exercising and baby

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spatters72
spatters72 Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I thought that it would be easy to exercise with a baby, and I thought that since I was staying home this year that I would have so much time to workout. My LO is 7 mo old and I really need to get moving. It is now too cold to use the jogging stroller. I am using some DVD's. How are other mom's getting in a workout and dropping the weight?

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  • westcoastgrl21
    westcoastgrl21 Posts: 172 Member
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    Ha! No time for yourself!?!? Welcome to motherhood :) Seriously, tho...congrats on your new babe! It took me until after the first year to figure out how to get regular exercise back into my schedule, so don't think you're alone in tyring to get this figured out. Does your kid take a good, predictable nap during the day? That may be a good opportunity to squeeze in a workout DVD. I always needed to rest during nap time, but some moms can do it.
    Many gyms have childcare centers, maybe look into that? I toured all of the gyms locally when my first son was about 10 months, and picked based on where I was comfortable leaving my baby. It worked until I had my second son, and then my second one couldn't be left in that setting because he has special health needs.
    How about getting up early and doing your workout before your husband/significant other leaves for work (he watches baby while you exercise)? This is what ultimately works for me (it's my current routine and will continue to be). This will only work once you reach the point where baby is consistenly sleeping through the night, bc if not then ugh- it's not going to happen.
    My only other thought would be to squeeze in tiny bits of exercise when you can: do some squats or lunges while feeding baby in the high chair. Do some crunches when you're on the living room floor playing.
    It's hard if you have a demanding baby! Try to use whichever strategy will work on any particular day- you don't have to have a set schedule. Try not to stress about it too much right now, you have a baby! With babies, things get easier and easier, and it won't be long before you will have no problem finding an hour to exercise.
  • hlodyn
    hlodyn Posts: 1
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    I am having an awful time with this. My son just turned 7 months old yesterday, and my daughter is going to be 4 this spring. Between the two of them someone needs me pretty much constantly!
  • Pepper2185
    Pepper2185 Posts: 994 Member
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    My husband has one-on-one time with the baby three times per week so I can go to Zumba class.

    He knows I want to get back in shape, and this is his way of helping me out. Plus I get to go out in the adult world :)
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
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    Feeling your pain! Here is advise from one mommy to another. There is more to exercise than the gym. You might not be able to get regular scheduled exercise in but that does not mean you cannot become more active. Use the baby as your weights. They love being carried so put him on your hip while you do everything. You can do pushups and blow rasberries on a tiny belly on every one (mine loves this). You can dance with him in the living room. You can crawl around on the floor with him (bonus work out if a toddler is using you as a pony while you do this). You can put him on your feet while you are sitting in a chair and lift your legs a few inches and bounce him. You can put him between your feet while you are standing and play tickle the belly instead of touching your toes. You can lift him over your head and bring him back down give him kisses and then back up again. In addition to these park further away and carry the carseat up to the grocery store (that will build some arms). Take the stairs (not with the stroller though). Just get up and move it all adds up. More important than that though this is a great time to get your diet in check while you aren't being tempted by friends and coworkers.
  • DorkothyParker
    DorkothyParker Posts: 618 Member
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    Squats while baby wearing (actually, anything while baby wearing.) Lie baby on legs while doing reverse crunches. Happy time dance party. Crawl around on the floor with baby (great for baby proofing). And so on.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
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    http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/related/mom-baby-exercises-0811#slide-1
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    I'm at home with two boys, 2-1/2 and almost 4, and they do make it tough to schedule anything. In the summer I put them in a bike trailer and ride, but in the winter it's been more difficult. I found some kinect games that I can play early in the morning before they get up, which is way more fun than workout DVDs.

    Just wait till yours starts eating off your plate and screwing up all your attempts at eating measured portions. :tongue:
  • cleomouri
    cleomouri Posts: 51 Member
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    I hear you. It was rough when our daughter was younger and seemed to resist my attempts at a regular nap schedule.

    Now she's 20 months and down to one, long, daily nap about noon-ish every day. Right before she goes down for that nap I try to get all the toys put away and keep her out of them. As soon as she's in bed I switch on the 360 and set it to load Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 whilst I picked up any toys she pulled back out or that I missed. I try and go for at least a 30 minutes keeping my heart rate up and switching between exercises so no one muscle group gets too tired.

    I have a FitBit and one of the daily goals you can set is 10 flights of stairs a day. I do my best to try and achieve that. It doesn't sound like a lot I know. But there have been days I could have sworn I'd been up and down the stairs a dozen times and found I only had 4 flights done.

    I try and stretch out my flights if I can though. For instance tonight I had 3 things I needed to put in our chest freezer in the basement. Instead of taking them all down in one trip, I took them one at a time. 3 flights of stairs right there.

    When the weathers nicer out I try to take the little one out for walks. Our closest library is practically in my backyard and there's a really nice fenced and gated playground nearby.

    I'm just getting into routine of sorts myself so I'm focusing on the baby steps. That's the biggest advice I can offer really. Focus on getting in little bits of exercise when you can. The little bits can add up over time and it's better than doing nothing at all.
  • cleomouri
    cleomouri Posts: 51 Member
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    Oh and my husband and I discovered that a toddler can double for a dumbbell on certain exercises tonight and she thought it was hilarious to be lifted and carried all over the house.
  • thekern
    thekern Posts: 21
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    My little monster just turned 8 months last week and it's been hell trying to get anything done, She insists on being held the majority of the time, and always takes her naps on me. It helps to do things with her, like pop her in a stroller for a walk or carry her (or wear her) while performing other activities.
  • becnaffine
    becnaffine Posts: 55
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    The only time I get to exercise with my 18 month old is either going for long walks during the day, wait until hubby gets home from work or normally I put her into the gym creche while I workout.

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