When Did You....

I held my babies till they no longer wanted me to hold them.When they became more active the holdong wasn't near as much as I used to but still quite a bit I did mange to get things done when baby napped.

Have you tried a sling or baby carrier, so you can wear her, but still have your hands free? My baby loves to be carried, and often falls asleep in the carrier.

T.

well firstly congratulations :) mu baby is now 8 mths & I still am trying to lose the weight!!!! lol this is my 6th live baby ( 8 pregnancy)% from prev marriage & now my darling Seren with my new hubbyxxx I found that it is been harder to lose the weight this time & on my 5th....I have had lots going on though mind you, loss of my mother, children moving , one getting married..etc

anyway I was exercising as soon as my Seren was born...just gentle routines...then once at 6 weeks I ramped it up..I am gearing myself to getting back my stamina to go back to my irish dancing class ( which I tell you is the best way to lose weight & get into great shape with to die for legs!!! lol it gives you good lean muscles on your legs.

As for holding your precious baby, you can never hold them enough I feel, but with other children & chores etc etc etc......everyone is different, so don't worry about time spent holding....esp when she is young as you & i both know quality is best :))) I know for sure now my Seren is wanting all my time at the moment, but duty calls, laundry etc etc etc lol...so your baby will let you know if your not holding her enough....

Enjoy all your darling children as they soon grow up...my eldest just got married!!!!!!!!!!!!

after 6 weeks
i used a carrier so baby was really on my chest almost the entire day. and my hands were free : )

I read that as baby 33 haha! I think you're holding her enough. If she isn't fussing when you put her down, or seems unhappy when not being held she is probably happy and content. I would say definitely wait until your 6 week appointment to explore exercising. Ask your Dr. about what to avoid when you do start exercise.

How many hours did I hold each of my 3 babies? I held them every chance I had, whether they were sleeping or not. Only when I absolutely had to put them down did I put them down. I can understand wanting to spend equal time with your other children. The fact of the matter is that you have an infant to care for and this baby will NOT be an infant forever. So, however time you put into holding this baby, is entirely up to you.

Exercise after baby....I've only had c-sections so I got the okay to exercise after my first month check up...and I had to do so slowly. I'm a very active person so I was able to to bounce back into my exercise routine within a month or so of beginning. If you've never exercised before, you need to go slow and work up to doing a complete workout. For example, most of the workouts are at least 30 + minutes and if you can only do 10-15 minutes today, then that is fine. Don't push your body to do more. Work up to doing the complete workout...gradually do a little more each day. You'll get there, just be patient.

Just make sure your doctor gave you the "OKAY" to begin exercising before you start.

I think you should wait a little bit before doing any exercise. I think that 6 weeks is the general rule. You might be able to do some low impact exercises right now. Maybe yoga? If you start to feel like it hurts, then stop.

I am a big proponent of baby wearing. I used a Moby wrap with my second daughter and LOVED it. I would up wearing her almost all the time for the first few months. My oldest was 2.5 when my second was born, so baby wearing gave me a LOT of freedom I wouldn't have had otherwise. I could hold the baby and still be really active with my toddler. It was also a God send when I was out shopping. My oldest could sit in the cart and the baby was safely strapped to my chest. I can only imagine how difficult it is with two young children and a baby. I could wear my daughter in the Moby all day and never have any back or shoulder problems. I know I sound like a Moby salesman, but I'm not :) I just love the product! :)

Exercise-
As someone who got a horrible infection after my first delivery, I waited until the 'all clear' from the doc for babies 2 and 3. I felt great and like I was ready at 4 weeks after baby #1, but I guess I was wrong. I literally thought I was going to die and I was very scared. I had a vaginal delivery with all three. I just couldn't take the risk with the next two. I am naturally VERY thin and active, so it was hard for me, but not worth the risks. I'm talking 106 fever, I could not move, eat, drink. It came on very sudden also. :(
Holding-
You never can hold them enough. :)

1) If you have a 3 yo a 4 yo and a newborn you are ALREADY getting plenty of excersize! tehehe
2) Babies number 2 and 3 and beyond are generally more able to amuse themselves than number 1 since there is SO much going on to distract them from mom. If she's gaining and healthy I'd say if she's fussy hold her, if not don't!

Congrats!
:)

After my vaginal delivery with baby #1, I started spinning and light weight training again 2 weeks post delivery because I felt good and like I could. After my c-section with #2, I waited until my 6 week post-partum appointment to get permission due to the incision though I felt OK about 4 weeks post-partum. If you had a regular delivery, with no complications like hemmorage or anything, I would say go with how you feel and start slow :)

As for holding baby -- balance it since you have the other pre-schoolers. I held my 2nd more while I played with the first or put him in a baby carrier (Bjorn) when doing chores but he was so generally easy going that I didn't need to "hold" him a ton. I was also nursing so there was a lot of holding time there. Mine were only 17 mos apart so the balance was a bit harder since 17 mo olds are usually more demanding/need more attention/help than pre-schoolers (though not always ;) ha!)

I am currently expecting #3 so I will soon be in the same boat! Best wishes!

It sounds like your doing great with the kid attention. You are not supposed to exercise or overdue it until your doc gives you the ok at your 6 week check-up. Even if you had a vaginal delievery, it still takes time to heal, I have heard stories about womens uterus's almost falling out. No thanks!

8 years later, and i'm STILL struggling to lose the "baby" fat i held my baby every chance i had but she is still MY only one so there was no competition

my daughter was less than 4 weeks old when i let her stand on her legs to get them going, she loved that...just let nature take its course, you'll figure out what works for you

Yes, wait six weeks. Six weeks is such a short period of time to wait to get back in shape. Do it too early and you might hurt yourself and be laid up for more than six weeks while taking care of three small children.

Exercise? What is that? I count chasing after my other children as exercise so I suppose I started the minute I came home LOL!! No, seriously though, my dr always said to wait at least 6 weeks to start doing anything strenuous...walking is fine though.

Every baby is different. Our first - was basically held every waking minute because he was so sick. Our second - slept all the time, and when he wasn't sleeping he was totally content to sit in his bouncer. We actually had to remember to go grab him for some more cuddle time b/c he was such a good baby! Your little one will let you know when she needs some more cuddle time...follow her cues. Do you have some sort of baby carrier? Maybe that will make you feel better, to have her on you while you are still playing with your other kids?

I walked and did the gentle abdominal exercises my doctor included in my discharge papers until 6 weeks, when I started working out 5 days a week again. I think my body needed the extra recovery, and it gave me a good point to write my "starting" post-baby weight, and I knew I could safely do anything that felt okay to me. I had lost it all and then some by the time he was 6 months or so.

There are no amounts for how much time you should hold a baby. In general, babies love and need to be held. I didn't hold my first as much as I might have liked because everyone else was busy snuggling, but I did hold him for nursing and a lot other times. My second spent more time in the pack-n-play when he wasn't nursing because I had a toddler tearing around the house needing more immediate attention. I imagine my third will be the same.