Ready to lose the baby weight, but don’t have a gym membership or much time away from your little one? We hear you! Ease yourself back into the game and get moving at home with free online workout videos. We searched YouTube to find the best free fitness videos you can do with your baby in tow. Whether your newborn is just lying on a mat beside you, or if you’re holding your older baby close in a carrier, there’s a youtube workout for every mama trying to get back into shape. If you’ve got your clearance to workout from your doctor, try one of these workouts.

Baby & Me Yoga with Molly Sims

This professional-quality video was produced by Tom’s of Maine and Los Angeles’ Zooga Yoga and stars Molly Sims to keep you motivated. The 15-minute postnatal yoga session combines stretches and toning exercises. While most of the workout has your baby laying on your mat, the final few minutes features a few moves that your little one will love – being held, kissed and lifted up and down.

Cross Train With Your Baby

New mom, blogger and Youtube fitness trainer Sarah Fit, filmed this quick cross training routine with her baby. She’ll show you how to use your baby as a weight (it’s not as unloving as it sounds!). The video is only about 5 minutes long, but don’t worry, it’ll take you longer than that to complete the calorie-blasting workout. Sarah takes you through four exercise and includes the number of reps and sets you should do along with smart tips on technique and new mommy issues.

20-Minute Baby Wearing Workout

JessicaSmithTV takes on a mommy and me workout by having her postnatal client wear her baby in a carrier for the session. The low-impact cardio routine, will get your heart rate up and keeps you moving so you don’t have time to get bored. The carrier keeps your hands free, while your baby gets to enjoy the movement as you squat, march, do leg lifts, squat and more.

Squats, Lunges & Baby, Oh My!

Shayna Frasco Rose, a certified trainer and mama, created this quick full body workout incorporating your baby. Be sure that your little one can hold his head up on his own before trying it. In just 5 minutes you’ll complete lunges, squats, biceps curls and abs. The heavier your baby is, the harder the workout will be.

Mommy & Me Full Body Toner

Fitness trainer BekahFit, who offers more videos on her website for a monthly fee, shows you nine mom plus baby moves in this 6.5 minute video. While BekahFit talks you through each exercise, you’ll see her sister and niece demonstrating. You’ll do everything from mountain climbers to squats with an overhead (baby) press.

Weighting Game

If you have a set of free weights, or have a gym in your apartment building that you can take your baby to without getting dirty looks from other gym goers, this routine from Sterling Jackson is for you. You’ll wear your baby in a front carrier, so your hands are free to do biceps curls, triceps dips and more. At the end, you’ll take Baby out and place him on a mat so you can interact with him during a few core exercises. Note: if you weren’t into fitness pre-baby, this mommy and me workout will be too advanced.

Entertain Baby With a Cardio Blast

Watch this 2-minute video to learn a sequence of 6 baby weight-burning exercises along with recommended reps and sets. Don’t let the new mom’s near perfect bod deter you. You’ll start with burpees and with squats with lateral raises. You won’t hold your baby or get her in on the action of this workout, but the video does show you how to do these moves while your baby is watching, and hopefully entertained by your sweat session. Good luck!

Head to Toe Mama & Baby Session

Fitness pro Phyl London will instruct you through a 15-minute total body, mommy and baby workout. You’ll start with a few core exercises, work on push ups (which Baby will enjoy as you kiss her little head!), add the weight of baby to some sets of squats and lunges and more.

Do you have a favorite Youtube workout? Share it in the comments below.

–Julie Seguss

Who knew endless naps and snacking would get old? If you and the babe are ready to get out (get dressed), and greet the world, we’ve rounded up the best activities for mom and her little bundle, from newborn-friendly yoga, to baby music workshops to storytimes for the smallest of the small.

Photo courtesy of Le Petit Baleen

Swim!
There’s a reason your little one loves the bath—he or she has probably spent more time in water (9 months?) than they have on dry land, so it’s never too young to get ‘em swimming and splashing. Le Petit Baleen and American Swim Academy offer classes for babies as young as 8 weeks, and with their extra warm indoor pools, friendly instructors and viewing benches (grandma and grandpa will want to see this), it makes for the perfect activity (and photo op) all year round.

