I am pleased to announce the safe arrival of our twins, who are now 7 weeks old. Finn Thomas and Harriet Grace Buckman were born on the 21st of July – two very different but very healthy and happy babies.

One of the most common questions I have been asked since their birth is, is it different to what you expected?
You are warned about the fatigue, the lack of time and the worry. You are also told how special it is, that you have never felt love quite like it and that you will marvel at new lives. Even with all the passed-on foresight I was never going to be completely prepared for wide awake babies at 3am, or two babies simultaneously crying. I was also not prepared for the profound joy that their individual personalities bring, the amazement at the small developments like smiles and coos and the simple awe of their existence.
It is very common to encounter concerns about not meeting expectations when I see women in the clinic post-natally. From early on in pregnancy, even before, the timeline of ‘6-week recovery’ is bounced around and well known. The reason why, I am not sure. Perhaps because it is a time of rapid development of the babies as they transition out of the newborn phase, maybe because it is commonly a time for check-ins and checkups with health professionals or maybe it is because of social media and the posting of ‘bounce back’ photos. Whatever the reason, there is sometimes a misconception that by 6 weeks, a woman should be all good to go, she should be feeling well, lost any pregnancy weight gain, no longer concerned about her pelvic floor and jumping back into exercise.
The reality is that this is not always the case. Yes, some women with minimal birth complications both physical and psychological are able to return to exercise and reality seamlessly by 6 weeks. However, more commonly we are just not ready yet. The transition back into exercise should be gradual, measured and individual. It depends on many factors including type of birth, if there are other kids running around, birth injury, how the baby is going and importantly, what the woman actually wants to return to. Pregnancy and childbirth is a massive accomplishment, one that we need to gently allow the body to recover from. Aside from the physiological perspective recovery also takes concentrated time, this can be very difficult to find in the early days. Something I am more aware of than ever.
For me personally, I am gently returning to movement and exercise. I have definitely not been doing pelvic floor or core exercises every day. Instead, I am just trying to gently move my body, get outside for some fresh air and go for gentle walks. What we know is that recovery takes at least 6 months and more realistically 12 months to return to a ‘pre-pregnancy’ state of strength and endurance. Hopefully one day these will be the commonly cited timeframes when discussing recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. As always it is important to approach this time individually, something as women’s health physios we love to assist with. Make sure to get in contact with Bec, myself or Jacqui if you need guidance and support around this time, if you have passed the ‘6-week timeframe’ it is not too late!