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Exercising with Two Babies

It’s an odd thing, but if I can muster up the energy to climb on the treadmill at the end of the day, I’ll have extra energy the next day – even if I have to stay up later to do it. Like I said, it’s odd.

Exercise gives me (and presumably you) an endorphin kick and it also helps energize me the following day. Thirty or forty-five minutes on the treadmill should be burning off some calories, which I serious need, but it also is building up muscles and repairing the damage lack of exercise has done.

I’ll admit it, I didn’t exercise properly for the last two years. Coincidently my son is now two.

Exercising with a Baby
It should have been easy. There are tons of ways to exercise with a baby, and for a long time, we were doing just fine. My personal favorite baby-friendly exercises were:

• Propping the baby on my knees while I was doing crunches.
• Wearing the baby in a carrier while stair stepping.
• Power walking the mall with the baby in the carrier.
• Power walking the mall with the baby in the stroller.
• Walking around the neighborhood with baby in the stroller.
• Dancing with baby.
• Marching in place with baby.

I think I should mention that Jake was colicky and these were the ways I kept him calm and kept my sanity. You’ll also notice most of the exercises are done indoors – that is because I live in Texas and he was a May baby. The heat is killer.

I lost about 55 of 60 pounds in four months. Then I went back to teaching, started my Masters and lost all energy and enthusiasm. It didn’t help that Jake went to bed at 6:30 pm which eliminated any outside evening walks. Believe me, the sleep was worth it.

Two years later I’ve got two babies, twenty pounds of baby fat and twenty pounds of no-exercise-for-two-years fat. It’s time to begin anew.

Exercising with Two Babies
My options are far more limited now despite being home full-time and being finished with the Masters. One baby in a carrier or stroller is no problem. An infant and toddler, however, are a bit trickier.

The only methods I’ve come up with so far to exercise with two babies are:

• Put the toddler in a hiking backpack and push the baby in a stroller.
• Put the baby in the carrier and push the toddler in the stroller.
• Dance with the toddler holding the baby (this lasts about five minutes.)
• Do crunches with the baby on my legs and the toddler by my side.
• Get a membership at the Y that includes free childcare.
• Exercise after bedtime.

So far, I’m going with the last option. It’s still too hot outside for the first two, and the middle ones don’t burn enough calories or stress.

Fortunately, not teaching means I end the day with more energy. If I tap into this little energy reserve, I can crawl on the treadmill. Once I’m there the iPod reenergizes me and I start hiking uphill. (I’ve got to put my butt back in the right place.) The trick is just getting up the energy to put on the walking shoes in the first place.

Wish me luck – I’m off to lace up!

August 31st, 2007 Posted by Rebecca | WAHM Weight Loss | 2 comments