How soon to return to riding after baby?

What NSN said. I cannot stand the 'woe is me I'm pregnant, roll out a red carpet for me and my unborn child' and now having had a baby and done the first 12 weeks where it is quite a lot of work, I find it increasingly difficult to refrain from blurting out an 'insensitive' comment!!

I suppose I was a bit naughty in that I did have a glass of red wine at Christmas and a few family occasions, I ate smoked salmon like there was no tomorrow, Brie, pate, mussels, rare steak, the lot! The doctor I first saw when pregnant said it wasn't that these foods were harmful to a baby, it would just be a bit of a problem if I got food poisoning. Seeing as I have the constitution of an Ox, and as long as I trusted the source of said foods, I carried on as I was, didn't put on huge amounts of weight, and had a very healthy 9lb12 baby!

I also got a stinking cold right at the end, and thought 'sod it, this baby is already developed fully, I'm 37 weeks' so boshed down the lemsips and sudafed etc! You are actually allowed ibuprofen in 2nd trimester too, according to NHS guidelines.

To be honest, it's not rocket science, as long as you don't take silly risks you can carry on as long as you are pretty much, everything in moderation and all that!
 
I had a c section 4 weeks ago and would happily get back on for a plod round if I could get over to the yard. TBH the trickiest thing is getting the feeding sorted as I'm breast-feeding on demand...and she demands a lot ;) But I can now express and bottle-feed her which frees me up a lot.

I didn't enjoy being preggers either - I felt much better 3 days after a c section than I did at 8/9 months pregnant.

OP if you're having lessons I'm sure it won't be long before you can be riding. I think it's more tricky if you have to fetch in, groom, tack up and then ride - if you can hop on, ride for 30 mins, and hop off, you should have plenty of time in between feeds :)
 
Rare steak....nommy, I nearly started a twitter war over that one, but I figured if I was somewhere where the steaks cost 30 quid, I sure as hell wasn't going to ruin it by having it well done!
 
Good point Bex - first wee while it might have to be a case of roll up and ride until bubs is more permitting of letting me away a bit longer
 
I agree re ignoring the voices of doom regarding how hard pregnancy & newborns are. Of course its different when there are complications, but usually I have found those who make out its all so difficult are incompetent fools who have no idea of responsibility or the real world. But because they don't like to say they are lazy & pathetic they make out its all very stressful. And I've also found those who spend their healthy pregnancies acting like they have a major disability are the worst. You can't expect your body to cope with the demands of labour & the initial lack of sleep if you've spent 9months on your backside. Newborns really aren't that hard. Sorry if I sound unsympathetic but I don't pander to people who need to just get a grip.
I do have sympathy with those who do have complications at any stage, that's entirely different.
 
Lol littlelegs you took the words out of my mouth! Still trying to get over the women and my antenatal class clutching onto their partners lest they have to sit unsupported for too long...!

OP I am due beginning of October and due to having nothing safe to ride I haven't ridden since about 15 weeks.
I'll hopefully be back on mine day 2 :D (joke)
I'm just going to play it by ear, but I'll definitely be back on as soon as I can.

Like other people have said it's the feeding that I think will be an issue, but if I'm riding in the field surely I can park the sleeping tot in it's pram behind the fence and just hop off and flop out a boob when it cries???
My non-horsey mother was shocked to the core at this suggestion but I can't really see the issue?!

Hopefully life will just carry on as normal, just with me wearing some kind of papoose??

