Tips and Tricks for the First 6 Weeks Postpartum.
jen Landry 
Things you can do before you are cleared for exercise that will help prepare you and get your body ready!
Dear Mama,
You are only in the beginning stages of loving on your little one and also trying to discover who you are again. I am writing you this letter as a reminder for your first 6 weeks postpartum. It is hard, but you are not alone and there are things you can do to help. I had horrible postpartum depression for a few months after my first baby was born. It was awful. In this letter, I want to share some of the best advice I received, tips that helped, and a few things I wish I knew the first time.
Remember, it took you around 40 weeks to grow your newest bundle of joy, so you are not going to recover and feel one hundred percent yourself again for a while either. That's okay. Be okay with the body that just brought life into the world, be okay with resting when you need to, and be okay with only giving everything you have to your baby (not your spouse, house, or friends). Leave the dishes and the laundry. Trust me, you will one day have the dishes done on time, the laundry will be regular again and the bathrooms will be at least a little cleaner. If it's really driving you crazy, ask for help. I know you have someone who has said, "If you need anything, let me know", tell them yes! It is more than okay to ask for help!
Practice your breathing. A really good time to do this is right before you lay down to take a nap or get some sleep. If you work on big inhales that reach your back and sides while relaxing the pelvic floor and long deep exhales (make them an audible "Ha"!), while lifting the pelvic floor, then it will also help you relax and be in a better state for sleep. It's a win-win. You get to work on your abs and core again while relaxing and getting better sleep.
(More Breathing Exercises and Tips in Boss Bounce Back)
Do not forget to hydrate! ALWAYS carry a large water bottle with you and drink it! This is twice as important if you are breastfeeding as it will help keep supply up. However, even if you are bottle feeding it is super important for your health. It will help you poop (which in turn helps your pelvic floor), it will help you sleep better, have more energy for being a mom, and it can also help your body regulate body temperature fluctuations while your hormones are a mess. If your bottle is dry, ask for help. Ask someone to help refill your bottle or cup. Don't be afraid, it will save your sanity.
More Hydration Facts and Tips
Having good posture while breastfeeding (or bottle feeding), standing, sitting, and pushing strollers can be huge for how you feel physically. This will have a major impact on your mood and your ability to recover. If you have Diastasis Recti or prophase it can be made worse by poor posture. That back pain that started after having your baby could also be due to poor posture.
We all want to rush back to our pre-baby weight or get back in normal clothes again. Don't forget mama, you grew this little tiny bundle in your belly, it was hard work and it took a long time. Recovery will take some time too. Do not rush it. Just like with sports injuries or non-birth injuries, if you rush back into things too fast you often wind up hurt worse and have to rest even longer. The same is true with pregnancy and postpartum.
Your outsides heal much faster than the insides. This can be a problem for rushing things. The spot where your placenta attaches to your body is the size of a dinner plate when your baby is born. Let me say that again, you have a wound the size of a dinner plate inside your body now. Often time this is where the "6-week" clearance comes in. For the AVERAGE person, it takes 6 weeks to heal. Some longer and some shorter. There is no internal exam, so how do you know if you have healed? SLOW DOWN.
Don't forget to ask for help and practice your breathing. If you are breathing correctly, it can be a wonderful ab workout. It can also help heal a diastasis recti.
Try and walk or move. Start slow and easy. Try and make sure you don't sit for more than an hour at a time. That might just mean get up and stand in front of your chair for a minute and then sit back down. Or try and walk from one side of the house and back again. Work your way to walking down the driveway and around the block before trying anything too long. Get fresh air. Sometimes, even if you are too tired or sore to walk anywhere, once an hour, try and take some deep breaths of fresh air. It changes everything, I promise.
Lastly, bring things from outside the home to inside when you are feeling down. Make sure they are things that make you happy or made you happy prior to the baby. This can be as simple as flowers, your favorite drink from the local coffee shop, an ice cream cone, open windows, or even take out. Sometimes just having a friend over helps and if they are a good friend, I promise they don't care that you haven't worn make-up or real clothes in 40 days, or that you didn't get to shower that day. Maybe, if you ask for help, you can shower when they are there! Ask for help, it's okay.
So don't worry momma, it's going to be okay! You are not alone and there are things you can do to make it better. Ask for help, hydrate, breath, bring the outside in, move a little, get fresh air, and ask for help!
Make sure you check out my Postpartum article in Brainz Magazine as well!
If you want to dive a little deeper and ask more questions feel free to join our Moms Fit Life Facebook Group today!
I also have lots of great programs as well as a Fit Guide for you to try today. I offer some private courses that cannot be purchased without an email to me!
Reach out if you have any further questions at any time!
Jen@momsfitlife.com
Live your life confidently!