Exercise with Baby Classes: Yes or No?
After giving birth there will be plenty things on your mind from making sure you have a safe and healthy home to giving all of your love to the new addition to your family. Many mothers also find themselves wondering how they’ll find the time to lose excess baby weight. If you’re one of the millions of mothers that want to return to their original physique, you might be looking into exercise with baby classes.
Also known as “Mommy and Me” exercise classes, these fitness regimes are designed to keep babies occupied while their mothers work their bodies to the max. It can be a phenomenal bonding experience and they offer an assortment of other benefits. If you’re on the fence as to whether exercise with baby classes are right for you, think about these great advantages.
Getting the Perfect Amount of Exercise
There’s plenty that takes a toll on new mothers, including fluctuations in hormones and dealing with postnatal weight. With the help of these interesting exercise classes, you’ll finally have a place where you can focus on your ideal body goals. You can tone and tighten all of the muscles you lose not only while you’re pregnant, but also while you give birth.
Not to mention exercise is a phenomenal way to boost your endorphin levels, which are hormones that trigger the brain to be happier and healthier. Many women suffering from postpartum depression are also required to attend exercise classes as regulating hormones is one of the many steps to recovery.
Bonding with Your Baby
Considering these fitness classes are designed for both mothers and their newborns or toddlers, there are plenty of bonding opportunities for you to take advantage of. Instead of leaving your baby with a sitter while you go to the gym on your own, you can bring them with you.
Depending on the type of class you take, you might learn about fun movements you can do together, therapeutic touches, and group songs to help liven the attitude of your children. It also helps to normalize the idea of spending time with your baby outside of the home, as it can be easy to turn into a recluse after you give birth.
Developing a Social Network
Like we said, it’s easy to find yourself slinking away from the real world once you have a baby, and it’s all for great reasons. Of course, you want to give all of your time and attention to this amazing human being that you’ve been waiting to meet for 9 months (or longer, in some cases). However, it’s important that you don’t lose a part of yourself along the way.
When you sign up for exercise with baby classes, you’ll be entering an incredibly social environment with women who are in the exact same position as you. You’ll be able to establish a brand new network with mothers in your area where you can set play dates, nail appointments, or general venting sessions when life gets a little too hard.
There’s nothing wrong with being a new mom and craving attention from some new friends, especially women who are finding it difficult to meet new people on their own as well.
Easing Back Into an Active Lifestyle
This is particularly important for mothers who were active before they got pregnant but were forced to forego their healthy lifestyle to grow a healthy baby. Exercise with baby classes are phenomenal for giving you the motivation you’ve always needed to ease your way back into exercise.
No matter how you look at it, it can be a difficult and intimidating process to step back into the gym or start going out for runs like you used to. Especially if your body was sedentary for over 9 consecutive months. It’s hard enough to imagine exercising while you’re pregnant, let alone after.
Take advantage of exercising with your baby as it can help you to get back into the lifestyle you loved before.
Helping With Your Baby’s Digestion
It’s easy to understand the health benefits of exercising for adults, but did you also know that mommy and baby classes are great for smaller bodies as well? While in your classes you will learn about different techniques you can use to help ease colicky or fussy babies, as well as help them with any digestive problems they may have.
Certified and trained professionals teach each of these classes, and so you’ll be receiving professional workout advice from a reliable source. Even after a few classes, you might begin to see positive changes in your baby’s behavior.
Aiding With Your Baby’s Sleep Schedule
It can be difficult to set schedules as a new parent, especially when you’re getting your footing if it’s your first one. Sleep is essential not only for you, but for your children as well, and exercise is a phenomenal way to get them tired when they need to be. If there’s one thing every mom can agree on it’s that she wishes she could get more sleep at the end of the day.
After taking your baby out of the house, practicing long stretches, and giving them the ability to socialize with other children, it’s surely going to tire them out faster than you could imagine. You’ll surely find it’s a lot easier to get your baby down at night or for an afternoon nap after your exercise class.
Setting a Great Example
Once you get your foot in the door of an exercise with baby class, it can easily become a routine that you and your child fall into for the rest of their lives. Exercise is important for both physical and mental health and showing your child that you enjoy exercise is setting a phenomenal example for them.
As the years progress, you can continue signing up for exercise classes together and eventually, they may even develop a personal interest in exercise.
Exercise with baby classes are beneficial for everyone involved and with the right motivation, you can build a healthier foundation for yourself and your baby, one class at a time.
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