The Gym Daycare Dilemma

Sure, this week was the first week of dropping off Elliott at the gym daycare, but it just wasn't sitting right with me. I even posted on message boards and felt temporarily reassured when people would put things in perspective and tell me that it's only one hour out of the day, so I should just enjoy my workout and not worry about the childcare being less than stellar.

I kind of believed them and quieted my inner mommy instinct. Then I went to visit Lifetime Fitness today and knew that my instinct was right. Even if it's just a couple hours a week, my son deserved to be in an environment that made him feel welcome and cared for, not just plopped in front of a tv as an afterthought. Ugh, the thought of that makes me cringe now.

Here are some things that I did not like about the first gym, maybe some people can relate?

• The whole childcare room is a complete afterthought. There are toys and there are two sitters, but it just feels like a room to put your kid while you workout with the added bonus of two adults on hand.
• They only allow one hour to workout. Which part of the one hour classes that you offer should I skip? The warmup or the cooldown?
• You need to make an appointment for infants under 1 and not walking. That's fair. Then why do I feel like he is not getting any individual attention and is instead put in a ball pit, exersaucer, in front of a video or walked around in his stroller while you read a magazine?
• I have been in the childcare room 3-4 times now and I have never seen any of the women actually playing with the kids. You only work a 4 hour shift in the morning, maybe show a little interest in kids? Hmm?
• Once fall rolls around one of the childcare rooms will be right off the main entrance to the community center. This just feels wrong to me on so many levels.

Now onto the positive side of things. What I like about Lifetime Fitness after just one day:

• Separate infant space so the bigger kids don't hit or trample the little ones. They do this for dog parks, it's nice to see the same consideration being given to children.
• Individual cubbies for baby's diaper bag and a board for notes for the caregivers and from the caregivers about naps, bottles, time crying, etc.
• Wow, people looking like they enjoy being around kids and playing with them!
• Two hours of childcare per day included in the $6/mo. fee for the child. Where can you find childcare at such an affordable price and in such a great facility?
• Real security measures, you have to be buzzed out of the room so you don't just take off with a kid or a kid doesn't just wander off.

There is a lot more, but my first impression was that a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I can take care of myself while knowing that Elliott is being well cared for as well. Win, win!

Here is an article with a checklist of things to look for in a gym daycare. I wholeheartedly agree with her points and wish I read it before leaving Elliott somewhere I didn't feel 100% about. I really need to get over second-guessing myself with this whole mothering thing!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 10

Well, I went with my gut and took the plunge and changed gyms today. It was an unexpected decision since I was perfectly content with our current gym until this week when I took Elliott to the childcare there.

I'm loving the new gym already and feel 100% comfortable with the childcare, so that is huge. We joined Lifetime Fitness this afternoon and did our first workouts there as well. I did a 30 min. mix of elliptical and treadmill. I really need to up my running time, my mind is hitting a big wall when it comes to getting past 10 consecutive minutes. Why?

Did well with the eating side of things as well. We got salads from the cafe at the gym and had homemade eggdrop soup for dinner and strawberries and blueberries for dessert.

I can't believe I'm 1/2 way through my challenge already! Not too shabby.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 9

Hooray, I have finally caught up on my daily posts!

Today was another gym day and day 2 of leaving Elliott at the gym daycare. I only did a little over a mile on the treadmill even though I planned on doing a 20 min. jog, but my mind was on my little boy. When I dropped him off there were three crying kids in the room so I didn't know if he would succumb to the peer pressure and join in the crying festivites or if he would be ignored and crack open his skull because the crying kids were too distracting for the sitters. I think I am better off doing elliptical or lifting weights instead of trying to squeeze in actual training runs while Elliott (or myself) is transitioning into the daycare setting. I picked him up after only 30 min. and he was all smiles for me, so I hope this trend continues!

Eating, hmmm. Not too shabby, but George made a coleslaw salad with bacon and I just couldn't stop. He actually had to say "Um Kim, I think you're having a little too much of that salad" and I agreed and finished the heap that I just put on my plate. Oops! I'm starting to see that I need more structure with my eating since it is too easy for me to slowly slip into junky eating without it.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 8

Day "Ate" is right! Why is it that I can't step foot in Target without heading over to the Jelly Belly section and getting a bag of sour balls? It all started when I was pregnant and now the Target symbol is my Pavlovian bell for these fine candies! I vow that next time I step foot in Target I will have more will power and break that connection in my brain.

