Dear Sarah,

I just spent the last two weeks with my sister and her newborn. Much of my time was spent holding the baby, after which my shoulders and arms ached! This is rather worrying as I am two months pregnant. I think of myself as being fit and strong (I do three body pump classes a week) so these aches came as a surprise to me. What can I start doing now to build my strength and stamina so I'll be able to hold my baby for extended periods of time?
Sera

Dear Sera,

Being fit and strong is essential when it comes to looking after a newborn and motherhood in general. While weightlifting (i.e. bicep curls and shoulder presses) is a great way to build strength in your muscles, it does not prepare you for the kind of stamina required to hold and rock your newborn for hours on end.

The average baby at birth is around eight pounds and 20 inches long. And the average newborn sleeps 16 hours a day, three to four hours at a time. What this means is there are eight hours a day that you should be prepared to rock your baby.

Here's how to train for marathon baby-holding:

The best way to build the strength and stamina is with functional exercise, and lots of practice. Babies like a variety of motions, so therefore you must prepare yourself to deliver that ... for your sanity!

What you need:
A rectangular-shaped bag (like a Ziplock) filled with five pounds of sand or rice

The walk:

• Take your sandbag over your right shoulder, place your right hand at the top of the bag and your left hand supporting the bottom (just like holding a baby).
• Walk briskly for 10 minutes.
• Repeat with the left.
• As your stamina increases increase the amount of sand in your bag (up to 10 pounds), and increase your walk time up to 20 minutes a side.

Bench press:

• Lie down on your back, with your head slightly raised
• Arms extended up from your shoulders, hold the sandbag between your hands
• Lower the sandbag towards your chest, then return to the starting position
• Perform 20, rest one minute and repeat twice more

The baby squat:

• Feet hip distance, cradle the sandbag between your arms
• Bend your knees, and take a small squat (about 45 degrees)
• Press into your heels and return to the top
• Repeat 20 times, rest one minute and repeat twice more

The rocker:

• With your feet hip-distance apart, cradle the sand bag between your arms
• Gently swing from left to right 30 times, rest one minute and repeat twice more

As your strength increases, you can increase the weight of the sandbag up to 10 pounds. Perform these exercises every other day and you will be ready for all-night cuddling in no time! And the best news is that after your baby is born your strength and stamina will continue to increase as your baby grows and these practice exercises become real-life.

Sarah Brown is a very healthy woman. She is not only a fitness instructor at Goodlife where she teaches Body Pump, Body Flow, boot camp and yoga but she is also a registered holistic nutritionist. If you have a question for Sarah, leave a comment below and she will try and help, but note that not all questions will be answered.