gym membership; new baby?

[wholewheatchick]

Our first baby is due in mid to late December. Currently, I have a YMCA membership and it is 2.5 miles from my house. I really like using the cardio equipment, but my favorite activity by far is swimming laps! Right now, I have a pretty good exercise routine...5 - 6 days per week of at least 1/2 hour of cardio; more if swimming.

We live in central Florida, so unless I want to get up at 6 am or ealier during the summer, working out outside is really only possible/enjoyable Nov - March, maybe April. And when I can, I love being outside, for walking, slow jogging, and rollerblading. I also love cycling, but I don't forsee that happening until the baby is a year old and can come with me...

Anyway, I am trying to decide whether or not to keep the membership...the YMCA does have free child care, but I don't know at what age I and/or the baby would feel ok using it. I figure if we don't use it, then I could possibly go after DH gets home from work, maybe 3x/week if I am REALLY lucky.

Here's the thing: I could use the gym at DH's work, for free...but it is a 15 min. drive with no traffic, and you're only supposed ot use the pool with a buddy since there's no lifeguard on duty.

What have been your experiences with workouts, gym memberships, and babies? I am being completely optimistic about this?

[nextcommercial]

My only suggestion is to wait til late spring to use the membership. The winter is hard for illnesses, and it's so hard to keep such a little one healthy when everybody else is bring sick kids to the daycare.



If your husband would stay home with the baby while you work out, that would be awesome. (mine never would have, so I understand if that's not possible for you)

I wouldn't totally give up my workout routine though. No matter what, you deserve to have that one thing that's just for you. It's hard to go back to working out once you have stopped for any length of time.

[busymama77]

My DH is more than willing to watch the kids while I workout in the gym that is located in the building that I work in and it's free. I try to go at least twice a week (work around his travel schedule). If I continue this for the rest of the year, then I'll be able to get signed on to the gym that he goes to which has TWO indoor pools (I swimming!), an awesome selection of equipment, a daycare (if needed for both kids), a spa, a cafe, an outdoor waterpark - this place is off the charts! Great motivation, if you ask me!

[St. Margaret]

I did just go for walks, wearing DD, for the first several months. It was all I was up for. Swimming is probably good, too. My midwife buddies would say, it too 9 months to get your body to this point, it's going to take a while to feel strong and able again, too. And DD was a VERY early riser, so we'd wake, walk while it was cool, and then nap early, and still get out to moms' group in the AM But it's just going to depend on so much... if you can afford it, it's so close, that you might feel comfortable running over for a quick hour for a swim. Having something just for you can be great! But I couldn't have left DD for an hour for a looong time, even with DH. I know some people think that's crazy, and it just depends on baby and all. She just screamed a LOT with him, and nursed a LOT. Now he's the SAHP and they are thick as thieves, but at the time it was different. So you might just have to see!

[mom2happy]

I have a 3 month old and my gym has childcare. I just cant be okay with all the other 10 kids in there touching the baby and it gets pretty wild in there.
Toys fly accross the room. Kids have melt downs. I'd be too scared of the baby getting hurt.
Im having SUCH a hard time getting exercise. With no help, 3 kids, and DH working till 9pm. I am lucky if I can work out for 20 min. 3 times a week.
If you have one baby you could probably do videos during one of the naps.
That is- if your lucky to get a good napper.

[Tway]

I signed up for the YMCA about a year and a half ago, and on my VERY FIRST workout, I thought "Hmm... my boobs hurt an awful lot. What's up with that?"

Yup--DD was newly in the making! I had such awful nausea soon after I just never went back.

I walk every day with DD--rain, shine or -20 in the winter. But if you're up for swimming, you can take a baby swim class at the YMCA and swim together. Or, as others suggested, get DH to take baby for an hour or two and get your alone time in the pool. It may take you a few weeks/months to feel you can leave baby, but do take a little time each week for yourself. Swimming may be the perfect way to unwind, regroup and save your sanity!

[emelsea]

Don't give up your workouts! Even gentle exercise in those first few weeks will keep you feeling better, and even just 30 minutes of that time to yourself will make you feel refreshed, (At least, that was my experience - every mom is different!)

At first, I went to the Y in the evening after DH got home from work. DS always took a little nap after dinner, and it was a good time for me to slip out.

The childcare at our Y has its crazy times, and its quiet times, and eventually I just scheduled my workout for the times when I knew that there would only be 1 or 2 children in there. (At our Y, that is around 11am, after the morning classes have let out and I think most of the other moms have gone home. Plus, the gym is pretty empty, too. Mostly just some senior citizens.)

I hope you can find a way to keep up your routine. Not just to lose weight, but because it sounds like you enjoy it.

[nola79]

I sent my dd to gym childcare around 8 or 9 weeks. It's only for about an hour, sometimes less, and she did fine. My gym has a seperate baby room, and the people are very caring and nice. I think it just depends on the childcare there, and your comfort level once the baby is born.

[wholewheatchick]

Thanks so much for your replies. I think I would go crazy without exercising, so it is definitely something I intend to keep up with! DH and I talked about it, and I think we are going to let the membership lapse starting in Jan., and see how it goes. Jan - April are the best months to be outside here, anyway, so I would rather go on a bike ride and leave DH with the baby than go the gym, anyway. After a few months, hopefully we'll feel comfortable enough for me to reinstate my membership, and I am praying that we will have settled into a bit of a routine by then.

[GreenTeaGinger61]

I'm going through this same problem but with the baby here I was going to the Y three days a week while dh watched the baby. I'm about to start back to my part time job and if I do that and the Y I'll be out of the house every night. It seemed like too much for me. I thought about using the daycare for all the kids so that dh and I could exercise together but I don't feel comfortable leaving the baby in the childcare. I'm not objecting to daycare but the Y care seems pretty unprofessional here. The people are volunteers (even in the infant room) and the staff seems to change a lot. I'd check out the childcare and see how comfortable you feel with the staff. I know here it can change depending upon the branch.

Anyway we decided to cancel our membership and rejoin when the baby is older. For now, I'm getting up early and walking with the baby in sling. I'm on the look out for a jogging stroller. I also do weight training while I watch movies, etc.

[~Amy~]

At our Y, you can't use the child care until your child is 6 months old, but there are certain hours during the day (10-3, I think...slower time) where you can bring a baby in an infant car seat to the cardio room and set the seat in front of your machine while you work out.