American Swim Academy
6948 Sierra Ct.
Dublin, Ca
925-479-7946
Online: americanswimacademy

Le Petit Beleen San Francisco
933 Mason Street
San Francisco, Ca
866-896-3603

La Petite Baleen San Bruno
434 San Mateo Avenue
San Bruno, Ca
866-896-3603

La Petite Baleen Half Moon Bay
775 Main Street Half
Moon Bay, Ca
866-896-3603

LaPetite Baleen Atherton
60 Fifth Avenue
Redwood City, Ca
866-896-3603
Online: swimlpb.com

Photo courtesy of Pretend City

Read!
Your nearest public library undoubtably offers a weekly baby-and-me class aimed to introduce little droolers to the joys of reading though music, movement and lots of cuddles. The (free!) classes also offer new parents and opportunity to relearn all those sweet kiddie songs that they probably haven’t heard in a few decades, and to bring home a few new books to keep that bedtime routine interesting.

Baby Rhyme Time and Playtime
San Francisco Public Libraries
Mission: Mon., 1:15 p.m.
Ocean View: Mon., 2 p.m.
Sunset: Mon., 2 p.m.
West Portal: Tues., 10:30 a.m.
Ortega: Wed., 3 p.m.
Presidio: Thurs., 10:15 a.m.
Mission Bay: Thurs., 10:15 a.m.
Bayview: Thurs., 11 a.m.
Main: Thurs., 3: 30 p.m.
Online: sfpl.org

Babies and Books
Larkspur Public Library
Wed., 9:30 a.m.
400 Magnolia Ave.
Larkspur, Ca
415-927-5005
Online: ci.larkspur.ca.us

Baby Bounce
Oakland Public Libraries
Main: Tues., 10:15 a.m.
Golden Gate: Tues., 11:15 a.m.
Diamond: Wed., 10:15 a.m.
Lakeview: Wed., 11 a.m.
Montclair: Thurs., 11: 30 a.m.
Online: www.oaklandlibrary.org

Just Baby and Me
Burlingame Public Library
Fri., 10:30 a.m.
480 Primrose Rd.
Burlingame, Ca
650-558-7400
Online: burlingame.org

Baby Lapsit
San Jose’s Martin Luther King Library
Thurs., 11:30 a.m.
150 E. San Fernando St.
San Jose, Ca
408-808-2183
Online: sjlibrary.org

Photo courtesy of Pomegranate

Stretch!
Those first few months with baby are a serious workout, and you’re likely to be feeling sore in places you didn’t even know existed. And your babe is probably still unfolding from his or her time curled up in your belly. Take some time to stretch it out at one of these relaxing mom and baby yoga sessions. Crying little ones are par for the course, so don’t stress about your babe being on their best behavior!

Post Natal Yoga with Jane Austin
Yoga Tree
1234 Valencia St.
San Francisco, Ca
415-647-9707
Online: yogatreesf.com

Mom and Baby Yoga
Pomegranate
25 Tamalpais Ave.
San Anselmo, Ca
415-785-3173
Online: pomcenter.com

It’s Yoga, Baby + Massage
It’s Yoga Kids
569 Ruger St.
San Francisco, Ca
415-750-9990
Online: itsyogakids.com

Postnatal Yoga (with childcare!)
Yogalayam
1723 Alcatraz Ave.
Berkeley, Ca
510-655-3664
Online: yogalayam.org

Mom & Baby Yoga
Blossom
299 S. California Ave., Ste. 120
Palo Alto, Ca
650-321-2326
Online: blossombirth.org

Mom and Baby Yoga
Yoga at Change
400 Ben Franklin Ct.
San Mateo, Ca
650-340-9642
Online: yogaatchange.com

Photo courtesy of Music Together

Sing!
Whether or not you can carry a tune, your voice is still the sweetest sound your baby hears. Learn some songs, explore different instruments and give your baby the gift of music during his or her first months.

Music Together
Hundreds of classes in Bay Area locations everywhere.
Find a class here: musictogether.com

Mini Music Time
Inner Rhythms
518D Tamalpais Dr.
Corte Madera, Ca
415.895.6144
Online: minimusictime.com

Baby Move & Groove
Ark Row Kids
122 Main St.
Tiburon, Ca
415-435-2200
Online: arkrowcenter.com

Kindermusik Sing and Play
Piedmont Center for the Arts
801 Magnoila Ave.
Piedmont, Ca
510-531-3190
Online: nanmusik.com
Music at Gymboree
925 Blossom Hill Rd.
San Jose, Ca
408-629-5813
Online: gymboreeclasses.com

 Do you have a favorite activity to do with your new babe?

