Where do you put your children so you can workout?

Although some kids needs less sleep than others, but 7 hr sleep is nowhere adequate to either of your children. My kids generally need less sleep than the average, but 7hrs is only adequate for an adult. For ages between 1 and 3 they need 12-14 hrs a day. Between 3 & 6 the recommended is 10-12 hrs. If they sleep on the lower end or even below a little bit that is fine, but 7 hrs is not.

My kids are early risers too, and my toddler gets up at 5:45 am no matter when did she went to bed and making her nap is a night mare too. She fights bedtime, she fight naptime , but she has to sleep. The only way I can make her nap is pushing her around in the stroller in the house with a blanket on it. It is not ideal, but this is the way I can manage.
She also fights bedtime , and I often end up laying on the floor next to her bed for a half an hr or more in order for her to fall asleep. Once she is asleep, I sneak out .

Regardless of your exercise need, you need to make your kids sleep much more for their health and for the sake of your sanity.

As far as exercising goes with small kids I find that running /jogging with the stroller or biking with bike trailer works the best. Both have the advantage that the constant motion make your kids to fall asleep, which they desperately need.
None of my kids were fan of the bike trailer first, but they both love it now. I started to pull them for short distances just 5- 10 minutes biking for the nearest playground /spray park. Because we went somewhere super fun , after a few times both kids started to like the bike trailer and got used to the helmet. Also you can give them some snack to occupy them during the ride. Raisins in a toddler cup works wonders for me, because it is tedious to eat an occupy them for a long time. Once the kids get used to the bike trailer , you can go for longer distance for example going to a bit farther playground. Bike trailers have a bit cargo area, so you can do smaller grocery trips , appointments etc. For me bike and the trailer is my main transportation device during the summer. It is great exercise and saves on gas, and makes me feel great to be outdoor.

usually im a huge proponent of "make the time to exercise", which, quite frankly, you could do.
(get up at 4, or stay up til 11)

however, after reading your OP, i'm going to go against my usual advice and say that perhaps you need to focus less on exercise and more on getting the rest you need and getting your kids on a better sleeping schedule.

7hrs of sleep is nowhere NEAR enough for children of that age.

the fact that you are putting them in timeout because they are coming to you when youre on the floor trying to exercise is a bit....unsettling.

i like bubbles idea of quiet time.
this would allow you to have your time, and gives them some more structured 'downtime'.

good luck.

I'm in agreement with all of this and AllOutOfBugglegum's suggestions.

The only thing I would like to add is that diet alone can get you to your weight loss goals.

( If you feel you MUST workout, you could put them in a double stroller and I've even seen those cheap 20 dollar umbrella strollers have attachments you can buy that sticks them together if you want to push them around while you walk to get in some cardio. I'd do this around Naptime in the afternoon because with any luck you could maybe get them both going on nap/quiet time habit at a time you choose and that might get you some workout time. )


Sidebar: I guess they don't make playpens anymore? Remember walkers and doorway jumpers? Those are outlawed too still right? IDK there used to be lots of ways to corral your kids that was NOT A CRATE and people just used that time to have martini's and smoke and drink old fashioneds. It's ironic that now that people want to do healthy things all those useful inventions have been banned as unsafe. I think time outs for climbing on mommy who OBVIOUSLY wants to play a wrestling game or have floor time is kinda sad.

Hope you figure this out, but seriously for now until you do, don't put too much pressure on yourself and don't put playful kiddo's on time out for wanting to be near you...just do CI/CO until you figure out a way to workout a little.

The night time /sleep issue isn't because I don't want to be alone, it's the kids. My 3yo fights bedtime. It's like he's scared he's going to miss something if he goes to sleep. It's been a battle since he was born. With my husband gone so frequently they stick extra close to me. It leaves me with very little/no alone time hence why I asked my question. I guess I didn't frame it correctly judging by some of the responses I recieved. I guess I should have worded it differently. I'm trying to sneak in extra movement though out the day but I'd love some just me work out time. I was just wondering how people do that, but the comments indicate using daycare is the common method, which I can't currently afford.

