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The Art of Running in the Rain

"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift." -Prefontaine

Cauliflower Tempeh and Cashew Fried Rice

Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking…

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But hear me out….because this dish is uhhh-mazing.

Before we get to the food, let’s just have a little moment about using healthier food items in place of the usual ingredients. I think there is a lot of upset surrounding this because the ingredient that is typically used (in this case rice) gets stigmatized as being ‘unhealthy.’ That is absolutely not the intention.

As a mother of a little girl, I am extremely happy about the #bodypositive movement. I think first and foremost we should love ourselves and not try to be anything other then, well, ourselves. I always tell myself, ‘I’m not trying to be like anyone else, I’m just trying to be a stronger/better version of me.’ This is a little reminder not to compare myself to anyone else. As a person who has suffered from body dysmorphia and eating disorder in the past, it’s an important thing to remember. I want Mira to know that her mama loves herself, and thus help her love herself (always). It is also important to remember that having goals does not mean that you don’t love yourself. Desiring to eat cleaner, move more, and feel better at the end of the day, does not mean that you don’t love yourself. I know that when I strive for those things I feel happier/healthier. In life I always want to have goals surrounding growth whether that be in my career, family, health, friendships, etc. I started this year with a goal of moving towards a plant based diet, and this recipe has been one of many that I’ve tried and loved.

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So in this recipe we use cauliflower in place of rice, which can be considered a healthy swap. It’s helpful if you have goals for moderation, goals for eating more vegetables, or goals for eating something super tasty. At the end of the day your goals are, just that, yours and as long as you feel contented in them, then everyone else can fuck off. But why let me convince you, when the food will speak for itself…

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Ingredients:

  • 8 cremini mushrooms
  • 8 oz tempeh
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1/4 c chopped cashews
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 bag riced cauliflower (or head of cauliflower riced)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4-1/2 c coconut aminos
  • 1/4 c sesame oil
  • 1/8 c sriratcha
  • 1 tsp Shichimi Togarashi
  • 2 tbsp ponzu
  • Optional: Cashew, extra sriracha

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tbsp of sesame oil in a large pot on medium heat, add garlic and ginger and heat until fragrant.
  2. Add tempeh, onion, mushrooms, carrots cook down for 5-10 minutes.
  3. While the vegetables are softening chop cashews and roast for 5-7 minutes.
  4. In a seperate bowl mix coconut aminos, remainder of the sesame oil, sriracha, shichimi togarashi, and ponzu.
  5. Add cauliflower and form a well in which you will break two eggs.
  6. Stir all ingridients together until egg cooks through.
  7. Pour in the sauce and stir.
  8. Turn off heat, place lid on pot and allow steam to cook vegetables through.
  9. Dish up and place extra cashews and sriracha on top.

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It’s so yummy and filling!

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Be well (and eat well).

Mira is eight months

as of two days ago, but I mean, hey, I’m getting it done, so back off.

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Look how big she is!!! **banana for perspective 😉 **

This little girl has grown up tremendously in the last couple of months!

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She has so much to say ALL the time, she really likes the consonant sounds: /m, b, p, k, g/, and we’ve heard something similar to ‘hi’ and and an approximation to ‘mama.’ Her only true word right now is ‘more’ in the context of eating, I’m currently trying to help her generalize to toys 🙂

DSC_0095.JPGI think Mira’s face speaks to how she feels about me applying my speech therapist skills on her.

Her current likes:

  • Having friends/family all around her
  • Going on walks – this one hasn’t changed since birth
  • Her lovie- bunny – thanks auntie Kate, Emily, and Lo Lo
  • When her mama dances and makes funny faces at her
  • Oliver playing with toys
  • Papa putting her on his shoulders
  • Eating ALL the food.
  • Going for runs

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Current dislikes:

  • Still hates going to sleep – the amount of tears involved have GREATLY decreased, but there are often tears nonetheless.
  • She went through a small phrase of separation anxiety, but that was short lived and she’s back to being super social.  **knock on wood, because I hear it can get worst**

I left that last one blank because honestly guys there is not a lot that Mira doesn’t like right now! She is a bad ass chick and SOoooOO much fun to hang out with. I’m just really relishing in it because developmentally she’s suppose to hate me/structure pretty strongly in a year or so.  So don’t worry, I know, “enjoy these moments!”

