I have to admit I wasn't sold on the idea. Then I discovered Mommie and Baby Fitness (http://www.mommyandbabyfitness.com/) with Laura Berry. Char and I signed up for the stroller fit classes at a park nearby. Not even a week later, we were off to our first class! I felt like it was the first day of school, I had to get my 8 week old baby organized, tranferred from one car seat to the other, set up her jogging stroller and meet all kinds of new people! I was a little nervous!! As usual, I was one of the first ones there. Laura arrived shortly after with her 2 kids and about 10 other mothers slowly trickled in with their babes in tow. Some people had been doing the class for a while, and a few others were newbies like me. Everyone was beyond friendly and it was a great atmosphere. Noone judged me when little Charlotte cried the first few classes! It didn't take long before I added an extra class weekly and Charlotte got used to the routine and stopped crying. Not only did I get an amazing workout, trust me, it's harder then you would expect it to be! You try lunging up a hill pushing your baby and stroller!! But I got some excellent advice from mothers living in my neighborhood. At the end of the class, babies come out of the stroller, we all sit down on a giant parachute and sing songs and play games! I was hooked!! Sadly as summer came to an end, so did stroller fit.We went on until the beginning of October when it was just too cold for the little ones. I exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with a few of the moms I had really connected with.
Today, I had plans to meet up with my friend Jenn. Her daughter is about 17 months old. We decided to meet at Yonge and Eglinton which is about a 30minute walk for both of us. I got Char to nap this morning, then dressed, fed and bundled her up to make the treck. I packed snacks, toys and water, more toys and more snacks. Surprisingly, (well not really, as Jenn and I were always the first to arrive at class) we both made it there on time. We got our coffees and sat down. Then began the fussing. I joked that we are those moms you judged before having kids - the one with the whining baby in public! Char was happily munching her cookie when I took her out of the stroller - then Sarah got fussy - she wanted to walk around, and wasn't happy just sitting on her mom's lap. Just over half an hour later, we had to end our date. Ofcourse Sarah calmed down as soon as she got in her stroller, and Char got mad as soon as I tried to stuff her back into her jacket, vest, mitts, hat and stroller. I would call it a very successful coffee date!
The good thing about hanging out with other moms is there is never any pressure if you have to change a diaper or nurse your baby. You never have to feel bad if the baby is screaming, or spits up everywhere because chances are they've been there!
I'm so happy I stepped out of my comfort zone and signed up for the stroller fit classes all those months ago. I met some great women and loved sharing advice and watching their babies grow throughout the summer. There was lots of talk about poop, and sleep, but we managed to get our workouts in and gossip about the latest Jersey Shore episode too!
Here is a picture of Char bundled up for our walk!!
I met some of the greatest people through my baby basics class...now once a year we get together and celebrate their birthday....we just celebrated 3 years together last July. Some of us have had our second babies nearly on top of each other it was the best decision I ever made signing up for that class!!!
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