You must not be reading most of these responses. Day care has been suggested several times, yes, but there have been many viable suggestions beyond that as well. I saw baby gate, high chairs, TV time, dancing WITH your kids, long walks in strollers and strapping your kid to you, up earlier, bed later, 10 minutes of exercise at a time, squats while cooking, etc etc and this is just what I remember off the top of my head.

What responses were you looking for? "You're right, you can't exercise. So sorry for your luck"? I hate to be a snarky one, too, but dang, girl. you're only hearing what you want to hear.

I have a 3 year old daughter. I workout at whatever time I have. I pur a movie, cartoons on TV for her and she is set. If she gets bored of the TV she will come to where I am working out and tries to copy me. I tell her she is doing great, that makes her happy and then she gets tired and goes back to the TV. she just wants to make sure I am still there. Jillian Micheals 30 day shred is a good short DVD. 20-25 min. Put a movie on for the kids in the other room/bed and they might just fall asleep. :happy: If you just get mad at them for jumping on you or interrupting, they will think it's funny. Kids this age think everything is funny! Don't get mad, don't play along, just include them and tell them to lie down and do like mommy. that will keep them off you. Works for me.

The night time /sleep issue isn't because I don't want to be alone, it's the kids. My 3yo fights bedtime. It's like he's scared he's going to miss something if he goes to sleep. It's been a battle since he was born. With my husband gone so frequently they stick extra close to me. It leaves me with very little/no alone time hence why I asked my question. I guess I didn't frame it correctly judging by some of the responses I recieved. I guess I should have worded it differently. I'm trying to sneak in extra movement though out the day but I'd love some just me work out time. I was just wondering how people do that, but the comments indicate using daycare is the common method, which I can't currently afford.

You must not be reading most of these responses. Day care has been suggested several times, yes, but there have been many viable suggestions beyond that as well. I saw baby gate, high chairs, TV time, dancing WITH your kids, long walks in strollers and strapping your kid to you, up earlier, bed later, 10 minutes of exercise at a time, squats while cooking, etc etc and this is just what I remember off the top of my head.

What responses were you looking for? "You're right, you can't exercise. So sorry for your luck"? I hate to be a snarky one, too, but dang, girl. you're only hearing what you want to hear.

You're not being snarky. Some people just call it what it is. :drinker:

There are 5 pages of excellent suggestions here that I've used myself. And lots of them worked for me. OP keeps shooting them down, but you have the right attitude to be successful. Good luck!

The night time /sleep issue isn't because I don't want to be alone, it's the kids. My 3yo fights bedtime. It's like he's scared he's going to miss something if he goes to sleep. It's been a battle since he was born. With my husband gone so frequently they stick extra close to me. It leaves me with very little/no alone time hence why I asked my question. I guess I didn't frame it correctly judging by some of the responses I recieved. I guess I should have worded it differently. I'm trying to sneak in extra movement though out the day but I'd love some just me work out time. I was just wondering how people do that, but the comments indicate using daycare is the common method, which I can't currently afford.

My husband and I both work full-time, and our 1 year old is not in day care. We work opposite schedules to accomodate this, which means when one of us is off work, we have him by ourselves almost all of the time. I get up before he does whether it means 5am on a day I'm working or 6am on a day I'm off, 5-6 days per week.

He hates sleep too, always has. I MAKE him go to bed at 8:30, meaning he goes in his crib and doesn't come out. It's been this way for a long time, so he doesn't fuss very often anymore, but it was a major battle at first. He plays quietly for 30 minutes or so until he falls asleep. I also make him nap, because he wouldn't do that voluntarily either. He's a much happier kid for it. Make your kids sleep. They need it, whether they act like it or not. You need it too.

