Mum's the Word (or not as the case may be).

Although it has only been a month or so since I last wrote it feels like such a long time so much has happened in Brentwood Babyworld since. Well one of the reasons our communications have been less regular is that as the babies have now turned eight months old most of us mums are having the dreaded return to work chats if we haven’t already done so and hence life has been taken up with the less sheltered but necessary return to the real world. Whilst this undeniably represents the distressing prospect that banging tambourines and performing puppet shows will be a less regular feature of daily life new mums will be pleased to know that this period does seem to represent a shift in that you can gradually see aspects of your former life returning and this is by no means all bad.

One aspect of your former self which I had previously promised to address is that of your physical former self and rest assured you are not alone if you are thinking that it might take forever to return to the ravishing beauty that somebody once thought attractive enough to impregnate! Well its not quite forever but I would say give yourselves at least a year and that is with some effort girls unless that is you are a natural svelte type like our Yoga pals Suzie and Janine and our own Louise or you were a champion breast feeder gaining not just earth mother status but also shedding a few pounds along the way like our Lucy, Caroline and Zahada. Anyway whatever your shape or size here are a few tips to help keep you stay healthy in the post-natal period. I have already waxed lyrical about the benefits of Renate Mullins pre and postnatal yoga in my last post and you must not have opened a single pregnancy book if you don’t know that swimming during this time is a good way to get in shape but here are some local offerings available to you.

Mum’s on The Move is the perfect exercise class in those early months when actually attending anything resembling a non- mum oriented class is a) impossible because you are no where near fit enough to join in a non mum orientated class b) not practical because you cannot possibly go anywhere without your baby and if you are getting a babysitter it is for sleep or to re-ignite your wistful love affair with all things alcoholic not to go to the gym c) your only option because unless I’m mistaken no Brentwood gyms take babies younger than three months.

Mums on the move is led by Vicky Whymark vickwhy@yahoo.com whose own physique immediately lets you know that she knows what she’s talking about. In our early days of motherhood this class provided the perfect bit of ‘me’ time without having to leave your baby. The format is that the babies remain in the room with you in their various travel systems and anyone that needs to attend to their baby, breastfeed, change them etc can do so at their leisure without the fear of interrupting the session or feeling embarrassed about any wailings. Information on the current timetable is available directly from Vicky and her details can be found at the Brentwood Centre or via Larchwood Gardens Children’s Centre.



In terms of the content of the class a huge effort was made to vary the program from week to week between for example aerobics style classes and body pump style offerings to name just two. The added benefit of mums on the move is that Vicky is well versed in post-natal training and hence closely monitors your training to ensure that you are not doing too much too soon she also gives options if you feel able to stretch yourself that little bit further. If I was forced to pick one hole in mums on the move it would be that Vicky only ever refers to you as ‘you mums’ at a time when having your own identity is quite important (sorry Vicky) but I’m sure you can live with that and if you can’t you had better get used to it!

Vicky also leads the way in Brentwood in terms of the buggyfit classes. Buggyfit is a national initiative which was the brainchild of new mum Emma Reading. Emma was struggling to find the time to go to the gym and to get crèche places etc in order to meet her targets for shifting her baby weight so she began being disciplined in terms of talking brisk walks come rain or shine which not only benefitted her but were also good for the baby. Increasingly friends asked to join her and buggy fit was born. Vicky leads buggy fit walks from Larchwood Gardens Children’s Centre and in Thorndon County Park. Alfie and I have done both and I can honestly say they are a really pleasurable experience.

The walks from Larchwood Gardens are only a couple of pounds however Thorndon is slightly more expensive due to the insurance Vicky has to pay and in addition there are the parking costs however it is obviously a very pleasant environment and the varying landscape is conducive to walking for effect! The perhaps obvious point when considering buggyfit is that theoretically you could meet with a group of your own friends plan a route and walk in these spaces absolutely free of charge and if you are motivated this shouldn’t be an issue. However as with many such things in reality you are probably less likely to go and hence the benefit of buggyfit is that a set scheduled time ensures you actually attend and also as with most mother and baby activities if you would prefer to have some company and gain a further opportunity to meet other new mums then this also provides an outlet for socialising.

Thorndon also has a very nice café for post walk coffee and if you’ve earned it – cake. If you do decide to go it alone there is a book available from Waterstones in Brentwood entitled Kiddie Walks in Essex that offers some good pushchair friendly routes to walk in the county many of which are within a reasonable distance of Brentwood and this has the added benefit of detailing child friendly pubs along the way!

For Alfie and I, all of these activities were a lifeline during the early months. In our case we only attended for the first three months as following that time he was eligible for the crèche at the local gym which I joined namely LA Fitness formerly known as Dragons. I had to think carefully about sharing the joys of LA Fitness for yummy mummies as the crèche places are like gold dust and obviously Alfie and I have less chance of getting in once I share my findings with you but by now you know me better that that and I owe it to you to give an honest appraisal. LA Fitness memberships vary greatly in price but are very competitive when compared with other local gyms given the offer. The gym has a pool, sauna and squash courts and an excellent program of well attended classes with superb levels of instruction. My particular favourites are Body Pump with Lisa and various classes led by Penny both of whom are extremely helpful towards new attendees and work tirelessly to vary the program and make the classes enjoyable by bringing their individual brands of humour to the class. The atmosphere at the gym is extremely friendly and its well patronised café and bar add to the community feel.

In terms of the crèche there I cannot say enough in praise of the team who I entrust with Alfie. Led by crèche manager Wendy I can honestly say that every single member of staff is absolutely dedicated to the children in there and this is reflected in the children’s enjoyment of the time spent there. The only issue is with places which are allocated a week in advance on a first come first served basis and needless to say the phone is engaged for some time and if you are lucky enough to get through it still may not guarantee a place as there are only 11 places per session and only two morning sessions each day with the exception of Monday when there are three as a result of the high demand on this particular day. A single crèche session costs £3.50 for an hour and a half and vouchers are purchased in books of 5 or 10. Whilst this obviously creates an issue for some the reality is that you get what you pay for and good service is high in demand however I am told that if enough people push for an increase in the number of available sessions then further added sessions are a possibility.

So there you have it some initial tips on getting fit post baby now on to the babies themselves and what they have been up to. Well many of ours are now crawling and babbling away and Toddington services just off the M1 will forever hold a special place in my heart as it was the setting for Alfie’s first word which unsurprisingly if you speak to many other mums was Dada and Daddy. So all your months of attending to their every need are rewarded with this! As if to add insult to injury and just to ensure I knew it wasn’t a fluke he repeated it several times and continued to do so with a big smile on his face in response to my desperate pleas of ‘momma’ and ‘mummy’. I have to say it was worth it for the look on Mr W’s face but I think following a month of dadas and still no sign of momma that following his initial pride he has turned every so slightly smug. Towards the end of March we were all gifted with that day you spend months of pregnancy looking forward to your first Mothers day and it didn’t disappoint. I have to say becoming a mum has given me a much greater appreciation of my own mother’s efforts and so to all of our mums in Brentwood and beyond I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. You really do deserve it!