finding it difficult to make time with an infant at home

SaraWojcik19
SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
i have put off losing the rest of the baby weight long enough and i am really unhappy with myself about this. i really truly do want to get into exercise and get back to the old old me again. my problem is the same old schpiel. i have a 7 month old baby and i work 40 hours a week. also, i am still breastfeeding. the problem here is 2 fold - 1) because of the breastfeeding my appetite is way bigger than its ever been. i am eeirly aware that i am consuimng more than i ever have. thankfully i'm not putting on weight though - jsut not losing either. 2) time, time, oh where is the time????

are there any other moms out there who have found a magical way to work in alone time to exercise? or maybe you have other suggestions?

Replies

  • paulamma1
    paulamma1 Posts: 544 Member
    Hi dixiesara,

    Wow, you have a full plate! I didn't see any mention of a partner. Are you doing all this by yourself? If you have someone, I'd enlist their help. If not, I admire you!

    Either way, all the best.
  • Shadeablue
    Shadeablue Posts: 8 Member
    After my sister had her little boy she used/uses him as a weight. Doing situps, bench press type stuff, etc. She's lost 50 pounds so far... and weighs less now than she did before she even got pregnant. He thinks it's fun and games and she gets a work out in LOL Sounds funny, but she says it works... LOL

    :heart: Londa
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    my partner and i have taken a very giant step back. he is not living with me right now. so yes, i am technically single. even when he is there he doesn't come and stay home till at least 9pm so he's no help.......hence the huge step back :smile:
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    i have thought about using him as my 'tool' if you will. the only problem with that is he is a terrible napper at daycare so as soon as he gets home he crashes out for an hour. its convenient for an hour because i can make dinner and clean up a little bit. it just doens't last long enough to give me any real 'work out time'. plus the dang kid doesn't go to bed tll 9 or 9:30pm. i've tried working out late but i really have no motivation at that time of night.
    i also tried getting up at 5am but it doesn't stick consistently due to long restless nights with the baby. i still breastfeed so my little guy wants to be on the b00b every chance he gets. kind of a pain but totally worth it. i was wondering if i should just wait till i wean him before i start trying to work out....but i really want to lose this poochy look.
  • Tayla08
    Tayla08 Posts: 94
    I have a 9 month old baby, so I know it can be hard. I don't breastfeed anymore, I quit at 6 months--wasn't lucky enough to be able to produce enough.... I also work 40 hours a week... If you work days can you get up in the morning before the baby wakes up and work out? I get up at 5am and I've been doing Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.... At lunch time I try to take a short walk, and after work I try to walk, either with my daughter or after supper I leave her with my husband. At least with Breastfeeding you should consume more calories, but just make the right choices and eat healthy.... I know...It's easier said than done... I gained 60lbs with my pregnancy and just recently found the motivation to try and lose the extra 30lbs....

    Good luck to you.... Even if you can find 20-30 minutes of time, it will help!
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    tayla - its nice to know you can really relate. i was thinking maybe i'll put him in the stroller and walk for an hour when i get home and we'll just have to eat a little later. actually, i have to put him in a sling. i forgot we don't have sidewalks.
    also, i know swimming is a good toning exercise but it's hard to grasp how much of a cardio effect it has because you don't sweat. i recently bought a house with a pool. i could probably squeeze in a few laps while he naps. do you think this is good enough along with a 30 minute walk at lunch? it would give me about an hour per day....i know its better than nothing.
    i also just need to make sure i don't over exert and decrease my milk supply. this is a huge fear of mine because my supple comes in just shy of enough some days.
  • genabug
    genabug Posts: 1,820 Member
    My daughter is now 10mths, and I also work a 40 hr job, and take my 9 yr old to dance class, atc, plus have 1 hr commute time after work, I can surely understand the time constraint. I do exercises while I cook, and I do them with her as my weight, or we dance around the house etc. Put on some ankle weights and do squats at the stove, or lunges thru the house. Every little bit helps, but thats all I have time for! Good luck. If nothing else, eat healthy!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    just the fact that you are breastfeeding will help- milk is so high in fat that producing it is a drain on your body- so it will help suck the fat out of you. :bigsmile:

    any exercise you do all adds up. you do not have to do an hour all at once in order to enjoy the rewards of it. 5 minutes here, ten minutes there, it all counts! I would ddefinitely go use your pool, that is a great cardio workout!

