Crying baby and working out

[brigitterenee]

Hi,

I was wondering what you do if you are in the middle of working out and your baby starts crying. I feel so guilty letting Zelda cry (she is almost 7 weeks old).. so i go to her and then it is hard to get back into my workout. Is it ok to let her cry her a bit till i am done or is that bad for the baby. I am sure to feed and change her before so she is not hungry (and i am not in pain, hee). Should i put her in her room or in a swing where i am working out so she can see me?

Also, i have 12 ponds to loose. When you are breast feeding does your body hold on to the weight? I have not lost a pound in over a week and am eating well and working out... plus 2 long park walks every day.

Thank you..

 

[EricaH]

If she's just fussing, I would let her continue to fuss and see if she can soother herself. If she's really crying, I would go to the baby. 7 weeks old is just a newborn and I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her cry while I exercise.

I couldn't exercise with my kids when they were babies. I tried everything - the swing, vibrating baby seat, etc. but they always ended up crying and it was just too frustrating. Try to keep in mind that this stage goes by very quickly and it will become easier for you to get your workouts in as she gets older.

Erica

 

[emackay]

Hello there,

I keep my son Nico in the same room - he loves watching me workout. I've been doing this since he was about Zelda's age (he is now 5 months). At first I put him in a bouncer - now he likes to freestyle play on the floor with some toys and the cats.

I wouldn't worry about not losing weight consistently. I have a week here or there where nothing changes and then the next week I drop 3 or 4 lbs.

Best of luck

arancini

 

[kristan]

Here's what I did to get workouts in:

break them up- especially works with cardio then weights of some type.
intervals- easy to soothe a crabby baby during an interval rest period
walks with stroller
let baby watch a baby mozart dvd (well, mine are actually VHS...) in another room
swings, bouncers, exercisers
put baby in gym nursery and use cardio machines there

I think the best approach is to assume you'll be interupted and plan accordingly.

 

[MSJ]

I'm a demand-feeder, co-sleeping, carry-my-baby-in a sling kind of mom. BUT--I do let them cry it out whilst I exercise, most of the time. I do make exceptions if they seem particularly inconsolable, but mostly I let them cry. I do have them in a swing where they can see me and many times they go to sleep. I have to add that since I have several older children, if it is just a matter of the baby wanting to be held, I have help in that regard, but that doesnt' sound like an option for you.

I was not able to do this with the first 2 babies....too emotionally difficult.

Can your dh watch the baby while you exercise? I use this option as well on occasion.

Kristan's idea of breaking the workout into smaller sections to do throughout the day is also good and one I have used.

I gain a ton of weight while pregnant, but have always lost it while breastfeeding. I would not be alarmed about not losing a pound in a weeks time. Water retention can account for that--slow and steady--I'd love to have only 12 lbs to lose at 7 weeks post partum.

Hang in there
Maggie

 

[Manmohini]

At 7 weeks, I could never let the baby cry. My son is 5 months now. I've just learned to expect to be interrupted in just about everything I do. That expectation makes it so much easier when it happens, and I actually feel grateful for having gotten done as much as I did.

Because I myself am not of the "cry it out" school, I have learned to exercise other ways which can include my son--mostly walking, and lots of it. He loves to be outdoors, and now that it is warm again, we walk EVERYWHERE. My friend just passed on her jogging stroller, and he is almost ready for it sizewize. I don't like jogging particularly, but it's something we can do together, and as I said, he really enjoys being out. As for Cathe workouts, I usually coax my hubby into watching him for an hour so I can isolate myself.

Good luck. Learning to properly respond to my baby's cries has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I'm still learning, and always hoping I'm doing the best thing possible under the circumstances. Whatever you do, It has to work for all involved.

 

[brigitterenee]

Thank you for all the great advice! I am going to try putting Zelda in the swing and see how that goes. I am also from the school of demand feeding, co sleeping and sling baby.. so letting her cry just kills me. A bit of fussing i can handle. Just SO need my work outs! I like to work out in the morning so hubby cannot watch Zelda, but on the weekends he does and i get a really good long workout then!

I like the idea of a jogging stroller.. we just moved back home to NYC and live on Central Park West, the baby jogging capital of the world! Guees i am shopping this afternoon!

Have a good weekend...

 

[mabdoo]

I remember those days. In fact I will be having another very soon. When my daughter was that young it would take me two hours some days to get in a one hour workout. Eventually she would like to watch me in the bouncer. She then graduated to a swing. We didn't get very far after that because I got pregnant when she was six months old and had to stop working out (high risk pg).

As far as the jogging stroller I was under the impression that a baby shouldn't be in one until they are able to support themselves and their heads. The jostling around is dangerous on their necks. Other moms may have better advice on that though.

Good luck.

 

[star_dust]

I am not one to let a baby cry it out at that age - especially since they cry a lot anyway. I took a postpartum aerobics class where we could bring our babies with us to the gym and they sat on the side and watched us workout. If the baby cried, I would go to her and snuggle her. Mostly she just slept. She was 3 mos at the time. Maybe you have something like this in your area? I didn't belong to the gym, but could attend the class at the gym for a fee. In some ways it felt easier to do this especially when other mothers were around.

I didn't use a jogging stroller, but I bought special carrier for her and would take her out for walks with me - i was sort of an ap parent and wanted her to be comfortably attached. i also split up my workouts and did short segments at a time (5-6 min) or had my husband watch her after i nursed her.

hth some!

 

[Shopahollic]

That is such a tough age! My first DD was a cryer, I would let her cry for a minutes than pause my workout to change/nurse her. As mentioned, I would then put her in her swing and let her cry til she fell asleep. Despite, my starting and stopping, I always finished my workout and despite the pauses, lost the pregnancy weight.