I know you didn't ask for advice on bedtime but it used to be one of the biggest reasons I never had time to anything because I'd spend 90 minutes getting my daughter to bed and be exhausted afterwards I honestly want to help. Do you try to put your kids to sleep at the same time? After I had my second daughter I tried that and got overwhelmed then I realized if I did their bedtime seperate it went more smoothly and quicker. My older daughter would cry for me and need a drink, potty, cover, etc every 5 minutes. So I started doing their bedtime seperate. Most nights I give my 6 year old time to play quietly or watch a tv show and have a snack while I get the 16 month old to sleep. Then the 6 year old and I have story time together and I sit with her for a few minutes and she is alseep in less than 10 minutes. This way they both get one on one attention. If I try putting both to bed at the same time it's a competition for mommy's attention. Hope this helps.

Well - this has been an interesting read. Its a fine line between what you want and what kids are. I get the fact that the 3 yr old won't sleep. I didn't like to sleep. But we had strict bed times and I did sleep eventually. My mom also made sure there was quiet time. I also did that with my kids - they had quiet times and often fell asleep when they were left alone. I also trainned them to sleep through all kinds of racket as babies. There was always music going or some type of noise. They had no choice - that meant I could work out and not worry about waking them up. My youngest, his father tried that 'you have to be quiet' junk and I put a stop to that right away. I think the hubby is glad now because our 10 old will go to sleep and we can leave the tv on or other weird noises in the middle of the night don't wake him up. Thank goodness because that is just embrassing when you have to explain to a 10 yr old what those noises are.

My twins had a baby gate that kept them out of the kitchen and would also keep them in the living room area. We lived in a one room cabin at that time. I think they were happy to be able to cruise around the couch/ chairs without too much trouble. They both walked quickly. They could see me and yet couldn't crawl all over me or I didn't trip on them while cooking. Worked out well. Later, with the new single baby - he spent a fair amount of time in a swing or the twisty, turny things that spin - lets see - your's is one - he/she is almost out of that stage. But this might work. I saw a picture of one of those deeper inflatable pools that isn't very big - maybe 8 feet long and a foot deep and about 4 feet wide - they were using it as a play pen with toys inside. The baby could cruise around the walls, had toys to play with but was safe. Awesome idea.

I think some of the best ideas are to put up a gate, to create some quiet time rules and to figure out how to work them into the exercise routine. I always used my kids as weights until they were two. They make lovely presses while lying on your back. And you need to figure out the bedtime stuff. Really - set the limit and stick with it. They need way more sleep and so do you. Sleep is so important to weight lost. When I'm not sleeping, I can exercise and track my food all I want and never lose a lb. I know that now because this thing I wear has told me I don't sleep enough and I spend way too much time not in deep sleep during the night. I'm made more of an effort to get enough time to sleep and the weigh thas started moving in the right direction. Plus being really aware of my diet again.

There has been some good suggestions here but its up to you as to what you want to take and what you want to do. Just remember, you have to live with the outcomes. Your kids don't control your choices, you do.

I do know that if you make changes, after a few weeks, they will adjust to the new routine. Just because they cry or throw fits for a bit, don't give in. We had to learn that with the youngest. He hated displinary stuff and we just had to keep him in his room and ignore the throwing stuff, screaming and crying. He eventually stopped and would just chill out for the time out. But it took us six months to get him to figure that out. His 3 yr old year was horrible. You're the adult, you set the rules, they'll adjust to what ever it is you choose. But if you don't establish your boundaries now, they are going to walk all over you later in life.

Look on-line for a group near you called MOMS Club (moms offering moms support) just for SAHM's.

Read a great book called "Seven O'Clock Bedtime" for practical solutions to changing your children's sleep schedules - and your own life.

Both worked for me when they were 2 and 3.

Now they are 14 and 15. A whole different set of challenges...

Hopefully this doesn't come across badly. If at all possible, you should try to get them to sleep more. Maybe an earlier bedtime? Goodness knows you can't control when they wake up! I have one that didn't sleep at all until he was almost a year old and then it wasn't much. So I understand that some kids just don't sleep, but it would probably be good in a lot of ways if you could get them to sleep more than 7 hours a day.

