Postpartum Stretching Routine (with baby!)

I gave birth to my third daughter this past December, and she is the very embodiment of joy. She has brought so much hope and light into my life and the lives of our new little family, and I focus every day on how grateful I am that this amazing little person came to spend her life with us.

Throughout all 3 of my births, I have had severe back labor, and my back pain after my third birth has been significant. Stretching was a regular and necessary part of my pregnancy, and I continued to stretch postpartum to help my body recover after pregnancy and birth.

But one of the greatest challenges of being a mom the first, second, and third time around is finding time to prioritize self-care. For me, the easiest method is incorporating the baby into my self-care. It adds very little time and proves a wonderful bonding experience. In fact, the mental health benefits nearly outweigh the physical.

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my postpartum stretching routine

This stretching routine is something I try to make time for twice a day but typically only manage first thing in the morning when Baby Bunny’s tolerance is at its highest. I’m usually very stiff upon waking, so the stretching gets my circulation and metabolism going. I also try to drink a glass of freshly-squeezed lemon water immediately after stretching to help detox and hydrate.

For me, stretching is a part of self-care that I can’t compromise on any more because the back pain is too severe if I don’t. Stretching keeps the back pain manageable. Here’s my postpartum stretching routine in a nutshell.

bear

I begin with Baby Bunny on the mat beneath me, then I reach as high as I can, lengthening my spine as much as possible. Here, I take several deep breaths.

I grasp my left wrist with my right hand and stretch out my left side, pulling just until it becomes uncomfortable. I repeat this on my right side.

I fold in half to thoroughly but gently stretch out my lower back. I have an old injury in my lower left back, so I have to be careful with this. This is a great time to visually connect with Baby Bunny and see her sweet smiles.

dog

Anyone who’s taken a yoga class knows this as downward dog, although I’m told I curve my spine too much during this position. I place my hands and feet flat on the ground with my rear stretching as high as possible. In keeping my legs straight, I feel this stretch most in my hamstrings.

I spend some time acclimatizing my body to this stretch, and Baby Bunny is usually delighted to see my face so close to hers. We coo and giggle at each other and generally find one another perfectly wonderful.

cow/cat

I move next into cow position, dropping my belly towards the ground while pushing up with my hands and knees.

In cat position, I arch my spine towards the ceiling, trying to keep my shoulders low. I alternate between cat and cow positions repeatedly. These are some of the most helpful stretches during pregnancy as well.

From cat/cow, I stretch my hands forward and push my rear backwards, face to the ground, attempting to lengthen my spine as much as possible and stretch out my lower back again. This is a great place to pause and breathe.

butterfly

I then sit up with the bottoms of my feet pressed together and very gently apply pressure downwards on my knees, stretching out my inner thighs.

This is a good time to try to sit up as straight as possible with my shoulders back. As moms (especially as nursing moms), we spend hours every day with our shoulders hunching forward, and it changes our posture. I try to use this stretch to pull back my shoulders and push my chin gently backwards, attempting to straighten my spine.

I stretch out my left side, gently pulling towards my extended right leg, which I keep as straight as possible. I then repeat this on my right side/left leg.

After stretching my sides, I cross one leg over the other and twist my upper body as far as I can in the opposite direction. This feels great and sometimes helps me crack my back. I repeat this on the other side.

otter

I fully recline and pull baby on top of me into some quality mom-and-baby tummy time. Baby Bunny is sitting up, crawling, and standing on her own now, but in the early days, this was a great way to woo her into tummy time.

I stretch my arms over my head as far as possible and try to lengthen my entire body. I try to spend several minutes here focusing just on breathing and straightening my back.

I pull my knees towards my chest slowly, stretching out my lower back and the backs of my thighs.

I cross one leg over the other, then pull the leg that is beneath towards my chest. This can be painful, so I try to go slowly.

Then I repeat this on the other side and let Baby Bunny conduct an ear exam.

I then repeat the stretch of lengthening my arms as far over my head as possible and straightening my back against the floor.

seal

I gently flip onto my belly, trying to take it very slowly, as this can sometimes wrench the injury on my lower back. I press my upper body upwards using the flats of my hands and keeping my thighs anchored to the ground.

ending sequence

To counter the seal stretch, I pull back into cat once more.

From cat, I push up into dog once more, then walk my hands backward towards my feet and slowly stretch out my lower back while folded in half.

I lock my hands behind my back and pull my arms as far down in the opposite direction as I can.

With my hands still linked behind my back, I rise to a standing position slowly, continuing to stretch my arms, shoulders, and chin downwards.

Finally, I reach both arms as high as I can over my head, trying to lengthen and straighten my spine. I take several deep breaths here.

stretching with baby for mental health

Being a mom means living in a body that is no longer just yours. The cells of our babies continue to live and proliferate inside of us longer after pregnancy in a phenomenon called fetal microchimerism. The nursing mother-baby dyad remains a symbiotic biological ecosystem throughout the first 6-12 months of the baby’s life and sometimes beyond.

On a very simple level, our bodies as mothers are forever changed by the experiences of pregnancy and birth. From my perspective, the goal is not to return to what I was before becoming a mother, but rather to integrate motherhood into my mind, body, and soul as harmoniously as I can.

It’s not always possible to find time for myself with 3 kids, so I try to incorporate them into my self-care practices whenever I can. I find I’m a lot more likely to engage in self-care if the kids are a part of it. Stretching with Baby Bunny is one of my current favorite ways to take care of myself and take care of her at the same time. It never fails to bring smiles to both of our faces.

I find her toothless little grin fuels my heart and mind in more ways than the stretching soothes my body. And she delights in simply being included!

Do you incorporate your little ones into your self-care routines? Leave a comment and share your experience below!