Health & Fitness
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Any other single moms on the board? Just a vent.

I'm a single mom to a 2.5 year old. I live with my parents, which helps me out so much.

They are away a lot in the next couple of months and I'm having a lot of trouble adjusting to a proper fitness schedule.

I drop Jake off at daycare at 8am, go to work, pick him up at 530pm, eat supper, then he goes to bed at 715pm. Once in a while, I bring him to the gym with me after work and drop him off at the daycare, but I hate doing it. He doesn't like it and I feel so guilty dropping him off at the gym daycare after he's been at daycare all day already. 

I have the 30 Day Shred and a Kettleball video that I try to do, but I don't feel like I get as much out of it. 

I think I'm just grumpy because his dad bailed last week-end, so I missed two of my normal runs. 

Or, I just have to suck it up and start using my mom's spin bike. I hate that thing. It hurts my butt. lol. 

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Re: Any other single moms on the board? Just a vent.

  • Can you work out on your lunch break at work?  I've done that in the past--an hour is usually just enough time for a quick run.
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  • imageBrie2010:
    Can you work out on your lunch break at work?  I've done that in the past--an hour is usually just enough time for a quick run.

    I haven't considered it. I have an hour and fifteen minutes for lunch. I could run outside, but there's nowhere to shower afterwards and I get REALLY sweaty and red when I run. I'm a teller, I'm embarrassed to serve customers after lunch.  I could probably change and get a good walk in though, that's better than nothing at all.

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  • Hugs to you and hang in there!!!  I'm not a single mom, but my DH travels a lot for work and I don't have any other family near by, so I'm on my own a lot and work full time and commute 1 - 1.5 hours each way.  Can you go to the gym at lunchtime?  I either do that or run on the treadmill in my basement either before I get DD up or after she goes to bed.  Now that it's light out later, can you take your son with you on a run with a jogging stroller?  Are there any friends from daycare that you could swap nights with?  We do a babysitting swap with a few families - their kid comes to our house for a few hours so the parents can go to dinner without getting a babysitter and vice versa.  I've had some families offer to help when I need to run when DH is out of town, too.  I also have a babysitter that I found through sittercity who can come for an hour or two while I go to run - I feel less bad about DD being at home with her own toys with a sitter whom she loves than I do taking her to the gym childcare.  Yes, that costs money, but it's worth it if I need to run and there's no one else to watch her.  She has a blast and does some fun arts and crafts while I'm out and I get a good run in.  Good luck and hope you find something that works for you - just hang in there!
  • I am not a single Mom, but was faced with the possibility recently.  As it stands, my DH travels almost every weekday anyway.

    The kids spend a good deal of time at the gym daycare and they love it.  I had to get over my guilt about the whole thing and just deal with it.  They are also welcome at CrossFit, so I take them there.

    I also run with both of them in the double jogger (which amounts to almost 80 lbs. of kids), but you gotta do what you gotta do.  Told DD she needs to start riding her bike on my runs though.

    It can be done.  Hang in there!

    imageimage Ashley Sawtelle Photography
  • I know for sure that I don't have time to go to the gym during lunch unless I were to join Curves which is close. But I love love the Y and I don't have the funds for two gym memberships. I think I'd rather save up for my own treadmill first. 

    I haven't thought of a sitter to be honest. I might look into that.  Jake goes to bed early enough that I could put him to bed, and then go to the gym. 

    I haven't really met any friends here yet, I just moved in September, still getting to know people, so I can't really swap.

    I don't really currently have time to bring Jake out for a run in the evening, but I can probably stretch his bedtime a little later and get a good 30 minute run in. I hadn't thought of that. That's a great idea. Obviously, something in our routine has to change, and I don't mind sacrificing bedtime a little bit.

    I'm glad I posted this vent, I'm getting a lot of good ideas. Thanks!

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  • Is there budget to hire an inexpensive sitter 1-2 evenings a week after your soon is asleep? The sitter could just come over to the house & you could leave from there & go for a quick run. maybe even a girlfriend & you could trade off sitting opportunities, if money is tight. That way, you don't miss "awake" time with your son, but you get a dedicated work out time.
  • imageMarchMom06:
    Is there budget to hire an inexpensive sitter 1-2 evenings a week after your soon is asleep? The sitter could just come over to the house & you could leave from there & go for a quick run. maybe even a girlfriend & you could trade off sitting opportunities, if money is tight. That way, you don't miss "awake" time with your son, but you get a dedicated work out time.

