Daycare at the gym with a high maitenance baby?

[Lacrymosa]

I really want to start going to the gym. But I'm worried about leaving Asia with the daycare at the gym, just because she's teething and she's already extremely high maitenance as it is. I can't really depend on anyone to watch her every day because my family doesn't live very close. I don't think I could work out or focus, I would keep looking over to check on her and make sure she's doing okay. Even my mom has a hard time keeping her happy, she pretty much just needs mama. What should I do?

[Limabean1975]

Whether or not she is, you really don't sound ready to leave her! Don't force yourself, these times are short-lived. Find an exercise you can do with her along...stroller jogging, baby-carrier hikes, mom & baby yoga/swim/whatever classes...some will suit her & you, some will not (I know I could not have done yoga with my first, he would want to be held the whole time! But I could do mom& baby aquafit, hiking, etc.).

eta: Just thought of another ideas to look for if available in your area - salsababies! That's what it was called where I did it - it's a salsa dancing class done with your baby in a carrier on you. I was a complete clutz - the worst in the class - but it was still fun!

[Vegan Princess]

Could you give it a trial run to see? Start off with very short increments and work your way into longer stretches. I'm not sure how old your baby is? I started at the Y when DD was 6 months old. She used to have a meltdown every time in the beginning and when she did I would usually end my work out. I often only got 10-15 minutes in before having to quit. Maybe once I was able to calm her and go back out for 5-10 minutes. In the end, it was just time that helped. She got over her stranger anxiety and now she is fine there for an hour.

Also, try going right when the childcare opens in the morning. I find that to be a nice quiet time so DD gets more attention. They are almost always holding her when I come back, even though she certainly would be happy to be down on the floor playing. I think they just like to hold her.

Good luck! It might be rough in the beginning but it is worth trying and continuing to try again later if it doesn't work out just yet.

Cindy

[dislocator3972]

I thought I responded to this already, but my post isn't there.

Some church nurseries use those pagers that you get when you're waiting for a table at a restaurant. So if your LO needs you, they just page you. I wonder if the gym has anything like that worked out. Maybe they usually call a cell phone or could page you even.

Or is there some exercise you can do right near the daycare for the first time or two until you can see how she does? It might be limiting at first, but you might also know after the first attempt whether or not it's going to work.

And even if she's not ready to play without you yet, she will be soon. Our kiddos are the same age, and my DD has just started playing on her own this week. Not long enough for a workout yet, but we're making progress! For now, I've been making sure she's really asleep then leaving her with DH while I head out to the gym. That means a lot of late night and early morning workouts, but at least I know she's not sad.

Good luck!

[*mama moose*]

your babe is a lot younger than mine, but my 1.5 year old is going through this right now, and I end up just leaving her with dad and we switch off going to the gym. Its not the greatest plan though, because we don't go in as much, but she just screams and screams and screams.....
At church though she does ok after a few minutes, the daycare workers there adore her and are willing to walk her around outside to get her to calm down, so she gets over it a lot quicker. I know they can't do this at a gym, but maybe try out a few gyms and look at how the workers there really interact with the kids. Ours is a small, cheaper gym, and the room is more set up for older kids. My 3 year old loves it there, but for a baby its not super fun. And it's not like they neglect her or anything, they might pick her up but they don't carry her around or dance with her or anything like that. Like I said, I think they're just more used to older kids.

Another thing that helps her, and again, she's older, but this might help your DD too, is if there are other kids in there. The one time she did NOT cry when I left her was when the place was full of kids! I guess it was distracting? She freaked out the most when it was just her and the childcare worker. It really depends on the baby's temperament though, some babies would NOT react well to a crowded room.

Good luck mama!!