Life with a 2 year old and an 8 month old can be pretty hectic. My days all seem to blur into one as I spend so much time taking care of them and looking after the home. In all of this I seem to have forgotten about me! Before I had my children I was really into fitness: I went to the gym, I did yoga, I took spinning classes, I went on long walks. Nowadays, I don’t have time for any fitness – and it really shows!
After I had Little N, I walked everywhere with him in the pram. Thanks to all the walking and pram-pushing and breastfeeding, I quickly lost weight and toned right up. It’s a different story since having Baby J though. We moved to a bigger place, but it’s on the edge of town, so I’ve been tending to drive everywhere. I’ve lost the weight, but I’m squishier than I’d like to be. I also feel like I don’t have as much energy as I used to have, and I think it’s down to the lack of exercise. I’ve just gotten lazy. I'd really love to tone up and have more energy to play with my boys.
Building the motivation to exercise is my problem, along with finding the time. I get bored easily, and it’s hard to fit it in around my boys. I want to get fitter though, not just so I can fit in all my lovely pre-baby clothes, but also so that I have the energy to keep up with my lively boys. Little N is at an age where he loves to run around, play football and climb. I want to be able to do all of those things with him too.
Using Kiddicare’s New Mum Fitness advice I’m planning to change my fitness levels for the better. I realised I don’t necessarily have to go for a run, or go to a class, or put on a workout DVD. We could all go for a walk, taking Baby J in a baby carrier or we could have a run around the park with J in his pushchair. My boys can have fun and I’ll get fit too.
Kiddicare’s New Mum Fitness feature has lots of information on when to start exercising as a new mum and tips on what to do, including a video from Sportsshoes.com to help you choose the right running shoes. I followed the advice and took the wet test, and discovered that my feet tend to overpronate. This means that like 60-80% of runners I need support shoes.
Hopefully, armed with the right running shoes and lots of helpful advice, I can wave bye bye to my mum tum and wave hello to new energetic fun mum. Wish me luck and watch this space!
*This post is a collaboration with Kiddicare and Sportsshoes who are helping me to reach my fitness goals!