:D
 
The thing I underestimated is that breastfeeding can be pretty tough at first - I'm still not at the point where I could just flop out a boob wherever (you really don't need the details of this, trust me...) so for my own sanity I've been doing the odd expressed bottle feed when I want to go out and about. The books and the midwives suggest you don't start occasional bottle feeds until they are at least a month old but I felt like I'd go a bit mad if I didn't and it has worked really well. You do whatever works for you and baby at the time - and make sure your sanity remains intact :)
 
I had my first baby 6/7 weeks ago (24th May) and I've begun backing a horse a few days ago (as in sitting on it, but have his first ridden show entered for the end of this month so will need to get a move on!). I rode my old retired pony 4 or 5 times at 4 weeks (walk/trot/canter) just to check I still could! I did have a caesarian and I know you're meant to take it really easy for 6 weeks but I got bored...! I would have been on earlier but I ended up with HELPP syndrome (hence the emergency s-section) so was on blood pressure pills until only last week which made me feel dizzy. I had hoped to have a normal birth and be back in the saddle after a week but that didnt happen. I think you need to wait and see how it goes and see how you feel. You cant really plan unfortunately! I rode through my pregnancy up until my horse did his tendon in March (so I was 7 months when I stopped), which probably helps as I hadnt had a big break from riding. I also have ended up having to bottle feed which has made it easier to go off and play with the ponies as OH can look after the baby. And not everyone has probs with their pelvic floor, mine is perfectly fine thank you very much!

Just take your time and see how you go!

BTW, like AprilBlossom I also ate stuff you weren't meant to eat - my main things were mussels, runny yolk eggs and unpasteurized cheese (only because I cant eat dairy so can only eat sheeps cheese which isnt pasturised). I didnt drink even one sip of alcohol while pregnant but then I dont like alcohol much anyway. What Im saying is you dont need to be all anal about things - even now, the midwives told me to do this and not do that with the baby etc. but actually you just do what works for you!
 
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I don't think anyone can generalise about how hard pregnancy or having a baby can be as the experience is different for everyone. While it's not a case of competitive suffering to see who had the worst time, it's neither a case of who is the greatest superwoman for being able to do it all without breaking into a sweat.

For me pregnancy was like a low grade but persistent illness. Nausea 24/7 almost through-out the entire time and extreme fatigue to the point where I had to rest to make it up one flight of stairs. As soon as I gave birth I felt a lot better, more active, fitter and happier. However some practicalities of having a baby are very restrictive. My little one is a boob monster she literally spent 3 hours at a time breast feeding and this has really restricted what I have been able to do in the last 13 months. Until recently she had not slept for more than 2 hours at a time and she is now dropping her brief day nap so sleep exhaustion is a serious factor that cannot be underestimated. Some days I have been so tired I didn't trust myself to drive. You also have to preserve all your patience for the baby for those wee hours in the morning when everyone else is sleeping and you are still bleery-eyed and awake. I can't imagine how much rougher it must be for parents with colicky babies, but ever without colic there were days when I had to carry her in the sling all day long or she would scream.

So back to the OP's question: I rode to 23 weeks and got back on 7 weeks after a c-section, but if your body was not used to riding beforehand take great care. It also really depends on the type of birth you had, a friend had a significant tear and couldn't ride for 5.5 months despite being a professional rider.
 
Until have your little one you really won't know what the situation is. Hopefully you'll have a nice easy birth and be raring to go.

I've only just started riding but when I had my little boy (18mths old now) I was at the gym doing high impact classes right up until the day before I gave birth. On leaving the hospital (after 6 hours - they wouldn't let me go before) I drove over to my butchers to get my christmas turkey and a week later I was back at the gym doing light exercise and by 3 weeks was back to normal.

Whilst you will get stories like mine as well as people telling you that you will be practically housebound after giving birth, the thing to do is not beat yourself up if you aren't doing everything as quick as you'd like to be or you think you should be. Even if you get yourself some horsey time without actually riding then it's a step closer.

Good Luck with everything xxx
 
It's not a case of being the greatest superwoman, its just the fact its only as hard as you make it out to be in the majority of cases. If you have 24/7 morning sickness of course I would sympathise with being exhausted, just like I would for any other difficulty.
But those who make out a straightforward pregnancy, birth & healthy baby/new mum are hard obviously have no realisation of what hard work really is. I did it with no husband or family support, financial worries, a pony & two dogs, & relocated & divorced in pregnancy. And it really wasn't that difficult. If others have the luxury of self pity that's fine, doesn't mean I have to agree, let alone sympathise.
 
