And it’s about time! Jim-Jams is 3 months old as of yesterday. I only spent 20 mins on the treadmill and ran off to the restroom scale to weigh myself to get a base number — then I had to dash home and nurse the baby.
I’m 20 lbs overweight.
I’m also getting really fractured sleep. A typical night: Kids (4 and almost 2) go to bed at 8:00 p.m. but chat, fight and make up in their shared room for about 2 and a half hours. I clean up the kitchen, pick up the house, and nurse the baby while Husband pays bills. Then he rocks baby while I eat these muffins (seriously, this is WHY I am overweight) and we watch a little TV. Baby nurses again. I try to put him down and he wakes right up for round 3 of nursing. I put him down at 11 and crawl into bed. He wakes up at 4 to nurse. Then the 2-year-old wakes up and throws up in her bed — she gets so snotty at night that she gags almost every night. Husband cleans that up (bless him), unless I awake from the dead to help. Baby wakes up again to nurse. Toddler goes back down. By this time it’s usually 6:30 a.m. and we have an hour or so to drink coffee and get ready for the day. Usually at least one of the three kidlets wakes up if we try to go back to bed. In a word, our sleep is still pretty grim.
Most days I can push through the morning until the kids nap around 2 p.m., but if they don’t nap, all the wheels fall off the cart by 4pm, and I’m literally swaying with fatigue. …So I fuel myself with muffins, and have I mentioned that I’m 20 lbs overweight?
Still: I made it to the gym. I put on a too-small t-shirt and yoga pants, found my keys, drove through pouring rain, and got on the treadmill next to a girl who was running. (Me: not running.)
I made it.
What works for me? Giving myself half an hour and permission to be a lame walker on the treadmill. Permission to not feel guilty if the baby is a little late getting fed. Permission to be okay with moving the scale (ka-chunk) to 150 before twiddling the little weight marker from side to side. (Okay, I’m lying — I hate that part.)
What counts: I made it!
Congratulations on getting some exercise! You’re right, it’s important to give yourself credit for what you do instead of criticizing yourself for not doing more. Every bit counts.
I was really successful at losing baby weight, so I have a few tips to pass along:
You mentioned driving to the gym. Is it too far to walk? I know, it was raining, but walking in the rain can be invigorating (if you think of it as an adventure) and then you can warm up with herbal tea (no calories). Try to walk to anything you can. When your older kids are with you, you’re giving them some exercise and developing good habits, too.
Use a baby carrier (I loved the Maya Wrap) instead of a stroller to burn more calories and have more options about where to walk–you don’t need a wide, flat path like you do for a stroller. Get a poly-fleece suit with attached mittens and booties to keep baby warm in the winter. One of the best things for my postpartum weight loss was that my partner was driving the car to work every day, so I had to walk everywhere. On very cold days we’d take a bus to a mall, museum, or university campus and walk indoors.
Be a human rocking chair: Sit on the floor with legs folded in a pretzel shape, then lie down on your back keeping your legs at the same angle. Sit baby on your pelvis and hold his hands. Lift your shoulders and let your legs swing down a little, then rock back onto your shoulders and lift your hips–like doing mild crunches. My son LOVED this!
On warm days, take your kids to the playground and swing on a swing with baby in the carrier on your chest/lap. Great for the abs!
Click my name for details on the Seven-Minute Stretch, which doesn’t burn a whole lot of calories but helps with your flexibility, balance, and confidence because at least you did SOMETHING!
Good for you! Letting go of guilt is definitely a hard part about being a mother. I have a four year old and a four month old. There’s a perfectly good elliptical machine just inches from my bed, but guess which one I choose to spend my time on? Keep walkin’ (or running)!
Hi Becca, and thanks for the helpful tips. Yes, my gym is too far to walk to, and it’s on a very busy road with scary curves — I feel barely safe in my minivan in some parts.
And I’m starting up some Pilates again – a new yoga/pilates studio just opened up much closer, so I’ll get over there to take a few classes soon. I’d forgotten how crunched up you feel when you’re carrying a baby and lifting a toddler and a preschooler!
I use my Moby wrap all the time. I love it!
Hi Brittani — it’s just walking at this point, but once I get to a certain speed I do intervals of walking and running. I seem to lose more weight that way!