So, I thought it would be helpful to start talking about weekly tips to help with the little ones, not only for when you (moms) want to work out, but also just tips with other every day issues our children can have. I'm no expert by any means, but I have two young children that we had back to back, which was difficult; almost like having twins... Arizona had just turned 1 and less than two months later we had Savannah, so I have a lot of experience and hopefully some of those experiences will help other moms out there!
For starters, my two girls have been having issues with sleep, pretty much ever since we moved down here to Arizona. They are also having two separate issues, Savannah has been waking up a few hours into the night, hysterical and crying the whole nine yards and Ari has been waking up super early in the morning around 4:45-5 am and is awake to start the day.
So I tried a couple of different things initially; however, they were all unsuccessful. I then decided to start feeding them dinner later in the evening. I use to feed them around 5:30pm and I moved that back to about 6:30 and then moved their bedtime from 7-7:15 to almost 8 pm. I also switched up their nighttime snack. Ari use to have a cup of milk and some gold fish crackers or some dry cereal and Savannah would get a bottle of milk.
Well, they still both get the milk, but I switched up the snack to include more complex carbohydrates and protein. This switch is not only healthier but the protein and complex carbs should keep them fuller for longer, which in theory would keep them asleep longer. So, what I feed them is a slice of whole wheat bread each and a couple teaspoons of peanut butter. This has worked, for the most part, with both girls! Savannah has been sleeping through the night again and Arizona, while still waking up pretty early, is staying asleep until about 5:30 - 6 now.
I must add that I consider myself an expert in getting kids to sleep through the night ... I had both girls sleeping through the night from about 3.5-4 months old. So, for them to not sleep through the night any more is a big deal. I also wonder if now that they have their own room, if that isn't a contributing factor. Which I might still try putting them back together if Arizona keeps waking up so early. It's so funny to me that my husband and I have worked so hard to move our family, our children, to Arizona to give them a better life, like ... a bedroom of there own ... and now possibly they can't sleep in a room of their own! It's just kind of funny!
Anyway, moving on ... I want to try and provide as many tips and ideas as possible to help other moms out there with their little ones and keep their sanity. So, we just talked about a couple of tips to help the little ones sleep through the night, so I'll go into one tip that will help during workout times to get every mom off the sofa and on the treadmill.
So if you are lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where you can walk outside, I always recommend that just because of the fresh air, meeting and talking to people, getting some vitamin D from the sun (which will also improve your mood), exposing your children to the outdoors, the list goes on... but if you cannot walk outside and must use a treadmill then you need a safe way to contain your kids but still keep them happy.
I use to bring the girls' playpen out to the garage with their absolute favorite toys and then put them in it. It keeps them safe from all the yuckiness of the garage, they can hang out with me in the same room (which for my kids with 'mommy separation anxiety' is a big deal), keeps them happy and then I can do my workout.
I really hope some of these tips help, as I really love helping other moms. I can't even count how many times I've given advice to my friends; it just makes me feel so awesome when my tips are successful. I remember helping one of my best friends with getting her son to sleep through the night, he was 8 months old and she hadn't had a good night sleep in as long of time ... I remember crying when my techniques helped her and her son started sleeping through the night. So, I hope you too can have some success with these tips and have one less reason to put off that workout until tomorrow! So, until next time, stay happy, healthy and strong!
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