Its the Victory in the Small Things



pregnant with asher, still had 3 months to go




pregnant with soren, 2 months to go

 I loved being pregnant. Getting to feel the bond of carrying a child, having those first kicks, hearing the heartbeat every month at the doctors office, and seeing my stomach contort like there was an alien in it was so much fun for me. I didn't even mind the labor very much (although I'm sure at that time with Asher I was completely wigging out.) In fact, if Steve would let me, I would have at least 2 more.

The thing I hated about being pregnant was what it did to my body after, the jiggly stomach, the stretch marks, and I think in general was just the way my body changed. As you can see in the pictures with Asher I was larger than huge and the 42 pounds extra on my body was nothing to brag about. I was also one of those women who didn't lose weight while breastfeeding (yay for me huh?) And so trying to lose all that extra weight was a huge challenge for me, one that I did not take lightly. So I dusted off my gym membership, started eating better, and worked my butt off. Just when I got to my almost pre-baby weight and felt semi-great about myself I found myself pregnant again.

Soren was a much easier pregnancy, and although I started out heavier than planned I only gained 30 pounds with him. I also worked out as much as I could during Asher's naps and tried to keep eating as healthy as possible only letting myself splurge some on the weekends. That being said my weight loss was just as hard, I lost most of it except those last 10 pounds. I knew I had to do something different again, so I gave up diet coke (my one love in the drink department), started my family on organic food (or as natural as possible in some cases), and gave up the fast food. That helped me lose another 5 pounds but grr why wasn't the weight dropping off.

So then if you have been keeping up I also gave up sugar, it was hard at first but now I look forward to my cheat days. I also started training for a 10k. I think this running has been so amazing to my body. I have so much more energy, I look forward to trying to eat as healthy as possible, and I have also started hating when I can't workout instead of thinking of it as the dreaded workout. And while I don't weigh myself all the time (its something I learned to do a long time ago, I absolutely hate scales), I do know that my body is changing again and this time for the best! I am finally able to get into my beloved Abercrombie jeans without that horrible muffin top and feeling like I am going to explode because I can't move my legs. So in just 3 weeks of training I have transformed my body again. I feel so great I did a happy dance in my jeans this morning! I have 7 more weeks of training and I can't wait to see what will happen next. Keep you guys updated!