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A Joint Effort

Involving Mom and Baby in Your Exercise Routine

By I.J. Schecter

This truth is immutable: Your baby will be entertained more by your antics than by anything else. So, if all else fails, just goof around for a half-hour: Sing, dance, run in circles, do jumping jacks, play hide-and-seek or do a spontaneous performance piece about how much you love him. There's no limit to what you can do. (For example, though I'm embarrassed to admit it, Julian positively cracks up when my wife and I do ballet jumps past each other.) Nothing will please your baby more than your attempts to amuse him. And you might just end up surprised at how much energy you expend.

One of the undeniable challenges of shared parenthood is finding quality time for each other. It's easy – and addictive – to focus on your baby all day, every day. After a while you might look up and realize you haven't had an hour to cuddle, watch sitcoms or just talk with each other in a long while. Kill two birds with one stone by renting some simple workout videos, like yoga, Pilates, Tae-Bo or even oldies but goodies like Buns of Steel, and doing them together. You'll feel good about yourself for exercising, and you'll feel even better about sharing the activity with the first person in the family with whom you fell in love.

These are just a few ideas for incorporating your child and partner in your desire for continued fitness. Don't be afraid to get creative and come up with a few of your own – and be sure you let me know what they are!