Balance between Exercise and Rest

Being Balanced

Balance. What does that mean? The definition in the dictionary says this: a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc. But in everyday life  it can mean so many things but finding balance between exercise and rest is hard to do when you love to exercise. Sometimes we can ignore what our bodies are telling us. I as a fitness coach love what I do and do what I love. But that being said I am not always the best at slowing down when I know I need to.

I was recently forced to slow down and actually put my exercising at a halt. I was so bugged by the news for two reasons. First as I said I had to STOP exercising for four weeks. Second I was 8 weeks pregnant at the time. You are probably wondering what made me slow down. I was having awful pain in my abdomen. We were unsure what it was. I went to the ER and had many tests ran on me. There are only so many they can do while you are pregnant. The doctors had decided it must be my appendix. So  I went into emergency surgery to get my appendix taken out. I was more scared that I would lose my baby then my appendix. So after undergoing this surgery I still did not know if my baby was okay. They would not give me an ultra sound because they said I was not far enough along to save the baby even if something did happen to him/her. But that's another story. Anyway here I was laying in this hospital bed wondering when I would get to go home and get back to working out and coaching. The doc came in to release me two days later and told me I was unable to workout or coach for 4 weeks. I was in shock. I felt fine. A little sore but nothing I couldn't handle. I asked him why I had to wait so long. There were many reasons but I still left a little depressed that day. I thought to myself okay 4 weeks. It will go by fast not a big deal. By the fourth day I was crawling out of my skin. The doc also told me I couldn't carry or pick up my toddler for 4 weeks. Easy for him to say. Let's just say that lasted maybe two days. My son (whom is 2) did not understand why mommy couldn't hold him. He understood that I had an ouchie but did not comprehend that that ouchie made it hard for me to hold and cuddle him. As a mom I gave in. I was careful but probably wasn't a good idea.

As much as I dreaded keeping it low key for four weeks it made me really think about how often do I slow down and let my body truly rest? I started realizing quickly that I don't rest much. As a stay at home mom, fitness coach, and restless sleeper I don't get much rest. Now being pregnant with my second I most definitely don't get much rest. But I feel as if this happened to me for a reason. The main reason is to show me I need to listen to my body and not over do it. I will usually push through whatever pain I have to get things done and to get a good workout in. This time I need to put my own needs aside and put my little baby first. This is a hard lesson to learn but it was a much needed one. For now I will snuggle with my son and enjoy the one on one time I have left with him. I can't wait to meet the newest addition.

Juggling Two Littles and Expecting the Third

Juggling Two Littles and Expecting a New One...

I love my job of being a mommy, But when I found out the surprise news of having another my heart sank. I thought to myself... How will I do with three? Especially three under the age of four years old and two of the kids under the age of two. I am now going to be out numbered on a daily basis. This scared me and honestly put me into panic mode. All of these awful thoughts came pouring over me. Will I be a good mom to all of them? Will I be able to keep my cool when it's "One of those days?" Will I ever have "Me" time again? As I processed these questions it then hit me... I can do this and I will do this just as so many women before me have. I don't deny that it will be hard and exhausting and that some days I will want to pull my hair out but the greatest gift of all is the gift of being a mom. How blessed am I that God chose me to birth and be home with three beautiful children. 

Being Pregnant and all things that come with it...

My first pregnancy with my son Liam went so smoothly. I had a little bit of morning sickness at the beginning but overall the whole pregnancy was a breeze. I craved fruit and veggies the whole pregnancy until the end. Then all I wanted was ice cream. But I kept my weight gain down to 27lbs. Of course at the end I was ready to be done but who isn't at that point. There were a couple of bumps along the way but nothing that I couldn't handle. We did a gender reveal baby shower where we indeed found out it was a boy we were having. My husband thought for sure it was going to be a girl but I knew that I was carrying a boy. Even my birthing experience was pretty awesome. I had music playing, lots of friends and family surrounding me and my biggest support my hubby there right by my side. I was able to get my son out in three pushes. His apgar was a 9 and we were home in the after the normal two day stay.

My second Pregnancy was also a pretty easy pregnancy. Though with this pregnancy I had major hip pain, was exhausted from chasing a toddler, and I showed early on. I worked out the whole time, in fact I did Kaia until the day before I went into labor with my daughter. With her there was no morning sickness but ALL I wanted were sweets. The experience was completely opposite of my first pregnancy. Even the delivery was different. I didn't have music this time around, my doctor didn't believe I was in labour and decided to leave the hospital for hours after I was admitted. After I was dilated to a 10 I had to wait to push until he came back and he didn't come alone. He had two students with him. He was on vacation when I delivered my first child so he wasn't aware how fast I could get my baby out. He asked me to push and I did and she was almost out in ONE push. He asked me to slow down because he wasn't ready. The awesome thing was he did let me deliver her and that was pretty amazing. We did not get to go home in the normal two days like we did with Liam. Harper had some breathing issues when she was born but we were thankful her pediatrician was on call that night and was able to see her right away. Harper wouldn't breathe on her own if she wasn't stimulated which was the scariest thing I have ever witnessed. I felt helpless and seeing nurses have to work on your daughter to get her to breathe and force tubes down her is an experience I wish upon no parent. She was sent home with a sleep apnea machine that would beep loudly every time she would stop. A year later she is doing great and is growing beautifully. 

This pregnancy I have been quite tired and sick. I have had migraines that have put me in bed for the rest of the day. I am grumpy and my patience is tested and very short most of the time. I am still exercising religiously and still coaching girls through their fitness journey. My hope for this pregnancy is that I can still be the fun mom that my kids know and love and not be so grumpy. So far nothing has worked to make my migraines go away. But I am entering my second trimester next week so I am hoping they will subside for good. My goal for this pregnancy is to continue to workout like I did with Harper and work on keeping my muscle mass. We will see how it goes. What are your tricks for staying healthy and being a mom of littles while pregnant? I would love to hear from you! If you want to follow my progress and get fitness tips check out my FB page The Diary of a Fitness Mom. 

That's it for now...stay tuned for my next post....