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I will say, I love it when I see mamas posting pics of their older children, just loving those moments too (like, they do happen!) My girlfriend recently posted the sweetest pic of a snuggle moment with her four-year-old daughter, and all I thought was “YAY, I can’t wait to cuddle like that with Mira!”

Mira had some awesome friend moments over the last couple of months, and she is really looking forward to more chances to hang out with friends!

We had to say goodbye to our boner boy, Charlie. I’m so happy that Mira was able to spend the first part of her life with him. He loved her so much, and I know he will be watching over her as she grows.

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Mira celebrated her first Valentine’s Day and thanks to her aunt Rebecca she was pretty dolled up for the occasion.

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Mira’s had a great couple of months, and we are looking forward to what this little firecracker has in store for us 🙂

Be well.

So This is The New Year…

And I feel that everything’s different!!!

Flashback to that time when my husband ran 6 miles with Ben Gibbard and then got this for me because he knows my love runs deep and I was extremely close to pushing our child out my vag:

SWOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post is brought to you by nap time. It wasn’t easy to get to and always requires at least 5-10 minutes of screaming; however, I know she feels so much better after it’s happened and I suspect it will get better. Although, I’ve never been a great napper so, maybe not. My best friend always says, “Hope for the best, but expect the worst” and I find that to be such a good way to live because then you are pleasantly surprised when it all goes well.

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2017 was a bomb ass year! Here’s my list of things that really rocked my world:

  • Amazing baby moon on Lummi island

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  • So much standing for equality

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  • Walk/running Bloomsday at 34 weeks pregnant

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  • Amazing baby shower

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  • Saying hello to our little wonder, Mirabella on 6/16/17

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  • Watching Mira grow and experience all of her firsts

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It’s been a whirl wind of a year.

I’m looking forward to everything that 2018 has to send my way because I know that with the wonders we learn what joy is and with the hardships we learn what appreciation is.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can make the most out of next year, and one of the ways I have been thinking about doing that is setting my intentions in all aspects of my life. I figured the blog was the best space to share those goals and hold myself accountable. So here goes, I’m going to share something I would like to do and something I would like to continue with…

Work

  • Create a home work space that is conducive to productivity and creative thoughts.
  • Continue coming to sessions prepared, valuing organic learning opportunities, but keeping structure in appointments.

Mind

  • Journal and/or meditate daily 5-10 minutes, either before bed or first thing in the morning
  • Continue reading every night before bed.

Body

  • Complete a half marathon, my first group run is tomorrow!!
  • Continue getting in 2 strength training sessions a week and 2-3 super sweaty cardio sessions.

Family

  • Set aside 30 minutes a day to talk to Mira in Spanish, between 6-8 months is when babies brains are really becoming hard wired to a certain language (nows my chance to impact that)
  • Continue to unplug when I am with my family.

Love

  • Take Gottman’s bringing home baby class. While I feel like Dave and I are getting the hang of it, I also feel that a relationship that isn’t constantly looking for ways to improve is often leaving someone’s feelings behind, so I’m always looking for ways to make our love better.
  • Continue to put keeping myself healthy first, then my relationship with Dave second, and finally our family. As my cousin likes to say “put your air mask on first, because you ain’t shit to no one if you don’t” – OK, I remixed that last part Em, but it was something like that right?

Food

  • Move back towards a plant based diet. While I was pregnant with Mira I craved meat (like Phoebe from friends style) and I decided to go for it. But I feel I am ready to move back to my pescatarian diet.
  • Continue intermittent fasting. My mind feels more clear, I sleep better, and (TMI…) my GI tract feels so much better when I give it a 16 hour break from digestion.

Blog

  • Blog MORE!!! Also, get back to why I started my blog as an accountability for healthy living. That means more WIAW, fitness, fashion, recap, and Friday favorite posts.
  • Continue with my Mira updates, they are so fun and I really think she’ll love looking back on them.

