Working Out With a Baby

So my first few work outs have been a little rough.  Not because I couldn't do them, but because I have a little 1 year old that is used to all of my attention.  While I try to give her as much as I can, she struggles and whines unless I give her my FULL attention.  This is obviously a struggle when I am working out!  Honestly it breaks my heart to see her so sad like she is.  Take a look at that sad little face.

Another hardship of working out with her is that she thinks that any time that I am not standing or moving around it it time to crawl on me! Here are some pictures of her distracting me with her climbing on me.  She knows I'm a sucker for her kisses, no matter how slobbery they are.  So she sucks me in with kisses and then climbs all over me.

Seriously I love this girl so much, she gets away with distracting me basically all day long.  And I'm not even really mad about it!  The third distraction that I have found is that when you already have one baby and another on the way and you are still a young person, you may not have your own weight set at home.  Well at least I don't.  And even though I found some at a pretty decent price (they sell up to 8 lb sets at 5 Below which means they are like $5 or cheaper) I honestly don't have the gusto to get out and get to the store to get them.  You know what shopping means now? Shopping means that I have to find time to get ready for the day while baby terrorizes the house, then get baby ready which is fine, I love doing that, then I have to pack her diaper bag if we will be gone during any sort of feeding time, and then I have to lug my pregnant belly around while carrying a wonderfully curious little girl who wants to touch everything and constantly crawl around.  Its just a lot of work.  I will get around to it soon, but until then, here are my at home super high tech weights. (don't mind my post-work out swag I got going on there)

If you can't see it- that is some good old Progresso Vegetable soup.  Although really any caned good works. You can also use your baby if you are insanely strong, but I am not all for that so I am just going to stick with my Progresso.  

So there are the difficulties.  However I have found that I can make the work outs fun for my daughter!  Especially if I am moving around at all.  I can cover my eyes during the up part of squats and then "peek-a-boo" at the bottom.  She loves that. or just hold her during calf raises. You want to really feel those calves burn?  That is the way to go!  Also when I do floor exercises I just let her crawl on me and do the best I can while being used as a jungle gym. Believe me, my body is burning a TON of calories just trying not to kick her to accidentally push her off me.  So its for sure a good thing.  So this is my advice- go into your work outs with a positive attitude, knowing that your baby will probably distract you or make your work out less "effective".  But HAVE FUN!!  Remember, your baby is watching you.  If they see that working out is fun they will want to do it with you and maybe even as they get older they will want to do their own work outs and lead a healthier lifestyle.  So below are some videos to prove that babies can have fun during your work outs too.

I hope you enjoy my tips, but even if you didn't I am pretty sure you can't watch those videos without them at least putting a little smile on your face.