Like littlelegs points out, I think at the end of the day its what you make of it. Some people let a baby rule their life and change everything, whereas I personally wanted to keep my hobbies and get the baby to fit in with me which he has done (to a degree obviously). Its all in the mothers attitude I think. Yes, you dont get much sleep and the baby cries too much at some points but hey all you have to do is look on the internet chat rooms and see how much worse some other mothers have it! I managed to sell (literally as I was the agent!) our house and pack it up only 2 weeks prior and I was still at work the very day that I had to go to hospital that afternoon for my emergency c-section. I felt horrid throughout my pregnancy too.
 
LL I agree completely.

I'm fed up of people telling me how hard it's going to be. Perhaps I am going to sound incredibly naive here, but how can it really be so difficult as people make out??

Yes you might be up at night a lot, but with maternity leave and an OH who can check the horses are alive, I will have literally nothing elsevto do all day long but stare at the baby. So what's a few hours up at night?

Again, perhaps v naive - it is my first. But I am very much a 'can-do' person and I really can't see it being as hard as some make out.

Plus from what I've seen of other peoples babies, the ones who tend to just get on with it and baby has to fit in, usually have better behaved, more accepting babies. So that is my plan! :)

My pregnancy hasn't been too bad, no sickness but I have been tired and now I'm in 3rd trimester i could do without the backache and leg cramps.
No one really knows about it though because I tend not to complain and just power on through! If I'd curled up into a ball on the sofa and not got dressed till lunchtime because I'm 'pregnant and tired' I would probably be feeling much worse by now.

I think it's like s lot of things in life - PMA and just getting on with it.
 
i think it CAN be really really hard for some mummies and Id hate to come across as if Im dismissing that.... i am truly blessed with a baby who has only ever been up once in the night and from 6 weeks started to sleep through and now goes between 9 and 12 hours! Breast feeding is really hard , youd think something so natural would be easy and Id have loved to have done it but it didnt work out for us. That said, seeing friends now who are BFing, I doubt Id have stuck with it tbh. Each to their own, but it does tie you an awful lot more and imho, those I know who BF have babies who dont sleep as long, might just be what Ive seen though. And with the best will in the world, if you end up with an unsettled baby who cries a lot, is coliky and wants to feed every hour of the day, then thats got to be ruddy hard going, hats off to those who have to cope with that. I really think God looked down at me and thought he'd better make it as easy as possible cos I doubt Id have coped otherwise.

But you definately can make it easier on yourself. I dont have any support, just me and hubby, but Im managing to look after 5 dogs and 2 ponies. Train my dogs and ride my girlie. Ive got a young girl coming a couple of times a week to poo pick for me though;):D Even if things work out to be really tough, just remember its only for a short while and there WILL be things you can do to make it easier.
 
I am 16 weeks pregnant (3rd baby) and really had a bad time with it, i have been hospitalized twice with severe dehydration from being sick so much and still feeling rough now. I was hoping to carry on riding my cob but have had to turn her away, i have also stopped working as i feel so bad so its not too good!!
Baby is due xmas day and am hoping to start riding again Feb/march time next year. Really missed it!!!
 
Patterdale- that is exactly how I felt in pregnancy. It just gets annoying when the poor me brigade insist on telling you otherwise in an attempt to justify there own shortcomings. I did breastfeed but wouldn't have had anyone to help bottle feed anyway, so not having to make up bottles when you have no idea how much they want outweighed any difficulties. But apart from giving it a go for the colostrum in the first few days if possible, I think breast/bottle is down to personal choice.
 
littlelegs said:
It's not a case of being the greatest superwoman, its just the fact its only as hard as you make it out to be in the majority of cases.
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The problem is that you are not on your own to shape the experience through sheer strength of will...there is at least one other person involved! There is a reason why the cries of colicking babies are used as a form of torture and the negative effects of prolonged sleep deprivation are really well documented. Yes some babies will fit around their parents' lives, but some will not and generalisations never work.

