Surviving Lockdown with a Toddler

Question: Please help with some tips around motivation amidst mum life and lockdowns...!!! Thank you :)

From Kerryn

Here are my tips for surviving lockdown with a baby / toddler:

1. Have a plan. Within your day, have a rough plan on how you will break up the day. This will go around when your baby normally naps, but break up the morning into segments and include some sort of stimulation for both you and them within the segment. We ALWAYS go out for a walk in the morning, normally around 9am, because that works for us.

2. Switch to a positive mindset. To be grateful for what we HAVE rather than HAVE NOT. I don't know about you, but I'm grateful that if there had to be a pandemic, that it's at a time when we have little ones. I probably wouldn't be leaving the house much more than I do now in lockdown!

3. Get outside. This is a must. Even if it's raining, check the radar and see when it's least rainy and get outside even for five minutes. Even if it's just standing at your back door and breathing in the fresh air. It does wonders for your mental and emotional wellbeing.

4. Set Challenges. When my husband and I are both in the house we do a 'water challenge' and try to drink three bottles of water before 5pm. When he's not around I still say in my head 'alright I have to drink the rest of this water bottle before the end of the walk, or by 10am, or whatever a set timeframe will be.' It might not be water, it could be what you eat or how many squats you fit in your day.

5. Allocate your non-negotiable days. Look, life with a baby or a toddler is unpredictable. But there can be some level of predictability when someone else is around to mind bub (i.e. your partner!).

What we do (because this became a struggle for me too once Max was on the move), we allocated days to our workouts.

So my husband gets Monday / Wednesday / Friday before 7am free time. I get Tues, Thurs, Sat. So if Max wakes before 7am then whoever is 'not on free-time' has to go to him, and the other person gets their workout in before breakfast regardless.

It works for us and even though I HATE getting up earlier than I have to, trust me Sophie, I do! Because it's only a few times I get a week, I just do it. And I fit in 30 minutes and I feel so much better for it.

6. Get down on the floor. Don't sit up on the chair or the couch with your coffee scrolling your phone when your little one is amused playing by themselves. Get down on the floor and stretch or move in a way that feels good.

It could be stretching against the wall or using a massage ball. I probably do this 4-5 times a day, where I get a short little stretch or release in whilst hanging around Max and he feels I'm there. Of course, he loves climbing on top of me too - so be prepared for that!

7. Wear supportive shoes inside. We have floor boards, so if I walk around barefoot all day, or just in socks, I feel so much more tired than if I have supportive shoes.

Hopefully some of those tips help!

Let me know how you go!

x Kerryn