As a pregnant mother of a toddler, the furthest thing down my priority list is taking a walk. In the time I’m not chasing after Little Man, doing chores, or making meals, I want to sit on the couch and veg.
However, I also know how important it is.
During my last pregnancy, I remember someone telling me about their friend who walked her way to an easy labor. She told me that the friend had a hard first labor and heard that walking helped, so she went for a walk everyday of her second pregnancy.
My labor was 8 hrs of early/practice labor with contractions 10 min apart, which I mostly slept through (yes, I can sleep through a lot), and then a three hour active labor and 20 min of pushing before Little Man was born.
Now, I’m not saying walking is whole reason I had this kind of labor. Short easy labors do run in my family, so it may have a lot to do with genes and body type. But I’m sure it didn’t hurt.
I walked four miles almost everyday throughout that pregnancy. When I reflect on that now, I think I was a little bit insane ambitious. I can’t imagine walking that far now. I have no idea where I’d find at least an hour every day to just walk.
I do plan to take my CO midwives’ advice, though, and get at least 30 min of walking in a day. I’ll probably have to split it into increments, and chasing little man will have to account for some of that, but I want to give myself as much of a head start towards another smooth labor as I can. Especially, since I’m having a home birth this time!
We’ll see how much of that I stick to, but hopefully this post and your support will help to keep me motivated. Wish me luck!
*I may have to find a gym with treadmills, ellipticals, and maybe even a track to keep this up through the Northeastern winter
Maybe you could strap the little man into a jogging stroller and take a walk with him? That way you’re getting exercise and he’s getting some fresh air with some beautiful views. I know that might be a little idealistic in a busy mom’s life, but it might be worth a try working it in to your daily schedule.
That’s what I try to do. It’s just that he doesn’t like to sit for more than 30 min straight. I can walk 15 min in one direction and then turn around and about halfway back, he’s trying to climb out of the stroller and, after a few minutes of trying to break free, he figures out he can’t get out and starts yelling. It takes away from the peacefulness of the walk to say the least 🙂 I may look into a sit and stand stroller so he can stand up when he wants and that’ll come in handy when the second one arrives. I wish I felt comfortable enough jogging pregnant because he loved that (probably because it’s shorter, too)!
Do you have a park nearby? Maybe you could walk there but also play on the swings and whatever he likes to do so he gets tired. Then the walk back might be a little quieter?
Great idea! I’ll try that.
Totally agree with you. Walking is one if the best things you can do while pregnant. And yoga, but you knew that already too! My midwife told me that as long as I’m moving, whether chasing the kid or grocery shopping, it counts. It’s less about the purity of intention and more about just moving. I know it sounds corny but mall walking in the winter is my life saver. It’s free and warm and there’s usually enough to occupy a kid’s attention. If you bring a friend along it’s even better! That being said…gonna go to the grocery store and get my walk on!!
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Yoga rocks! 🙂 That’s good to know! I didn’t even think about the mall for some reason. Great idea! I should actually make a trip to the grocery store today, too. Maybe I’ll do that now!
We joined the Y – my husband does some crazy army work out, Jacob plays like a crazy 3 year old in the childcare and I listen to my podcast and leisurely walk on the treadmill. I listen to sermons, parenting podcasts, photography podcasts, whatever….for an hour or so. I am not by any means power walking, but I at least get something in that is peaceful! Plus the Y is free for military if you are out of area like we are in Indianapolis.
That sounds great. I should look into a local Y. I know the one for our town doesn’t have a facility. They just schedule programs at various locations around the area. But there are a few others pretty close to us. That’s awesome that they have that perk for military families!
It really is hard for a woman to endure such hardships. But after it, a woman gives life to a new being and it is priceless.
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