Walking

One of the postpartum mandates is that exercise has to be put on hold for six weeks. Seeing how I was exercising pretty much every day throughout pregnancy, this was going to be a big life change for me. One activity that wasn't completely outlawed was walking. This, I did with gusto. Not gusto in the sense that I speed walked for hours on end, but in the fact that I have cherished my walks around town. Since baby, we have also made the adjustment of downsizing to one car. This means, for about half the day, I am sans transportation. No longer do I leave the house on a whim, so getting out and walking is a wonderful activity.

 

You know how when you are younger and you get terribly embarrassed at the things your parents do? Well...turns out as adults, I like to do some of those formerly dreaded activities. Prime example: Ryan and I now enjoy going on walks in nice neighborhoods and critique the houses. We point out things we like/don't like/would choose to change...all while pretending we live in the neighborhood. The funny thing is, since we go walking in the same nearby neighborhood all the time in these last six weeks, people probably think we do live there. One lady even stopped us and asked us for directions to a certain address! 

 Ryan and I have also been super impressed with our fall weather this year. I was a bit fearful that we would only be able to fit in walks for a couple of weeks before it got too cold, but it has yet to dip below 55. It is fun to watch Liam on the walks as well. He usually says awake for the first half, just looking up at the sky through his little moon-roof on the stroller. Our stroller is amazing by the way! We debated spending so much on it, but we have both agreed that even after these short five weeks, it has paid off. It seriously rolls like butter!

 Walking has also helped me drop the baby weight. At the ten day mark, I had lost all of the eighteen pounds that I gained during pregnancy. A portion of that was also due heavily to breastfeeding...and the fact that I stopped weightlifting two months before Liam was born...so I'm sure I've lost quite a bit of muscle. Next week I get the green light on going back to the gym!