"Curling Good Fun with Baby"

by Amanda Armitage
(Bremerton, Wa)

After I had my first baby I suffered with postpartum depression. I didn't want to take antidepressents because I was breastfeeding my daughter.

My doctor suggested that I should exercise to help relieve some of the symptoms of depression. He said it will naturally make me have more energy and raise my feel good hormones that make me happy.

At that point I was willing to try anything to get over my deep depression except medication of course.

I was still a little weak from the c-section so I was on a weight restriction of less than 20 pounds. I knew that the weight of my daughter was light but heavy enough to make a difference. At the time she weighed 12 pounds and nine ounces and she was 3 months old.

I decided to exercise with my daughter by lying her on her back on my forearms and holding my hands on her sides and curling her inward toward my chest and then curling her back down again.

She loved it and ever time I rolled her back up in my forearms toward my chest I would make silly faces or blow on her face or give her kisses. She would just laugh and giggle the whole time.

We did this about one to three times a day for ten to fifteen minutes at a time.

This exercise allowed me to bond with my daughter and was extremely helpful and healthy for me and my daughter. It gave me more energy to do the things I wanted and needed to do.

We did this exercise together everyday until she was a little over six months old and weighed about 21 pounds. My depression cleared and my hormones went back to normal.

And with the fun routine exercise and breastfeeding I was able to go back down to my old size again in just 6 months, and I never thought I would get back down to that size.

I definitely recommend this exercise for all new moms and their little babies.