It was only four months ago that Alec and Hilaria Baldwin welcomed their fourth child, but the celebrity yoga instructor is already back in fighting shape.
The 34-year-old, who had four children in just four and a half years, credits her incredible postpartum transformation to forcing herself to stay active — even when working out is the last thing she wants to do.
‘I’ve bounced back pretty easily after each pregnancy,’ she explains in a new video published by WomensHealthMag.com. ‘Number one, I was fit before. I stay fit during, so even though my body gets bigger and I gain weight and I slow down, I try to do something active almost every day.’
Trick: Hilaria Baldwin, 34, says working out almost every day helped her bounce back after the birth of her fourth child. She’s pictured nine months pregnant (L) and 12 days postpartum (R)
Dedicated: The celebrity yoga instructor admits she forced herself to stay active when all she wanted to do was sit down
As active as ever: Hilaria had four children in just four and a half years
The fitness guru was more than nine months pregnant when she first sat down with the publication to discuss how she never stopped working out.
‘I think that staying active, even when I don’t want to, even when I’m so tired I want to just sit on my butt . . I know that I am going to feel better and I am going to be healthier in the long run,’ she says in the seven-minute clip.
However, she does admit that there were plenty of times in her pregnancy that she just wanted to lie down out of sheer exhaustion but couldn’t because she had three little ones to take care of.
In addition to their four-month-old son Romeo, who was born in May, Hilaria and Alec, 60, are parents to Carmen, five, Raphael, three, and Leonardo, two.
Before and after: Hilaria was filmed when she was more than nine months pregnant (L) as well as four weeks postpartum (R) for a new video published by WomensHealthMag.com
All smiles: Hilaria and her husband, actor Alec Baldwin, welcomed their fourth child, a baby boy named Romeo, in May
Struggle: Hilaria had pneumonia during the delivery, and she later developed mastitis — painful inflammation of the breast tissue
‘I’m very active with my kids, so even if I don’t go to the gym, I’m lifting them in and out of the tub and out of their high chairs,’ she explains. ‘Or one day, my workout might be that I walk a lot.’
Hilaria is also a big believer in strengthening her kegel muscles, which says helps with labor and pushing when it comes time to give birth.
‘The beauty of exercising, whether it is yoga or bar, any kind of thing, you are naturally doing kegel exercises,’ she says.
As for how much time she takes to recover after giving birth, Hilaria believes in listening to her body — something that has taken her years to learn.
Transformation: The fitness guru proudly shared a photo of herself 24 hours after giving birth (L). More than two months later, she posted a picture of herself 10 weeks postpartum (R)
Making it work: Hilaria is known for squeezing in a workout whenever she can
Got it, flaunt it! Last month, she posted a video of herself demonstrating some exercises in her bathroom. Instead of workout gear, she donned a bra and underwear
Baby and me: Even when she’s not working up a sweat at the gym, Hilaria says she is ‘very active’ with her children
‘I rest as long as I need to rest—I’ve had a whole life of learning to listen to my body she says.
When she was growing up, she struggled with an eating disorder, and she broke her hip from overexercising at the age of 25. Now, she say she’s always ‘hyperaware’ of how her body feels.
Hilaria was also filmed post-pregnacy, and in the clip she explains she had pneumonia during the delivery and ended up fracturing her ribs afterwards from coughing so much.
She also developed mastitis — painful inflammation of the breast tissue — for the first time after giving birth.
Full house: In addition to their four-month-old son Romeo, Hilaria and Alec, 60, are parents to Carmen, five, Raphael, three, and Leonardo, two
All smiles: ‘You are going to be a better mom if you work out,’ the mother-of-four insists
Although her recovery was a bit slower this time around, she says she was ready to ‘hit the ground running’ once she was healthy again.
‘My body is used to moving, so I am able to start moving pretty soon after the pregnancy,’ she explains, noting that she doesn’t call it ‘working out’ because she isn’t necessarily sweating at the gym.
‘I think about it as allowing my body to move again,’ she says. ‘You are going to be a better mom if you work out. I know that it feels hard. I know that maybe you’re tired.
‘But if you can get at least five, 10, 15, maybe 30 minutes a day where you can move your body, you will have more energy for your kids,’ she adds. ‘It’s really going to make you stronger for everyone around you.
‘If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re not going to be able to take care of everyone.’