Finding out how to work out when you have a new baby to take care of can be one of the toughest challenges that you face as a new mom. There are ways the problem can be hacked, however.

Think of something fun, rather than something challenging

Having to handle demanding baby and work schedules is enough of a challenge. When it comes to your workout, you want to have fun.  When you genuinely have fun, exercise can simply seem easier, and you’ll find yourself skipping far less often. A great way to get some exercise in while nursing a baby is to use a mini elliptical. A mini elliptical allows you to stay seated while still making your body move.

Keep your energy up

Keeping yourself nutritionally well-supplied is a great way to save time when you exercise. You’ll simply be more energetic and get more done. Stocking up on lots of healthy and easy-to-access snacks is one of the best ways to make sure that your body is able to handle the workouts that you have planned . If these are all you have when you feel peckish, you’ll eat them, and you’ll be raring to go.

There is no scientific evidence to show that moderately intense workouts lower lactation quality or quantity. While the body does need a greater level of nutrient supply to keep up quality lactation, the natural appetite boost that goes with nursing always addresses it. The average nursing mother needs an extra 200 calories and a bump between 30% to 50% in their need for folate, protein and vitamin C. Making sure that you supply your body with the nutrition needed can completely take away any anxiety in this area.

Work out before the day gets to you

When you have a new baby waking you up three times through each night for regular feedings, no time of the day is likely to feel right for a good workout. If you put it off until after work, you’ll be too beat. First thing in the morning is when you’re likely to have as much energy as you’ll ever have. Your kids will be sound asleep too. This is when you should get your workout out of the way.

Color outside the box

What if none of these ideas appeal to you? If it feels like you have no time whatsoever to dedicate to a workout each day, it’s time to get innovative.

Runch: If all the time that you have is at lunch at work, no one says you can’t run as you eat. It’s called a runch, and it’s very popular now.

Include your kids in it: If you don’t have a minute that you don’t have to take care of one or another child, it’s okay to work out with them. Plenty of moms carve out family exercise time where everyone is included. Not only is it great together-time, it’s a good way to start your children young on the importance of fitness.

Some mothers don’t make their children work out with them; instead, they work out with their children. When their children need to run off to the playground, they go with them, and do their moves on the park bench, the monkey bars, the jungle gym or anything else that they can find. Lots of mothers jog with jogging strollers. These are great, stable strollers with large wheels that can take the rough-and-tumble of a run in the park.

Find time where there is none: Some mothers get their workout in every minute that they have. A high-intensity workout when you watch over the kids during their meal, through their music class or as you tell your kid a story at bedtime are all possibilities. You don’t necessarily need to curl up next to your kid when you recite a story.

Make a few basic changes: If driving is your choice when it comes to taking your kids to school or otherwise getting everyone around, you could consider a change. What if you could take the bicycle? If you can possibly do that, you’ll have at least a little exercise, and you won’t be spending a great deal extra time.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

The Starbucks latte has long been the icon of small but wasteful guilty pleasures that ruin budgets. There are pleasurable time sinks that everyone indulges in, too. To some it’s a little TV time, and to others, it’s Facebook. Whatever it is, plugging those drains can net you a surprising amount of time for exercise.

Certainly, there is very little time in a busy new mom’s life for exercise. Nevertheless, it’s always possible to be creative. Doing this can get you places.