Postpartum Life and The Journey to Finding Myself Again

I had to have a c-section due to my baby not turning, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the recovery was longer than I wanted. The first couple weeks were rough considering I had an incision and I was still having to care for an infant. I was also trying to get used to the new sleeping schedule. My son wasn't much of a crier at night, but he did wake up every couple of hours to eat. I was extremely exhausted during this time, but I was more than happy to be taking care of my son. My patience was so high and I just wanted to be there for him.

After the first couple weeks, I began to go on walks. They weren't long walks. I would only walk until I started to feel a little strain in my belly and I would immediately turn back. With every walk I would go on, I was able to walk longer and longer. At first, it was a little frustrating that I could not walk much, but when I started to notice the progress, I got my motivation to keep trying. 

Before I knew it, 6 weeks had passed and I was going on regular walks without any pain or discomfort. That is when I decided to start incorporating some exercise with my walks. I started with just a few squats and lunges, nothing too crazy, but my body apparently thought it was crazy because I was sore for days. It was not fun having to move those few days, but I was also happy to be feeling soreness again, to be feeling like I accomplished something. For a couple weeks after that I did the same thing about two times a week.

Once my body began getting used to moving around and adding a little strength exercises, I started to do a little more. I would do my squats and lunges, but I increased the reps and then I would add lateral squat steps and maybe a few push ups. It was so amazing watching my body regain strength and mobility during this time. And then I started my internship. 

Time time of my internship was tough because I was extremely busy all day. I had to wake up at 4 every morning, get myself ready, get my son's stuff ready, pack some food and head out the door. I drove an hour to my mom's house to drop off my son and then I would drive an hour to my internship. I would get there at 7 in the morning. Three days out of the week, I would get out of the internship at 5 pm. I would then drive about an hour to an hour and a half to my mom's to pick up my son. My mom was always so sweet and would make me some food, so I'd eat and then head out the door. I would be getting home between 8-9pm. It was exhausting. 

The other two days that I didn't have to work till 5pm, I would be getting off by 12:30. I loved those days because it gave me an opportunity to go workout at the gym and drive to my mom's and be able to relax a little bit and play with my son before having to drive home. So, those two days I would work out and I would usually add at least one day on the weekend. I did this for the entirety of the internship which lasted until mid December, which is around the holidays.

With the holidays and finally being done with the internship and earning my degree, I wanted to take a break from everything and focus on spending time with my son. It was amazing to finally being able to spend that time with him, but I started to slip a little on my fitness. I was mostly going just when I was wanting to and it was not very often. I had just missed so much time with my son that I didn't want to miss anymore time. Which there was nothing wrong with me wanting to take some time to focus on my son, but I think I took too much time off.

For months, I was only exercising when I wanted, which again was not very often. As I continued to have that lack of exercise, I started to lose my motivation to keep going. I also began working part time and I started making excuses that I didn't have the time. I eventually went from training 1 or 2 times a week to not training at all. 

It's been difficult to get back into it and that's the reality of it. But, I have faced myself and stopped making excuses. I do have the time, I have just chosen not to exercise. Coming to the realization of that has allowed me to start taking a step to correcting that. I've started improving my diet and I have started an at-home exercise routine using my Postpartum Workout Program. It allows me to slowly start exercising again and rebuild my strength. I have big goals to reach and I will get there!

If you are a struggling mom, reach out to me! I am always here to help guide you in the right direction or provide motivation. If you're interested in one of my workouts but aren't sure which one is right for you, reach out to me and I will help! And be sure to write in the subject line "I'm ready to make a change!" and you'll get a 25% off discount code for any one of my programs, including my online personal training plans. Either way, be sure to let me know how your fitness journey is going! Look forward to hearing from you!