Gym mums taking babies in the gym

[Catk34]

I’m due next year and have been reading about not leaving baby in a car seat when not in the car - something I didn’t know before.

the gym I go to has had many new mums that bring their babies to the class for an hour and leave the baby sleeping in the car seat. All babies have been fine.

After what I’ve read, personally, it’s not a risk I want to take. The wee space dedicated for babies is too small for a bulky pram (I also don’t think I’m going to get a pram) so I’m wondering what people might use to keep baby in that’s portable, not too large and flat for baby to sleep or lay down whilst I do my workout for an hour.

thanks for the advice

You can get lie-flat car seats. We had the Jane Matrix which was great.

Oh genius! Well that’s ideal - I still have a lot to learn about 😵‍💫

thanks!

Cybex cloud z is another flat one but it's very heavy! You could also just take them out and put them on a little mat on the floor, snugglbundl is ideal for this.

I doubt you’ll be going to the gym for the first couple of months. Babies like to be more upright after that to have something to look at if awake.

no need to make the decision now - see how you feel when they arrive and you get into the swing of being a mum to YOUR baby. They are all different.

My second was a Velcro baby and liked to be held upright . He rarely went in a pram or push chair for the first 6 months. I could not have taken him to a gym. DS was much more chilled and was happy reclined in a car seat for 45 mins . He would fall asleep in the car and then stay napping for up to an hour if I lifted him out to go somewhere. Other friends had babies who woke when the car stopped !

Im guessing you don’t have kids yet.

napping in a car seat for 45min is completely fine,

your alternate is a foam play mat they can lie on and cry 🤷🏻‍♀️

If the baby is over 4 weeks old, and you don't live an hour+ drive away from this gym, this is fine and safe to do. You can leave them in the car seat up to 2 hours at a stretch of time. So it wouldn't be a good idea to go around the shops, then drive to the gym then leave them sleeping. But if you live 10-20 mins away, get them in the seat then drive to gym, do your 45-60 min workout, get them out for a cuddle and a bit of a play before driving home - all good. Especially if this is once or twice a week, as opposed to every day.

Some of the "safety" advice on the internet around parenting (actually a lot of internet parenting advice in general) is OTT and extreme and anxiety provoking. Car seats are not an ideal sleep surface, but the risk is very low. It is important to have balance in parenthood - if you are trying to optimise absolutely everything according to some theoretical ideal, you are highly likely to burn out. Your needs matter, too. There is a great TED talk about this called "Parenting through the ShouldStorm" and the author wrote a book as well although with a much less catchy title which I always forget!

BTW I am aware that the official advice has changed so that rather than have a time limit, it's more that you should move them to a flat surface when not in the car. But since this is not always practical, I think it is helpful to have an idea of what the previous guidance was as well.

From memory also, the age where you can get away with this is extremely short lived - once they become mobile, you'll be lucky if their nap time coincides with your class and they are unlikely to be happy to chill in the car seat - they want to get out and explore. I would totally encourage you to take advantage of the time when your baby is portable, without worrying overly about rules and guidance which is extremely strict.

Babies were left for hours, all day often in the past and only in a few very rare cases was there an issue. Take advice obviously but try to make sure you use common sense as well it's only as a newborn you need to be very cautious, by the time you are ready to return to the gym, an hour in the car seat will be fine

I must've had diffcult babies because I would never have been able to guarantee mine would fall asleep to let me do a gym class! 😅They'd be screaming the place down.

its fine to leave a baby in a car seat for a 45 minute gym class. Many people do much longer car journeys. Also once mine reached about five months they would scream their heads off if left flat. They wanted to be propped up so see what was going on!

I’m surprised the gym allow it, I use a gym with a creche, which is ideal. I would recommend.

By the time you’re healed enough to do an exercise class 2 hours in the car seat will be absolutely fine. So presuming the class is an hour and you’re 15 minutes drive or less from the gym then the only issue is whether the baby will sleep through the class! The next best alternative would be a gym with a crèche.

You don't think you are going to get a pram? I'm a bit baffled by this!

I don't know about current versions, but when I was buying car seats the lay flat models scored very poorly for safety

I’m hoping I can get away with a baby carrier until big enough for a buggy. I live in the middle of the countryside, any walks round here the pram would just get stuck and be a massive pain. And going into town would involve a lot of deconstructing and reconstructing a pram in and out of the car, plus the nuisance of taking a pram in and out of shops/ up stairs etc. if I’m lucky to end up with a baby that’s happy to be worn, it just seems to make more sense to me. I’ll find out in time, but I’ve come across many others who haven’t bothered to get a pram and just use a carrier for 6 months then get a buggy suitable for 6+ months.

’m hoping I can get away with a baby carrier until big enough for a buggy. I live in the middle of the countryside, any walks round here the pram would just get stuck and be a massive pain. And going into town would involve a lot of deconstructing and reconstructing a pram in and out of the car, plus the nuisance of taking a pram in and out of shops/ up stairs etc. if I’m lucky to end up with a baby that’s happy to be worn, it just seems to make more sense to me. I’ll find out in time, but I’ve come across many others who haven’t bothered to get a pram and just use a carrier for 6 months then get a buggy suitable for 6+ months.

I assume this is postnatal Pilates or something similar, not a normal spin class

Sounds like you need an out n about nipper, brilliant buggy.

Baby wearing is great but I wouldn't want to spend six months with that as my only option. Baby in a sling plus backpack for nappies, clothes changes etc is not comfortable.

Not sure if this is for me other other poster.
Im a competitive CrossFit athlete, my CrossFit box doesn’t have a crèche, but it’s a very close knit community and is just a big family. We have a space for kids and babies to chill out safetly and visible to mum.
class sizes at usually 12-15 people.
I may end up not doing a class and just go to open gym which would be a bit easier or if all this fails, my parents are just round the corner and would be happy to watch baby for an hour.
Have received some very helpful advice here and feel much more confident now. I’m sure for the most part I’ll probably just have to figure it all out as I go along!

The 2 hr car seat rule only applies in the car. Babies shouldn’t be left to sleep in one outside the car unless it’s a lie flat one as the angle can be different compared to the car. Some babies have tragically died this way including babies much older than a newborn and even a toddler older than 12 months.

If you do change your mind about the pram a lot have detachable bassinets and you could just bring the bassinet out of the car.

It can be quite difficult to get babies to nap at specific times though and they often only sleep for ~40 min at a time during the first year.

If you've the choice of using grandparents, that seems a no-brainer. Your class could be interrupted repeatedly by your baby, you won't get as much out of it!
As an aside your parents are very likely to want to put the baby in a buggy rather than baby wearing, unless they are as fit as you.