Exercise with a Newborn

I am nine days into being a mum, and overcoming the same hurdles of mothers everywhere; specifically lack of sleep, an influx of visitors, learning to understand a baby, keeping up with the washing, etc. As a trainer, i was painfully aware of the weight i put on in pregnancy, and was champing at the bit to lose it again, only to find myself too exhausted to get out of bed.

Having said that, i have almost done it, and am only 2 kg off my pre-pregnancy weight.

Once your abs are within 2cm of eachother (the midwife or doctor, or your trainer if you train at Galileo, can check this), and your bleeding has slowed, these are my tips on how to achieve it:

1. Enlist a friend or relative to cover the domestic stuff (like cooking, cleaning, and washing).
2. Attempt a sleep/feed routine as soon as possible. Even though it's hard work, and the baby rarely complies, it has allowed me enough structure to plan my exercise.
3. Do what you can when you can. I will go fast walking when Evie is sleeping, but only if we had a good night. If it's particularly good i'll go twice! On the way i'll stop at the playground and do some push ups and pull ups and lunges. On bad days i'll just go for a wander to get outside.
4. Salad salad salad. If you're lucky, well meaning friends and relatives will feed you, but more often than not, they'll bring over "energy" foods like pasta and cakes. If you're unlucky, you'll be making your own food, so will grab whatever makes you feel better and quickly! Get onto a website that delivers, like www.aussiefarmers.com.au , who will deliver fresh food directly from the farmer for an excellent price, to make eating well easy. Eating fruit and veges has the added bonus of enriching your diet with vitamins and minerals, assisting with overcoming fatigue and boosting your immune. In
   addition, the fibre will make it easier on the loo, which is an obvious benefit for anyone who has pushed a baby out. I have been making massive fruit salads and regular salads which i just spoon from the bowl whenever i am peckish, saving me from the chocolate draw....!
5. Express. It is fiddly, but it means my husband can do the 10pm feed, so i sleep from 8pm until 2am. Even if i'm up the rest of the night, i have a solid block of sleep in which to recover from the day before and prepare for the day ahead.
6. Carry the baby. Adding weight means you'll burn more calories! And the baby will love being close to you.

Good luck to all the mum's out there. I'd be interested in learning your tips for survival, so send them through!