Top tips for staying in shape

Staying in shape will help you to and will encourage your partner to get back into shape too. It will also set an active pace for your baby right from the off.

• Body Matters

Exercise

• Contrary to how you might feel after a workout, exercise gives you energy. If you're fit, your heart doesn't have to pump so often and your muscles won't tire so easily.
• This may not be the time to discover a hidden passion for BASE jumping, but babies and children can actually make exercise easier because they like being taken for walks.
• They get a vitamin D boost from the sun and the fresh air will aid their sleep. Investing in a baby carrier is ideal for the first nine months and an adjustable all-terrain pushchair will allow you to explore the great outdoors without feeling like you're hiking with a supermarket trolley.
• As your baby grows and is able to sit upright you can move onto a backpack baby carrier.
• How to raise a fit kid

Sleep

• There's no way around it; you'll be getting less sleep than before.
• Even so, you can keep it manageable by adjusting your own rhythms through going to bed earlier and, when your baby is really young, by snatching catnaps when she's sleeping.
• It really helps to stick to a bedtime routine so that she becomes familiar with all the signals that say it's time to sleep.
• Babies and sleep

Eating

You may be doing more cooking than before, but you don't need to spend hours on it.

• Healthy salad bags and ready-prepared stir-fry's take minutes to cook and will give you a few portions of your five-a-day.
• Try to avoid fast foods; they may be convenient but because they're full of junk calories, saturated fats and refined sugars you'll find yourself caught in the sugar rush/sugar crash loop.
• A balanced diet is usually based around carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables (which contain essential vitamins), milk and dairy foods, meat, fish and alternatives.
• Carbohydrates are found in foods like cereals, potatoes, rice and pasta (but watch what you add to them – the butter, cream and oil is fattening).
• You need a mix of vitamin A (red fruits and vegetables) B (wholemeal bread, cereals, fish and eggs) and C (most fruits and vegetables).
• Eggs, fish, chicken, meat and soya are good sources of protein.
• Bananas are an ideal quick fix. They are rich in potassium, which controls the water balance in your body. 

Drinking

• Any alcohol your partner drinks will pass into her breast milk and may upset your baby.
• Your partner is less likely to drink if there isn't an open bottle of vino in the fridge- you can help her avoid temptation by cutting down yourself.
• Instead, up your intake of water – at least six glasses a day and more if you're exercising.

Smoking

• Your baby's health can be damaged by people smoking nearby – and there's an increased risk of cot death - so keep her out of smoky atmospheres.
• Children whose parents smoke are more likely to smoke themselves as teenagers and many new parents give up during the pregnancy.
• If you haven't been able to shift the habit your GP may be able to refer you for nicotine replacement therapy on the NHS. See www.gosmokefree.co.uk for more information.
• Drinking, smoking or taking drugs? Where to get help

Author

Gavin Evans is a father of two daughters - aged 17 and 13 - and lives in North London. 15 years ago he changed gear from being a full-time reporter to full-time parent and part-time journalist. His writing on issues affecting fathers has been published in a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, The Times and The New Statesman. He has written five books on sport, a chapter on men in Your Pregnancy Bible and is completing his first screenplay. Gavin also regularly posts blogs at www.gavinevans.net.

Your tips

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