sleep – what’s that?

Things I’ve learnt:

When you have a baby – it rules.  You no longer have control over your life – and when things happen.  Appointments cause me stress – if she’s due a feed right before we go I panic – and her feeds are different every day – so I never know what I’m going to get.  Then I never know if she’s going to settle – ah ok – I’ll talk about that for a second.

We still are not 100% sure if its acid reflux, colic, both or she’s just a fussy, crier of a baby – or maybe all 3.  I hear of mums feeding their babies – burping them and then putting them down to sleep – like it’s all rainbows and butterflies. Not Harper – no that would be way too easy.  We feed; lying down now as well – because my milk was coming out so fast it was overflowing her mouth and then shooting her in the face like a water pistol every time she pulled of my boob.  We burp her…and then queue at least 40 -60 minutes of crying.  

We try everything, singing to her, playing music, white noise, burping again, wind exercises with her legs, rocking, shooshing, swapping between Chris and myself, skin to skin….some times things work – sometimes not.  I then try and pop her back on my other boob and sometimes she’ll fall asleep there – THANK GOD.  But then comes the next challenge – getting her into her bed so I can actually get shit done.  It’s like moving dynamite – is she fully asleep?….if I move her will she wake? – and yes – sometimes she does and we start from scratch – god help me.   Other times I get her into her bed – and her eyes open and she just lies there awake for ages – SLEEP GIRL.  Then there’s the rare occasion she actually goes to sleep – when did that happen again??  Our saving grace is that when she falls asleep at around 9:30-10:00pm – she usually sleeps for a 4-5 hours….ahhh 5 hours sleep.  

So – in trying to work out some sort of normalisation – which will – lets be honest – never happen ever again. I have managed to get back to the gym and mums & bubs fitness class at Firm butts fitness, and managed to do something that resembles meal prep. 

I hear so many different opinions and advice around exercising this early and worrying about my body this early on.  I mean – right now as I type this she’s only 4.5 weeks old.  The things is – when you’ve always been lean, toned and in control of how you look, and when that’s something that makes you mentally happy, not being in shape can really take it’s toll.  Yes, yes I know – I just had a baby – relax they say, chill out, you’ll get it back eventually, don’t be so hard on yourself – ok thanks Ghandi, but this girl wasn’t made up like that.  I’m driven in all aspects of my life, competitive and love having a toned, fit and healthy body. It makes me feel good – like coffee makes others feel good – yeh see I don’t drink coffee – being fit and healthy is my vice.  I have more energy when I train, I am mentally healthier and I’m in turn a WAY better mumma to Harper – I have more patience, better milk, am calmer, and in the years to come will be able to jump and run around with her.  

So at 2 weeks postpartum I started some home work outs.  Just with my fitness Figurebands. Nothing too strenuous, I’m not stupid and I know my body.  Check out my 2 week pp video on my instagram.  Then at 3 weeks postpartum I hit the gym for the first time just to do some light upper body weights. Getting out of the house felt amazing as well. Chris had Harper while I did a 30 minute session. It’s so good for mummas to have that time out as well – and do something for ourselves. Then at 4 weeks postpartum I went back to Mums & Bubs fitness class a Firmbutts fitness.  I love training with those girls – all on the same wave length, motivated and strong women, all with kids of various ages.  

For me – getting back in to it was super important and maybe you’re like me, but maybe you had just never thought about it or thought it was the right thing to do.  Listen to your body – take it easy – YES of course, I’m not going to start training for a marathon (well not yet…) but looking after a baby is hard work – and mentally draining, and we have to remember to try and do something for ourselves.  If you can’t get out of the house for whatever reason – grab some fitness bands (I’ll have some for sale soon -so stay tuned) and do a home work out in your living room with your bubba by your side.  Even if you don’t have a baby and just want to start training. It’s never too late, or too hard, or too expensive.  

On that note – Harper is asleep –  YAY – so time to grab 30 minutes and work out. 

Love and life

the Figure – Danni xo