Working Out? - Terryville,CT

I know you've gotten tons of good advice already, but I wanted to tell you that I am in the same boat - I have a clingy 2-year-old, I work full-time, and I always feel too exhausted to work out. What has been working for me is taking a jog with my little guy in the jogging stroller. I manage to do this before work 2x per week, and both weekend days. I like it because it gets us outside, he enjoys it (and even often snoozes, which puts him in a happier mood), he's not alone, and it gets me moving.

This is NOTHING close to what I used to do for workouts before I had him (I was a 5x per week, 3 hrs per day kind of exerciser), but it does the trick - keeps me in shape, keeps him happy, requires nothing but a jogger stroller (which you can probably get on Craigslist for relatively cheap) and the motivation. When I do it first thing in the morning, my whole day is better.

Good luck!

First of all, raising a 16 month old is a workout (I have a 15mo old and that's running :) but I get what you mean. Here is something that I started for motivation and because I could do it in MY time at home... same response I gave to someone this morning so I'm cutting and pasting.

I just recently hired an e-trainer so I can workout out of my garage. You just need a few bands or light handweights (got mine at Target), a treadmill (or jumprope) and Trish Snyder is my e-trainer. Weekly she sends me my workouts, online videos to SEE the exercises - she's there for nutritional counseling and accountability and I can do it while my son naps or he can come out and play while I'm doing it. If you have a Facebook account it's under Training with Trish...no matter where you are, you can access (my friends do it all the way from NY) and it's $75 for 6 weeks - way cheaper than a gym membership and trainer!!

Good luck!!

I completely understand how your feeling! Its difficult to find time to do anything, even being a SAHM when you have little ones that need so much attention. I unfortunately am just now getting into a better routine and my youngest is two! Definitely start now if you can. What I have been doing... I found a gym in my area that is actually very reasonable and I have what they call their VIP membership... It includes childcare, tanning, and classes. I typically go three mornings a week & I don't feel guilty b/c the kids are still getting the interaction & care they need. I'm right there if they need anything and they are able to interact with other children. On days I don't make it to the gym I do the Slim in 6 by beachbody videos. They are the best ones I have found w/out going all out and getting the Insanity or P90X programs. When I do the videos at home I typically fit them in at nap time or when the kids are off playing. In your case, you could try getting your daughter to "dance" with you. My kids absolutely love trying to "dance" with mommy when we have days that they just don't seem to cooperate. As far as motivation... well if you don't absolutely want to do it, it might be hard to find the motivation. One thing that I have found that is really motivating for me is that I have a friend that I report to & vice versa.... Basically what we do since we are in different states is we send each other facebook messages. Usually once a day or every couple days telling each other what we have done, what we plan on doing, sometimes even what we have ate that day.... to hold ourselves accountable. Most the time when I'm having an off day, if I see that she's on the ball and has already done videos, walked, etc It motivates me to get myself into gear. We started this about a month & a half ago and I've already lost 18 lbs!
If that sounds like something your interested in doing, and don't have anyone thats up for doing it with you, send me a message! Hope that you find a routine that works for you :)

Do you use any kind of baby carrier or sling? If not then definitely give it a try! Depending on how big she is, a backpack works great for cooking and household work, and slings are great when you have to be mobile and she needs to nurse as well :) for exercising, jogging stroller works wonders! You can find find really cheap, used ones on craigslist. I can totally relate to what you are going through, my daughter is the same way. The more you wear her in a carrier or sling, the LESS clingy she will become over time. Hope that helps!

I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old (who is super clingly like your daughter). I am not working out now but wish I could, too. If you have OnDemand on your tv they have a great selection of exercise programs to do. None of them are too long and you can do it in your living room while your daughter sleeps. Billy Blanks Tae Bo is also great. Totally empathize with you though....I, too, thought being a SAHM would leave me time for many things! Not so much!! :) Good luck!

Hi H.,
It will never get easier to find the time to work out... I have three little ones - 4, 2 and 1 and right now I have to squeeze working out into a very busy household. My best advice would be to just start. Decide a day when you are going to do it and once you start it will probably feel really good. When I had just my first, I used to walk with her everyday for her afternoon nap. Even through the winter months I would bundle her up and bought this sleeping bag thing for the stroller... it was great. If you are able to join a gym with babysitting, I think that is the best way, though. That way your little girl can go to the babysitting and you can have an hour to yourself to work out at a time that works for both of you. It would be great for your little girl to play with the other kids too! We don't have very many extras in our tight budget, but I do fit the gym in because it definitely plays a huge role in me keeping my sanity :-)
Best of luck!

