The essential exercises to do after childbirth - pelvic floor (kegels) and core work

Well folks, I'm feeling a bit bummed out as I've been told I still have diastasis recti (separation of your stomach muscles - pretty common after childbirth) so running is not really advised until my core is stronger and better aligned. But I guess I need good foundations to come back running stronger after having a baby, so I'm going to focus on core work over the next 8 weeks, along with some leg and arm strengthening and some swimming (this is, of course, if I can find the time. My two boys run a tight ship so we'll see...). So hopefully, come October, I'll be in a better position to not do any lasting damage to my body and I can start training again properly.

I'm trying to turn this negative into a positive. It will give me more time to really focus on getting my stomach back into shape - something I've always said I wanted to do, but never have. Also I've always wanted to get into yoga more, so this is a great opportunity to do so. Plus, I loved swimming when I was pregnant, so I hope I'll still get enjoyment from a different form of exercise.

That said, it is very hard. Running is a very easy way to give yourself half an hour's grace from the realities of childcaring. Plus it does form part of my identity. If I can't run, I get sad. But! It's not for long! People have injuries for longer than 8 weeks, so I must think myself lucky.

It's actually quite hard to find good advice on the correct pelvic floor (kegels) and core exercises you should be doing after childbirth. I saw a women's health physiotherapist after my first son, and these were the pelvic floor exercises she gave me. I swear by these. Correct postnatal core exercises to follow in the next post.

1)  Start lying down with your knees bent. Imagine your pelvic floor is like a hammock running from front of the pubic bone to the base of your lower spine. Pull up your hammock, but keep your breathing normal and your tummy relaxed.
2) Hold for 10 seconds (if you can. You may need to build up to this right after childbirth). Try not to hold the contraction at full effort, more 60%. Relax. Repeat 10x. This exercise helps strengthen the fibres that work at a low intensity for longer i.e they help hold all your internal organs in all the time.
4) Next do 10x short, quick contractions. Hold for 1 second at a higher intensity, then relax. This exercise helps strengthen the fibres that work to prevent you wetting yourself when you sneeze, for example.
5) Repeat the exercises 3x. Aim to do these daily. It helps to remember to do them at the same time each day, or when you do something specific like make a cup of tea or breastfeed.
6) When you can easily do these exercises lying down, try them in a forward lean kneeling position, and then standing up. Gravity will make the exercises harder to do.

Why are these pelvic floor exercises so important? Well apart from the obvious that they prevent you wetting (or worse) yourself, they hold in your internal organs, including the womb, safely where they should be. Worse case scenario is a prolapse. Yeah, you're ok thanks.

