Where are the fit mums at?!

mermaidsgrave

How do you all do it??!
Before I had my daughter I’d be up at 5am, workout, shower, drink tea, walk the dogs, go to work. Come home do dinner, clean up etc. I didn’t feel tired.
Now I have a 2.5 year old and I struggle to get in any work out at all. She’s never slept through the night (not looking for help with that part) and wakes up at 5:30 every day.

She naps at 11 and I was trying to work out then but she kept waking up half way through which is super frustrating.

By the time she’s in bed at night it’s 8:30 and I’m exhausted!
I really want a gym membership but she won’t let me leave her in a day care and My husband is gone a lot for work (10-15 days a month) so if I only go when he’s home with her then I literally lose half the month!!
Just feeling defeated. It’s all I can do to get my 10k steps in a day!

CoffeeAndContour

When he was baby, I just ate very well and took him for walks and hikes. With that and breast feeding I lost most of the baby weight. A few times a week I went to a Mama and baby yoga class it helped but was more of a social thing for me. When he got a little older I bought a jogging stroller and it helped immensely. Now I run with my son in the morning and if he doesn’t have practice he’ll rollerblade or ride his bike along side me. If he has practice then I just push through and workout in the evening.

You just have to keep re-evaluating what you can do in the time you have for the age they are, and maybe figure out something with family or friends. Or even spilt your work out up into two. But if you can sign up for classes some gyms incorporate your baby.

Cahgetsfit

I know the feels. My daughter was an absolutely *kitten* sleeper. Didn't sleep through the night until well past 2 y.o. No day napping either by that stage. She's 8 now and I think i've only just got over my sleep deprivation build-up!!

I can only gym during my lunch break at work. It just doesn't work out if I tried to do it after I got home in the evening - it's dinner, homework, tired from being at work all day, husband not always at home coz does his *kitten*, and if I work out in the evening I can't sleep.

Occasionally I get up at 5am and walk before everyone wakes up. Very occasionally. Like if I'm on a mission to lose some kilos.

But yeah, all working out quite well with gym at lunch time. Keeps me sane and healthy. Good luck with sorting something out!

ilfaith

When my first-born was a baby I took him for a lot of walks in the stroller, did a mommy-and-me yoga class, and tried to squeeze in a few push-ups and crunches when I had a few minutes here and there. When he was one, I got pregnant with baby #2. When my eldest turned two, I enrolled him in preschool three mornings a week. The school was part of a community center that also had a gym, so once baby #2 was old enough to be left at the nursery for an hour, I could drop off #1 at school, leave #2 in the child watch, and work out. There were a few occasions early on where one of the babysitters would come to pull me out of a pilates or spin class because the baby was inconsolable (or had a poopy diaper), but he got used to being left with the sitters, and it gave him a chance to be with other babies. By the time #3 came along, his older brothers were already in school five mornings a week, so getting to the gym was no trouble. I even took up tennis.

I know the original poster mentioned that her 2.5 year old won't go to daycare, but I think finding a gym with babysitting, or even a teenaged mother's helper who can come over for a couple of hours a few times a week could be a lifesaver. My husband has traveled for work 50-60 percent of the time since before we were married (19 years ago), so I get how stressful it is to be the sole caregiver so mush of the time. I think having that little bit of "me time" to workout or do anything else could help your physical as well as your mental health.

Of course I did have the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom. If I had a full time job aside from that, I know my time for exercise would be limited. I have tremendous respect for women who have kids, work outside the home, an still find time for regular exercise. Heck, my kids are older now, I just take on the occasional freelance gig, and I still have a pile of lclean aundry on my dining room table waiting to be folded and put away.

sardelsa

It's difficult when they don't nap. I would do shorter 30-45min lifting workouts during that time, or do some of the stuff while they were awake that didn't involve barbells or things I didn't want them getting into. As they got older (around 2-3) it wasn't too bad since they listened not to come into the gym where I was working out. It was the most tricky when my daughter was 2 and son was a newborn since their nap/rest schedules were off.

Sometimes I would put on a movie or video, set up an activity nearby to keep them distracted. Otherwise I would do some banded or cardio workouts around them while they were playing or they would join in.

mermaidsgrave

Thanks ladies. It’s nice to know I don’t struggle alone. The hiring help isn’t going to happen budget wise and I’m not comfortable leaving her so she can just be miserable and scream the whole time.
I may try working out when she’s in her high chair eating breakfast. I don’t have any workout equipment just some hand weights but I love the body combat dvds and used to do those from home every day