Top 5 Exercise for Weight Loss After Pregnancy

It is part of the course that you will gain a few pounds in pregnancy. With a healthy and varied diet, as well as remaining as active as possible during pregnancy combined with plenty of rest will all help to keep your weight in check.

Many women worry about losing the post-baby weight. The good news is that post-baby weight gain is not here to stay.

Take a look at these top five exercises from HARTMANN Direct for promoting weight loss once your baby has arrived.

#1 Get Walking

The right start to start exercising again will depend on your and the amount of time your body needs to heal. Don’t rush into exercising and always make sure you follow the advice of your midwife, health professional or doctor.

But a great exercise to start with is walking. In the first few weeks, take a stroll every now and then with baby in the buggy. Just enjoy the fresh air and being out and about. This will help your confidence, as well as promote healing.

Once you are healed and have been giving the green light to start exercising again, increase these walks to a daily occurrence if you can. On some days, take longer walks in time and distance, but on other days take a shorter walk but walk faster to burn a few extra calories.

#2 Yoga and/or Pilates

Yoga and Pilates are both excellent exercises no matter what you age or current fitness status. They are also perfect post-pregnancy to get back into shape, but getting fitter and toning too.

Yoga works different muscles and can be great for getting your pelvic floor back into shape after pregnancy and birth too.

Only attend classes run by a certified Yoga or Pilates instructor, and don’t over face yourself by joining an advanced class before you are ready.

There are different types of yoga classes too, so try out a few beginner classes and see which suit you. There are also classes available for pregnant women and for ladies after birth.

#3 Swim

Swimming is a great activity for exercising the body without placing undue stress on joints. Start back nice and gently, with a few laps of the pool working your way up to short bursts of several laps as fast as you can.

Like walking, vary the exercise that you do so that vary the muscle groups you use and increase cardio-workout too.

If you find swimming up and down the pool a bit boring, there are other forms of water exercise that work really well;

·         Aquaerobics – loads of fun, aerobics in water is a great way to increase resistance creating a great work out.

·         Swim with baby sessions – many leisure centres and hotel pools hold swimming sessions especially for parents and babies. A great way to up the activity in your day, it is also a great way to make friends with other parents.

·         Wild swimming – swimming in groups in the sea, rivers or lakes is invigorating and great exercise. Get yourself a wetsuit and a hat, enjoy a refreshing dip with fellow enthusiasts.

#4 Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an ancient practice. It combines deep breathing with deep, flowing exercises. Originally developed in 13^th century China as a martial art, it is used today by people across the world as a means of exercise and relaxation.

Like yoga, there will be classes across your local area. You can take the classes at your own pace, picking up speed and depth of movement as you become more accustomed to this form of exercise.

Incredibly toning, it is also a form of exercise that can be practiced at home too. Some new mums use it to help them relax in an evening, whilst you can also practice your technique outside in the fresh air.

#5 HIIT

For when you are truly healed and ready to torch the calories take a look at HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is tipped to be the latest exercising trend in 2017.

There are many classes starting across the country with local gyms providing sessions not only in the gym but outside in the park, on the beach, lake side and so on.

The idea is that short bursts of high intensity training produces a cardio affect that burns calories efficiently. Using all kinds of different forms of exercise, it is a bit like circuit training but sexier.

Exercise and being out in the fresh air is essential for new parents and their new baby. For mum, it helps to keep post-natal depression in check, and can also be a great way to bond with your baby.

HARTMANN Direct are an online supplier of incontinence products and pads. Pads are useful for managing incontinence during pregnancy, and great for post-birth work outs too. 

Getting time to yourself, either as a couple or on your own, when you have kids is often a struggle. It's the nature of being a parent. They need you almost all the time, making it hard to get any time without them. Even though you love them, sometimes you need some time to remember who you are as an individual or a couple, without the kids around. If you need more time to yourself, you have to take the initiative to make some plans. While you will sometimes accidentally find that you have time alone, it's rare and almost impossible when you have more than one child. Try this advice to get more time to yourself.

