You’ve been pregnant for 9 months, gaining the weight that’s necessary to support and nourish your growing baby. Now, you have your beautiful little baby, but you also have a few extra pounds that can be very hard to get rid of. Your body is understandably exhausted, so exercising is just not on the top of your list of priorities. Well, don’t worry! You aren’t the first new mom to go through this, and you won’t be the last. But, here are some tips which can help you get some kind of an exercise program set up that will be easy for you to maintain.

1. Get your baby involved. If you wait for your baby to be asleep to try fitting in a good workout, you may never find the time. Besides, most moms need that quiet time to rejuvenate themselves, with some quiet time of their own. Get a sling or a good stroller and take your baby for a walk. You’ll get some great exercise from walking. Or, if you’re doing a workout from a video, lay your baby beside you and let them join in!
2. Don’t try doing too much too soon. It doesn’t matter if you had a vaginal delivery or a C-section, your body has been through a lot and needs time to recover. If you try doing a workout routine too soon before your body is ready, it can be damaging to your health. Normally, it’s best to wait at least 6 weeks before trying to get a workout routine going. You can spend the first 6 weeks strengthening your vaginal muscles and starting with some basic stretching exercises for your body. Make sure you check with your doctor at your check-up to see when they feel that you’ll be ready to start an exercise program.
3. Don’t work your body too hard. You won’t have been able to do a proper workout for at least a few months, so don’t go full force right away. If your doctor has given you the go ahead to get started exercising again, they may even be able to recommend some good exercises to get you started. If you try doing too much right away, you can harm your own health. You need to remember that if you end up hurting yourself, you won’t be able to look after your baby as well.
4. Fit exercise into your own schedule. When you have a baby, you’ll realize that having a regular routine is not something that’s going to happen for a long time! Your baby has their own ideas of a schedule, so you need to learn to change your schedule to fit with your baby’s. That means squeezing in a workout whenever you can. Make sure your exercises allow for you to do them in different places at different times. An exercise DVD is great, because you can do your workout at home, whenever you can. Don’t forget that a couple of smaller workout sessions are just as effective as a half hour workout. If you can set a stricter schedule for working out, that’s great, but if you can’t, a less demanding schedule is just as effective, provided you’re able to stick with it.

Getting back to your pre-pregnancy body isn’t easy. Although you’ll lose some weight after baby is born, you need to be able to help your body lose the rest. Make exercising something that’s fun, like going for walks with your new baby, or doing a workout with your baby. You’ll see results faster when you don’t dread doing the exercise, and you’ll have your body back in shape in no time. Don’t be too hard on yourself, and take the time you need to lose the weight. It will happen, but it won’t happen overnight.

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