Supermom Sighting

The elusive 'supermom' is rare and hard to spot. In the wild, you may find her growing her own vegetables in a family homestead while simultaneously home schooling eight children. In suburbia, she may be sighted at a local book-signing where she is promoting her latest Attachment Parenting book while breastfeeding her newborn in a sling across her chest. In my lifetime, and particularly since becoming a mother myself, I've met a few members of this species, but today I spotted the Alpha female, the quintessential Supermom to dominate all other Supermoms.

She was at the gym. She wore her two month old baby in a sling and attended PowerPump. She brought the baby's car seat into the Group Fitness room, and I thought she'd be putting the baby in the car seat upon commencement of class. But no, she wore Baby during warm-ups. Warm-ups were fairly easy though, so surely Baby would be put in car seat after warm-ups. But THEN we stared doing push-ups, and to my amazement, as I not-so-covertly turned to spy on this mother, I saw she was doing push-ups with the baby still in the sling! (Baby's head was well supported by the sling.) We started weights. SURELY not. But yes. Alpha Mother began bicep curls with the dumbbells in either hand. She did chest presses with dumbbells. She did lunges. ALL WITH THE BABY STILL STRAPPED TO HER.

The class was thirty minutes gone before she finally took her sleeping baby out of the sling and put her into her car seat to rest peacefully while Mother started her post-partem ab work.

I was amazed. I was inspired. I was frickin' jealous.

Incredible. Just incredible.


Photo Credit: CoolMomPicks
P.S. You'd NEVER see this being allowed in Scotland. Health & Safety would throw a fit! It's one thing I love about America. People are just allowed to take responsibility for their own health and safety. (And then of course they like to sue when things go wrong, but anyway.) If I'd been allowed to take my infant babies with me to the gym, though I doubt I'd have exercised with them ON me, I'd have definitely gone more often. I also love that my Community Center has a childcare service. I get to put Jaguar, and sometimes Lolly if there isn't a kid class on at the same time, in the creche while I work out. It's an incredible service! They also do classes aimed specifically at senior citizens which is another demographic that needs opportunities to keep fit. Mothers and old dears... that's kind of who I see every day at the gym! I love it.