While it's not exactly what you're after, using them as weights is usually a good plan. They have fun and you get some good strength training in. I also put them on my stomach when I do a lot of Ab excercises. "Airplane" translates into a wide variety of leg lifts for you. Yada yada. My kids enjoy dancing with Zumba, at least for a while. Trying to time your workout with when they usually play best together helps, too. Hope some of this might help. Best of luck to you.

yesssss about the weights! mine is too big now but he used to love it when i used him for leg lifts. just lay down, let them sit on your feet and lay on your calves, and lift lift lift.

honestly, if you arent finding time... and you already are active and doing some of the things suggested. dont even worry about not fitting in an OFFICIAL workout. just stay active as you can and watch your calories... its hard to do what you are doing. make it work and track what you do already. i do my errands on foot with a pedometer on (13 dollars at rite aid) , with my son. by the end of the day i have often burned 400 calories or more.

we walk to the public water park then i relax in peace until its time to walk back

i do yoga or light aerobics while my son plays on a playground.

you are a mom, you know how to fit stuff in. just stop worrying about it being official workout time.

Holy crap. You asked for advice on working out and you got 6 pages of advice on parenting. I am a parent of a 3 and 5 year old so I will refrain from telling you how to parent your children. Instead I will actually try to answer your question. What you need are short focused, interval workouts - probably chopped up due to your schedule. I am currently using the workouts in the Women's Health Big Book of Fitness and the diet plan to lose 20 pounds. There are a lot of choices for the exercises. You are mainly standing up so no one is crawling on you and all you need is a mat and a pair of weights (I use 15 lbs). You do 5 sets of exercises, 3 sets each for a total of 15. Each is a minute so its about 20 minutes for the whole thing. I just do it right in the middle of the craziness. I do put on a video but as my youngest doesnt want TV, he just plays. Even f I stop a little longer between exercises, it still is the plan. Then you are supposed to do intervals in cardio. I take the kids and the dog and we walk a bit and then race 20 feet to the next parked car, and repeat. I was never into the stronger running thing but a lot of people do well with it. What is important to remember is that you just need a routine and it can be short, as long as you are doing something. I would NOT get up earlier than my kids. Good grief, it goes fast and you need your sleep. My kids now are up before I get up and just being quiet and playing with each other. Don't rush it with a baby. Just enjoy your baby. I do remember the diet though, on a side note.

Well, OP, I certainly wasn't trying to be a judgmental a**hole by suggesting you try to get your kids to sleep more (therefore getting more sleep yourself). I just remember being so tired that I could barely function when my boys were babies (they are 19 months apart in age).

It wasn't until my little one was almost a year old that I finally got myself together enough to begin losing weight, and most of my exercise back then was pushing them around in a double stroller. I also worked out in my kitchen with a baby gate up while they played/watched a DVD in the living room. Close enough that I could see/hear them, but far away enough to allow me to work out unencumbered. Also, I ALWAYS had to put the youngest down for a nap during workout time back then (and still really can't work out while he is present).

Exhaustion can make everything feel impossible, especially exercise. Anyway, I hope you found some suggestions you can use, and I wish you the best of luck. :flowerforyou:

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even if your kids don't do naps, instill a "Quiet Time" every afternoon, from noon to 1 or 1:30, where they have to stay in their rooms, reading, doing puzzles, laying down, or playing a quiet game. Tell them they don't HAVE to sleep, but they DO have to be quiet and not leave the room until Quiet Time is over. There you go. Designated You time every day.

This is what I did with my kids when they didn't want to take a nap. I'd tell them they didn't have to sleep but they had to stay in their room and do something quietly. Nine times out of ten they would fall asleep. As for the 1 year old, I would put him in his crib for that amount of time. It won't harm him to have a little alone time.

If that doesn't work then there is the old stand by--the TV. At least for the 3 yo that would work.

ETA this is by no means parenting advice. This was meant as advice to help you find some alone time to exercise. Its none of my business if your kids take naps or not. Although I do feel for you because nap time was always my favorite time of the day.