It was a sleepy kind of day and I didn't get to the gym for my run either, I just did a 30 min. walk around the neighborhood. While it's great that I'm keeping up with at least walking, I know it's not enough and I can't continue to use it as my crutch instead of doing a "real" workout.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 7

Well I made it through one week of the challenge and it hasn't been that hard (yet)!

This morning I went to the gym and did 30 min. on the elliptical. It was also the first day that I dropped off Elliott at the gym's daycare. Not a complete failure, but it definitely could have gone better. I will touch on this in a separate post.

Once again Chef George kept me eating healthy with Chicken Tortilla Soup and pasta with tomatoes and basil for dinner. Yum!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 6

Today was a new day after my disappointing 5k. We spent the morning walking around the local arboretum and it was beautiful and recharged my spirit. A very pleasant way to meet my 30 min. activity requirement.

I really need to start cooking, but I have to thank George for helping me stay on track with healthy eating. He made a chicken and broccoli stir-fry that hit the spot. Whenever he eats like crap or decides to make crappy food, I happily join him and that needs to stop. We once lived apart for 5 months when I was going to go to law school and I really lost a lot of weight and had good momentum with my eating habits once we lived together again. I just need to get that eating independence back!

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 5

So....my 5k was a bit of a disappointment. I only ran 1/2 of it and let my mental hurdles get in the way of persevering and running the whole thing. The reasons/excuses I had were:

• My running watch died. It is kind of my security blanket on a run and I had no clue what my pace was by the time I hit the 1 mile marker.


• Elliott woke up 5 times to eat, I was near tears with exhaustion by morning.


• Horribly unorganized race. They didn't separate the runners and walkers at all, so the first mile was spent dodging walkers. Plus, having all those walkers around me did not help motivate me or give me that adreneline rush of a race.

Needless to say the mental challenge was much more harder to overcome than the physical challenge. I did feel the sting of tears when I decided to make it a walk instead of a run, but I'm trying not to be too hard on myself. However, I should not have had an all or nothing mentality about the race, that I know for sure.

We had a BBQ at a friend's house and I dipped a few too many dips, but overall I ate pretty good.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 4

Today was a day filled with travel and unfortunately I didn't get in my 30 minutes of activity. I made the excuse of trying to take it easy the day before my first 5k, but I know I could have done a quick walk during the day. I just didn't make it a priority and that's exactly where I have fallen short before and where this challenge becomes more challenging.

On the other hand I resisted my bad habit of junking it up when I get to my parents' house, which was no small feat. George picked up some awesome salads from the supermarket and when I got to their house I grabbed a banana vs. loading up on candy, cheese or whatever kind of junk food they have on hand. No wonder I have issues with food when I see how that house is stocked and it wasn't much different growing up.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 3

I managed to squeeze in my 30 min. of activity by taking a walk with Elliott shortly before going out for a much needed Girls' Night Out with some friends. I'm really feeling like the accountability of the blog and my 21 day challenge is making a difference because I know I would have otherwise skipped the walk.

We headed out to Bar Louie for dinner and I am quite proud of my choices. Yes, I had a Heineken Light, but prior to leaving I checked out meal ideas for the restaurant on The Daily Plate and in turn chose the Baja Fish Tacos for dinner. They were really good and the girls complimented my food choice because it did look like the most appealing meal on the table and they had no clue that I had picked the healthiest thing on the menu.

I love that I can go out and enjoy my night, but still make small changes that will hopefully have big results in the long run!

Newborn Nips

Besides the painful nipples in the beginning and around the clock feedings, breastfeeding has been a very enjoyable and easy part of parenting for me.

Then my first post partum period reared her ugly head last month. On one hand I was happy to feel a bit of my pre-pregnancy self returning, but I am already changing enough diapers during the day! It came and went without much issue, but about a week ago my nipples have started hurting whenever Elliott latches and I think it is related to menstruation. I really hope this goes away soon because I am starting to cringe at the beginning of every nursing session and that is the last thing I want to be experiencing with my 8 month old. My goal is to breastfeed at least a year so I should know to expect some bumps in the road, right?

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 2

So far, so good! I would hope so since I'm only 2 days into this bad boy challenge of mine. I started the day with a run outside. Did I mention I have my first post-baby 5k this Saturday and I basically started getting serious about my running about a week ago? I was actually signed up to do the Chicago Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon in about 10 days, but obviously that isn't happening. Although I am slightly disappointed in myself for slacking on the running front, I am trying to appreciate what I am doing and not be so hard on myself. I set my timer for 30 minutes and ended up doing about 2 min. of walking at the 1/2 way point, but finished strong after that. Hopefully I can do the 5k without walking, that would be my first goal and I'm not even going to think about my time for this race. I figure it will be my starting point and all other races should just be improvements upon this one.