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Start Planning Events

When you're a parent, you need to make plans if you want to have alone time. You're unlikely to find that there are no kids around and you have nothing to do if you don't plan anything. If you want to have alone time or spend time together as a couple, it's a good idea to make a standing date. Maybe every Saturday morning you want to go and play tennis while Dad takes on the kids so he can golf on Sunday. And on Friday nights, perhaps it's time to get a babysitter in so you can go out to dinner together.

Make a List of People for Childcare

It's always a good idea to have a few people you can go to when you need a babysitter. Some parents make the mistake of having just one person they trust, such as one of their parents. However, that means you have to rely on a single person to help you when you need it. It's much better to have a few options so you can have someone to turn to on both short notice and a bit further in advance. If you need a professional babysitter, you can find local babysitters at Sitters.co.uk. Using a babysitter you don't know can be worrying. But if you find someone with a background check and proven experience, you'll soon come to trust them.

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Create a Corner in Your Home Just for You

Even if you're at home with the kids, you can still get some space to yourself. A corner of the house that belongs to you, where you can relax and unwind, is a good idea. Then as long as the kids are being entertained by something else, looked after by someone else, or in bed, you can enjoy your alone time. Of course, you have your bedroom, which can be an ideal place to have some time to yourself. Set up a cosy corner where you can sit.

Take Advantage of Your Kids' Friends

Making friends with your kids' friends' parents can sometimes be tough, but it's worth it. Being able to send your children to someone's house after school, to a birthday party or perhaps on a day out is great. If you're friends with other parents, you can feel more comfortable requesting that they look after your child, as long as you're willing to return the favour.

If you make plans in advance, getting some alone time is much easier. But you can also grab some time alone when the opportunity arises.

Must Watch Box Sets

When it comes to taking some time out from everyday working life, it doesn't take a lot to put a smile on my face. You could say that I am easily pleased, because I love nothing more than switching off the computer and sticking on the latest television box set that I am watching at any particular moment in time. Right now I am playing catch up on The Gilmore Girls, I find it pretty hard to believe that I have waited this long to join the party, there has been so much hype about it over the years but I could never make it much further than the pilot episode.

I have to admit here that in those early series, I found it pretty hard to see why it was so popular, but as we move into the later years, I have been swept up into the Gilmore frenzy. When Rory graduates from Chilton and reads her Valedictorian speech, I could feel the tears prickling my eyes with pride, and as the warm happy tears dripped down my face I smiled, then it's the will they/wont they between Luke and Lorelai, when they actually got together I may have smiled from ear to ear and squealed rather more than necessary... But come on it's Luke and Lorelai!

Sometimes you just need a little bit of chill time at home, where you don't do a lot of anything, except  lose yourself in tv land and watch the trials and tribulations of a make believe family in a make believe world, just so you can forget all of your problems for a little while...

Box sets seem to have surpassed box office films in 2017, and I don't think that it is hard to work out why. A series gives you so much more time to relate and get to know the characters, they become a part of your own existence during the time you watch them develop and grow over a number of seasons, and if your anything like me then you cannot help but get emotionally involved and care about what happens to your favourite characters. 

Take Grey's Anatomy for instance, my longest ever love affair when it comes to a box set. I have laughed with them, and boy have I cried with them. There are too many examples to tell you about on the emotional rollercoaster that is Grey's, but all I can say is, if you have not hopped on the Grey's Anatomy train yet, forget whatever you are currently doing, flick on your TV and start the pilot episode RIGHT NOW.

As you can see from this post, I am a bit of a television junkie, and it is for that precise reason that I have recently upgraded my television to something that is worthy to enjoy my many love affairs on. I have looked at many insurance policies to cover this new purchase and finally settled on Chill Insurance.

Would you rather stay in with a good box set or head out for night out?

I will finish this post with a list of my MUST WATCH television box sets:

- Greys Anatomy

- Desperate Housewives

- Sex and the City

- Gossip Girl

- Game of Thrones

- 24

- Pretty Little Liars

How to create the perfect Revision Space for your children

I have been incredibly proud of Leo this week, he has been under the weather and came out with a rash over the weekend, a rash that meant that on Monday and Tuesday my little man was kept at home with me. It was the kind of rash that school would have most definitely sent him home for and as I had to go out to a meeting in the city, I thought it might be easier to take him along with me.

