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Embracing A Time of Transition

Last night I opened up my heart to my Instagram and Facebook followers. This morning, I realized that it only makes sense to share this same story on my blog as I can’t assume that everyone who reads my blog also follows me on my social media channels or is able to keep up with posts thanks to the lovely and often annoying Facebook and Instagram algorithms.  The words of wisdom, feedback and comments I received on Instagram and Facebook gave me so much hope this morning as I started this fresh, new day. Perspective can come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Yesterday this perspective came to me in two forms and helped me balance the emotions that I’ve been feeling lately.

  • Hearing our Baby Girl’s heartbeat and seeing her wave to us during our 36 week sonogram as we learned that she is approxiamately 5 lbs 11 oz and is healthy and happy.
  • Receiving words of wisdom and advice from so many friends and readers, many of whom have never commented previously, providing guidance during this time of transition.

While I realize the below is perfectly normal for a person to feel during this time of transition, here are the feelings that have been weighing on my heart and soul recently as I have opened up my blog or social media platforms to post.

I have a lot on my mind tonight friends. Recently I’ve felt as if I’m at a crossroads.  I still think of myself as a health and wellness blogger who loves to inspire others to lead a healthier life through a balanced love of food, wine, workouts and travel.  But, as June 18th approaches, I feel more like a MOM and as if I’m approaching the beginning of a new chapter.

A few readers have reached out about my new blog header, saying that I’m claiming to be a mom before my child arrives. Others have asked how I can claim to be a runner, even though I havent run in months. Trust me, I’m living this identity crisis. Since September, I’ve been focused on providing a supportive, nurturing environment for our baby to grow ans thrive, so yes, I do feel like a mom already.

I find myself over-thinking every post, wonderinf if I’m isolating those of you who aren’t moms or not inspiring my runner and fitness friends in the way they once loved.

I don’t want to find myself in a place where I dread social media and worry about everything I write and say because then I wont be sharing my FULL self.  Instead, I’m going to say that if you want to join me on the ride to see what the next few months and years hold, I hope you’ll stick around and keep engaging. I won’t make any promises, except to post on here and the blog more often, and do my best to continue to inspire YOU ALL, regardless of where you are in your life.

As always, please feel free to share your thoughts, advice and two cents with me! I read and value every comment and opinion

Photo credit Alexis Mera Damen

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10 Things They Don’t Teach you in childbirthing class

Last week I had the opportunity to spend an evening learning and sweating with forty other pregnant women during Flex Studios Prenatal Event. The event included a prenatal-safe pilates and TRX workout followed by an open discussion session with an amazing panel including:

-Founders of Truly MD Jaime M Knopman, MD FACOG and Sheeva Talebian, MD FACOG (Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology)
-Chief OBGYN Resident at NYU, Meggie Smith, MD
-Pelvic Floor PT Abigail Bailes, PT, DPT, CSCS

The supportive and open discussion allowed everyone to ask any question on their mind, ranging from commonly discussed things like weight loss to less discussed topics like waxing and self-love. Since the session was so helpful for me, and the advice came from experts, I wanted to share ten things these experts shared with us that I didn’t learn in childbirthing classes or other materials I’ve read.

Ten Things They Don't Teach You In Child Birth Classes

  • Be kind to yourself and your body. When you are nursing, your hormones aren’t at their baseline state.
  • If you normally get waxed or shave, consider getting waxed right before your delivery! Reason being is that if you end up having a C-section, the nurses or doctors will quickly shave you, which may lead to ingrown hairs near the incision line. Moreover, the bandage for a C-section is often near the hair and can be pulled off when removing the bandage – ouch!
  • GET RID OF THE BIRTH PLAN. The more you try to control your birth the more likely you are to have issues. Feel free to have requests, and ensure your partner or doctor know these requests, but understand that for your health and the baby’s health, they may have to alter the plan.

Source

  • Stay at home as long as possible before going to the hospital. Enjoy a shower to help relieve the pain. Eat and drink. But, once your contractions intensify and are four minutes apart, make sure to head there immediately.
  • While breathing techniques are nice, at the end of the day, the best tip that these doctors give to patients is to push as if you’re pooping.
  • You may not immediately connect with your child and that’s okay, especially considering the state of your hormones following birth. However, make sure that you share your thoughts with someone whether it’s your partner, friend, doctor or loved one. 20% of women experience some form of postpartum depression and many never get the help they need.  There are some great resources and information available on the site postpartumprogress.com.
  • Speaking of nursing, it is not normal to lose all your weight while you’re still breastfeeding. you could probably say “it is normal if you do not lose all of your weight while breastfeeding” — some do and some don’t, most don’t! In fact, three of the speakers noted that they didn’t lose their last five to ten pounds until right after they finished nursing.
  • Using a pump after birth can help with milk production so do not fear the pump.
  • It is fine to use product such as Belly Bandit BUT you should wait 3-4 weeks before starting to use them and make sure to speak with your doctor. It’s important to ensure that you are no longer bleeding too much and that your uterus is starting to involute, a process that typically takes six weeks.
  • There is no upside in returning to workouts too early. While six-week is the blanket statement, it is important to listen to your body. If you have tears or complications during delivery, your body will need more time to recover properly. Also, keep in mind that your body is experiencing constant sleep deprivation, dehydration, and lack of nutrients during these first few weeks of motherhood so recovery does not happen as quickly as it does after running a marathon. Those same workouts and adjustments you did during prenatal workouts are great to leverage postnatal as the relaxin stays in your body five to nine months postpartum.

Your Turn – If you’ve given birth, what was the best advice you received? 

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Second Trimester Favorties

 

It seems like just yesterday I was sharing our news on social media and beginning the overwhelming research project that is having a baby. But, it has somehow been more than five months since we shared our news and at 33 weeks, I am solidly in the third trimester. I’ve started to feel almost all the pregnancy symptoms I read about for so many months but luckily didn’t start experiencing until recently such as foot and calf swelling, bach aches, heartburn and shortness of breath after walking up our flight of stairs. While part of me feels like I’ve been pregnant forever, another part of me isn’t ready for this journey to end.

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Since I’ve finished the second trimester, I wanted to share with you all the things that I found very helpful throughout this “honeymoon” phase of pregnancy. Like many people said, these weeks were filled with energy and overall excitement though I did start to look and feel more pregnant as each week progressed due to my growing bump.  The first section are the items that I swore by during my second trimester while the second section are items that multiple friends and readers have recommended and loved.

SECOND TRIMESTER Favorites

Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow – By the time I hit 20 weeks I was desperately seeking pillows that would help me transition from a back sleeper to a side sleeper. My friend Amanda lent me her Snoogle and it was love at first sleep. I have used it both ways, wrapped around the front of my body and back of my body.

Tums – I’ve had mild heartburn and acid reflux through my pregnancy and have found that once I feel it coming on, I can take 1-2 Tums to relieve the pain. Luckily, I only need to do this 2-3 times per week.

Dr. Teal’s Epsom Salts – My favorite way to relax during the second trimester was with long, soothing baths. I made sure not to make the water too warm, as this can be bad for the baby. Instead, I added Epsom Salts and filled the bath with tepid to luke warm water before soaking and ready for 20 to 30 minutes. These Epsom salts are my favorite as they are inexpensive and can be found anywhere ranging from Amazon to CVS!

Xtend Barre, Orangetheory Fitness and ALine Pilates or barre and prenatal pilates classes – As I figured out how best to listen to my body’s needs, I had to take a break from certain workouts. But, luckily, throughout my entire second trimester I was able to enjoy classes at Xtend Barre and ALine Pilates. These studios feature classes that are catered to pre and post natal and/or teachers who are certified in prenatal fitness and know how to make perfect adjustments to keep me safe. If you’re not a Brooklyn or Manhattan local who can enjoy these studios, I recommend going to Yelp and searching for prenatal pilates studios or calling local barre studios to see if they have instructors who are certified to work with prenatal students.

Belli Fresh Start Scrub and belly oil – A few friends sent me their favorite belly butters and I spent most of the second trimester working my way through each one. The only one I bought more of was the Belli Fresh Start scrub, which I can use on my entire body and their belly oil. I loved that the belly oil provided me with lots of moisture but absorbed quickly.

Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter and Palmers Coconut Butter – While both of these worked well and were recommended by many of my friends, they were a bit too greasy for my liking and left me feeling like I had a sticky mess on my stomach, pajamas and hands after applying.

 Motherhood Maternity rouched v-neck t-shirts in multiple colors – By the middle of my second trimester, I was craving a few shirts that I could wear with jeans or workout pants for errands, relaxing, sleeping and even workouts. I found these on sale at Macys and bought two (black and white) initially but now own five of them. They are so comfortable and flattering that I’m tempted to wear them daily. During the cooler months I wore them under cardigand and wraps, but now I’m pairing them with shorts or jeans.

Workout Gear for a Growing Belly – I quickly outgrew my tigher workout tanks and had to purchase a few that would grow with me during pregnancy. These are my three favorite styles that I wore throughout my second trimester and continue to love during the third trimester. I found the Mumberry Activewear to fit even better as I grew larger whereas the For Two and Brooks fit perfectly as soon as I put them on since they were closer to my normal size and fit.

For Two Fitness Tank

Brooks Pick-Up Tank

Mumberry Activewear (Use code HEALTHYHAPPIER20 for 20% off)

Reader and Friend Recommendations

I hope any of you who are trying or newly expecting find this helpful. I’ll continue to share tips and tricks throughout pregnancy while also trying to have content that resonates with all my readers.

In case you missed it, here are my first trimester favorites.

Your turn: What did I forget?

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