind, it has to be fast and huge to be effective. wrong I know but i need some help on the slow and simple things.

  #8      

ideas

well, maybe:

* having a piece of fruit a day (like u probably do) but congratulating yourself each time especially if u choose it over a biccy etc.

* have a 1.5litre bottle that u fill with water everyday and aim to drink it all by days end. It's success that's measurable and, i find the more i fill up with water the less i do of other sugary drinks/ nibbles.

* do you swim? If u have a bad back, 20mins in the water might be better than a 20min walk. Aim for 1 swim per week (on a weekend so daddy can do daycare?) and incriment what u do over time ie. walking laps to swimming to doing more laps per visit etc.

* ditch obsessing with the scales (if u do) and focus more on lifestyle changes. Feel good about any changes that u make for the better even if no actual weight loss. You can go back and look at the scales when u are more likely to see change for effort.

* if you are reaching for a number of sugary/fatty things a day - just try and eliminate one rather than aiming to overall your whole diet at once.

This is what comes first to mind - see how u go....

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poppyg

Me - 37
DH - 39

  #9      

RE:Getting BACK into shape

My friend some time breastfeeding helps many people lose weight but it can also have the oppisite affect. I dont lose weight when breastfeeding. If you follow a good diet with enough healthy calories you should be able to do it in a couple of months. try to stay away from bad calories now so you wont need to lose all that after the baby.

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