So those are my 2018 intentions. I’m so looking forward to an amazing year with my family and friends. Thank you all for the impact you continue to have in my life.

Be well.

Nicole

 

Mira is six months!

Mira is half a year today! It feels like it has been five seconds and it feels like it has been ten years all at the same time. I missed my month 5 recap so this will be a mash up!

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I keep hearing, “cherish this time,” “these are the best times,” “I miss that time,” and while I try not to judge (motherhood has humbled much of my judging Judy nature), I have a hard time believing that it won’t ALL have it’s good aspects. Annnnnyways, that’s neither here nor there, because here we are at 6 months and Mira IS as cute as can be.

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Here’s an update on our little bean:

-Mira is sleeping through the night!! I hesitate to write this because I don’t want to jinx us

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-Mira has eaten the following foods: sweet potato, banana, delicata squash, butternut squash, pear, cereal, chicken, ferro, carrots, broccoli, peanut butter, strawberries, hemp milk, black berries, and a few other things we’ve baby-bird fed her. She seems to like all foods, but she’s in the ‘try/like everything’ stage so we’re trying to capitalize on that.

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-A few of Mira’s firsts: Halloween, photo shoot, house, Christmas light drive, flight, trip to the Seattle Center, trip to Orange County, Thanksgiving dinner, trip to the beach (both at home and the OC), while she didn’t make it into Disneyland we did meet at downtown Disney, date night babysitter who wasn’t a family member, there are probably more (I mean she’s a baby, everything is a first right?) but I’ll leave it there for now.

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*Halloween was during the time with Mira that we like to call “I hate this world, why did you bring me here?!?!?!?!?!?” So this picture is the best I can do….also I blame Trump for her feelings.

Dave told me that a friend of his recently said “I’m so glad things have gotten better, because it sounded really hard.” Dave said, “I thought things were hard for your kiddo in the beginning too?” and he replied, “Yeah it was challenging, but Mira sounded a lot more.” And I have to tell you, hearing that always feels so nice. It was REALLY hard during those first 5 months, like unfathomably hard. I’d say the turning point happened when sleep got better. One day she took three naps that each lasted about an hour and I thought to myself, ‘is this what it’s like when you have a baby that sleeps???’ She still cries painstakingly when going down for most naps and at night, but it has gotten so much better.

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Likes:

  • Oliver & Charlie (she smiles and talks to them like crazy)
  • Walks
  • Sweet potato/squash, chicken
  • Kisses/tickles
  • Being thrown up in the air
  • Peek a boo
  • Other babies/people
  • The ‘good morning’ song
  • Being worn

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Dislikes

  • Hyponagogia (“neurological phenomenon that can occur when one is going to sleep. It is an in-between state where one is neither fully awake nor fully asleep”) —- like she seriously HATES this feeling.
  • When mama or papa leave to quickly.

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For Thanksgiving we took a trip down to Orange County and Mira was able to meet so many of Dave’s family members and some really good friends of ours. It was such an exciting time for all of us, and Mira did so well on the flights to and from. The Ergo was intricate in napping on the flight and keeping our bean happy.

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Dave’s grandma and sister were finally able to meet Mira, and there was a lot of long awaited gushing

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Our little bean has had a pretty wild first six months of life, and she has definitely brought us so much joy. There are still moments when I look at Dave and say, “Can you believe she’s ours?” “We have a daughter!” “She’s our little girl.” and it feels surreal. I’m going to hold on to that feeling, forever. She’ll be thirty (and obvs changing the world) and I’ll look at Dave and say “that’s our bean!” and it will feel unreal all over again.

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I love you Mirabella Emma.

 

Mira’s 4 months!

Well, I missed three months, so this will really be a recap of Mira’s third and fourth months of life.

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Our little bean is extremely adorable, especially between the hours of 7am-5pm. It can get a little shady anytime after 5pm, see this video to find out just how Mira’s doing at 3am.