    best wishes-:flowerforyou:
  • ktthegr8
    ktthegr8 Posts: 479
    Taking a walk with the stroller would be a good idea. Just walk as fast as you can and if it's possible, add some weight to the stroller. I push about 60 pounds with my double stroller and 50 pounds worth of kids and in an hour I can burn around 450 calories. Good luck!
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    have you atually lost wieght like this? i've thought about just trying to make everything more of an effort (think ankle weights, walking squats, etc...). you think that would work?
  • Tayla08
    Tayla08 Posts: 94
    Lugging him around in a sling will probably be pretty good for you! Extra weight! I think if you did that every day or at least a few days during the week, I think that would be good... I'm far from any type of expert, but any excercise at all is better than nothing for sure!!! Swimming would be good too... If you have a little bit of extra money--invest in a HRM, to track how many calories your burning.... You can get them pretty cheap, and you can also spend $100 or more on them....

    I don't blame you for being cautious to not decrease your milk supply....that stuff is like gold!!!! It can be so stressful sometimes!!!
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    i never thought about weighting the stroller. good idea. i live right at the top of a little hill and was thinking maybe i just need to go up and down and up and down and up and down with the stroller. my neighbors will think i'm nuts but oh well.
  • vdpal
    vdpal Posts: 64 Member
    What about taking him for an evening stroll around the track?
  • sallyah13
    sallyah13 Posts: 44 Member
    I put both my boys in my double jogger and go running with them. It is great exercise and my 2 month old gets a really good nap in. I have my 3 year old watch a DVD on his portable DVD player to keep him happy too! Exercising after my first baby was born really made my breast milk supply go down and I was only able to keep it up for about 6 months, and the baby weight came off quickly after I quit nursing so you might just have to tough it out until then. My 2 month old was never able to nurse well so has already switched for formula, but I am sure the same thing would have happened after I started working out this time too. I gained 70 pounds this time around so feel the pain of all new mamas out there!
  • genabug
    genabug Posts: 1,820 Member
    I have lost 15 pds, and almost to my goal, its been slow, but its coming off!
  • SaraWojcik19
    SaraWojcik19 Posts: 114 Member
    there is a nice trail that i just moved about a mile from. i didn't realize how close i was to it until this weekend. the problem i have is that my daughter goes to bed at 8:15. i think i need to extend her bedtime for my sake. she's been wishing iw ould extend it. if i did i could add another 45 minutes to the time i don't have to be 'alone' in the evening. i think i'll try this and see if it helps me.

    as for the trail - its goo din theory and i will try it. only problem is that it rains almost every day at 5pm here. as long as the rain is cleared up by the time i get home i should be good.
  • ktthegr8
    ktthegr8 Posts: 479
    I know that when I am pushing my stroller up hill, it really gets my heart rate up there. I also use the exercise bands for a really quick, intense arm workout. And I love my exercise ball. You can really do it in 10 minute sessions and get results. The important thing is to make the most of those 10 minutes. Really push yourself.

    As far as getting your litle one to sleep through the night so that you can sleep through the night, there is a great book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. I recommend it to everyone. It really will help. You need your rest, especially if you're on your own.
  • aeswan
    aeswan Posts: 66 Member
    One of the best investments I ever made was a jogging stroller. It's MUCH easier to push on trails and where there are no sidewalks.

