It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA

Easter family photo!

This week I braved the gym for the first time since Felix was born. I had done yoga a few times at home while Felix napped, but it always seemed Felix woke up mid workout and it would leave me wanting more.

Well in March our gym membership expired so Josh and I decided to join a family friendly gym with child care options so I can get back into my exercise routine. So on Monday night, with new YMCA membership cards in hand, Josh and I left Felix for the first time with someone other than one of us. In an overcrowded nursery. with strangers. at 6:45 PM...the most volatile and sleepy time for our little dude. AGH! I was freaking out a bit.

I signed him in with an optimistic estimated 1 hour workout time and tentatively passed him over the wall in his car seat to the worker. For the first 15 minutes on the elliptical all I could do was think about all the things I forgot to tell the worker. "He just ate, so he should be OK." "Don't let him cry-it-out" "Please call me if you can't calm him down" "Leave him in the seat if possible, to avoid germs of the other kids" etc. etc.

Then mid-workout, I had an epiphany. I no longer shared my body with a baby and could work out to the point of near-death if I wanted to. (Something I had missed terribly during pregnancy). The last part of my workout flew by as I pushed the tension on the arc trainer as high as my weary legs would allow and let the sweat flow off my face.

When I was done I all but ran back to the nursery to get Felix. He was doing just fine. Sitting contentedly in his seat, watching one of the workers read books to a group of older kids. He squawked a few times on the way home, but overall, I was proud of our little family. Embracing health. Relinquishing total control. Giving me and josh some time for ourselves. It was refreshing. Looking forward to more visits and a return to health!