    I probably could swing a babysitter once a week, then bring Jake to a daycare once a week. That seems like a good compromise. I'll just have to find someone who can drive, or lives nearby.  I'll ask around for recs.

    I'm probably going to give running with Jake in the stroller outside a try first. The weather is getting so nice, it's worth a shot. I don't have a jogging stroller, but I do have a bike trailer that I can use as a stroller that works fairly well.

    I know I can figure this out!

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  • If you're looking for a sitter, ask at your daycare.  We use a lot of DD's teachers for sitters.  I tend to pay them more (they have background clearances, first aid / CPR certification, etc.), but some of the older teachers have teen aged daughters who also babysit (and have their own transportation), so they sometimes come to watch DD if it's a quick outing.  GL!
  • (I have no kids but...)

    Can you put him in gym daycare just two evenings a week for an hour? That way you can get a good run in without feeling too guilty about not spending time with him since he's in daycare all day. The other days you could do videos, have outdoor playtime, etc. Good luck!! :) Moms need their time, too!!

  • imageSadlebred:

    (I have no kids but...)

    Can you put him in gym daycare just two evenings a week for an hour? That way you can get a good run in without feeling too guilty about not spending time with him since he's in daycare all day. The other days you could do videos, have outdoor playtime, etc. Good luck!! :) Moms need their time, too!!

    I actually put him in the gym daycare once a week when I have my session with my trainer. I find it easy to prioritize that since it's scheduled. You know what I mean? 

    I just need to start prioritizing and planning my other work outs too.

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  • MrsRedRox has a LOT of great at home workouts in her blog - A Life To Bragg about

    You can look up Crossfit's workout of the day and get some really good ideas to put together your own at home workouts as well.

    Is getting up earlier and running in the morning before your parents leave for work and your son wakes up an option for you?

  • I think pps have a lot of great suggestions.  I just wanted to say it is awesome that you are open to trying new things and are flexible with your schedule to get a work out in.  So many times people as questions like this, but aren't really open to our suggestions.
  • imagekat.in.the.hat:

    MrsRedRox has a LOT of great at home workouts in her blog - A Life To Bragg about

    You can look up Crossfit's workout of the day and get some really good ideas to put together your own at home workouts as well.

    Is getting up earlier and running in the morning before your parents leave for work and your son wakes up an option for you?

    It would be when they are home, but when they are home, I can go to the gym at night. My problem is more when they are away, so that wouldn't work. 

    ETA: Thanks for the link too, I'll check it out for sure!

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  • Is there any chance you could adjust your work schedule so that you could drop him off at 7, get off an hour earlier, head to the gym, then pick him up?
    I am usually at the gym or running by 430 and have the kids by 6 at the absolute latest.  they are never the last ones there so i don't even think they notice. 

    10/16/11 Outer Banks Half Marathon 2:10 11/15/12 Run Raleigh Half Marathon 2:05
  • imagekatie_cj@hotmail.com:

    I know for sure that I don't have time to go to the gym during lunch unless I were to join Curves which is close. But I love love the Y and I don't have the funds for two gym memberships. I think I'd rather save up for my own treadmill first. 

    I haven't thought of a sitter to be honest. I might look into that.  Jake goes to bed early enough that I could put him to bed, and then go to the gym. 

    I haven't really met any friends here yet, I just moved in September, still getting to know people, so I can't really swap.

    I don't really currently have time to bring Jake out for a run in the evening, but I can probably stretch his bedtime a little later and get a good 30 minute run in. I hadn't thought of that. That's a great idea. Obviously, something in our routine has to change, and I don't mind sacrificing bedtime a little bit.

    I'm glad I posted this vent, I'm getting a lot of good ideas. Thanks!

    My DH travels for work as well. Having a home treadmill and jogging stroller are how I keep up with my running when he's not around. I agree, dropping DD off at gym daycare after a full day of regular daycare just seems unfair. I do it in a pinch, but try to avoid it.

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  • Thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate it.

    I've decided for now that I would bring Jake to the gym daycare once or twice a week.

    I'm going to run outside with the stroller three times a week.

     I take one rest day, so that leaves one or two days a week to do a workout at home and to use the spin bike.

    I'm happy with this decision. Luckily, I don't always have to figure it out on my own since my parents aren't always away!

    I decided against working out on my lunch hour, I currently use that time to relax, read, socialize, or run some errands. I've grown to cherish it. Plus, I work in customer service and I really don't want to be all flushed and sweaty when I come back from lunch. 

    I'll give this a shot for the next month of so and take it from there. If I need more gym time, I'll look around for a babysitter.

    Thank you so much!

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