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Our little girl currently enjoys:

-Balls

-Hitting her toys with her feet

-Whenever her nonna says “piccanina de la nonna”

-Her good night stories for rebel girls (we read 2-3 a night before bed)

-Her night time songs: “You are my sunshine” “Baby mine” “Golden slumbers”

-Water (pool, bath, shower)

-Other people/babies

-The dogs

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She also really enjoys dancing

Mira’s dislikes:

-5pm or later (as I mentioned before)

-She continues to hate sleep, outside of the first couple of weeks of her life, she really hasn’t fallen asleep without some level of tears.

-Loud laughing (cue my anxiety ****sensory disorder?!?!?!!!****)

-Tummy time – we do it anyways, but man does she hate it. Oliver sure makes it more appealing.

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Oliver isn’t so sure. I think it may be jealousy, but it’s not about her it’s more about her toys….

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Mira experienced two big firsts this month:

-Swimming

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-Pumpkin Patch

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both were so much fun!!

These last couple months have had there ups and downs (we made sure to get footage of both so Mira knows the good, the bad, and the ugly), but it has definitely been so amazing to see Mira laugh and really interact. Her personality is really shining through and it’s been so fun!


As you probably saw in my previous post my nonna passed away a couple weeks ago. Last week we went back to the town where I was born and attended her funeral. It was a really hard time, but it was also really nice to see family.

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Nonna got Mira the jacket and cap and I thought she looked really cute in it!

We miss nonna every day, but I’m just so happy that there’s a little nonna in me and my mom and everyone in my family and we can share that with Mira.

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Be well.

Oh Nonna

I can’t sleep.

I just need to write.

Today we lost one of my favorites. My Nonna. Emma Morelli.

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If you have even met me then it’s very likely you have heard a story about my Nonna. You probably know that she’s hilarious, giving, and sensitive.

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My earliest memories of nonna were when she would watch my siblings and I while babysitting a neighbor’s child. Her house always had homemade bread, pizza, pasta, sugo, antipasto, and tons of other delicious Italian foods that I can only hope to recreate for my family.

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Some of my favorite Nonna quotes:

“Buh, I guess so”

“Oh nonna”

“Pick’nm’up’dat’ting”

“I carry on, carry on”

“I love you with allamy heart”

“How’s Dah-veed?”

“Ciao baby”

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I know that we are all put on this earth and one day we will leave, but today a large hole has been left. I’m sad for so many reasons, but something that really has me down is how Mira won’t get to know you like I did.

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I promise to tell her what her middle name stands for. I promise tell her your story, how life was definitely not always fair to you but how you worked hard to make it better for us. I promise to share your food with her. I promise to teach her how to play dice.

View More: http://rickplusanna.pass.us/nicolelovesdavid

I love you so much my Nonna, and I will carry you always and forever in my heart. You are a part of me and now you are a part of my daughter, Mirabella Emma. I know that you are with Nonno now, and I’m sure there’s a rock somewhere that we’ll hear about later.

xoxo

Nicoletta

 

Mira Is Two Months!!!

Well, I would be lying if I said these last two months have breezed by. It’s such an interesting time warp with a newborn…everybody now, ‘let’s do the time warp again!’

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Sorry I had to 🙂

When Dave was home from work we talked about how the days melted into one another, and I can’t think of a better way to describe it. I’m definitely jealous of countries that offer a year of leave (ehhmm Canada), but we made due with what we got and I’m so glad we had him while we did.

So I missed a one month post, but I kind of discussed our first month with bean in this post.

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My hope is that I can do a monthly post so she has a virtual baby book to look back on when she’s older. Lord knows I wouldn’t be able to do a physical baby book. So let’s fast forward to today, Mira is two months old!

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This month has been hard for our little girl as we learned she may have reflux 😦 We are starting to get it under control, but it’s been a tough go for her. My mom described having a newborn like having an exchange student living with you, and I felt that was an apt comparison. I think we’re starting to get a better sense of her.

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Likes:

  • Baths
  • Papa bouncing her on the yoga ball
  • Swinging (sometimes)
  • Being worn
  • Eating
  • Going for walks (while being worn, not in the car seat)
  • Teddybear made out of Nonno’s shirt
  • When mama calls her a goose
  • Sticking your tongue out at her
  • Mirrors
  • Looking around
  • Books (baba haha, baby faces)
  • Music (Brandi Carlile, The Doors, The Beatles, Kendrick Lamar, Regina Spektor, The Decemberists, and Ingrid Michealson)

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She looks so much like my nonna when she cries!

