The arrival of summer vacation was great timing for me, because around mid-June, Edwin became much more mobile. Gone are the days when I could put him down to slowly explore the finished basement while I did my morning workout. Now he moves too fast for me to rescue him from falling or injuring himself while I’m engaged in some other activity. Luckily, I’ve had my husband home all summer, so I haven’t had to choose between a workout with Edwin whining in the pack-and-play (his tolerance is about 5-10 minutes) or no workout at all. Unfortunately, Nick is away for a few days, so the problem popped up again. Here are some solutions I’ve come up with for baby-friendly exercising when Nick goes back to work in the fall:

1. A jacked-up game of peek-a-boo. Put Edwin in his jumper, and run between the two doors of the kitchen, both of which he can see from his jumper. He loves seeing me pop out from a different door each time, and I get my heart rate up.

2. “Elevator baby.” Stand up straight and put Edwin’s feet on the floor, then raise him up over my head, hinging up from hips. Repeat. Works biceps, triceps, deltoids. Switch to squatting position to work glutes. Repeat.

3. 5-minute dance parties! Edwin loves to dance around with me.

4. “Airplane baby.” Everyone knows this one. Lie on floor and put baby’s stomach on your knees to “fly”. Twist from side to side to work abdominals and obliques.

5. Take lots of walks with the stroller. Edwin loves the fresh air and scenery, and never gets tired of the loop around the top of our cul-de-sac. However, this activity is time-sensitive. If it’s not right after lunch or dinner, Edwin’s not as willing to sit still.

6. Use my Quick Fix workout DVDs, which are divided into 10-minute segments. Run downstairs to do a segment and put Edwin in the pack-and-play, then release him for playtime. Repeat an hour later. The downside to this is having to stay in workout clothes all morning.

7. Do my workouts while Edwin naps. I don’t really want to do this, though, because nap time is sacred to writing time. Maybe I can convince Nick to get one of those treadmills with the laptop desk attached. (I can hear him laughing now.)

8. Sit Edwin on my knee and bounce around on my balance ball. Works abs and glutes. I haven’t tried this, but I’m sure he’d love it.

9. Baby Einstein workout game. When watching with Edwin, every time the cartoon balloon comes on the screen announcing the next segment, drop and do 10 pushups. Whenever one of those animal puppets appears, drop and do 25 crunches. (This might also make a good drinking game. If another adult was home. Obviously.)

10. Wait until he starts running all over the place, and get my exercise by chasing him.