You know that time when you have a newborn, and everything is chaos, and you’re so tired, and the days and nights and weeks just blend together, and you’d give anything for a break? This mom has discovered a truly life-saving hack for those postpartum moms. We’re going to just say this right now: it involves the gym, but don’t worry, there’s no working out in this story (unless that’s the form of self-care you need, in which case, you do you!).
Hannah, a mom on TikTok, shared this hack in a viral video, explaining how the practice “saved” her mental health.
@hannahsandsmusic 100/10 would do this mum hack again, especially around the 5 month mark where life is just ramping up and theyre developing so much and you are just SO TIRED. Postpartum is HARD, and we’re just doing our best as new mums but this seriously saved my mental health in motherhood some days! #newmumtips #mumhack #motherhoodhack #momhack #mumsoftiktok #motherhood #firsttimemum #mummentalhealth
♬ original sound – Hannah Sands
“This was way before I was willing to send my son to daycare—as a first-time mom that just terrified me—but we were out of the newborn bubble, and I was just f*cking exhausted,” she explained. “I just needed a break sometimes, like an hour.”
If that isn’t relatable to postpartum moms, I don’t know what is.
Hannah continued, “I had never even heard of a creche—first-time mom things.”
Now, Hannah is clearly not from the U.S., and you may not have heard of a creche either, since that’s not a super common term here. But basically, it’s free or low-cost childcare at places like schools, churches, or stores. Or, in Hannah’s case, at the gym.
“I found a gym right near our house that was beautiful. It had a pool, a sauna, and a creche,” she said. “Now, this isn’t another story about exercising and postpartum and bouncing back, because we are not about that. We signed up on a trial, and I can take my baby there every day for up to two hours… and I wouldn’t even work out. Sometimes I would just go sit at the coffee shop and have a coffee and stare into the abyss. Sometimes I could swim or have a sauna. Sometimes I’d walk on the treadmill. Sometimes I would work out.”
The important thing, Hannah pointed out, was that she got two hours per day to herself while her baby was being cared for. She could do whatever self-care felt right during that time. And the kicker? The creche cost her $8 per week.
In the U.S., you may not find a “creche” per se, but you can still find gyms that offer childcare to their members. And while you’ll still need to pay the cost of the gym membership, if it has the right amenities for the self-care you need during your postpartum journey, it’s probably worth it.