On cue baby is crying! Better go!
 
Mine cried & had bad colic for weeks. Most do, & in most cases it is just a case of mind over matter. It's like diy owners- some think one horse & a 40hr a week job is a hard life, others just get on with it. Throughout life there are various difficulties & I just don't subscribe to the view that the exactly the same circumstances & life situations are harder for some than others.
 
AprilBlossom said:
What NSN said. I cannot stand the 'woe is me I'm pregnant, roll out a red carpet for me and my unborn child' and now having had a baby and done the first 12 weeks where it is quite a lot of work, I find it increasingly difficult to refrain from blurting out an 'insensitive' comment!!

I suppose I was a bit naughty in that I did have a glass of red wine at Christmas and a few family occasions, I ate smoked salmon like there was no tomorrow, Brie, pate, mussels, rare steak, the lot! The doctor I first saw when pregnant said it wasn't that these foods were harmful to a baby, it would just be a bit of a problem if I got food poisoning. Seeing as I have the constitution of an Ox, and as long as I trusted the source of said foods, I carried on as I was, didn't put on huge amounts of weight, and had a very healthy 9lb12 baby!

I also got a stinking cold right at the end, and thought 'sod it, this baby is already developed fully, I'm 37 weeks' so boshed down the lemsips and sudafed etc! You are actually allowed ibuprofen in 2nd trimester too, according to NHS guidelines.

To be honest, it's not rocket science, as long as you don't take silly risks you can carry on as long as you are pretty much, everything in moderation and all that!
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How refreshing - thats how I felt too! Loved my sneaky fix of pate, stilton and sloe gin. I got so fed up with comments and 'you should/shouldn't' and friends and family trying to mollycoddle me. I must say I would much prefer someone telling me to rest and put my feet up now than when I was pregnant.

Congrats OP, I have a 3 year old (Evie) and a 7wk old (Albert). I rode after two weeks with with Evie, she was very easy and had settled into 3-4 hour sleep eat pattern by then so I would bring my pony in and groom whilst she was sleeping. Leave her in until I had done the next nappy change and feed giving myself at least 3 hours to play.

Albert is completely different, he somethimes goes up to 4 hours , but then has a buffet special when he will feed every hour. Also he was a back to back labour and had a big head so my sacral area is still very sore and unstable. I have only felt ready to ride in the last fortnight or so. Unfortunately I cant because my pony is broken and I dont feel confident enough in core strength or balance to ride my eldest daughter's (21) yound ISH.

I hope you have a good pregnancy - my top tip for post birth riding will be good comfy pants, an ice pack in the freezer for later and (if you do BF) a very very supportive bra, possibly even a bra with a sports type crop top over the top and breast pads.

p.s in an old medical manual (1910) I have it recomends stout an the latter months of pregnancy and during breastfeeding, also good quality chocolate to ensure a plentiful milk supply. Well I have been taking that advice and Albert has grown from 8lb 7oz at birth to 14lb at 6wks, Evie wasnt that big until 18 wks old!
 
Thanks ladies for all your advice and experiences. I'm lucky to come from a family of women who just get on with it....they've all had three or four kids, so haven't really had any other option :) I'm hoping that I'll follow in their footsteps, but only time will tell.

I'm finishing work relatively early, so will be doing plenty to keep my fitness between then and when baby comes as well which should help
 
Magicmillbrook said:
How refreshing - thats how I felt too! Loved my sneaky fix of pate, stilton and sloe gin. I got so fed up with comments and 'you should/shouldn't' and friends and family trying to mollycoddle me. I must say I would much prefer someone telling me to rest and put my feet up now than when I was pregnant.

