1st ride after having a baby :/

noblesteed

noblesteed

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Hi all,
This afternoon I am going for my first ride after having my little boy 10 weeks ago. I am joining a ploddy beginners ride at the local RS on one of their very safe cobs!!!! I decided this was safer than waiting to get on my own horse who has had 2 months off work and will be a fruitloop when I get back on... I had a difficult birth with stitches 'down there', plus I had very painful SPD (where your pelvis goes all loose and starts to separate too early) for the 2nd half of pregnancy so I am TOTALLY unfit. I am also breastfeeding.

SO... Is there anything I need to know? Aside from wearing a good supportive bra? Do you think an hour's walk is too long after stitches?

Thanks!!!
 
Yay!

Try to get on using a tall mounting block and I would be tempted to stay in the school for the first ride - very boring but if you get any pains and aches you can easily call it a day and get off rather than being committed to a whole hack (which I assume you are doing?).
 
Yay exciting!

I think we underestimate how quickly the human body heals itself. my mum in law who is a nurse, says that the down belows and the mouth are the quickest places to heal up because they have such a good blood supply. I would just take it slow and don't put too much pressure on yourself esp since you are being drunk dry by your little one! (Envy you so much! I loved breast feeding my two. I let them both self wean. The first weaned when at eighteen months when I was about to give birth to my second. I guess the milk changed. The second gave up at eighteen months too but surprisingly I still leak now aft two and a half years of not feeding. So if you ever need a wet nurse my love lol!)

Just make sure you do lots of pelvic floors so you don't leak a bit of wee when you are sitting trot lol!

Hope it goes well!
 
claribella said:
Yay exciting!

I think we underestimate how quickly the human body heals itself. my mum in law who is a nurse, says that the down belows and the mouth are the quickest places to heal up because they have such a good blood supply. I would just take it slow and don't put too much pressure on yourself esp since you are being drunk dry by your little one! (Envy you so much! I loved breast feeding my two. I let them both self wean. The first weaned when at eighteen months when I was about to give birth to my second. I guess the milk changed. The second gave up at eighteen months too but surprisingly I still leak now aft two and a half years of not feeding. So if you ever need a wet nurse my love lol!)

Just make sure you do lots of pelvic floors so you don't leak a bit of wee when you are sitting trot lol!

Hope it goes well!
Click to expand...

TMI :eek:
 
you'll be fine! My wee one is 4 weeks old and I got back on last Thurs - i had a similar birth to you i think;) I only did 10 mins in walk though - id be tempted to think an hour might be a bit long? You might be sore after... even if you're healed, its the fact to ride we sit on our 'fork' so to speak, its not the stitches that are the issue - i had some pelvic pain as well. I did 30 mins last night in walk with a little trot and that is the most i could manage. It feels ace to be in the saddle though, enjoy:D
 
Lol! We all women here! If you've had kids then you lost your dignity anyway and if you breast feed in public then you lose it over and over again. Lol!
 
I had stitched, "down there" but was riding and jumping within 2 weeks.

Use plenty of breast pads, I leaked a lot!
You may need a panty liner to start as I had a bit of bladder leakage to start with, child birth weakened my pelvic floor muscles!
 
After my first was born I waited absolutely months partly because I was a big fat wobbly wobble...but after my second I waited six days, I was so desperate to get back on and get on with things! Got bucked off with an excited squeal twist fart combination.

3rd time I waited a sensible amount of time like you have. Enjoy it!
 
No stitches so was back on in a few weeks, would have been sooner if baby had a definite gap between feeds. Just enjoy it, it will be fine.
Breast pads & good bra a must tho. And have to disagree, I breastfed for months, sometimes in public & never flashed anything!
 
My sister had a c-section, so had to wait 13 weeks before riding.

She would have been alright, if she had just stuck to a walk round the arena and a small trot, but the yard girls came round to see how she was getting on, so she pushed Bea on and asked for some roundness and trot leg yield.

Anyway, when she got off, her legs just went from underneath her and she fell on the floor. Needless to say the girls and I were killing ourselves laughing, and sister was rather red-faced, but couldn't get up, so I had to go and give her a hand. I so wish I had a camera!

When she got back on after the second baby (c-section again), she learned her lesson and took it steady - gutted - had the camera ready for another collapse!!!

So, just take it steady, try not to overdo it, and don't let anyone watch or film it!!!!

Good luck!
 
Well done you - hope you have a great time. I agree, an hour might be a bit too much. With my last baby I rode after 2 weeks (well dollied around in walk and tried trot for about 20mins).

I found my pelvis and hips ached, and whilst everything had healed well 'downstairs' it felt like my pelvic bones were still bruised (not sure if that is possible). It took quite some time to get my core strength back enought to ride effectively and I wa too lazy to go and do pliates or yoga. The worst thing for me was getting my timing right between feeds. Ditto what others have said re good bra and breast pads (lanisoh ones are brill).

My new baby is 3 weeks old now and I feel much more fragile than I did last time so going to wait another fortnight, that said, not sure if my old girl will be up to much any way as she has been quite poorly, and I dont think my daughters 5year old ISH would be a good idea for my first post natal ride - I may have to seek out a good RS too!
 
claribella said:
Yay exciting!

I think we underestimate how quickly the human body heals itself. my mum in law who is a nurse, says that the down belows and the mouth are the quickest places to heal up because they have such a good blood supply. I would just take it slow and don't put too much pressure on yourself esp since you are being drunk dry by your little one! (Envy you so much! I loved breast feeding my two. I let them both self wean. The first weaned when at eighteen months when I was about to give birth to my second. I guess the milk changed. The second gave up at eighteen months too but surprisingly I still leak now aft two and a half years of not feeding. So if you ever need a wet nurse my love lol!)

Just make sure you do lots of pelvic floors so you don't leak a bit of wee when you are sitting trot lol!

Hope it goes well!
Click to expand...

Yes I absolutely agree with this I thought I had wet my sisters saddle and I tell you what horse riding is brilliant for your pelvic floor!! I went to keep fit and star jumps i had to stop.

I then did the horse ride and wore a sanitary towel quite a few times...this does soon pass but do the old pelvic floor exercises. Whats a shame a lot of gynae physios etc would love to teach pelvic floor exercises to young girls before they have families etc but funding etc doesnt allow. you might be ok.. Anyhow hope it goes well.

If you need advice your local continence service will be very good for you. Hope its not needed. Just keep healthy drink plenty etc and do a bit at a time. Try not to be superwoman!
 
Hey, congratulations! I have not read every single post but I think the main thing is to go with what your body tells you. I had a lot of stitches with my first baby but managed to get back in the saddle after 10 days, took it gradually just went with the flow. Both my boys came to the yard with me from early on as we have no family living nearby and I breastfed so they were sometimes "topped up" before I rode (in the arena) and then usually slept... sometimes not... had to get used to it not always going that smoothly...

It all so depends on the individual person. But well done for getting back on and I hope you can keep it up. It's not easy juggling it all but if you do it is very worthwhile :)
 
My little one is 17 weeks. Got on at 6 weeks and have built up gradually.
Like others have said I find timing between breastfeeds one of the main issues although it is getting easier now :)
Defo invest in a good sports bra or as I like to refer to it 'scaffolding'!!! Lol
Also need to add that I also feed in public very discreetly and find it in no way undignified :)
Have fun and hope you enjoy getting back in the saddle as much as I did :)

Kate.. Xx
 
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