Hi H.,

There are a lot of great dvds that have short workouts 10-15 minute long workouts that you can do on their own or combined. Denise Austin has several like this. That might be a good way to start, so your daughter can get used to seeing you workout for a short period of time. Then, maybe if she can give you 10 minutes at a time, eventually she'll give you 20 or 30. My 2.5 year old son actually gets a kick out of watching me do dvds and sometimes tries to join in. Your daughter might even like it. I find that if I put on my workout clothes immediately when I wake up, it makes it harder to talk myself out of it. Just remember that anything is better than nothing, so even if you can only do a short walk or a 10-minute dvd, you're still benefitting from it.

this is always tough, especially to get into a routine. when i had my second child, i joined a nice gym near my house. it has babysitting, good equipment, a pool, a jacuzzi and sauna in the lockeroom, and nice showers. i make myself get there 3 days a week. at the beginning there were times when i would just go and take a long shower and get myself ready like a normal person, since even that is hard with two kids. but now i find that it is relaxing to know that i can jump on a machine , put on my ipod, and watch a morning television show that isnt' curous geoge...all while getting a good workout. i look forward to going to work out because it's an hour of my day where i dont have a child hanging on me or needing me for somehting, i can focus on myself. sounds like this could be what you need too!

Hi H., I have a 2 yr old and an almost 5 yr old and I work 20 hrs a week, and am borderline obsessive about working out, but lemme tell ya...its hard to fit it in. Oh, and I too had the dream of having a perfectly clean house, dinner on the table, cookies baked, etc when I went down from full time to part time, yeah-only on TV I think! So I'm into endurance sports, (run, bike, swim) so what I do is get ready and the minute my husband is home from work (if its not a work day for myself), I'm off to the gym or outside to run and he is on daddy duty. I do this on Weds and Fridays usually. Then Sat morning, I'm up early for my longest workout of the week and home before breakfast is over. But I'm lucky, my kids sleep in somewhat...the 5 yr old is up around 7:30 or 8, 2 yr old would sleep until 9 if we let her (god bless her!). Then I work all day Sunday, get home for dinner, get kids in bed and unfortunately head to the gym for a swim and weights usually around 9:30pm...sounds crazy but I'm a night owl anyway, I could spend the time on the couch or being productive. Since it is such a quick turnaround (workouts fri, sat and sun) I do different activities, or work different body parts on successive days. Another thing I do sometimes is while my son is at school, I'll put my daughter in the bike trailer and we go for a ride (I pedal, she naps). I also have a kid carrier for your back that we used with my son when he was little for hiking, and have thought about sticking her in that and heading to the mountains for a hike, but she is pretty heavy and would probably want to get out and walk so haven't tried it yet, although its rated for up to 45 lbs. I just got the P90X videos but haven't tried them yet, for resistance training at home. I hear they are amazing. As for energy, once you get started you'll be surprised how much energy you have. I have a ton more energy now than when I never did anything. I look forward to workouts, it is my "me time" and most of the time long runs and long swims are really relaxing. I know that sounds crazy, but I'm not sprinting or anything, once your body is conditioned to it it really is a great stress release. Another thing is you could join a gym that has baby care, although like yours, my daughter is very clingy and would just have a cry fest when I tried putting her in there. Very traumatic for her. And lastly, a friend of mine does a thing here called "boot camp babes" where its a boot camp type workout at a park and they have people that watch your kids on the playground, while you work out several yards away. So they are still close to you and can see you, maybe you could find something like that in your area. Or also, there are lots of strollercise classes around, where baby stays in the stroller and mommy works out, I tried one when mine was smaller thinking it would be kind of a joke, but I really did get a good workout! Best time to get motivation is first thing in the morning, so you aren't burned out by the end of the day...and it'll put you in a great mind set for the day. Good luck and congrats on deciding on a more active lifestyle!

Set a realistic goal for yourself of how many times you want to workout a week. Try not picking the days in advance. Instead see how your day/week goes and use the weekend to your advantage when maybe your hubby can take your daughter for an hour. Check out the P90X videos (beachbody.com). There's a whole system to the program and they're hard core but so worth it if your up for the challenge. I don't follow the program but I love the variety in the videos. Good luck!