Congrats OP, I have a 3 year old (Evie) and a 7wk old (Albert). I rode after two weeks with with Evie, she was very easy and had settled into 3-4 hour sleep eat pattern by then so I would bring my pony in and groom whilst she was sleeping. Leave her in until I had done the next nappy change and feed giving myself at least 3 hours to play.

Albert is completely different, he somethimes goes up to 4 hours , but then has a buffet special when he will feed every hour. Also he was a back to back labour and had a big head so my sacral area is still very sore and unstable. I have only felt ready to ride in the last fortnight or so. Unfortunately I cant because my pony is broken and I dont feel confident enough in core strength or balance to ride my eldest daughter's (21) yound ISH.

I hope you have a good pregnancy - my top tip for post birth riding will be good comfy pants, an ice pack in the freezer for later and (if you do BF) a very very supportive bra, possibly even a bra with a sports type crop top over the top and breast pads.

p.s in an old medical manual (1910) I have it recomends stout an the latter months of pregnancy and during breastfeeding, also good quality chocolate to ensure a plentiful milk supply. Well I have been taking that advice and Albert has grown from 8lb 7oz at birth to 14lb at 6wks, Evie wasnt that big until 18 wks old!
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Good quality chocolate - now that's advice I can get on board with ;) I'm not being overly anal in what I eat either - rare steaks and whatnot, but as much as I would love a cup of tea and some caffeine, my tastebuds say no for some reason

Husband is probably the worst for attempting to mollycoddle me - I'm 27 and he's 42 and I think he's definately a bit 'old school' in his view of pregnant women....he's quickly learning though!
 
nillynoo said:
Good quality chocolate - now that's advice I can get on board with ;) I'm not being overly anal in what I eat either - rare steaks and whatnot, but as much as I would love a cup of tea and some caffeine, my tastebuds say no for some reason

Husband is probably the worst for attempting to mollycoddle me - I'm 27 and he's 42 and I think he's definately a bit 'old school' in his view of pregnant women....he's quickly learning though!
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I went off tea too. Good luck training the husband, remember that the groundwork done with him now will make him a much more useful and bidable Hubby later on
 
He's pretty good - thankfully he married and divorced young and quickly enough the first time to not have any lasting damage!
 
TO add about the breastfeeding - my little man goes 3-4 hours between feeds and so no problem whatsoever in fitting that around getting out and about and up to see to the horse. And I have had no embarrassing leaks yet! Sleep deprivation can be quite hard but you get used to it. I just keep telling myself nobody dies from lack of sleep! Though there have been a few days where I haven't felt safe to drive. The only problems I had in the few weeks or so were that I couldn't say exactly WHEN I could get out of the house - but once you get your routine sorted it's fine. I was also tired and achy after a very long labour, stitches and epidural etc... it took about 2 weeks to physically get over that and be comfortable enough to get out and about.

To all those who say 'get on with it'... That's all very well if you have an easy pregnancy but I found a lot of people told me to just 'get on with it' when I was experiencing extreme and quite scary pains... as my first pregnancy and with a less-than-supportive family and doctors who weren't sure what was wrong I was really very worried for a long time. Just because it's not a visible problem it doesn't mean that it's not extremely debilitating. Between about 5-7 months pregnant I couldn't stand up for more than 10 mins at a time, and got depressed about it, and to add to that my wonderful colleagues and certain people on my yard thought I was 'milking it' despite spending xmas shuffling round with a walking stick (I refused the crutches I was offered at hospital). It certainly taught me who my real friends are!!!!

Oh and I regularly drank small amounts of ALCOHOL throughout pregnancy - the odd half of guinness, a glass of wine and Pimms at my wedding did no harm to my little boy whatsoever.
 
