HELP! My baby is 2 months!!!!

L

luli

Active Member
Hi!
I'm a serious Cathe fan for over a year now. I exercised all the way through my pregnancy. Even the day my water broke. Now, however, I can't find a moment to exercise. I wonder how on earth does everyone else does it? I can hardly find time to take a shower!!
Please, if you have any suggestions or experiences to share with me, do so! I'm getting a little desperate...
I love this baby more than anything but I am also dying to know how I can still take care of myself now that my family is starting to grow.
Thanks
LULI
 
I remember dealing with this when my kids were younger. With my first child, I started exercising right away, which wasn't the best idea ~ I was exercising when I should have been sleeping. The first few months are now a blur to me.

I waited after the second one, giving my body time to rest. When she started napping for longer stretches, I would sneak in some time on the treadmill or the yoga mat. Nothing intense like Cathe, but walking or maybe 30 minutes of Power Yoga. As she got older, she napped longer during the day, which eventually let me exercise for a full hour. It worked out, as this allowed me to up the intensity when my body was ready, and not too soon like my first time around.

You're only 2 months into this. I wouldn't worry too much about logging in serious (and by "serious" I mean intense and/or hardcore) exercise at this point. There's time for it later. :) Try walking, yoga, or maybe a little biking if someone can watch the baby and the weather is nice. I bet by the time your baby is 4-5 months, you'll have more of a routine figured out.
 
Luli, Ditto what Laughing Water posted to you.

Don't worry about tackling Imax3 or even all of ANY workout. Do what you can when you can and you'll find the time and endurance will build up over time.

Big hugs to you and your little one! Congratulations!
 
I put my kids in the front pack and went for a walk. When they were older they moved into the jogging stroller and I could run again. During bad weather I worked out during nap time. Don't stress out the newborn stage goes by so fast. Enjoy it!

Candra
 
Ladies,
Thanks for the advice... is not really the energy that I lack. It is more the time and getting to know when my little one is going to call for me. I get so nervous about what to do. I am the last child of a small family so I really feel overwhelmed by all of this!!!
I wonder if I'll ever have time for myself again and how people manage to take care of their children and do other things too....
Please, keep the advice coming!
Thanks
LULI
 
Luli,
It can be very overwhelming. It seems that once the little one is born, you are filled with guilt no matter what you do. Guilt for working out when you feel like you should be playing with your little one, guilt for not working out because you feel like you need to become fit again. Guilt guilt guilt. Just ignore the guilty feelings. Put that little one in his/her swing and pop in a Cathe DVD. The timesaver DVD is one of my favorite because the workouts are short, but tough. And my kiddos love to watch all of the activity. If your little one won't swing while you workout, then if you have a spouse, let him take care of your baby an hour a day so you can spend that time for yourself. It will help you more than on a physical level --I guarantee it. And it will give them special time together. You need to take some guilt-free time for yourself. It's a juggling act, but your child will respect the fact that you take time out for yourself when he/she gets older.
 
Hang in there! The jogging stroller is a lifesaver. Other than that, sometimes it took me up to 3 hours to do a 45-60minute workout when my babes were that little. It's tough, but it DOES get easier.

Otherwise, if you have a neighbor kid home for summer break, you could hire them to come over one hour couple times a week just to exercise. I considered that!

Good luck!

~Melanie~


Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94
 
You will have time for yourself again...eventually. The first few months are the hardest, especially with the first baby.

I don't think I started feeling "human" again (as in, something other than an automatic caretaker that ran 24 hours a day) until my daughter was 4 or 5 months old. I remember things really settling down then.
 
I would check out whether there are any local post-baby fitness classes? I went to a 12 cardio/weights week class from 3 months postpartum twice a week. Now, this wasn't going to get me in fantastic shape, but I did have fun and the workouts were challenging - but all of the women brought their babies in with them and put them on a mat or kept them in their carrier/strollers nearby while they exercised. It was so helpful because if the baby cried, you could soothe it and then get right back into the class. Some of the babies were just mesmerized listening to the music and watching us all work out! Some babies just slept:) It was also nice socially speaking to meet other postpartum moms.
 
my baby is months too...

it's really hard to squeeze in time for a workout when the baby isn't on a set schedule. my little girl is on a semi schedule, she pretty much eats ever 4 hours (it's not exact though). I also have to pump in between feedings as well as take care of the house so what I've been doing is when she falls asleep after her morning feeding I race around the house (cardio!) to tidy up. Then I pump while I eat a little breakfast (Medela pump ROCKs!) Once I'm done with all of that I usually have 2 hours or so left before she may wake up so I throw on some workout clothes and do a pre-mix. As soon as I'm done I have to shower and change (even before putting any equipment away) in case baby girl wakes up. If she does wake up during a workout then I drop everything, wipe myself down, tend to her and when she falls asleep again I finish my workout.

The beauty about weight training is you can pretty much pick up where you left off even after walking away for an hour or so. It's also a nice time to stretch, at least that's what I do when she's on her bouncy seat and I'm singing her to sleep. lol Cardio is tough so I make sure I intensify my cardio just in case I get interrupted. (I also have a spin bike which helps alot)

I don't ever expect my baby (Grace) to give me an hour to workout so when she does it's a bonus for the day. Otherwise I normally just take each interrupted workout with a grain of salt otherwise I'd be pretty annoyed on a regular basis.

I also take her to the mall (it's too hot to walk outside) and I do laps there too. It's not much but it's better than not moving at all. Good luck and don't worry babies sleep for longer periods as they get older so soon you'll find some time for yourself. ;)
 
Luli, how are things going??

My baby is 4 months now and I went through the same thing with her. I felt physically I could start working out again at 2 weeks pp, but it was so hard to fit into the day (like others, I had to break up a 60 minute workout into 3-4 chunks) with the baby not being on a predictable schedule. Eventually I just would wait until dh got home from work for help. Now that Taylor can entertain herself for awhile, she plays with her toys next to me while I work out. But still, even now, I feel lucky to get in an entire session without stopping.

Just the attempt to exercise is worth a lot right now...and it does get better!

Bethany
 
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