The meeting was to discuss the EHCP (education health care plan) process, and as this is something that I have applied for with Leo to try and get him some extra support, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to discuss our situation with a professional. The meeting lasted over 2 hours, and for a 5 year old who was bored senseless (aside from my phone to keep him occupied) he was so incredibly well behaved. In fact everyone in attendance thought so, he was a complete super star.

It is now only a matter of a few months before school kicks out and Leo is on his summer holiday, and then upon return he will be a Year 2 pupil. This thought is quite scary as it means that the delay between himself and his peers is going to widen yet again. We do everything that we can to help Leo, we want him to catch up if possible, but ultimately we just want him to strive to the very best of his ability, whatever that may be.

We have a dedicated study space at home for Leo, and I genuinely believe that this really helps him when it comes to sitting down and working in the home environment. I recently wrote a post all about Leo's bedroom set up here.

How to create the perfect revision space for your children

This is something that I have had to really work at for Leo because for a long time Leo was not interested in doing anything at all for his learning at home, and this alone was a real struggle. When we first moved I browsed the high rise beds over on Room to Grow as I wanted a bed with a built in desk so that Leo could sit down to study in a quiet environment.

My top tips for the perfect revision space

- Quiet Space - Pick a room that is away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else. You want this space to be just for them (and yourself if you are going to be helping with the activities as I do). We opted for Leo's bedroom so that we don't have the distractions from the puppy trying to get Leo's attention for play, and because there is no television in leo's bedroom that will divert his attention away from what he is supposed to be doing.

- Adequate lighting - Make sure there is a decent ceiling light and of course a desk lamp. I find this really helps especially in the winter when we are working after school. 

- Desk - If you don't have room for a stand alone desk, think about a high rise bed that you can include a desk with or underneath. This has been a great investment in Leo's bedroom and it means that we can keep everything he needs all set up ready for when he needs it. 

- Books - Keep helpful exercise books to hand so that you are ready to go as soon as you sit down! 

- Pens and Pencils - Keep the study space stocked with all of the essentials that you will need. We are stocked with lots of paper, glue sticks, felt tips, pencils, rubbers, ruler and crayons.

- Oraginse it for them - Help your child organise the desk and everything on it so that it is in an accessible order that will help them complete the activities being asked of them.

Bedtime routine in the summer months

The nights have drawn out and parents all over the UK are hearing those familiar plights from their children 'it's not bedtime, it's still light!' - Each and every year when the evenings stay light, this is the scenario, children wanting to stay up until it gets dark, because let's face it, it's much more appealing than heading to bed while the sun is still shining outside!

I remember the days when it was me being told to go to bed while all of the other children were still playing outside in the evening sunshine. I could hear them outside my bedroom windows laughing and celebrating the arrival of summer. 

We have always had a really good bedtime routine for Leo, and this is something that I don't intend on compromising on, even with the sunshine hanging around for Leo's bedtime at 7pm. We already have black out curtains in Leo's bedroom but the light still seeps in around the top of the curtain and along the sides. Of course this isn't ideal, and can sometimes interfere with Leo going to sleep when he needs to. 

I have been thinking about ways in which I can make Leo's bedroom darker so that I have less of a fight of convincing him that it's still bedtime, even though the birds are still chirping in the trees outside adding to the battle of getting Leo into the land of nodd. 

I think the best way to make sure that bedtime and sleep happpen when they are supposed to is to invest in some blinds to sit behind the black out curtains that are already in place. I have been looking at Direct Blinds and think this is the way to go, it will help to keep the light out, and make the room darker to help Leo count his sheep, and of course help me win the battle of the bed. 

 I think that keeping Leo's bedtime routine is incredibly important, especially since he has school and needs the sleep and energy for his learning. I like to make sure that he is in bed by 7pm and ideally asleep before 8pm. I have always been very pro bedtime routine and I truly believe that Leo's rather amazing sleeping pattern is the result of having a consistent and predictable bedtime routine right from the get go.