It's the barley in the beer that may increase prolactine and may help with milk supply issues, however true milk supply issues are extremely rare, prolactine only has a role to play in the first few months when establishing supply and the alcohol in beer can be quite a problem with breastfeeding (there are other sources of barley like brewer's yeast). Breast milk contains the same amounts of alcohol as the mother's blood, which can be quite a lot for a tiny baby. It's best to avoid breastfeeding for 2-4 hours after drinking alcohol - as soon as the alcohol leaves the blood it also leaves the milk.
 
I think a lot of new baby moans have to be relative to your lifestyle. As n s n says, if you lead a hugely busy life as a norm it can't possibly be much harder. For me, I'm well used to getting up feeding something every few hours (lambs) and disrupted sleep for weeks (lambs ...) and how that affects you.
All the way through my pregnancy ive felt the clawing, icy threat of doom not from how I feel but from how others make me feel! I don't think people realise how dreadfully unfair that can be on a potential new mum-the last thing you want to hear, when faced with a situation you can't change, is how awful/hard/tiring it's going to be!

I've lost count of How when people hear I have horses, sheep and chickens they say "and you do that every day?!" .... It just goes to show hard work is subjective and relative ;)
 
Sorry to harp on but exactly on that theme of subjectivity, I am a philosopher and have found it almost impossible to work with the lack of sleep. I managed to finish a book I had signed a contract for before the pregnancy, six months late and only because I could breast feed in front of the computer until she was about six months old. Since then I have not been able to take any commitments on for work at all - no sleep, no brain, not much I can do about that!
 
patterdale said:
Again, perhaps v naive - it is my first. But I am very much a 'can-do' person and I really can't see it being as hard as some make out.

My pregnancy hasn't been too bad, no sickness but I have been tired and now I'm in 3rd trimester i could do without the backache and leg cramps.
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I think you're going into it with exactly the right attitude. Having a baby is definately a life changed but I personally haven't found it as bad as people made out when I was pregnant. What I found worst was the c-section and getting over that but the actual looking after the baby thing isn't that hard. Occassionally mine will cry for ages at night so I've learnt to just leave the room for a bit! You learn to deal with it basically.

As Booboos says, the lack of sleep does suck, I'll admit that - I end up quite confused during the day sometimes due to it! But hey, thats what coffee is for... ;)

You mentioned the leg cramps OP, wow I remember those - they were SO painful and I dont know about yours, but mine would come in the middle of the night which is rather a shock to wake up to. That pain is dreadful!
 
YES! Middle of the night/first thing in the morning.
This mornings was the worst ever, like being stabbed, my leg still hurts! I get them in my calves and it is actual proper pain - labour will be a breeze after this! :D
 
Another one to agree the leg cramps were the worst pain I think I've ever felt!! Would wake up in the night and just writhe around in pain till it went away. OH cacked himself the first time a thought baby was on the way!! :D

BoolavogueDC, I completely agree, the scariest emotional part of being pregnant was the millions of (mostly childless) people telling me there was no way I'd be able to have a horse and a baby, and that my dogs (a chihuahua and a sausage dog cross) would 'eat babies' - no, I'm not joking.
I admit, I've been very lucky as baby now sleeps through the night and is generally a very content little chap, as I write this he is entertaining himself on a play mat, but then a lot of people think this is down to my relaxed attitude through pregnancy.

Im not sayin I'm not sympathetic to people who have problematic pregnancies - I am, it must be horrendous - but Booboos, as hard as it was I bet you didn't whinge and moan to all that'd listen to you! That's what I can't stand, the whingey, moans ones. For example a girl I used to work with has sat on arse and scoffed chocolate likes its going out of fashion under the guise of 'cravings' and now she's only gone and given herself low level diabetes! She has whined and complained, and then had the nerve to publicly announce her poor sleep in hospital was due to the 'snoring mess' in bed next to her who had about 5 fits a night...erm, perspective much?!

It's people like her who give pregnant ladies a bad name with their unnecessary whining. Grr!
 
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