'12 hours of childcare for $8': The mum trick that saved me with a newborn

"It involves a gym but not for the reasons that you would typically use a gym," a mum has shared in a viral TikTok. 

When a TikTok is titled 'Cheap as f**k motherhood hack that SAVED my mental health' how could we scroll past?

Aussie mum Hannah Sands created the clip, which now has over 70k views, where she lets her followers in on the little-known tip she used during the newborn phase to get some me-time.

"It involves a gym but not for the reasons that you would typically use a gym..." she says, and if we don't have to work out, WE ARE SOLD ALREADY.

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"I would position it around his sleep"

"This was way before I was willing to send my son to daycare, as a first-time mum, that just terrified me. But we were out of the newborn bubble and I was just f**king exhausted," she begins. 

"I just needed a break sometimes, like an hour, and this is coming from someone with no family support at all or anyone to just ask to have our son for an hour."

"I had never heard of a crèche. At first, I was like 'uhhh, I don't know', it felt a bit icky, but then I was like let me suss it out..." 

Hannah then explains how she found a gym right near her house after doing some digging online. "It had like a pool, sauna and a crèche! I checked it out and got good vibes," she says.

"I signed up on a trial and I could take my baby there for two hours per day. TWO HOURS. So I would position it around his sleep and someone would watch him for two hours."

"I wouldn't even workout sometimes," she admits.  Sometimes, she would just go sit at a coffee shop and "Stare into the abyss." Other times, she would go to the sauna, go for a swim or just have a long uninterrupted shower. "Sometimes I would go on the treadmill," she shares.

Image: TikTok

So, how much was it?

"Having this time by myself that I could schedule every day for one-two hours - amazing."

So how much was it?

"The gym was $20 a week and the crèche was $8 a week," she says excitedly. "So if I took him six days that's 12 hours a week for $8!!!"

The caption read: "100/10 would do this mum hack again, especially around the five-month mark where life is just ramping up and they're developing so much and you are just SO TIRED. Postpartum is HARD, and we’re just doing our best as new mums but this seriously saved my mental health in motherhood some days!"

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"You just changed my life"

Mums loved the hack in the comments and also shared their own similar tips.

"The gym crèche has been the best thing for my mental health.

"I get an hour a day to myself, get an endorphin hit and chat with other mums who GET it," one mum said. 

"I just moved to Brissy and I’m running to find my nearest. This is exactly what I need in my life, thank you!" another wrote. 

"When my kids were preschool age, we used to live near an IKEA. You could drop the kids in there for an hour FOR FREE!! I would get a coffee and chill!" recalled one woman. Another suggested using childcare at aquatic centres. 

"You just changed my life thank you" concluded another mum. 

Originally published as '12 hours of childcare for $8': The mum trick that saved me with a newborn