Pretty good with the eating again, although I had one too many Fiber One bars for one person's digestive system to take in one day! I've been focusing on keeping snacks small and eating more fruits and veggies, I think this will be key to not feeling deprived and like I'm on a diet. For dinner my husband made a Tortilla Soup that he saw on "Just Cook This!". Fantastic and really healthy and filling! I'm not the cook in our family, but I think my husband is slowly making me a convert by watching this show because the recipes are really, really easy and look so tasty.

21 Day Fitness Challenge: Day 1

I need to take my measurements because I have a feeling my size will change more than the actual weight on the scale and I don't want to be discouraged.

Anyways, the first day was a bit of a soft start. I had a really rough day with Elliott since he has started crawling and separation anxiety is in full effect and he refused to nap in his crib. I did end up taking a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood and it did wonders for my sanity and met my 30 minute activity criteria for the challenge.

I also succeeded with the healthy eating aspect for Day 1. My personal success happened at Caribou Coffee when I was tempted to get something totally decadent to "make me feel better", but instead I paused to look at the menu and got this:

Heck yeah! This is not exactly nature's finest with the sugar-free syrup and flavorings, but the Caramel Northern Lite Cooler is only 100 calories and super yummy. I sipped away while I took my long walk and all was right with the world again!

My 21 Day Challenge: Eating/Exercise

We just got back from a week-long vacation filled with fudge, beer and enough Cheetos to make me turn a fine shade of orange! I really hate that I am still not taking my weight loss seriously enough. It's great that I have a new level of comfort with my body, but I don't want to get too comfortable.

I have heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, so I am challenging myself to 21 consecutive days of exercise and eating healthy. I define exercise as doing at least 30 minutes of activity and eating healthy as not going bonkers and overindulging like I tend to do (that's a post in and of itself). I know I may tweak the eating part as I go along to be a bit more defined than that, but for right now I have the fridge stocked and the mind ready! Wish me luck!

Letting babies swim in lakes?

We just got back from an impromptu trip to a lake house with our friends, sweet! It was a good dry run for our week long vacation at my aunt's cabin next week.

First I was concerned because of the baby float recall and fish biting off my son's toes since they might look like worms, but then my friend made me think swimming with baby was like taking a dip in the sewer. I know we all have our different levels of comfort so I just bit my tongue and promised myself to do a little research just in case I'm wrong by letting Elliott swim in the lake next week. This is another symptom of my "Mommy Life Crisis", second-guessing EVERYTHING even though I used to feel so confident in my choices for myself or even as a nanny to other people's kids.

So here is what I found regarding babies swimming in lakes, rivers, etc.:

Baby Center gives us the OK since he is almost 8 months old, although they caution about the temperature of the water and a baby's ability to regulate their body temperature. They say that lakes are just as safe (or not) as pools when it comes to bacteria and the like.

Not sure how legitimate eHow is, but they suggest waiting until baby is 6 months and their immune system is developed before swimming with baby.

Bacteria seems to be an issue in pools and open bodies of water, so keep swallowing of said water to a minimum. This article's fun fact about the amount of feces that hangs out on our butts makes my stomach churn. They do make a good point about not swimming after it rains or in lakes that are identified as unsafe.

Or Elliott could lose his nose to a flesh-eating bacteria, yum!

I'm glad I researched this and personally feel OK swimming in a lake with Elliott next week. I can go back to living under my bacteria-laden rock!

The Great Divide

Just as I'm starting to embrace being a SAHM, it happened. One of my best friends, a mom who works outside of the house, pretty much implied that my life as a SAHM is one big vacation. Ouch!

Maybe it hurts more because it was a good friend who should know better or maybe it is because deep down I still feel conflicted about staying at home full-time? I know I should just brush it off because this will not be the last time somebody makes a comment about my parenting choices. It's amazing how becoming a parent can really test your relationships with friends that are also parents. I'm not going to lie, I judge some decisions that people make, but I like to believe that I have more tact than to say something about my judgemental thoughts (I'm working on banishing the judging internally as well).

I miss my old relationships with my friends when we didn't care what each other did for a living. I never got flack for choosing to go into Forensic Psychology, so why do people feel the need to make disparaging remarks about my job as a full time mom? Why do I care so much what others think? Maybe that is the real question here.