Fitness & exercise with small children?

How does everyone manage a fitness and exercise regime with small children in tow?

My daughter is with me 24/7 as she is only 6 months old so im not able to go to exercise classes or the gym as my partner works long hours.

Im starting to use a workout dvd at home but still finding that hard to concentrate on that and entertain her at the same time.

Anyone got any tips or ideas? :)

Thanks

I have a great jog-stroller and we walk everywhere in town. I go all over, up and down hills and always take the long way. She loves it. It relaxes her and myself as well. I also invested in a co-pilot bike seat and I ride a lot. Helmets are hard to find for little ones, but I highly recommend the Giro infant helmet. I ordered mine from Amazon. The bike seat came from there too. I got my stroller from Target. That's the bulk of my cardio. I have resistance bands and weights at home that I do routines with about 5 days a week.

Definitley take long walks with her in the stroller.

What time does she go down at night?  I had to wait all the way until 8:45PM to go to the gym.  As long as my DH is home by the time she goes to bed; I'll leave the monitor w/ him and I'd go to the gym.  The only problem is is that I was so tired by that point and hard to get myself to go-  but it was worth it.

Another alternative is to wake up before she wakes up and go for a walk/run.

My partner is home from work by 7 but thats then her bedtime ... she's a fussy one at bedtimes and wont go down for the night without me.

We go out for short walks around our village in the pushchair.

I guess as she gets older and can entertain herself more it will become easier for me to nab an hour to do something

Thanks for the replies :)

There are some great books and vidoes for mamma pilates that actually have you hold your wee one-  that may be an option for you.

This is how I do it. Granted, Gabs is 2 now, but I've done this:

1) Wake up before everyone else does and put in a good workout. For me, this means pulling out the resistance bands or dumbells or going to a yoga class.  At 5A.  Gabs is still asleep with the hubby, and I get time to myself.

2) Find a place with drop-in child care.  The university I live by has drop-in child care for ages 3 mos and up for $2 hour.  My own alma mater has free drop-in child care, but they're so far away it's not worth it.  Then I can get a good swim in.

3) Find a mother's group.  When I can't do AM yoga, there's a group of 4 moms who takes turns watching kids so some of us can go work out.  It's like a play date and workout at the same time.

4) Do yoga at home with your kiddo.  Someone already mentioned mama Pilates.  There's mama yoga, too.  And Gabs loves it.

5) I can't stress the stroller enough.  But if you really want a workout, carry your baby.  My Baby Bjorn, and now my Kelty Kid Pack, all get a ton of use.  Carrying around the extra weight while walking gives you some extra resistance while making it easier to navigate the crowds.

6) Bike trailer, and then bike *everywhere*.  We have both a bike seat and a bike trailer, depending on how we want to move around.  :)

Hope that helps,

~A

Nap time= Mommy's fitness time. That's how I lost weight after my second son. They (I had 2 kids 3 and under at the time) went down for their naps and I did my workout video.

Check with the Y--in my area, many of the Ys have childcare at the facility. My daughters love it, especially on rainy days.

I originally went from 210 to 160 by doing nothing different than chasing my 2 year old (now four). I'm certain he has jumping beans in him. I have been stuck at 160 for a while now and am trying this free calorie counter which is really working, but I think the two year old exercise program was rigorous. You really have to have strength, agility and endurance (not to mention psychological perseverance) to survive that one. Great job to everyone that is balancing this.

I had twins when I was 40. Believe me, the weight went off fast by just being on Mommy duty 24/7. I lost all of my babyweight within five months (breast feeding helped).  Long walks with the stroller were wonderful and a great way to put them to sleep. I had no time to myself during the day and was too exhausted during nap and bedtime to do anything but sleep, butI made the most of the physical part of Mommy time -leg lifts with baby etc. . I actually gained when I went back to work. (Which is why I've signed up with CC)  Now my guys are five years old and we bike, swim, and play a lot in the park.