Labor to Lifting

Labor to Lifting The ultimate postpartum recovery experience. Founder: Abigail Sommer

09/01/2026

The hospital bag is the easy part.

The part nobody preps is the version of birth that... doesn’t go to plan.

Pack at thirty six weeks.

The hospital covers the basics, so pack the things they don’t: your own pillow, a charging cable long enough to reach the bed, slides for the shower, a going-home outfit that fits your still-pregnant body, and snacks for your partner.

Then do the harder half. Write down your preferences before you’re in pain, because in the middle of it you will agree to anything just to make it stop.

And write down what you want if it turns into a c-section, because “I hadn’t thought about that” is the worst place to make that decision from.

Mine didn’t go to plan. Prepping for that version is the thing I’d tell every mom to do.

Comment LABOR and I’ll send you my birth prep guide.

08/29/2026

Please don’t assume that being cleared for exercise automatically means you’re ready to run.

After my first baby, I eventually built back up to a 16-mile trail race with 2,000 feet of elevation.

I didn’t get there by treating my six-week checkup like a starting gun.

Running asks your body to absorb your weight on one leg over and over again. Before adding miles, I’d want to see how your body handles these five things:

1. A 30-minute walk without pain, leaking, heaviness, or pelvic pressure.

2. Single-leg balance without your hip dropping or your whole body shifting.

3. Controlled single-leg squats or step-downs on both sides.

4. Small hops without pain, leaking, heaviness, or pressure.

5. Short jogging intervals mixed with walking before attempting a continuous run.

Your checkup can tell you that your general healing is progressing. It doesn’t test your strength, balance, or reaction to impact.

You absolutely can run again after having a baby. Give your body the steps it needs to get there.

Comment RUN and I’ll send you my Return to Running guide.

Source: Goom, Donnelly, and Brockwell, Returning to Running Postnatal Guidelines, 2019.

08/25/2026

Comment FLOOR and I’ll send you my free Core & Floor Recovery guide.

If you’ve been stretching your hips and low back for months and it keeps coming back, here’s why...

stretching was never going to fix it.

That pain is coming from a joint, not a tight muscle.

Stretching a joint that’s already moving more than it wants to feels good for about ten minutes and then hands the problem straight back.

Follow for more postpartum recovery tips that actually work!

08/22/2026

If you’ve started avoiding mirrors since you gave birth, I want you to hear this from someone who...

did the exact same thing.

Waiting to feel good about your body before you start training is backwards.

The confidence comes from the work, not before it.

So you have to change the question. Not “What does my body look like?”, but “What can it DO?”.

Can you carry the car seat up two flights of stairs?

Can you get off the floor with a toddler on my hip?

Can you sneeze without bracing?

Chasing “before” keeps you measuring against a body that had never done any of this.

Before-me couldn’t do half of what I can now.

Don’t spend a lot of time on self pity, Mama; just get to work.

Pick one thing to get stronger at this week. The way you feel about the mirror tends to follow the way you feel in your body, not the other way around.

Comment WORKOUT and I’ll send you a free week of my workouts to start with.

08/20/2026

5 things I that used to make me feel awful 👇

1. Not loving co-sleeping at night. I love a good contact nap during the day and I will soak up every snuggle I can get! But I like space at night and co-sleeping gives me too much anxiety.

2. Not breastfeeding. The first time around I felt like I had to keep pushing through, and I was MISERABLE. When I was diagnosed with Reynauds and decided that breastfeeding just wasn’t for me, I was infinitely happier. You do you! Having a healthy, fed baby is all that matters.

3. Having an epidural for my birth. I felt like society was telling me that I had to do it unmedicated or I was inferior. I put so much thought into that decision both times and made a really educated choice to get my epidural. Maybe someday I’ll do it unmedicated, but it doesn’t really matter either way 🤷🏼‍♀️

4. Giving my daughter an uncrustable for lunch every day. At the end of the day, it’s a protein, carb, and fat source, and food is fuel— even if it’s the exact same thing on repeat 🤣. If she’ll eat it, it’s a win.

