Exercise Post Pregnancy

Before I write anything this morning, I just have to comment on the TRAGIC events in Sandy Hook, CT. I am still completely heart broken & cannot stop thinking about what happened. As a new Mom it has hit me HARD. Every thought I have is encompassed by thoughts of those families who lost their innocent, young children. It literally rips my heart in two. Every time I look at Gabriella I tear up because of HOW lucky I am to have her & how devastated (& that’s an under statement) I would be if ANYTHING happened to her. Last night I could not sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about the shootings. It just tears me up. G would wake up to feed & I would just hold her tight and cry because of how much this little lady means to me. All I want to say is hold your loved ones tight, tell them how much you love them…not just in light of these events but always. I don’t think anyone will be able to move on from this HORRIBLE event for a very long time. I know that my whole heart, prayers & thoughts are with those families who lost loved ones. I really cannot even imagine.

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Good Morning!

Hope everyone is off to a great start! I cannot believe that it is LESS than a week until Christmas & in a week I will be OLD…just kidding. I will be 26..does that make me out of my mid 20s? It doesn’t right?! 26 is TOTALLY still MID 20s. Yep, I’m sticking with it. 🙂

So yesterday I had my six week appointment with my OB-GYN. Hard to believe it’s been six weeks! This was just the standard appointment that every post pregnancy woman has- to check on how you are doing and to make sure everything is heeled and that your bleeding stopped. The doctor said I was good to go & no need to do anymore follow ups regarding post pregnancy- just have to go back in March for my standard annual woman’s exam. (good times 😉 )

When he asked me how I was doing, I replied ‘great! & that I had actually started running (well, more jogging for the first week) 2 weeks after I had Gabriella. At first I thought he might of yelled at me & said it was too soon, since six weeks is typically how long you are supposed to wait, but he just said ‘that’s awesome! & if you were up for it, then good for you.’

Good to know he didn’t think I was crazy 😉

The only reason that I did start running so soon was because of the easy labor & delivery that I had. It was really all thanks to G! She is the one who made it all happen. I was able to start my first workout (weights & walking) two days after having her. I started out walking, then after two weeks of just walking I couldn’t take it anymore….running was calling my name 🙂

Throughout my whole pregnancy I worked out & I can tell you now that I believe it had a HUGE effect on how well my labor went.

Hard to believe that was me just a few short months ago!

I actually worked out (including running, elliptical, stair master, & lifting) up until the day I had her. Craig & I went running the day before we went into the hospital, and it was one of my favorite runs ever. I kept telling him that once we had her he could tell her how the three of us went running when I was 9+ months pregnant 🙂

The first trimester was HARD – I was EXHAUSTED the entire time. It was BAD. I mean I was in bed by 7pm almost every night, the sun was still shining when I would go to sleep, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the life of me. (& the smell of coffee made me want to vomit. ew.) But I would just go to the gym on my lunch break, when I actually felt awake….one of the very few times of day 😉

Once I got past that first trimester, I was back to my old self- up at 5am to head to the gym for an hour. That hour is always just a time I could clear my head & enjoy my time with my little girl 🙂 It’s funny because she actually came out still on my gym schedule. EVERY day around 4am (because of the time change) she was up & ready to go for the day…we couldn’t get her back to sleep no matter how hard we tried. Craig realized that she must still be on my gym schedule. 🙂

I can honestly tell you that I am SO GLAD I kept up with my workouts. Not only for my own sanity, but also because of baby weight. I gained a total of about 22lbs, and lost it all within the first week after having her. And it wasn’t just ‘luck’- it was because I kept up with the gym.

(8 months pregnant)

Now that I am 6 weeks post pregnancy I’m back to my old self. I’m honestly amazed that I didn’t lose my strength or speed. You know what else? Running with a stroller has made me even faster. When I go running now without the stroller (when Craig is on Daddy duty 🙂 ) I can rock out some miles! …and my average mile pace has dropped pretty significantly.

Now I’m actually training for a few races coming up- I’m thinking of doing a marathon in February. Still debating a few things, like if it will work out with other plans we have in the upcoming months, but I’m really looking forward to my training runs 🙂 (I’m actually about to head out for one as soon as I finish this post!)

This isn’t a post to brag about how well I’m doing post pregnancy. Trust me, it’s NOT that at all. It’s a post to tell those considering getting pregnant to NOT stress about baby weight. I know I did. Before I got pregnant that was one of my fears- that I would gain a ton of weight. I know that sounds selfish, but I’m just being honest. I would NEVER do anything to harm my baby, or not eat enough, I was just worried how my body would react to pregnancy.

