Welcoming Remington to the blog world.

I'm back!
Gosh- it's been 7 months since I've last been on here and I've missed writing so much. Let me first start out by welcoming my sweet baby boy to the (blog) world, Remington. Born Feb. 16th 2016, 7lbs 1oz, 20in. He is delightful, a total dream....

I told you, huh? Nothing beats a wrinkly, pouty-liped, sleepy newborn. Nothing.

Someday, I'll write his whole arrival story and how I've handled my first 7 months as a mama. But for now I want to cover a few other things as well. I did write all of my workouts down through my pregnancy and most of them from post postpartum. While I enjoy writing a ton of fluff on here and tend to use this blog as my journal space, I know most of the thousand or so readers that came last month came to see the workouts. SO as promised, I will continue to post them and I will also document my postpartum fitness recovery- it has NOT been easy (let me guess, you expected that).

Below is Workout #13, Second Trimester, Back and Shoulder Day.  AND
Workout #14, Third Trimester, Leg Day (this get harder and harder the bigger you get).
As a side note, I want to mention that a lot of my repetition counts are high- and that's because you should NOT be attempting to lift super heavy while pregnant. Of course, you want to maintain your muscle so you do want the weight to be a challenge, but you should be able to get in the number of repetitions I've listed on the workout cards. If you can only squeeze out 7-8 reps- you're going too heavy. That's my rule at least to help prevent injury while pregnant :)

Let me make a long story on my absence very short....
My husband and I started a business and I had a baby. The word BUSY does not every nearly describe how chaotic and crazy my life was 7 months ago. Now, I work at our business 2 days a week and hang out with my little buddy the rest of the time. Life is SO good. I've spent the past few weeks feeling so grateful to God for this beautiful (sometimes crazy) life. I honestly could not have dreamed of anything better.







Newborn photos by the lovely http://www.daniellehobbsphotography.com/

Pregnancy Workout Myths & Second Trimester Workout #7

Thanksgiving, work and this joyous holiday-crazy-shopping season have kept me busy the past two weeks, but don't fret I've still managed to keep up my weekly gym routine, which means I still have tons of workouts to post.

I'm 29 weeks as of yesterday and as my belly is getting bigger (I feel like it's massive at this point, but there's still lots of time to go), I've run into a couple issues at the gym. Nothing serious, but things I definitely wanted to be open about and cover in case anyone else is going through the same stuff:

• LOWER ABDOMINAL PAIN "CRAMPING"  -  After discussing with my OB and other moms, I've realized that mild cramping during exercise is not uncommon during pregnancy, and is not a cause for alarm (of course severe pain is- so pay attention). A common cause of cramping during exercise is round ligament pain. The round ligament supports the uterus and expands as your grown your "bump" so a cramp can be triggered by any movement, even one as mild as going from standing to sitting. I occasionally get these when working out and when I do I find that stretching and resting for a minute or two often alleviates the pain.

•  LOWER BACK PAIN  -  What you haven't experienced this yet? Ah, I pray it doesn't ever hit you (cause when it does it's like taking a punch to the face: totally undeniable and incredibly painful). Lower back pain, though completely annoying and uncomfortable, it is absolutely normal. :) yipee!  Your spine has to support the weight you're gaining, so this causes increased stressed to the spine. And beyond that, your center of gravity also changes, so your posture can change which just increases the pain. Also, as your body releases more and more relaxin (a hormone), which allows ligaments in the pelvic area to relax and the joints to become looser, it can cause ligaments that support the spine to loosen, leading to instability and even more pain. Getting excited yet? Because if all that wasn't enough, the separation of your rectal abdominis muscles may worsen your back pain. This separation is common, by the way, it occurs in 1/3 of all pregnancies.

Okay, onto my workout workout post and a few pregnancy workout myths you should definitely be aware of!

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advises against aerobic exercise if you have any of these conditions while pregnant:

• Heart disease that significantly affects the way blood circulates in your body, such as pulmonary hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure)
• Lung disease, such as severe asthma or chronic bronchitis (an inflammation of the bronchial tubes)
• Cervical insufficiency/cerclage(premature dilation)
• Multiple pregnancy (twins or triplets, for example) if you're at risk for preterm labor
• Persistent second- or third-trimester bleeding
• Placenta previa after 26 weeks
• Preterm labor
• Ruptured membranes (meaning your water has broken)
• Preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure)

Signs to stop exercise during pregnancy: 

Regular physical activity is an important part of a healthy pregnancy. Even if your doctor gives you the go-ahead to work out, don't overdo it. Stop exercise immediately and contact your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:

• Vaginal bleeding
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Shortness of breath
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Muscle weakness
• Calf pain or swelling (which could indicate a blood clot)
• Contractions or preterm labor
• Decreased fetal movement (Keep in mind that the baby is often most quiet when you're most active.)
• Fluid leaking (or gushing) from your vagina

And for my own journaling purposes, photos: