Walking With Your Baby for Health

Enjoying a walk with your baby is a great way to get out of the house and on the road to regaining the shape you were in before your pregnancy. It's great to restore your physical fitness, energize your mood and connect you with your neighborhood and nature.

Here are our tips to get started walking with your baby.

Strollers for Walking With Your Baby

A walking/jogging stroller should be high on your baby shower wish list. You will need to exercise regularly when the baby arrives to get back into condition. Backpacks are an option, but most families find that the baby quickly outgrows comfortable carrying. Look for these stroller features recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine:

• A deep seat and a seat belt.
• Locking brake to use whenever you put the child into or take the child out of the stroller.
• A safety wrist strap to keep the stroller from rolling away from you.
• Sturdiness and durability
• A sunshade to protect the baby's skin

Paths to Avoid Walking With a Stroller

Do not take the stroller on gravel or rough paths. The vibration and bumping are not suitable for either the child or for your wrists, arms, and shoulders when pushing the stroller. Stick to sidewalks and asphalt.

Supplies

It can take planning to be sure you have everything you need along with you. Be sure to bring water for you and a bottle for your baby. Also, take along a mini kit for diaper changes and cleanup. As your baby grows older, they'll want you to bring snacks for them and their favorite plush toy on the walk.

How Long to Walk for Health and Weight Loss

You can get your recommended amount of physical activity by walking briskly for 30 minutes per day. You can break that up into sessions of 10 minutes or more. For weight loss, it's best to walk for 30 to 60 minutes continuously, most days of the week. If that's more than you can do at first, build up to it by adding five more minutes to your walking session time each week.

Shoes

Pregnancy may have led to permanent changes in your feet. It's a good idea to take a trip to the best running shoe store in your area and get fitted again for athletic shoes. Good shoes make for enjoyable walks.

Intensity

Pushing a stroller is going to increase the intensity of any walk, so lengthen your walks gradually. You should be walking at a moderate intensity which means that you are breathing a little harder but still able to carry on a conversation. Once you are comfortable with pushing a stroller for 30 to 60 minutes, you can try picking up the pace. Or, alternate some short (30-60 second) fast intervals with longer (1-2 minute) recovery intervals at a moderate intensity. Increasing the intensity will help with losing weight and building your level of fitness.

Your Walking Posture

Jogging strollers can produce poor posture habits. Your center of gravity was shifted by pregnancy, and now you need to regain good posture. Concentrate on maintaining proper walking posture and avoid leaning either forward or backward.

Get Your Baby Started Right

By walking with your baby, you are instilling regular exercise habits from the start. This is a gift every mom should give their child. You can even enter fun runs and charity walks that allow strollers. Your child could have a wall full of walking medals even before ever taking their first step. You can point to that in a few years when you can't get your kid off the couch or away from their screens (or whatever we have by then).

Walking With a Companion

Moms who walk with their partner and their baby find it a time to connect, to build the family, and to unwind from a day at home or work. It's a natural way to build your relationship and have time for conversation while the baby is along for the ride.

You need to connect with other moms as much as your child needs to play with other babies. Rather than meet at each others' homes, make it a date to get out for a walk. It can be as simple as circling the block or the inside of a shopping mall.

Your parents, in-laws, and siblings want to spend time with you and the baby. Make the time together an active time by going out for a walk. If you need a break, you can send them out with the baby and stroller while you relax at home or get in a solo workout.​