Category

Pregnancy

Category

No matter what pregnancy I was mentally preparing for, I ALWAYS read a lot of labor stories near the end. I had like to envision situations and read about mothers who survived the pain. After reading many posts on prepping for labor, I felt like a lot of the truth, and hard reality of labor was left out. You know, how the pain really felt. The things that could go wrong. I decided to write down some of the things that I know would’ve helped me mentally and emotionally prepare, even if it isn’t what I wanted to hear. You have to go through labor no matter what, and I think being prepared for all things is really helpful. I actually wrote this post a couple years ago, while my sister and I were pregnant at the same time. She was pregnant with her first, and me my third. It…

There’s a lot of lists of super foods for pregnancy out there. Many of them are full of green goodies, that a lot of normal pregnant women don’t really want to eat, especially when pregnant. I mean, let’s get real, how many of us get a craving to munch on spinach leaves? Or want to gobble up heads of broccoli? Yeah, I lived off nachos the first 20 weeks really, so let’s be honest about these food lists. Sure, we can attempt to saute the spinach into something manageable, but it’s not the first choice. I recently discussed how to have a belly only pregnancy, and I wanted to also talk about some foods to help with that as well. Luckily, I’ve done my homework, as well as figured out some great super foods that you will actually eat after being pregnant three times now. Here are some that are…

Gaining only the belly weight and recommended extra weight is near impossible with intense cravings, insomnia, aversions to all things healthy, obsessions with specific flavors, and exhaustion. The first trimester is the most difficult for me. I have the all-day nausea that sets in at about 11 am. It then gets worse and worse, yet I am plagued with this idea that eating will make me feel better. It does for the moment I take a bite of bread and cheese, crackers and cheese, nachos, straight cheese. Anything with cheese and salt and carby is what seems to do the trick for 15 minutes. Then I lay down, only to get back up to go to the kitchen 45 minutes later. This cycle lasts about 15 weeks for me, and I gain way more weight than I should in the first trimester because I’m like a carb-and-cheese vacuum. Needless to…

After delivery is such a special time with a new baby. I am now 9 Months postpartum with my third baby, so I’ve been through the recovery process a few times now. I’ve also nursed three different babies. I get a lot of traffic and questions concerning what to eat for increasing milk supply, losing the baby weight and recovering from giving birth. There’s so much going on, I thought it would be helpful if I created a meal plan that is specifically designed for recovery and milk production to get you through your first day postpartum. All of these foods have a purpose. They are either super milk boosting, or they have healing benefits and nutrients for your body. I came up with this plan, so you don’t have to do much thinking or preparation on your first full day with your new baby! First-Day After Birth Meal Plan…

Giving birth is the ultimate motherhood marathon. Whether you triumphed with a natural birth or went for the help of modern medicine (me!!), you are a rockstar, and it’s important to fuel your body for healing. If this isn’t your first time giving birth, then you’ll know what I mean when I say that post-delivery, there’s a lot of healing that needs to happen. I try to stay as oblivious as possible to the damage done, and focus on the healing. Giving your body the nutrients it needs will help you heal faster and feel better sooner. This will enable you to be a better mama because you’ll be getting back to yourself sooner, rather than later. If you are struggling to lose the baby weight, I have a  little program, where I go over how to lose the baby weight, specifically for breastfeeding mamas. I have meal plans,…

*this post is sponsored by CBR. As always, my opinions are all my own! I’m three babies deep now, so the delivery process isn’t as mysterious and foreign to me now, as it was with my first baby. I remember staying up late and watching A Baby Story (apparently they are bringing it back!) at 2am on TLC. I was trying to mentally prepare myself for this unknown, magical experience that was going to happen to my body. Of course my hospital bag was packed three months too early (my first baby was a week late), and I was packed for a week stay at a hotel. My new baby had five outfits and seven hats. All were way too big. I prepared for my first labor by spending hours and hours on Pinterest, reading everything I could. Making sure I knew about every car seat and high chair on…

Well, I am a mom of three now, and boy were there some things I totally and utterly missed out on because I didn’t put them on my registry. Do you know how many clothes I got? Blankets and cute things that were to die for at the time, but totally not that useful? I literally had a Boppy Pillow sitting in my closet for three years until I gave it to my sister. I just thought I needed it. PS, if you sign up for Amazon’s Baby Registry, you get $100 dollars towards diapers and wipes. Believe me, you need it, and everyone uses Amazon! I recently did my first few months with the diaper subscription. I am so mad I never did that before. Totally worth it. I’ll be reviewing it here soon. Baby Registry – $100 credit towards diapers and wipes As a first time mom, its…

Well, it’s that time of year when the cheeks end up coming out. And not those cute baby cheeks, but our mom-butt cheeks. I’m not sure about you, but even after losing the baby weight, my butt is still squishy and flat. Like not the sexy bouncy, but the flabby jiggly. This post contains affiliate links.  The 5 Best Foods To Lose The Baby Weight and Pump Up Your Milk Supply 3 Tricks I Use To Lose The Baby Weight That Worked Three Times Now I was a Pilates instructor years ago. Before my life was taken over by little ones, and since the birth of my now 8-month old baby, I’m working on firming that booty back up. I wrote a post on some moves to help you get your booty back, and in this post, I want to talk more about what you need to do before you…

I’ve had great success nursing all three of my baby boys, and I believe part of that is due to the steps I take before my little one arrives! Believe it or not, there are some small things you can get started on now, while your in your last month or so of pregnancy. Don’t you just love the last couple months?! I am such an impatient person, that the last few weeks seem to drag on and on! And my babies have NEVER been early! The earliest I got was my middle child, who arrived like a speed racer the the night of his due date. My other ones took me after my due date, which makes for one frustrated, pregnant mama! Anyways, let’s give you some tips to get you started on creating an abundant milk supply. This is important because you want your body to be ready…

I believe that losing the baby weight offers such a significant struggle because our minds and bodies are totally transformed outside of our control during pregnancy. If we could control what happens, things would be a lot different. Our bodies just start ballooning with all this excess water weight, we get exhausted, yet can’t sleep, our feet double in size (why?!!), and all sorts of other shockers. Pregnancy is a grueling experience, terminated with a painfully frightening labor and delivery trauma. Labor and delivery is traumatic for me. I don’t like pain. I don’t like things just happening that I can’t control. Blood, bodily fluids and yelling like an animal in a public place just don’t sit well with me. These experiences take a toll on our mind. Our bodies are a product of our mind. Did you catch that? Your body is a product of your mind. I want…