Hi H.,
The only way that I work out is in the morning...I'm NOT a morning person but had to turn myself into one just to fit in excersise. My daughter is now 18 months old and also very clingy. I work full time (as does my husband), so when I return home from work the only thing I want to do is hang out w/ my girl...now that the weather is nice and the days are longer we'll go outside for walks, or play on the swings together (excersise yes, but not all that much). The only way I have managed to keep in shape (I'm now 5 lbs lighter then pre-baby) is to get up before my husband leaves for work and go for a run; I started small (mostly walking) and worked my way up to 4 miles 3 or 4 times a week. When I started I found it so so hard to just get up in the morning and found myself hitting snooze and saying I'll start tomorrow, but once I started working out it gave me the energy I needed and the drive to see how far I could push myself the next day....it's now adictive for me, I try to see if I can beat my time :-) On the weekends I'll let myself sleep in until my daughter wakes up and then put her in the jogging stroller and take her with me...it's added resistance and more of a work out - plus she just loves it. Not only am I setting a good example for my girl, I feel good about myself and have the energy to get more done around the house too!

Probably the best way is to work little things in that will increase the number of steps you take each day. Park farther out in the parking lot so you can walk a little farther, use stairs when ever possible instead of elevators / escalators, put child in the stroller and walk around the block in nice weather (in winter you can go to a mall before the stores open to get a walk in (with the stroller)- there are a lot of seniors who do this and some are wickedly fast!). Since your girl is toddler age, she'll be getting faster and you can play 'catch the baby' in the back yard - an informal tag game.

There is a way to get your daughter more independant. I forget the name of it but this is what you do. Set a timer for 15 minutes (microwave if need be) and play with her -full on. Lots of eye contact, interaction, talking, touching, contact. When the 15 minutes are up, set the timer again - 15 more minutes. This time let your daughter lead in the play. If she doesn't encourage her. Ask her what she wants to play and ask questions to get her to talk and direct you. This 15 is about her and less about you. When that is up the last 15 minutes is ALL about your daughter. You sit back and have her play as much by herself as possible. Sit there but try and read a book or magazine. Try to ignore her a bit, not talk to her and just turn away when she tries to engage you. Only intervene if she is unsafe in her actions. It will take a little while for her to get this concept but it does help with her becoming more independant which allows you more time.

There are also things she can do to help you instead of you holding her. When you are folding laundry - give her some pants and socks (her size) and 2 baskets and ask her to sort them - of course you need to explain and she her what you want. I sometime just take out my colored socks and my husbands white tube socks and ask my daughter to put the colored socks in one basket and the white socks in the other basket. You can also talk about what colors the socks are and if she finds any that are the same color or design.
With cooking I would suggest getting a "learning tower" it's a wood structure you can push up to the counter so your daughter will be safe and at counter height. You can give her some wooden spoons and tupperware to play with while you cook. My daughter loves this and we have her help with some stirring and mixing.
Try to find little tasks your daughter can do while you are doing the same task. My friend bought an extra swiffer duster mop, took out the center section and her daughter helps her sweep the floor. She also got a really small dust pan and brush that her daughter uses.
When your daughter feels like she is included in these chores she should do more for you and not need to be held as much. Bonus is that you can get things done.

Good luck,
L. M

The weather is getting nice - take her out in the stroller. I used to walk an hour every morning when the weather was good.
The fact that she's so clingy is an issue, I'm sure. You need to set boundaries - she's getting old enough to be able to sit and play or watch sesame street for a little bit while you are busy. Tell her that you need time to do whatever and that she will be fine sitting right there... Start with laundry folding or something where you can be in the same room and work your way up to dishes or beds or whatever.
YMMV
LBC

I'm not sure how much this will help if you have to hold your daughter all the time, but if you can get her to play by herself with you nearby, try a jumprope. I have also been struggling to find a time to exercise. I had been getting up at 5:00 a.m. to run, but I just can't keep it up anymore (especially because my baby --the youngest of three boys) -- is still waking up to nurse frequently at night, and I'm exhausted). So I bought a jumprope. I can jumprope outside while my boys are playing with their dump trucks, or inside when they're playing with Legos. I can be right in the same room, participating in conversation, making sure everyone is safe, and I can exercise at the same time. It's a lot more fun than jogging in place, and jump rope is a great workout. I haven't done it since elementary school, and boy am I bad at it! But at least it's entertaining to see how many jumps I can get in a row or whether I can jump the rope twice in the same jump etc.

I just started the Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred. It's only 20 minutes long so I try to do it when I put my 2 year old down for a nap/quiet time. And I let my 4 year watch t.v. while I do it. It has 3 levels and it is definitely a workout. It's not ideal-I'd love an hour workout 4 times a week but that just doesn't happen so this is a start. What about getting a jogging stroller to get some running in? Good Luck!