06 Oct Postpartum Diaries: Bed Rest Is The Worst Advice Ever
The Road To Recovery Postpartum Series with The Veggie Wifey at Flex Studio continues
16 Weeks
PSA to all pregnant women: unless your OBGYN advises, bed rest is the WORST advice…ever!
If I had stayed active, strengthened my muscles through low-intensity weight training and continued with yoga or pilates throughout my pregnancy, I would not have as long of a road to recovery as I do now.
You. Need. To. Exercise!!!!! Even during postpartum, as soon as you get the green light from your OBGYN, you need to get active.
Aesthetics, and looking like your pre-pregnant self aside, moms need to be physically strong to handle and manage their growing children. Being a mom is so physically demanding, it’s so important to look after your body for your kids.
After speaking to several physiotherapists who specialise in postnatal care, here are the most common but fixable occurrences postpartum:
- Back, knee, heel and hip pain/joint pain
- Urinary incontinence
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Diastasis Recti
Search them up. Some women have no idea they can fix these issues, so they live their whole life with these physiological problems – thinking it’s all part and parcel of becoming a mom! 🙈
I am truly grateful for the opportunity to learn all of this now, so that I can share this with you and help spread the word.
19 Weeks
Sometimes it gets tough admitting things as a new mom, you feel like people will judge you or maybe you may feel like the odd one out. Let me tell you this: every experience is absolutely different, and because of that, there is no right or wrong.
There is no ‘perfect’ way to do things. There is no rule book. You have to simply do what makes you and your baby happy.
I’ve said this before, and I will say it again, no one has the right to judge you for the decisions you make on your beautiful journey to motherhood.
It’s OKAY to not like breastfeeding. It’s ok to quit breastfeeding. It’s ok to formula feed straight from the beginning. It’s ok if your baby does not latch. It is OK if you don’t know how to change your baby’s diaper. It is OK for you to have no idea what you are doing… you will figure it out.
Having said this… every time a parent told me ‘enjoy your sleep while you can’ (in that sarcastic tone) when I was pregnant, I never understood why… until now. Sleep deprivation is real, and it can make you a little woozy, to say the least.
This is the most demanding job. Let me say it again for those at the back: this is THE most demanding job. Emotionally, physically and mentally.
You need to be present and mindful, calm and collected, happy and smiley while running on no sleep, limited fuel and at times when you are in physical pain.
So how do you function in these dire conditions? Love. That unconditional kind.
That’s the only reason why we are able to wake up night after night to soothe the cries, to feed the hunger, stimulate their growing minds, and to just warm them with cuddles even when we are exhausted to the point of no return.
And the funny thing is… we do it again and again, and again. Child after child. We give so much love, unconditionally.
This whole journey takes strength of the highest degree. Mama strength.
Flex Studio is proud to work with Divya of The Veggie Wifey on her Postpartum Journey back to fitness. We offer Pre-Natal and Post-Natal classes regularly at both our One Island South and Central Studios. If you have recently given birth, we also have a Post Natal Pack including 1 Assessment, 2 Private Sessions, and 2 Pilates Trios. Click here for more information.