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Dislikes:

  • Pooping
  • Car rides (oh lord)
  • Going to sleep
  • Being put down for longer than 10 minutes
  • When mama sneezes (this happens, and then she cries so hard)

Initially we thought she had a digestive issue so after her one-month appointment we began giving her probiotics. That did seem to help for a time but she continued to cry with extreme frequency. So when we saw the pediatrician for her two-month appointment he recommended we try reflux medicine (he had thought that might be her problem at the one-month appointment, but he wanted to give the probiotics a try first). Honestly today was the first day that we had some relief from excessive crying, and we are so grateful (both for our sanity and her upset).

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Visitors:

  • Auntie Jill
  • Auntie Lolo (Lauren)
  • Guncle Canaan
  • Cousins Julia, Carlos, Mason, and Logan

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Today we were discussing the things we are grateful about regarding our little miss and here is the list we came up with:

  • Her smile at 5 weeks (with all the crying we needed that interaction so early)
  • Her alertness
  • Sleeping at night (she’s pretty good about only waking up every 3-4 hours)

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There’s a lot that’s been SUPER difficult in this first few months. Saying that on the blog is really difficult for me because I have a lot of guilt surrounding the fact that I don’t feel like everything is all flowers and sausages! Dave’s therapist really described it well, ‘you both have set an expectation on yourself that it should be really easy/amazing for you since it was so hard to get to this point.’ Accepting that it’s okay it didn’t turn out exactly how we planned and letting go of the control has been very helpful.

I love our little bean, can’t wait to check in with you guys at three months.

Be well.

 

 

Pump and Post I

You can thank Dave for that creative title 😉 I have a feeling it might turn into a recurring theme so I’m making this the first installation.

So now that you know what I’m up to atm, I thought I’d fill you in on the last little bit of my life. Something about the number three is sticking in my head today so I’m going to share three things from a few categories of my life.

Favorite Third Trimester Workouts:

I. Body Pump – Up until week 39 I was able to do 2 body pump classes a week and it felt great! The energy that lifting gave me was so helpful and I think it definitely helped me through my labor.

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II. Walking – It’s been a family tradition to complete bloomsday every year and I wasn’t going to let pregnancy hold me back from that. It was the slowest bloomsday I’ve done yet and I had to stop four times after mile 5 due to some horrible cramps (TMI, but I was having some digestive issues that I believe added to the difficulty), but I DID IT!

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III. Spin – It’s interesting how the difficulty of spin evolved throughout the pregnancy. During the second trimester I felt some pain in my hip flexors and then in the third trimester it became hard to sit on the seat. It was never too painful to do though and I’m proud of myself for getting myself to classes up until the very end.

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Baby Shower: 6/3/2017

I. Friends – Thank you to these ladies for throwing an amazing baby shower (and to my mama, who also helped out a TON but I didn’t get a photo with her)

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2. Cugina – Kate helped from afar by getting this beautiful cake, she was missed for sure, but the cake was delicious! Also, did you see the donuts? My mom and friends know me so well 🙂

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III. Shower dress – In general I haven’t LOVED Target’s maternity section but I found this dress and it was amazingly comfy and pretty cute!

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Labor: 6/15/17-6/16/17

I. My labor team – Dave was an amazing support during labor. Him, my doula, and the labor and delivery nurse really helped me through it all.

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II. Partial drug free labor – Though it didn’t go exactly as planned I worked so hard for a drug free labor and I’m proud to say that outside of a few doses of fentanyl I stuck to it. My nurses face (Pauletta was literally the BEST) says it ALL! I am also proud to say that I was the loudest person in labor that night 🙂

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III. Dave’s tears – If you know me then you know I’m a crier, but I guess I don’t cry at major life events (e.g., weddings, child birth). But I love that my husband does, I’m so happy Mira will grow up knowing a man that shows all his emotions.