—Erin Feher

 

We’re teaming up with Blue Shield of California to celebrate local San Diego moms who have inspired us to seek healthy, balanced lives.  This week, meet Lisa Druxman, Founder of Stroller Strides.

A noted authority on pre/postnatal fitness, an acclaimed author and CEO Stroller Strides (not to mention one of NBC’s Favorite Moms in America), Lisa helps moms nationwide achieve their ultimate physical and emotional potential, while inspiring them and their kids to make fitness a part of their daily lives.

Red Tricycle: You’re part of a group of moms that are on a serious mission.  What’s yours?
Lisa Druxman:  Our mission at Stroller Strides is to make strides in fitness, motherhood and life.

RT:  Stroller Strides is a national phenomenon! What inspired you to first pursue this passion?
LD:  Becoming a mom gave me the inspiration to blend my passion for fitness with motherhood. I realized the opportunity that I could share with other moms to have a career that was supportive of motherhood, and to raise healthy kids in a healthy world.

RT: For many women, balancing fitness and family is a huge challenge.  How do you involve your kids?
LD:  My kids live the business with me. I do my best to model how to raise healthy kids in a healthy world through my own life. They not only inspired the business but have been a part of it. They are far from stroller age now but they still know the business is very much part of the fabric of our lives.

RT:  I’m sure that throughout the years, they’ve had some funny things to say about how “fit” your family is, right?
LD:  Yes!  Especially when they realized that living healthy is part of my business!  When I wanted to get healthy snacks for Halloween, my kids told me,  “Really, Mom? We don’t want to be THAT family!”

RT:  We’re inspired by your commitment to fitness and your business. For other moms wanting to do something like you, what advice would you give them?
LD:  I think you need to know WHY you want to start. For me, I knew I wanted a career that was supportive of motherhood. I created that for myself. But figure out your top priorities and then delegate the rest. If you try to be a full time entrepreneur and a full time mom, something will suffer.

Be Like Lisa!  Blue Shield of California’s Wellness Challenge:
Lisa lives and relishes the Stroller Strides mission statement every day, by helping moms make strides in fitness, motherhood and life—and you can do the same.  Try something as simple as a daily walk with your kids, swapping afterschool snacks from chips to apples, or forgoing your usual take-out Friday dinner.  Then encourage even just one friend to do the same for their family

Blue Shield of California is an independent member of the Blue Shield Association. 

Whether you’re pregnant, post-natal, or looking for the right way to exercise, yoga is calling your name. The benefits include strengthening muscles used in childbirth, stretching the body to enhance flexibility, increasing circulation, and decreasing pregnancy-related discomforts like nausea, swelling, and joint sensitivity. If you’re already hooked on yoga, you probably don’t want to stop just because you’re pregnant, but it’s critical to find the right instructor who understands prenatal (and postnatal) techniques and considerations.

Luckily, San Francisco Prenatal Yoga has put all the information you need about pre- and post-natal teachers, classes, workshops, and products in one place. If you’re looking for a class, S.F. studios from Bernal Heights to Glen Park to SOMA are listed here, including the date and time information for the classes and links to contact info. You can also search by teacher, finding a certified instructor by specialty, level of experience, or the special vibe you get from reading their bio. If you’ve already had that bouncing baby and he looks ready to throw in some mind, body, and spirit moves of his own, search San Francisco Prenatal Yoga under “Workshop” to find the “Parent and Baby” category.

The site focuses on studios in San Francisco, but we’ve got some favorite yoga studios outside the city, too. Yogaworks has light-filled, zen-like studios in SF as well as Larkspur Landing, Mill Valley, and Walnut Creek. East Bay moms go for the prenatal yoga classes at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland or Namaste Yoga on College Ave. (and opening their Grand Lake location this fall!). Down on the Peninsula, Blossom Birth in Palo Alto does everything from prenatal to Mom-and-Toddler yoga. Let us know where you like to get your yoga on!

p.s. Got a big birthday coming up? Consider throwing a yoga birthday party at It’s Yoga Kids in the Presidio, where a 45-minute yoga class, refreshments, and a dance party are all part of the package.

-Renee Rutledge