Holly Jean Cosner - PeeWee Pilates: Pilates for the Postpartum Mother and Her Baby

First let us offer our congratulations! Your body has just pulled off its most spectacular feat, the creation and delivery of your baby. Those wearing months of pregnancy, the stress of labor and delivery, and those dizzying first few days at home with your newborn are finally behind you. Ahead of you now is the fun part: getting to bond with your sweet little son or daughter!

Now for the less fortunate news: Your body failed to get the memo that its supposed to snap right back to its prepregnancy state. Instead, your belly has probably become mushy and weak, you may have aches in your back or hips that you never felt before, and your posture is slouchy from all that extra weight youve been carrying around. And lets not forget chronic exhaustion, which seems to have become a permanent new bedfellow.

Welcome to motherhood! Now what?

Some of you disheartened moms vow that the first free moment you get, youre going to throw yourself into a rigorous, five-hour-a-day, boot-camp-style workout to get your old body back. The only problem is that you are still waiting for your free moment to show up.

For some of you new moms, your frumpy state of affairs is nothing new. You werent exactly a swimsuit model before you became pregnant and you feel even more out of shape now. The prospect of working out has become more intimidating than ever; what was back then a hill to climb is now a steep mountain. What else can you do but subscribe to the mantra: Shouldyou get the urge to work out, lie down until it passes! (I wonder how many calories I can burn changing a diaper?)

Some mothers rationalize that their own beleaguered body is the necessary price of motherhood. Whereas your own body may feel tired, stretched out, and yearning for days gone by, your babys body radiates with its aura of miracle and hope and endless possibility. Her perfect little toes, delicious smell, and utter enchantment with you are too captivating right now for you to worry about your own figure. Besides, how many times have you heard that your interactions with your baby during those first few months of life will profoundly affect her emotional and physical well-being years later? How can you miss out on that just for tighter abs?

Regardless of your current expectations for your body and your previous fitness level, the reality is that getting moving again after giving birth is rarely easy. The gym might as well be across the ocean, since for some new mothers it feels completely inaccessible. You may only have a babysitter for a few hours or no child care at all, it may be too hard to get there with your baby in tow, or you may not feel like moving, period. Night after night of interrupted sleep may leave you more likely to dream about a plush hotel bed than a full-service gym. Running your own twenty-four-hour diner is depleting. Recovering from a C-section or a complicated episiotomy requires patience. And if you were one of those unlucky moms who had to go on bed rest or avoid all exertion at some point in your pregnancy, you may now have an especially long way to go to rebuild stamina.

Getting moving is no guarantee that your body, especially your midsection, will significantly change. Although almost any form of fitness, from spinning to kickboxing, can help you regain endurance and strength, your belly may nonetheless fail to bounce back as obediently as youd expected. The other problem is that not every exercise is appropriate for postpartum women. For example, your joints remain fragile for months after giving birth, and workouts could end up causing more damage than good if they are too jarring.

This is where PeeWee Pilates comes in.

With PeeWee Pilates, you can begin to significantly renovate your body, especially your pregnancy-battered midsection, practically within weeks of giving birth, without leaving your baby behind. As you tone, tighten, and realign your body, PeeWee Pilates invites your baby to come along for the ride. Literally! You get to incorporate your little son or daughter into the exercises themselves, rolling, lifting, and seesawing together, and, at the same time, tame your torso. What a great opportunity to play with and stimulate your baby while she simultaneously adds challenge and stimulation to your workout! Dont let the fact that your baby is an active participant, however, fool you into thinking that PeeWee Pilates is not a serious, focused workout. In short, concentrated, highly efficient bursts of time, PeeWee Pilates can make a huge difference in how you look, feel, and carry yourself.

PeeWee Pilates is based on the classic Pilates Method and also borrows from yoga techniques, modified so that all the movements target your postpartum needs. We stay true to the Pilates Method by focusing on strengthening your powerhouse, that is, your abdomen, hips, lower back, and buttocks, the areas that are most strained by pregnancy and new motherhood. Pilates can restore your flexibility, alignment, and balance, all of which are likely to have taken a beating from your pregnancy. You also gain strength in your core to help you resist and counter injury and strain from lifting and carrying your baby. The exercises are all designed to be especially kind to your worn joints. The stretching and deep breathing that are a part of each exercise also help combat the day-to-day stresses that accompany parenthood.

The beauty of PeeWee Pilates is that you can do it in the privacy of your home at any time that works well for you and your baby. You dont have to worry about packing up your babys paraphernalia, donning some flattering and throughout the exercises.