Continuing with my theme of exercise for the week, one part of the body that is missed by most prenatal exercise guides is the upper body. Not necessary for pushing out a baby, nobody remembers that after birth, you'll need to carry your baby. All of the time (for some). You cannot hold, hug, cuddle or love on a baby too much. You cannot spoil an infant. The only way they can be comforted and feel secure is to be held. Which means that your arms had better be up for it! Infants are easy enough, it's when they start getting bigger that there are problems (like if you have a baby in the 90th percentile for weight). Contrary to old wives tales, your strength may not grow at the rate your child does. Particularly if you're exhausted from frequent wakings and breastfeeding full time. So yet another thing to add to the start now program. Once your baby is born, use the child as a weight: lift Baby over your head, do chest presses with Baby, etc. They get a kick out of this, too.
PS-If you posted a comment yesterday, I think I accidentally erased it. I'm not seeing them posted, so could you check for them? Thanks!
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Squats*
*I KNOW you know what these are!
One of the best positions to give birth in is squatting. It allows the pelvis to open up about 10% more than in any other position and also gets full participation from gravity. However, since the pushing phase can last a few hours, don't expect to just squat down when you're ready to deliver. You need to practice starting yesterday. No, no, no, don't get discouraged, starting today :). If you already have a child, chances are you squat down quite a bit to get down to his or her level on a daily basis. Yes, this is one area where I have drastically improved since last time around!
You can start small, you just want to be able to increase your stamina by the time your due date rolls around. (I could go look up the information in my Bradley book for their guidelines, but it's upstairs and I'm lazy, instead, go sign up for a Bradley class)
If you are planning on giving birth in a hospital, make sure to ask if they have squat bars. These are medieval-looking contraptions that allow for a bar to be secured at the base of the labor bed so you can squat down there. (Don't get me started on why they just won't let you squat on the floor instead of balancing precariously on the edge of a narrow bed) A lot of hospitals do have them now. Of course, you could always just stay off the bed during the long stretches of time when nobody is bothering to check on you anyway. Birth centers and home births won't have any problems with this.
One of the best positions to give birth in is squatting. It allows the pelvis to open up about 10% more than in any other position and also gets full participation from gravity. However, since the pushing phase can last a few hours, don't expect to just squat down when you're ready to deliver. You need to practice starting yesterday. No, no, no, don't get discouraged, starting today :). If you already have a child, chances are you squat down quite a bit to get down to his or her level on a daily basis. Yes, this is one area where I have drastically improved since last time around!
You can start small, you just want to be able to increase your stamina by the time your due date rolls around. (I could go look up the information in my Bradley book for their guidelines, but it's upstairs and I'm lazy, instead, go sign up for a Bradley class)
If you are planning on giving birth in a hospital, make sure to ask if they have squat bars. These are medieval-looking contraptions that allow for a bar to be secured at the base of the labor bed so you can squat down there. (Don't get me started on why they just won't let you squat on the floor instead of balancing precariously on the edge of a narrow bed) A lot of hospitals do have them now. Of course, you could always just stay off the bed during the long stretches of time when nobody is bothering to check on you anyway. Birth centers and home births won't have any problems with this.
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