Staying Active with a Baby
Before having my first child, just over 13 months ago, I was always an active person. I loved to run, walk, swim, and canoe, amongst other things. I had a very healthy pregnancy and continued to run throughout most of it. I thought that after I had the baby it would be easy to continue being active.Little did I know, as a first time parent, that Holden would take up all of my time. I found myself barely able to shower and get dressed every day, let alone get out and be active with a very young baby. After my 6-week check-up I said to my husband that I needed to be active again, and I needed his help for me to accomplish this goal.
Here is my advice for keeping active in the first year after you have a baby:
1. Have your partner commit to help you be active- I didn't ask my husband to start running with me, but I needed him to be supportive and take care of the baby so that I could go out on my own and run.
2. Find a partner to be active with- My dad has always been a runner and I knew how important being physically active was to him. I asked him to run with me a couple of times a week. This kept me motivated and it is always easier to get out and be active, when someone else is depending on you.
3. Set goals- I found several races to participate in throughout the first year of my son's life. This kept me motivated, because if I knew that I would be running a road race in 4 weeks, I had to keep running, or I wouldn't be able to meet my race goals.
4. Find different ways to be active- I enjoyed running, but with a baby I needed to find things I could do with him. I invested in a great running/walking stroller and took him out everyday. I would go by myself, with other mom's or with my husband in the evening after dinner.
5. Look for fitness programs you can do with your baby- Some local recreation centres or YMCA's offer fitness programs that you can bring your baby to. An example of this would be an aquafit class, where the baby sits in a floating seat in front of you while you participate in the class. You could also find a local walking group for moms, or start one yourself.
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