I hear of so many parents who have trouble getting their children to go to bed,  waking at multiple times throughout the night, or even getting up before the sun, and although there have been times over the years where Leo has fallen out of routine for whatever reason, we have always managed to smooth the waters and restore the tranquillity that can only result from rested sleep.

I used to dread the clock change when Leo was a baby, that hour really did confuse things and made putting him to bed rather difficult, as he has gotten older though, it is easier to explain why it is still light outside, and aside from it being lighter, it doesn't really effect our routine.

The best advice I could give anyone, is to keep persevering with a routine, because it really doesn't help. Especially when the clocks change during the summer months and they don't want to go to bed because the sun still has his hat on.

Be a Working Stay at Home Mom through Stock Trading

Companies sell their shares to raise funds that help them grow their businesses. This is done through an initial public offering in which the prices of the shares are set on the basis of the company’s worth. The company gets to keep the money, while the stocks continue to trade on an exchange market.

If you are a stay at home mum, you probably have a lot of free time that you can use to reduce your financial limitation, and this is where online stock trading comes in handy. The stock market world is very tricky, which makes learning the ropes a difficult task. However, there are a few tricks around this kind of investment that you can use to become a successful stock trader as explained below.

Reading the Stocks

There are symbols that represent what a particular company is about. They are mostly three or four letters; for example, John Lewis Partnership can be represented by JLP. You can easily figure out what some of them stand for, but you will have to look up the rest. As you keep on purchasing stocks, you will know what symbols are associated with the stocks you own. Many finance sites even let you choose the ones you want them to display so that you can easily see your portfolio. If you set up such a system, you will save a lot of time and energy that you would; otherwise, spend digging out prices.

Next, you will see the figures related to the asking price and the bid price for the stock. More often than not, there is a spread between these two numbers. Some tickers only track the last sale amount but not these two prices. Subsequently, there is an arrow showing if the price is rising or going down. Also, you will often see the percentage between the price changes in the two previous trades.

You can find tickets online from finance-related sites like CMC markets, which you can work with when you are caring for your children at home. Also, by studying them, you will quickly learn where everything is located and how to study the information you need quickly. Avoid monitoring your stock too much because tickers can be addictive.

Emotional Challenges

Most people begin their trading career with too much hope for monetary gains. Later, they learn the hard way that emotional attachment is detrimental to any person desiring to succeed in online trading. You will have to overcome greed and fear while avoiding unrealistic hopes.

To improve your chances of success, you will want to seek a ready trading system that will automatically keep you in the winning trades and not in the losing ones. Additionally, you can utilise the services of a stockbroker to help you handle the purchasing and also act as a financial advisor while making recommendations on which shares to buy. A stock broker will charge a commission for every purchase; however, if the value of the shares happens to increase by a great margin, then the commissions paid will be totally worthwhile. This will also leave you with plenty of time to do some house chores and monitor your baby.

Buying and Selling

Learn when to purchase the stocks at their lowest prices and sell them when they are at their highest; profit is earned through the difference between the selling and the buying price. To do this, you must be able to adequately predict the trend of the market by using available formulae. The formulae can be used promptly to make accurate predictions with respect to the market trend since they have been the standard for the past 50 years.

People who invest in stock trading buy stocks in different sectors and hold them for a long time. This method is called diversification. Such people do not have to concern themselves with every moment of price fluctuations in the stock market. The ultimate goal of investing in the stock exchange is to make money; therefore, you should only buy shares from the companies you expect to do well.

Overall, stocks are sold out by companies to raise funds, and these shares continue to trade on an exchange. The overall amount of stocks has risen tremendously over the last years, which makes owning shares an attractive investment. There also exist additional bonuses such as dividends, voting rights and potential profit. Sometimes, share prices will fall, which is why investors choose to buy stocks from diverse companies to spread the risk. Shares can be traded anytime, meaning that a stay at home mum can choose when to take her profits or cut their losses. The stock market is a great place to earn an income online hastily. Through the internet, you can trade on the stock exchange with real-time quotes, take advantage of instant order execution and get help from online brokers who have an array of tools to make the process easy.