Maternity Leave Musings
A note from Dr. Allie Duffy, PT, founder of The Pilates Rx
It is hard to believe my maternity leave is coming to a close in a few short weeks! I welcomed Owen Mark Duffy into this world via planned c-section on February 2nd, 2023. It’s been a wonderful whirlwind and also a gentle, quiet time compared to my typical “go go go” life as a small business owner. The saying “it takes a village” has never rung more true. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, friends and incredible staff at The Pilates Rx. A little bit on the team that has helped my physical recovery…
After starting some wonderful push prep work from our “For the Moms” team, I learned Owen was positioned breech at 36 weeks. Desperate to avoid a cesarean birth I tried acupuncture, inversions (Katie Lowe had some very creative private lessons for me haha), Spinning babies, chiropractic, and an external cephalic version. After all of those failed, I realized Owen was happy where he was and started to come to terms with a cesarean birth. This was a good first lesson to learn about parenting- while you might have the perfect “plan” in place, you have to be flexible when it inevitably doesn’t go according to plan.
In some ways this was reminiscent of the beginning of my “first baby”, The Pilates Rx. For those of you who don’t know how the business began, I opened our doors in March of 2020, right before the pandemic. I had the “perfect” business plan in place, and it was almost immediately derailed by the sudden changes put in place by the pandemic. I quickly pivoted to restructure our offerings and put my head to the grindstone to keep this brand new business alive. It was very much a feeling of “putting the airplane together while you are flying” which feels a lot like the early postpartum days as well.
Thankfully, I had the support of our “For the Moms” team to physically recover from a cesarean birth. Keep in mind that every recovery from labor and delivery is unique, so please consult your providers for the best recovery plan for you.
My recovery began with two weeks of total rest and lots of warm nutritious meals , thanks to Ana’s Nourished Mom program, (and tons of baby snuggles). I prioritized sleep over exercise in the early days, guided by one of my favorite books “Why we Sleep” by Matthew Walker. Early movement focused on retraining my breath (having Owen’s head stuck in my ribs made for some very shallow breaths those last few weeks!) and gently mobilizing my thoracic spine. Thanks to the demands of my second baby, our very demanding dog Raisin, I started gentle walking fairly early as well. Slowly I introduced abdominal stability exercises (what we would consider pre-pilates mat work) to reconnect to my abdominals and pelvic floor, as well as scar mobilization. Truthfully, my “exercise” has been far more limited than I would have imagined (as someone who made movement their full time job), but I know this is all just a season of life. I used the equipment at the studio when I was able to get out of the house (a special thank you to Dr. Andrea Ansenberger who gracefully taught a full private lesson while rocking Owen in the stroller), and it was a great tool to relearn some basic movement patterns. After about 16 weeks I have done a few short runs (guided by our sister clinic The Run Rx ‘s return to run protocol) and resumed pilates classes, and while I feel great, it’s clear that postpartum healing extends far beyond the fourth trimester. I’ve been very lucky to have a great support team each step of the way. Given the challenges of getting out of the house (and how short these 4 month naps can be… haha!), much of my exercise has been done at home. As much as I despise listening to my own voice on video, I am deeply grateful for the on-demand video library to squeeze in pilates at home. My latest favorite has been the express mini ball class. Every day as a mom brings a new challenge, so I am taking my continued movement journey one day at a time.
I’ll close this out by thanking my incredible staff who has kept the studio thriving while I’ve been away, as well as our clients who have been patient and flexible with their schedules. Our staff has taken on new roles and responsibilities, added hours, and adjusted their schedules to accommodate my leave. I never could have imagined when I started this business that I’d be lucky enough to have this precious time with my family, and for that I am forever grateful. I’d also like to extend a special thank you to all our wonderful clients who sent notes, gifts, and checked in on me these past few months. I was also lucky enough to do a newborn photo shoot with one of our lovely clients Andrea of Servidone Studio, (who has also photographed our business many times) and I will cherish those photos forever. As I said earlier, it truly takes a village, and I am beyond blessed to have a great one with The Pilates Rx family. I look forward to reconnecting with all my wonderful clients and patients in the coming weeks as a mom-preneur! We have lots of exciting things on the horizon including our second annual retreat this fall… !
And to all the mom’s out there- keep it up, you are doing amazing at this incredibly rewarding, but incredibly hard job!
