Babywearing Exercises- "Nap Time"

I would have to say that nap or bed time, besides walking, is the way that I get the most exercise babywearing. Instead of using a swing or rocker to help put my little one to sleep I either put her into her Baby Hawk Mei Taior in a Boba Wrap or Carrier on my front and get to work!

I have a slew of different moves I do but I'll narrow it down to the best ones for both me and the ones that seem to put her to sleep the fastest as well:

#1- The Torso Twist:
Put your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly.
Place your hands on your shoulders with your elbows up even with your shoulders.
Engage your stomach muscles and twist from left to right and back again.
Make sure you are keeping your hips stationary and all of the work is happening with your torso only. Keep at this for as long as you can or until your little one falls asleep. You can speed it up or slow it down based on what seems to work best for him or her. If you want to take this to the next level you can even add a little bounce while you are doing it....that's usually the final KO for my girl!

#2- The Yoga Ball Bounce
Sit straight up on the ball with your feet flat on the floor at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Now bounce. But don't just let gravity take over. Engage your core stomach muscles as well as your quads. Just use the ball more as a support. Sometimes I'll add a modified Torso Twist to each bounce to take it up a notch. Again, do this for as long as you can or until your little one is down for the count.

#3- The Bouncing Mini Squat
Just like what it sounds like...put your knees shoulder width apart and bounce into mini squats. Don't go down all the way just what feels natural as a bounce and soothing not jostling for the bebe on your chest. Also make sure you knees stay over your ankles so you don't injure your self. Now bounce, bounce, bounce until your legs are burning and you can take any more!

Sometimes I rotate all of these moves throughout one nap or bed time routine depending on how long it's taking for her to fall asleep.

Depending on your little one's age and how many naps they are taking a day you will get yourself into the best shape of your life if you are doing this on an average of 20 mins 3-4 times a day don't you think?!

Put on some soothing music, sing or hum to your baby while you are doing this and you'll find that it's really very enjoyable for the both of you.