Fitness time after baby - c-section

[SmilerMe]

I had a c-section about 7 weeks ago (1st baby). Before pregnancy I was quite fit, did running and strength training plus yoga. During pregnancy due to a mix of sickness and Covid I completely stopped exercising apart from walking. I gained 2.5 stone, and I'm 5.11 so though it could be worse I definitely look overweight. (I'm 40 by the way). Obviously I've been going easy on myself and trying to be kind to myself about my appearance as I've just had major surgery, but now I'm feeling better I'm looking ahead to trying to lose the weight. I want to feel myself again, and fit into old clothes as I have some lovely clothes. (I've gone up 2 sizes). And I just want to feel back to feeling attractive.

It's not advised to do high impact exercise for a while but I thought I'd start with long walks, or possibly swimming as well as lower calorie and healthy eating, which was something I used to do. I though walks would be with baby in sling as it would also benefit them. However I'm struggling to know how on earth anyone manages to find time to keep fit with a newborn! I'm pumping a few times a day as well as doing the usual - nappies, feeding, laundry etc, and looking after baby. This is even with DH working at home and able to pitch in.

Has anyone been in a similar position and if so how on earth did you fit fitness into your routine?

Bumping

Truthfully, it was around 4 months after my daughter was born that I managed to carve out some time to do a proper workout (1hr), as she was more settled into a routine/predictable by then. Prior to that I managed to get out for an hour walk most days, mainly to get her to sleep!

She is almost 6 months now and I am back at the gym most days for a workout.

I’ve had three. The first when I was a teenager and the weight fell off and by nine months I was pregnant weight.

Second I was mid thirties and it took well over a year to get near my pregnant weight.

3rd Im still battling three years on to get there. I think a lot of it is down to metabolism . Watch your c-section scar. I was still very tender six months on.

Have you got an Apple Watch or a Fitbit? Try and just get your steps in and walk instead of driving. Are you breast feeding? As you need plenty of calories to keep you going. If not I suggest a calorie counting app.

Also don’t pressurise yourself. You’ve just had a baby and major surgery!

Little and often.
15 minute videos.
Walking with the pram
Buggy fitness
Fitting C25k in after the cluster feeds at night.

7 weeks is still early days and you're still healing and baby's still on quite short cycles of feeds and naps repeating. It gets easier a few months down the line and I found that from 4m I could manage about an hour away from BFing ravenous babies.

Go easy on yourself. There's plenty of time to heal and build up and find your fitness.

Walking with baby in sling/pram is probably as good as it gets initially I'm afraid.

Carifit (couple of Joe Wicks videos on YouTube are free) is gentle exercises with baby as weight which is handy

Bodyfit by Amy on YouTube does post csection work out videos and lots of other short 10 minute work outs with various impact levels. I started doing her workouts after my second cesarean.

After my first I went back to my pregnancy work out dvds for a whike as they were gentle and had no ab work.

But tbh it was very hit and miss to find the time t9 do anything so it was lots of walking for me but it took a while to build up to big walks post c-section.