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Mira In The Hospital:

I. The Five A.M. Crew – Mira was born at 4:23am on Friday June 16th, so need I say more about the people who stayed up until five a.m. to meet our new little human. Nonna brought the nurse’s donuts too, she’s the besht!

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II. Family of three – Although I felt I could have left the hospital in the evening on Friday they had us stay until Saturday. It ended up being nice spending those first 24 hours in our little hospital room nook with my newly expanded family.

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III. Watching the love of my life become a dad – people talk about how amazing this is all the time and they definitely aren’t exaggerating.

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Favorite Post-Partum Items:

I. First Forty Days – This book is amazing. It is primarily a recipe book and everything Dave has made so far has been delicious, I’m just so glad that he’s always enjoyed nourishing me with his amazing culinary skills. I have also really enjoyed the lifestyle portion of the book. They talk about the Chinese traditions/philosophies for the first forty days post-partum and all that goes into setting yourself up for the best healing possible. I highly recommend it!

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II. Belly Bandit – I haven’t had it officially diagnosed yet but based on self assessment I experienced some diastasis recti, which is when your rectus abdominis separate due to the tissue thinning. Although the belly bandit has not been scientifically proven to bring the muscles back together (I’ll be doing my deep core workouts to help promote that) it feels good to wear it and I feel it has helped assist my uterus in contracting and bringing my belly in.

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III. Nipple Whip – This stuff is literally the best, the end.

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Mira’s First Few Weeks:

I. Holding her ciuccio – I mean when it’s you and your chooch against the world you gotta hold it tight!

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II. Fisher Price Rock ‘N Play – Mira really enjoys sleeping in this thing, of course she prefers being held (who doesn’t???) but this thing has been really nice for naps.

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III. First Bath – the actual bath was a real upset for little Mira, but I really wanted you to see the adorable towel picture when she was so relieved to be out of the water.

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Parent Judgements – I have to preface this one with my love for growing as a person and admitting/working on my faults. Before becoming a parent there were silly things that I looked at and judged, now that I’ve lived it I definitely still have some judgements 😉 but there are a few things that I have a better understanding of, so here they are:

I. Riding in the backseat with your baby – I have no idea why I hated seeing parents do this, but now I know that in the first few weeks of your babies life it’s hard not to want to ride with them. For me it had to do with anxiety about how she was sitting in the car seat. People like to say shit like “Oh just wait, the worrying only gets worst” but I have to say that for me the level of anxiety has decreased in just the last week of getting used to her. Also, I can’t wait until I can work out again (which ALWAYS helps me with my anxiety).

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II. Bed Sharing – I understand why it’s not for everyone and why it wouldn’t be safe in all situations; however, it works for our family and it’s so nice to get 4-5 hour stretches of sleep 🙂

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III. Okay, so Dave and I have been sitting here for the past five minutes trying to think of another one and I can’t think of anything. I turned to him and said “I don’t think there is a third one,” he laughed and said, “it’s just that you judge so much.” HAHA my husband knows me.

So I’ll leave you with a few pictures of Mira meeting her nonno, nonna, and grandma.

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Be well.

 

Pregnancy Thus Far And A Week In Workouts

This pregnancy has been an up and down of emotions. At times I feel blessed that we made it through such a tumultuous time and have been able to carry this baby thus far and then other times I’m an emotional wreck, feeling guilty about any negative feelings I have towards the pregnancy and how it has impacted my body. I try to allow myself all feelings, but the guilt creeps in at times. I’ve found there are a few things that can help me get through it and I thought I’d share them on the blog so other people who may be experiencing pregnancy after loss (or just similar guilty feelings) can find solace in knowing A. They’re not alone and B. There are things that help.

1. Gratitude. One of the strategies I have utilized to keep a peaceful frame of mind is gratitude. I’m grateful for a. being able to have this baby b. the love and support I have in my partner c. that I live in an amazing city with so many amazing opportunities for myself and my family d. that I have a home e. that I have friends and family that I love f. that I have health care (fucking Trump) g. that I love my job. And honestly the list goes on and on. When I’m feeling down I start running through the list of things I’m grateful for and it really does help.

