Exercising Again After 6 Babies? Help!!!

Hi B.,

Congratulations on your 6th! That will be me sometime next year too. I have 5 now and we are preparing for the 6th. The principles to successful recovery don't change, but the steps to coordinating it do get a bit more challenging, but practice makes perfect. Fiber/whole grains for fat loss. Protein for muscle building.

Best thing to boost your energy is to eat as much fiber as you can and get to bed early for starters, then add the rest as often as you can as you build your endurance.

Remember though, having a baby is like pulling your foot out of an unlaced tennis shoe. If you stick your foot back in the shoe, or in other words, jump straight back into high impact exercise without "lacing yourself back up again," you can either hurt yourself or destroy your back.

Although I run now, after a new baby I start with what I call posture walking. Chin behind your heart, shoulders back, tummy tight, buns tucked in to avoid a sway back, and I land on my heels as I stride-this gives you the long leg muscle look instead of the bulky leg muscle look. I get that posture strong then increase the speed then move to jogging, then running.

I will detail the plan I use just as food for thought for your own plan. It has worked well with 5. I believe it will work well with 6 too.

Here is what I have worked up to. I get up at 5:30 AM Mon-Sat, drink a cup of fresh kale juice and a glass of water, stretch and go running. My husband and older kids (age 10 and 8) hold down the fort with watching the little ones, getting the house tidied up, and cooking breakfast. About half an hour later when I get back they are usually in the middle of this. Then I go up to my room and do a 15 minute workout with weights. I rotate through Abs on Monday and Thursday, Arms on Tuesday and Friday, and Buns on Wednesday and Saturday. The DVD I use is Tamilee Webb's I Want That Body workout. There are 6 altogether on the same DVD. 2 routines for abs, 2 for arms, and 2 for buns depending on the level of intensity you want. These are well researched exercises and they work like a charm. After that I shower, eat breakfast, and we all read a chapter of scripture together before those who have to leave head out the door. Getting good sleep and oxygenating my muscles daily harmonizes me to sanity's sweet music.

Your recovery is going to be great! BE PATIENT. Remember your family loves you and will be eager to be trained how to support you if you remember to do it cheerfully, or at least tenderly-tearfully.

A great coaching book is Total Nutrition for Breast-feeding Mothers by Betty Kamen, PhD., and Si Kamen. You can get it for pennies at Amazon.com. It is worth its weight in gold.

All this can recover your body, yet remember it is pure love in you that lightens your countenance and spreads sunshine across the earth. No amount of body weight can stop that kind of loveliness from radiating from you.

B.,

After your baby's first early morning feeding, tell your husband that you're claiming every-other morning for YOUR running/walking time, hand him the baby and then take a picture because I'd love to see the look on his face! Then grab your can of pepper spray (I'll give you one) and head out the door for some you-time.

~Your loving sister J.

Hi B.,

God Bless you for having your sixth baby! :-) And congratulations!

The DVD's I worked out to after having my babies were Tae Bo, Tae Bo Bootcamp, and the TransFIRMer steps and videos. The Tae Bo Bootcamp comes with a series of maybe 3 DVD's, each concentrating on a body part and it comes with the resistance bands. After my first child, they got me back into shape pretty quick but I was a little lazier after my second.

Good luck!

-Char

Hi B., wow 6 kids and still sane, congratulations, There are many energy teas onthe market, go to your health food store, we get ours from Henry's, and some you can;t get in stores that my husband ordered on line, one that is really good is NRG Tea from Herbablife, it's refreshing it tastes good, and if does give you energy, Exersice, I don't know there is so much hype, about what is best, I've done Tai Bo,
I have done sweatin to the oldies with Richard simmons, and have the round about, tred mill, eclispe,and I'm still over weight, my daughter stays in shape dancing shes 5 feet 8 inches and wears size 2 jeans, of course she is only 19 and hasn't had any kids yet. My 39 year old friend just had her 7th baby, and she is skinny, her stomach is loose, but not bolging, They say the medecine balls work we have 2 of them, not used, that may work for you, different thingswork for differet people, I say if your happy, and your husband can't keep his hands off of you, obvious he can't you have 6 kids, then as long as you are healthy I wouldn't worry to much about it, unless you are dangerously over weight. Oh yea Ginny Craig, Nutrisystym, there's those too. J.