    I breastfed both my boys until 13 months, and I lost about 10 pounds pretty easily after weaning each of them. The way I looked at it was that I was doing something really good for them, and in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that long. I knew I'd get the weight off eventually.

    I had a hard time with milk supply too, but you can exercise and still produce enough. Drink TONS of water--more than you think you need. And taking fenugreek (it's an herb that you can buy in capsules--and just a warning, it makes your sweat smell like curry!) can also help your milk supply. The lactation consultant at our hospital recommended it to me when my first son was 4 months old and not gaining weight, and it really helped.

    I applaud you for doing all you do and still breastfeeding--making sure there was enough milk for my babies, in particular when I was away from them (and I only worked 10-15 hours/week when they were little) was something that really stressed me out, and I was totally unprepared for that. I had always thought it was something that would just be natural and easy, but it wasn't always. Hang in there! Before you know it your little one will be running around, and providing you with plenty of exercise chasing her around!
  • vickyclare96
    vickyclare96 Posts: 124 Member
    Make use of this!, When you are playing with your little one or putting them to sleep take time for urself and do around 10 mins exercising, it can be something like yoga, which can calm you down after a stressful day and can burn around 100 cals in 30 mins xx
    Vicky x
  • zbtru
    zbtru Posts: 10
    HI... are you able to get out and walk? TAking your baby with you in a stoller. I do it with my day care kids(sometimes 2-3 in the double stroller). If you have any hills around you go up and down them, Talk about a workout. Get a step counter and really push your walking speed. With 2-3 kids I can walk between 3.5-4 miles an hour. Even it's just an 45-60 min a day its Great exercise and time spent with your child(or by yourself if you can do that). Going up and down hills helps tone your theighs and Buttococks !!!! And if your by yourself really swing your arms and get them tones also. Zel
  • JJLM
    JJLM Posts: 48
    I haven't read everyone's responses so sorry if I repeat. I would take him for a walk instead of the night time nap. If he falls asleep in the stroller bonus. Or look up Ergo carriers or Beco carriers and get one of those, then you add his body weight to you.

    ETA-I nursed my son Maddox until he was 18 mos, and am still trying to lose weight. My doctor said only some women shed weight like crazy while nursing. Others are the kind that save and extra bunch in case of famine....I guess i'm part neandrathal (sp) and was waiting for the great flood lol
  • missheidi
    missheidi Posts: 465 Member
    you mentioned earlier that with a 30 min walk and some laps you would have almost an hour. that is certainly sufficient. you don't need the hour to be all at once, it can be broken up.
  • staceyw37
    staceyw37 Posts: 2,094 Member
    congratulations on the baby!
    and don't be so hard on yourself--or impatient. the first year is a HUGE adjustment, and my experience has been that it takes a minimum of 9mo to get your body back to "normal." But a year is more likely. And that you are breastfeeding--well, that has its own requirements.

    I know you are ready to get rid of the poochy, but you have so much to focus on already.

    Enjoy this first year of your little one--there is nothing else like it. :heart: If you can sometimes squeeze in bits of exercise, great. But if not, don't sweat it. Your body has enough work to do--taking care of baby, working, feeding baby. Just eat the best you can (as was said before). Each good food choice will make it easier to get the weight off when the time is really right. And drink your water.

    I'm sorry that your partner is not there for you and the baby right now. I hope you both can find a way to successfully work out something. :flowerforyou:

    Again, have fun lovin' up your little one. :heart: :heart:
  • staclo
    staclo Posts: 511 Member
    Can you work anything into your routine, like by going to the gym before work or walking during lunch? What about doing something after your LO goes to bed? Have you heard of the 30 day Shred by Jillian Michaels? It's only a 20 minute workout dvd, but it's hard! Also, I joined Weight Watchers when I was breastfeeding. They incorporate whether or not you are breastfeeding into the system. After I stopped breastfeeding, I came over here. That worked for me. :smile:

    Stay determined. You'll find a way to make it work!!:flowerforyou:
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