2. Healthy eating. I feel that throughout this pregnancy I have been able to eat a healthy balance of 80/20. I can’t imagine never indulging in those things that your pregnant body desires (in my case Cadbury egg, popsicles/slushies, doughnuts <–okay this one might not be pregnancy hehehe), but I’m extremely head strong about maintaining a balance with healthy foods. Here are some of my faves so far:

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Avocado toast, banana almond butter toast.

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Sauteed spinach.

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Savory eggy oats.

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Smoothie bowl.

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Whole foods salad.

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Bagel with cottage cheese cucumbers and tomato.

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Brown rice with Kale and egg.

3. Hydration. I’ve also been sure to drink 80-100oz of water a day. This has kept a lot of the negative symptoms at bay and I’m so happy about that.

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4. Finding inspiration. I’ve been inspired by so many bloggers in general during the last 4 years that it was intuition to start finding those who had given birth. I love reading the Hungry Runner Girl, Peanut Butter Fingers, and The Fitnessista. On Instagram I recently found Hayley Bolton’s account and she is so REAL and inspiring. I also follow Knocked Up Fitness on IG (I have her DVDs too), which lead me to really watch out for Diastasis Recti and see a personal trainer when I felt it had happened to me (Thanks Erica!). Lastly, I follow Natalie Jill Fit on Facebook (I’m rarely on facebook now but she has great videos). These women do not sugar coat things, they are women that have worked hard after pregnancy/delivery (with things not always going smoothly) and it is truly inspiring.

5. Hiring a doula. The doula has already been such a great support. I had some pretty intense sciatic nerve pain and she had some great suggestions for how to sleep at night that would help and it completely has! She also gave me an acupressure point for anxiety/sleep, and has shown me some dance moves to help alleviate that ‘full’ feeling that happens near the end of the day.

6. Working out. Ever since my first pregnancy I found that the times I felt the best were when I was working out. But this has rung true even more so during this pregnancy. At the beginning of the pregnancy the nurses/doctors at the high risk clinic advised me to keep my workouts easy (which was a real bummer), but as soon as I hit 12 weeks and went to a regular OB I was cleared to do my normal thing. I’m so proud of myself that I’ve gotten in 5-6 workouts a week and I don’t feel like I’ll be stopping any time soon. My workouts have consisted of: Body pump, Spin, Mixxed Fit dance, Kettle bells, walks, and hikes.  It’s crazy how I can be sitting on the couch and think ‘my hips hurt and maybe I shouldn’t go workout,’ but once I’m at the gym doing it my hips feel much better.

I spoke with my doctor again yesterday and she was very happy that I’m able to engage in this level of activity, she wants me to keep going for as long as I can. A lot of things change during pregnancy and if this can be something that stays consistent and can help me recover afterwards then this is something that definitely makes me happy when I’m feeling down on myself.

I wanted to share what week 32/33 in workouts looks like for pregnant Nicole:

1. Thursday, April 27th was a 45 minute spin class. Forgot my watch, so you get a picture of the bike instead.

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2. Friday April 28th was an hour and a half walk with Dave (prepping for Bloomsday), we got a little bit of jogging in there.

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3. Saturday, April 29th was suppose to be a Body Pump class, but I got such little sleep Friday night that I decided to sleep past my 7am alarm and do a 45 minute workout from Erica Ziel’s Prenatal Sculpt DVD. I love these things, they are a really great work out!

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4. Sunday April 30th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME) was a sweaty spin class.

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5. Monday, May 1st was a rest day. I took the boys out for walks, but kept it really minimal because my body definitely needed a break.

6. Tuesday, May 2nd was another great spin session.

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7. Wednesday, May 3rd was time for some weight lifting at Body Pump.

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My goal has been to get 3-4 days of cardio a week and 2 days of weight training, and so far so good. I’m taking advantage of this time when my body feels good and I feel like I can get out the door and do it. If there comes a time when my body says no, then I will listen, but thankfully it continues to love these workouts.

So now you’ve heard what’s been getting me through the ups and downs of pregnancy, hope it’s helpful to anyone having similar feelings.

Be well!

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