(8 months pregnant)

I know some women have terrible morning sickness, or are not allowed to exercise during pregnancy. But if you can keep up with your workout routine, I would definitely suggest it! Not only did it help me with my labor & delivery, but it help with my sanity 😉 …and I know my husband appreciated that 🙂

Now the best part of my runs are when I get to run with Gabriella. As I run I just stare at her & smile…and sometimes I sing to her as I’m running, but I swear she covers her ears. Poor girl has to deal with my terrible singing 😉

OH, and I just realized I need to do a post about how my Crohn’s disease was during my pregnancy & now post pregnancy- I’ll have to do that in my next post!

Have a great day…and call your family members and tell them you love them!

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One Month

I’m sure you can tell by now, but we are just a tiny bit obsessed with this new little lady in our lives. 😉

It’s hard to know what we ever did without her. I know that sounds kind of crazy (if you don’t have kids) but she is such a HUGE part of our lives now..it’s like HOW did we live without her before?!

She is already a MONTH old. Well, more like 5 weeks & one day as of today. (yep, you will TOTALLY count the weeks & days when you become a Mom, just wait 😉 ) WOW, time does fly.

Now I can’t say the first month was EASY. I really don’t think anyone’s first month with a newborn is ever ‘easy.’ BUT we have been really blessed with her. I have heard HORROR stories of the first few months of having a newborn, and I can honestly tell you we don’t have any of those yet. (****KNOCK ON WOOD!!****)

Yes, there have been sleepless nights…but isn’t that what coffee is made for?! 🙂 And yes, there has been times were she will FIGHT sleep like no one’s business. I mean we have had days (& nights) were she absolutely REFUSED to sleep. But hey, it happens.

You take the good nights with the bad nights. Can’t have the good without the bad.

We have been blessed with quite a little eater, and I am so thankful! She had NO problem latching…she actually latched within the first two minutes. I was so worried about her not latching before she was born…and she came out wanting to eat, so we tried it…and boom! We had a little leech 😉 The other good thing is that she will take a bottle. So if need be, I can pump & Craig can feed her.

This month HAS been trying at times, I’m NOT going to deny that. There have been two major meltdowns by me, I was crying, G was crying & poor Craig didn’t know what to do with his two girls. BUT times like that I feel like Gabriella & I grow closer. I think we just have to get those big cries out so that we can really just learn each other’s quirks a little bit more. Everyday I feel like we learn something new about EACH OTHER. It’s the COOLEST thing in the world.

This month (well, 5 weeks & 1 day 😉 ) has been the BEST month of my ENTIRE life. There are NO words that can ever express HOW MUCH I love this girl. She has changed my life completely…and all for the better. It’s amazing how just thinking about how much I love her brings tears to my eyes. She has no idea how much her little self means to me. We have an unbreakable bond that will last for my entire life.

On that note, before I really do turn into a blubbering mess 🙂 , I thought I would share a few of my favorite newborn photos. – we did these when she was 8 days old. I would post them all because I LOVE them all so much…but I don’t figure you want to see 100+ newborn photos 😉

Literally MELTS my heart everytime I look at this picture. It looks like she is laughing at her Daddy’s jokes. Love it ❤ She’s going to be such a Daddy’s little girl..and I’m SO excited to see that. I know HOW SPECIAL my bond is with my Dad & I can’t wait to see Gabriella & Craig share that similar bond.

Just to make you smile…

 

 

How can you not laugh at that picture?! Cracks me up every time!!!

 

my happy baby ❤

Uncle Bob

Tuesday was a sad day.

Our family got a reminder of how short life is.

Craig’s Godfather passed away Tuesday night.

Not only was he his Godfather, he was a close friend of the family. He was Uncle Bob. That is what Craig & his brother, Mike always called him, because he was more of an Uncle than just a family friend.

I know sometimes a Godfather or Godmother is only in the child’s life for the beginning, when they are young. Sometimes they stay in touch here & there.

This was not the case for Uncle Bob. He stayed involved in Craig & Mike’s lives. He was there for them. He would call Craig about once a month just to say hi & see how we were doing. Craig ALWAYS made sure to take the phone call, even if it was right before we were going to bed. Uncle Bob just meant the world to him.

I ‘just’ met Uncle Bob about 3 years ago, and I have to say he was one of the MOST genuine people that I have ever met! He ALWAYS went out of his way to make people feel special, or to do kind things for people.

You know this picture of our engagement?

You see that guy on the left hand side? Well, that’s Uncle Bob video taping our entire engagement. He actually SNUCK onto Ravens Field to capture our moment for us. He ended up getting in trouble with security right after this picture was taken, but he didn’t care. He just told them ‘Sir, I’ll be off soon. That’s my Godson, he just got engaged & I don’t want to miss it.’ Best story ever. To this day we all still laugh about it. 🙂

Uncle Bob was one of a kind. He will FOREVER be apart of our lives.

This is just a reminder to call someone & tell them how much you love them. You NEVER know HOW SHORT life can be, and you don’t want to miss any opportunity to express your love to them.