Baby & Me Fitness

Is anyone else waiting for a refund/​follow up from this company? If so, please post.

Pregnant ladies need to float. We need to feel weightless for just one heavenly hour a week. The pool at High Park Village Fitness is rented by Baby & Me Fitness for their weekly «Aqua-​bellies» aquafit class. Cutesy names aside, the workout is both relaxing and challenging and the instructors are top-​notch. Each class has a discussion period for 30 minutes about various pregnancy topics and is a good way to get to know other pregnant ladies in the neighbourhood. Highly recommended!

Early on in my pregnancy, I found the website for Baby & Me Fitness. I was excited to start prenatal yoga, and purchased a 20 class package. I attended like 2 prenatal yoga classes, and they were OK. Unfortunately, I then experienced some very serious pregnancy complications, and was placed on bed rest. I was unable to attend classes, and Baby & Me seemed to be understanding. I could resume classes after the baby was born. Baby had a few more complications after birth, so it was several months before we were able to attend a postnatal yoga class.
Quite frankly, the classes are just plain boring. They are too easy, you won’t get in shape this way, just get a bit of a stretch. I tried the Turbo Fit, but the instructor, Victoria, was so grating a personality that it was uncomfortable. I was really looking forward to the social aspect of the class, and Victoria was so pushy that no one seemed to want to participate in the discussion. At the yoga classes, no one really seemed to have much to say, and I just felt like it was a waste of time.
Overall, the classes just weren’t at all what I expected. They were not challenging, not fun, and not social. At most, they were just OK, at worst, they were boring or even bordering on unpleasant.
Given that I wasn’t enjoying the classes at all, I waited a few more months, and asked to transfer my remaining class credits to Aquafit. I was excited to get baby in the water, and they ask that babes be 6 months old before starting Aquafit. At that time, Sheela (the administrator that handles class credits) was extremely rude to me, and said that I should have used all my credits consecutively. Excuse me, but what new mom can do ANYTHING in consecutive weeks, let alone a new mom with multiple major complications!!! If you missed a class, it was a big hassle to schedule a makeup class, not at all the easy process that they had told me it would be. I was also told when I purchased the classes that I’d be able to use my class credits for different types of classes, but that definitely was not the impression I got in practice. Also, the only Aquafit class available was taught by Victoria! This was terrible news, and I was no longer excited to try it.
At this point in time, I made the decision to just write the whole thing off as a bad experience. I had too much to think about with my baby to argue with this business about how lame the whole thing was. It still bothers me that I wasted all that money, but I’m happy to share my experience here and hopefully steer some other moms in a different direction. There are lots of other, far better pre and post natal classes in the city, and I would recommend avoiding the hassle of dealing with Baby & Me Fitness. New moms need flexibility and openness in their class choices, and Baby & Me just doesn’t make that easy.

Let it be known… I’m a dude.
I’m not a mom, but a dad, and yes, I did postpartum yoga and pilates classes through Baby & Me at the Miles Nadal Fitness Centre.
Was I the only male? You betcha… but, I had a baby with me which is really all that mattered.
What is Baby and Me Fitness? They are both a studio and almost a sub-​contractor, with a dedicated studio at Bloor/​Avenue, and classes operating at a number of locations around the city at various facilities.
FACILITIES
Baby and Me classes predominantly operate out of rented facilities (though they do have a newly opened dedicated facility at Bloor/​Avenue), which means, you can’t expect a zen, spa-​like experience which would be available at pre/​post-​natal classes operated out of dedicated holistic spas, and actual yoga studios.
You can expect classes to operate in carpeted multi-​purpose rooms, possibly wood floored dance studios or the like.
At the Miles Nadal JCC location, classes were held in either one of their aerobics fitness rooms in the basement, or a multi-​purpose room on the second floor.
LOCATION
With the facility in mind, and with kid (s) in tow, you will likely choose your location by virtue of convenience to your day rather than yogic ambiance.
Bloor and Spadina rocks.
If you are a parent out with child, you are looking at easy ways to occupy your day, and Bloor and Spadina offers this.
TTC subway access? Yes
Parking? Yes (lots of street and pay lots)
Post-​yoga shopping? Yes (it’s Bloor Street)
Pre-​yoga coffee? Yes (Second Cup in the building)
Post-​yoga entertainment? Yes. Lots of sushi and other stroller friendly dining along Bloor
Great craving fix? Yes. Greg’s ice-​cream is in da house!!!
The building is fairly stroller friendly with ramps, automatic doors, elevators, stroller parking, etc
CLASS EXPERIENCE
Let’s face it. You’re likely feeding, soothing, or entertaining your child, 99% of your waking hours. You’re not really looking for a workout are you?
If you are… get child care, and go to a real class, at a real studio.
If that is not an option, and you are looking at connecting with a community of active, like-​minded parents, and getting in at least a FEW MINUTES of «Me Me Me» time… then this is the ticket.
You generally purchase classes by calling their number ahead of time, and that gets you added to an attendance list… it’s not really a drop-​in kind of thing… as you buy classes by consecutive sessions.
The classes for the most part, are geared towards moms who are 6 weeks post-​delivery and onwards. In my classes, we had people with kids in the 2 – 12 month range.
This age, ability and temperament range means, in any given class at any given second, you can expect:
— lovely, sleeping children
— lovely, cooing, children
— lovely, feeding children
— playful, active rollers and crawlers
— occasional smelly diapers in need of changing
— screaming banshees and frustrated parents
If this will affect your Savasana or drishti focus… maybe this is not the environment for you. If you can roll with the good and the bad and can laugh at both, it can be quite entertaining.
My average in a class, was between 50−70% yoga, and 30−50% feeding, changing, soothing, playing with child.
Of the 50−70% yoga, 25% of it was yoga modified to incorporate baby in the practice (as ballast, medicine ball, etc), which can be both very enjoyable for child, and effective for resistance training.
A brief discussion was also opened at the end of class to talk about general parenting issues, questions or concerns which was great to share experiences or look for options for trying moments you might be having at home.
INSTRUCTORS
Although there were favourite instructors, all the instructors I had were quite decent, with a real awareness of the varying fitness levels present and the special needs for a group of new moms. They also laughed at my inability to do kegel exercises.
CLASS DIFFICULTY
Classes are not overly difficult… so great if you are looking at «trying» yoga or pilates… and safe for rolling and crawling babies because you don’t have to worry about anybody falling on your child while getting into Urdvha Kukkutasana or kicking them across the room doing an Ashtanga vinyasa jump-​through.
This is also great if you are a nursing new mom who is both tired from lack of sleep, and tired from nursing.
Classes have introduced various styles of yoga from Ashtanga, to Bikram style, yin, Kundalini, etc.
CONCLUSION
I thought the classes were great for what they were. More importantly, the classes were a great excuse to get out of the house, try something different with your child, and have a really pleasant social experience afterwards. of course YMMV depending on the group at any given time.
Be prepared to laugh in class, at the ridiculousness of changing a diaper or cleaning up spit-​up during Savasana.
My score is based both on the classes and the location.