Pregnancy/Baby Questions

[Dan7]

Hi. I have a few questions that I hope someone here can answer.

1. How long should a woman rest for after giving birth before resuming activities such as sports, etc. she was involved in prior to falling pregnant?

2. How old does a baby need to be before it is safe to take him/her on a plane?

3. Can you take a newborn baby into a theme park?

If I think of any more later I will post them here.

Thanks for your help!

P.S. - I can't believe it's been 10 months since I last posted here! It doesn't seem like that long!

[JordieC]

Don't know if I can answer all of your questions but I will try!

1. The physio at the hospotal said after 6 weeks we could resume exercise assuming that we could so star jumps without weeing! I gues it also depends on the actual birth and how easy/hard it was.

2. No idea but I did read a sign at the airport that said you can't take babies under one week of age which makes me think you can take them if they are older.

3. I don't think there are ny rules about newborns in theme parks - just your discretion about how much sleep they will get and if the facilities are up to scratch

Hope this helps! We tooke our 7 month old to QLD recently and went to Seaworld - she slept in pram and we changed her on the grass (well on change mat and it was sunny!). I fed her where I felt like it!

[Dan7]

How long after giving birth should a woman wait before going back to her regular pre-pregnancy workout/fitness routine? Also, does anyone know how long it would take for a woman to get back into shape after having a baby?

[Nadine216]

It took me a year!! and now I am pg again!!!! And sorry, but your shape after a baby are NEVER the same as before I weighed less than before my first pg, but my hips were much larger and I LOOKED more flabby ... and my breasts were much smaller.

Like Jordie said, I think it depends on the type of birth you had, when you can return to your normal routine. I think the standard is about six weeks and then only if you are up to it and after your six-week-visit your dr says it's ok. Then just watch yourself. If you will be breastfeeding, jumping and running might be a bit uncomfy, so doing other sport (walking, yoga) might not get the weight down as fast, kwim?? And I would advise to start slowly. Did you workout throughout your pregnancy??

[Snacks]

You can start with gentle excersises straight away (the middies were telling me to start excersising pelvic floor and ab muscles on day 2). I am not fit at all, but I would think you can resume doing whatever as soon as you feel ready, after a VB. If you have a C/S it will likely be a different story.
One thing to be mindful of is whether heavy excersise will affect your milk production - I think with SOME women it does, though I'm not sure how common that is.
How long it takes you to get back in shape is totally individual. I could be wrong, but I would've thought if you were careful about putting on weight and kept up some level of fitness (whatever you could healthily manage) during your pg, you should be able to get back to normal quicker afterwards. Of course, as Nadine said, you may never go back to the way you were... But hey, you'll have a new little baby and so your life is changed permenantly (for the better of course!) anyway
About the plane thing, I'm not aware of an age limit generally speaking. It may depend on the particular airline's policy?
Re the theme park - do you have a sling or carrier? They are wonderful for taking a newborn out and about. It is up to you as to how comfortable you will be in that sort of environment though - it took me a while to get my head around having a baby and I don't think I would've been psychologically ready for a theme park until DD was a good few months old! But that's obviously a personal thing, and everyone's different.

[Dan7]

No way! Getting back in top shape is achievable! Physical shape after having a baby CAN and WILL be the same as before if the work is put in. As for breastfeeding, that will be a decision the maid must make.

[Kristin27]

I've been told that breast feeding helps you to lose your pre-preg weight fairly quickly? Has anyone had, or not had this experience?

Sorry to hi-jack your thread Dan7!

[mbear]

are you serious ??? whos the maid ???

[Jac]

I've been told that breast feeding helps you to lose your pre-preg weight fairly quickly? Has anyone had, or not had this experience?

Sorry to hi-jack your thread Dan7!

Yes indeedy. I found this to be so. Also, of my friends who had vaginal versus c/s, the vaginal birthers seemed to lose abdominal weight quicker on average. GL Kristin.

Dan7 - I agree that a woman can have the same body as pre-pregnancy and for me it didn't even take that much work. Can obviously be quite individual though but definately achievable. I agree with the 6 week post baby timeframe (at least) before getting back to serious training. Most often, a 6 week examination is given by your Dr. anyway and this is a good time to check/ask such questions. You might also want to check out the threads on Body After Baby to get more information.

[Snacks]

No way! Getting back in top shape is achievable! Physical shape after having a baby CAN and WILL be the same as before if the work is put in. As for breastfeeding, that will be a decision the maid must make.

You've completely lost me on that one.
Good on you for being positive - I do believe you can do it and wasn't trying to put a downer on you.
Kristin, IRT the bfeeding helping you lose weight, there was another thread about this recently... It helped me lose some kilos I think, but others will tell you it is a myth Again, everyone is different and there are certainly no hard and fast rules when it comes to bodies.

[Nadine216]

I just want to say that it took me a year, because I only got back to the gym when dd was six months old and THEN it's darn hard mustering up the time and the energy to go to gym

Breastfeeding did not do much for me Like Amy said, everyone is different.

As for breastfeeding, that will be a decision the maid must make.

I'm also lost on that comment

[Dan7]

Maybe 'carer' is a more friendly term. Why are you lost? Do you need directions? I would also like to say that I am not pregnant nor will I ever be since I am a guy.

[HotI]

why the questions?

are you trolling?

[Dan7]

Not sure what you mean by that but is there a problem with me coming on here and asking questions about pregnancy? I thought that's what the forum was for.

[Aimz]

Did I read things right?? Did you call your wife/partner a "maid"?

Maybe if you explained what/who your questions relate to we would all understand a bit better!

[Pretty Butterfly]

I may be off base here, but at the moment I can only think that maybe with the "carer" comment you might be gay, and hence the "carer" will be feeding bub??

Not many men would come into a mainly womens forum and refer to their partner as a maid, thats all!!!

It just does seem a strange few questions. And it is a bit off putting to say that YES it is acheivable to get back into pre preg state. Metobolically our bodies change, and all the diet and exercise in the world can sometimes leave you with a few kilos spare forever!!! It really doesn't just refect the work put in.

Will be interested to know where you are coming from hon!!

[Aimz]

I also found the forceful weight loss comments slighty off putting...

Every woman is different - she will lose her pregnancy weight at her own pace - it won't happen over night and I'm sure she will have plenty more important things to worry about once her baby is born.

[Dan7]

So you think I am gay yet I am asking questions about how fast a woman can get back into shape after having a baby? How does that make any sense? Also, a carer/maid is a hired help who may look after someone's baby. I'm not trying to cause a stir here, just simply asking some innocent questions. I am sincerely sorry if I have confused or offended anyone in the process.