5. Needing some space from my toddler when my second was born. I gave everything I had to make my toddler feel loved and help her understand that she’d never be replaced in my heart. That being said, I needed a little bit of peace and struggled to send her to friends or family who offered until my husband helped me reframe. He asked me if I thought she’d rather hang out in our apartment will her boring toys, or go to a new house with cousins and new fun things to do. This helped me understand that we weren’t pawning her off— we were making sure her social and play needs were met when we were exhausted.

What do you no longer feel guilty about??

Follow Abigail Sommer for evidence based pregnancy and postpartum fitness advice, plus some real motherhood moments as a girl mom of two 🫶

08/19/2026

You don’t need six perfect workouts a week to stay strong during pregnancy.

I’ve had weeks when I felt strong and capable, and weeks when pregnancy made my normal routine feel completely unrealistic.

That’s why I don’t think a good pregnancy plan should expect you to feel the same every day.

Here’s what I’d focus on instead:

1. Pick a schedule you can actually repeat.

Three workouts you complete are better than planning six and feeling guilty when you only manage two.

2. Keep the basic movements.

Try to include some type of squat, hinge, push, pull, and carry throughout your week.

3. Shorten the workout before skipping it.

If 45 minutes isn’t happening, choose four exercises and train for 20 minutes.

4. Change one thing at a time.

You can reduce the weight, shorten the range of motion, widen your stance, add support, or take longer rests.

5. Pay attention to what happens afterward.

If a workout causes pain, bleeding, dizziness, contractions, leaking, pelvic heaviness, or symptoms that continue getting worse, don’t just push through it.

Staying strong during pregnancy isn’t about proving that nothing has changed, mama!

It’s about having enough options to keep moving when something does change.

➡️Comment WORKOUTS and I’ll send you a free week of workouts to get you started. ❤️

Source: ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804, Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period, 2020.

08/18/2026

Your pelvic floor doesn’t only get loaded in the gym. Most of the pressure it takes all day comes from...

things you’d never think twice about.

Adds pressure: sitting straight up out of bed (roll to your side and push up with your arm), holding your breath to lift the car seat (breathe out on the effort instead), straining on the toilet, hovering over a public seat, and carrying your toddler on the same hip every time.

The hovering one surprises people.

Your floor can’t relax in a half squat, so you never fully empty, and you’re back again twenty minutes later. Sit down, cover the seat if you need to.

Friendly: exhaling on the hard part of any lift, sitting with your feet on a stool and your jaw loose (your jaw and pelvic floor really do travel together), and letting your floor completely relax between reps.

Comment BREATHE and I’ll send you my diaphragmatic breathing guide so you can use this in your own recovery!

08/14/2026

The biggest C-section recovery mistake I see is going straight from rest back into your old workouts.

A healed incision is important, but it doesn’t automatically mean your core is ready for planks, jumping, running, or heavy lifting.

There are a few steps between resting and returning to everything:

1. Start with breathing.

Practice letting your ribs, abdomen, and pelvic floor move instead of gripping your stomach all day.

2. Make daily movement comfortable again.

Walking, getting out of bed, standing up, and carrying your baby are all part of recovery.

3. Reintroduce basic strength work.

Supported squats, bridges, rows, carries, and controlled core exercises can help rebuild your foundation.

4. Add one challenge at a time.

Increase the weight, repetitions, range of motion, or speed separately. If you change everything at once, you won’t know what caused a problem.

5. Check how you feel later.

Pain, pulling, heavier bleeding, pelvic pressure, leaking, or symptoms that worsen after the workout are signs that the current step may be too much.

The goal isn’t to stay afraid of exercise. It’s to rebuild enough strength that harder exercise doesn’t feel like such a huge jump.

Comment CORE and I’ll send you my Core & Floor Recovery guide

Source: ACOG, Exercise After Pregnancy, guidance on returning to exercise after C-section birth.

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