When I got pregnant with Alexa I told myself I was going to exercise regularly so I wouldn’t gain a lot of weight.
If I recall correctly I went for one run at 9 weeks and did an ab workout I found on pinterest once.
I ended up gaining 60 lbs.
Thanks to exclusively breastfeeding I did lose all 60 lbs “very slowly” over the course of a year.
I didn’t exercise once or limit my calorie intake. I did eat relatively healthy, but the same amount, if not more than when I was pregnant, to keep a steady milk supply.
Fast forward 15 months, now I’m trying to wean Alexa from breastfeeding.
It’s going well and I plan to share what I’ve learned when we are done. However I am nervous about gaining the weight back, now that I am not burning the calories I use to while breastfeeding.
With our wedding date vastly approaching I decided it was probably a good idea to incorporate some fitness into my life, for my health, and so I fit into my wedding dress.
Alexa absolutely loves going for a stroller ride, so I figured going for a run would be a good place to start.
I didn’t plan on learning anything from the experience, but I did and I am very excited to share my findings with you today!
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What I Learned Running With My Toddler For The First Time
1.) You might spend more time getting ready than you actually spend running.
Even before I had Alexa getting ready for a run was always the part I hated the most. I’m not a fitness nut. I don’t enjoy exercise. I only do it because I know it’s good for me.
That being said, the more time it would take me to get clothes on, shoes on, and my hair pulled back, the more time a little part of me had to say, “Are we really going to do this Sierrah?”.
I didn’t prepare for this run the night before. In the morning I tried getting us ready and I had to search for all of our clothes.
Then once I had her dressed, while I was dressing myself, she was undressing herself.
Tips
– Set clothes out the night before
– Dress myself first so she doesn’t have time to undress herself
2.) I had no idea how to properly use my jogging stroller.
Once we were finally outside and started off we ran into problems immediately. As soon as I started running the stroller started bouncing.
I checked the front wheel because I thought it was Alexa’s blanket getting caught. That’s when I noticed there was this little gray wheel lock.
I thought it was up so I pressed it down all the way and started running again.
Now the bouncing stopped but the stroller started pulling to the right and my arms were burning just trying to keep it straight.
At that point I thought it was just a bad stroller. I tried to keep going but my arms could only take so much.
I decided to check the wheel out once more before giving up.
The little grey lever must have been stuck in the middle (what are the odds?😤) because when I pushed it all the way up and started running again it worked great.
It turns out when the lever is down it keeps the front wheel straight. If it is up it allows the wheel to swivel.
And if you have crap luck like me and it isn’t all the way up or down, but somehow stuck in the middle, your stroller will bounce.
Upon investigation you are supposed to lock the front wheel while running for safety reasons.
During my run with the front wheel locked the stroller was pulling to the right because I was on a slightly slanted road.
Once I unlocked the wheel I felt I had way more control over the stroller.
I found many varying opinions online concerning this issue.
Do your research, do what you feel most comfortable with.
However please do note that the jogging stroller directions do recommend you lock the front wheel while running.
Now that I actually know how to use it I definitely would recommend the jogging stroller I have.
Tips
– Know how your stroller works before you try to use it
3.) I picked a terrible route.
Where we are living now there is only one route to run unless you want to pack your stroller and your toddler in the car and drive into town.
I didn’t want to do that.
I was scared to do this route because the last 1/4 of it was on a road with a speed limit of 55 and a very small shoulder.
I’ve seen people run and bike on this road a hundred times and decided I was just being a wimp.
Once we got to the last 1/4 of our run I was tired and ready to be done.
We got to the road and it only took seeing how fast one car went by for me to chicken out.
If it had been just me I probably would have kept going, but I wasn’t going to risk it with my daughter.
Tips
– Find a nice safe route, preferably straight roads with low-speed limits.
4.) People Suck.
The most important thing I learned running with my toddler is that people suck.
At one point on our run a lady was driving toward us going way too fast. As she got closer I could see that she definitely did not see us because she didn’t slow down and her face was down, probably texting.
Right before I was about to dart into a driveway her head popped up and she whipped her car away from us.
This was my biggest concern taking Alexa running with me and it happened the FIRST TIME.
I will definitely never take her on that route again. It might be more work and take more time but we will be going into town for our next run.
Tips
– Again, pick a safe route
– Do Not trust that anyone is a safe driver
– Be ALERT at all times
5.) I was more out of shape than I thought.
I exercised on and off in my teens. Never before have I took enough of a break in between for a 30 minute walk/kind of jog to leave me so sore.
It’s the next day and I am feeling it.
Tips
– Spend more time stretching
– Don’t only run once every two years 😂
Zonked right out after 15 minutes
I hope you enjoyed reading this more than I enjoyed our run.
I also hope my tips help you if you’re planning on going for a run with your toddler for the first time.
Do you exercise with your toddler? What are some tips that you’ve learned along the way? Let me know in the comments!
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