The reality of exercising when you have a baby

When I first started this blog over two years ago I thought it would be easy to get fit again after having my first baby. Ha ha ha ha ha! Dream on.
The reality is this. You have windows of 15-20 minutes to GET.STUFF.DONE. And by this I mean brush your teeth, drink that cold cup of tea from two hours ago, try to remember where you left your brain, lie there in a daze wondering what the fuck just happened. The thought of doing any form of active exercise in the early days made me want to weep. All I wanted to do was sleep and eat biscuits.
However, this is just FINE in the early weeks. You are not supposed to exercise (much). Your body has just made a human. A whole human! That's a pretty huge goal to be feeling smug about for a while.
The NHS recommends waiting till after the 6 week check up before doing any exercise other than walking, stretching or squeezing those shot-to-pieces pelvic floor muscles, particularly if you have had a c-section or non-straightforward birth. Pregnancy hormones can also affect your ligaments up to 6 months post birth so if you haven't been exercising during pregnancy, it's also best to not do much high impact stuff too soon either.
The main things preventing me from getting back to my previous fitness were completely rubbish pelvic floor muscles, anaemia, exhaustion and lack of time. Physiotherapy really helped with regaining my pelvic floor muscle strength but it did take a good year for me to feel confident in them. Funny enough, I think being a runner helped me here as I was more inclined to do the exercises as I wanted to run again.
I lost a lot of blood during birth (which is apparently fairly common) and I wasn't prepared for how wiped out I would feel initially. The double whammy of anaemia and tiredness meant it was all I could do to get off the sofa and go walk round the block each morning. You may be lucky and have a straightforward birth and feel just fine afterwards, but be prepared to bide your time until your body feels ready to get out there again, and don't be too hard on yourself (like I was) if you do just want to crumble in a corner and weep.
Once I'd fully recovered physically, the main issue with regaining any level of fitness was TIME. No longer was I able to go for long runs at the weekend easily, and my mornings and evenings were spent either feeding and looking after my baby or, once I had gone back to work, rushing to and from work, juggling childcare and the commute. I had no nearby family support to look after my son during the day. It was just me and my husband, who was generally at work in London during the day.
So what did I do? I had to adapt for a start. My time was no longer my own. To be honest I still struggle with this a little but the benefits of having my lovely little son obviously far outweigh the lack of me-time. Planning and sticking to an exercise regime was essential. If my husband left later for work one day a week it meant I could rush out to do some track sessions for 40 minutes. If I was working at home I had an hour I could use instead of commuting to get to the swimming pool. You have windows of opportunity so you have to make the most of them. On the positive, this does make you much more focused and gives you no room to make up excuses!
I also invested in the Out N' About Nipper Sport running buggy which is amazing! It meant I could still get out for a run with my son. I used it from when he was 4 months old and he still goes in it now at 2 years old (though bribery is often needed now to get him to stay in it for longer than 20 minutes without moaning).
I thought I would be able to run a marathon 10 months after having my son. My reality was 14 months. I managed a slow 10km at 4 months that I probably should not have run (let's just say my pelvic floor muscles had absconded the building). Neither I trained for properly nor did that well at. But I probably got more out of them as I realised I had done bloody well getting back out there even though I knew I wasn't going to win any prizes for speed.
Everything changes gradually when you have children. You think it will all last forever when you are in the midst of it all and you won't ever have any time to brush your hair let alone go for run, but slowly, slowly things start to return to where you remembered being pre-children. And the major bonus is YOU ENJOY EVERY RUN as they are so preciously rare. I'm now pregnant again and can just about manage to shuffle two miles extremely slowly, though my default exercise of choice is swimming for now. I know the newborn months will be hard and I won't have much time to exercise how I want to, but I also know that my fitness will also improve gradually again and I'm doing the best I can and that's good enough.

First steps

I ventured out today for my first run post baby. I've been looking forward to it since the start of the week. Makes me chuckle when I think of all those training mornings when I've struggled to haul my bum out of bed to go for a run. Running after a five month break is strange. It felt oh so familiar but at the same I felt like a fish out of water. I puffed my way up a couple of hills and had to stop and walk here and there. I feel like I'm back to square one and a beginner runner again. I guess that's what I am. It's really exciting though. I know I won't be able to dedicate training runs like I used to, I've just got to fit them in when I can. I feel like I've come through a bit of a dark tunnel and have made it out the other side. Surprisingly my pelvic floors held up (they are shot to pieces still and technically I probably shouldn't be running yet). It's my boobs that suffered. I need to invest in a new sports bra that will hold the milk jugs in place. Time run? 30 minutes Soundtrack of Dido's Take My Hand

The first six weeks

I'll be honest. It's difficult to go to the toilet or brush your teeth, let alone start exercising again. Here is what I've managed so far; 1x half hour swim 1x half hour on stationary bike 1x half hour you tube postnatal workout Various walks out for half hour to an hour Pelvic floors every day when I remember Pulling in jelly belly every day when I remember Swimming was great but I felt a little lets say "loose" down there! Walking is getting easier. The first three weeks I felt completely wiped out so walking for five minutes was a challenge. No one needs to know the details of my labour but it's given my pelvic floors something to think about. I tried to do them during pregnancy but they are still pretty damaged now and I think it will take some time before I can run without my innards falling out. I was never expecting to do much during the first six weeks. It's not really advised either (plus it's hard finding the time). All that is encouraged is walking, pelvic floor exercises and gentle core and back work. And at the moment even managing those are enough for me!