I'm Baack!

Well, Happy 2015!! I know I've been out of touch with this blog for quite some time now, but if you follow me on IG or FB you'll already know that my little girl made her debut a little earlier than expected!

Clara Lena was born on 1/4/15 at 6:58am, weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces, 19.5 inches long. She has beautiful eyes, mommy's nose, and dark brown hair, and I couldn't possibly be more in love.  I have so much to catch you up on, so I may have to do this over multiple parts...I'll save her birth story for another day, but for now, I'll let you know that she is growing happily, getting more alert each day, and sleeps very well for a 2 week old baby.

2 weeks.  My god the time has flown by already!  So now that I am 2 weeks post partum, I'm about ready to get back into the swing of things with getting back on track with my exercise and nutrition.  I'm not quite ready to start working out again (I haven't gotten cleared by the doctors) but I can certainly start to do better with my nutrition for sure! I'm starting a FREE 5 day group next Monday to kickstart my weightloss plans again, and after that the all new 21 day fix extreme program is being released so I can't wait to get going with that as well! I'm taking new customers for my free group up through the next few days, so shoot me an email if you're interested in joining me...it's time to get those resolutions kickstarted! babebeforebaby@gmail.com

The honeymoon is over....

Good morning and hello to the few blog readers I might have after neglecting this poor corner of the internet for far too long! As I’m sure you can imagine, pregnancy has been more consuming than I ever thought…and while I’m so very grateful for being able to carry a child and the blessing of being able to get pregnant at all, I’m now 36 weeks and it’s safe to say the honeymoon is over J

I’ve had a fairly easy pregnancy – no major issues to speak of, especially compared to many of my friends whom I watched have terrible morning sickness, battles with Pre-E, back issues, etc, but I’ve been lucky enough to avoid all that thankfully.  I’m nearing the end now with less than a month to go before my due date (eek!) and as of next week I’ll be considered “full term”, which means she could come at any time after that!  In short, I’m exhausted! My hands and feet are super swollen pretty much all the time, and it’s a chore just to roll over in bed.

I’m feeling huge these days…officially at my highest weight ever, and ready to get back on the fitness bandwagon.  I guess it’s good timing that she’s coming in January since those weight loss resolutions always seem strongest this time of year, right??

So, I’m planning on starting off January with a little kick-start to my own resolution…. As tired as I am right now, I know that even just getting in some walking on the treadmill each day will help me when it comes to my delivery and post-partum recovery, so I’m starting a new accountability group 2 weeks from today, January 5^th, to kick off those resolutions….I’m going to be using the 21 day fix again to get myself back into pre-baby shape, and I’m super excited about the new 21 day fix EXTREME that’s being released at the beginning of February (again, perfect timing!) for when I’m really ready to hit it hard.  The other great news is that they’ve broken out the nutrition program by itself now, simply called the “portion fix”, so you can use it with ANY fitness program you choose, including those of you who like to go to the gym as opposed to doing home workouts.  Pretty genius right? Anyways, if you’re interested in joining me, shoot me an email at babebeforebaby@gmail.com, as you’ll have to get your order in soon to get it in time with all the holidays quickly approaching!  2015 is going to bring some pretty amazing things, I can feel it!

eShakti Review and Coupon Code

Happy Black Friday! I hope everyone is recovering from their Turkey Comas today, and if you're looking to do some online shopping instead of braving the storm, I've got a good post for you today. Note that I was given free merchandise in exchange for my blog review, but the opinions below are entirely my own and in no way affected by the nature of this relationship. Have you heard of eShakti? They're an online retailer that specializes in custom orders (website here: http://eshakti.com/Products/FALL)  They contacted me last month to see if I'd be interested in doing a review for my blog, and while I was excited to do so, I was nervous because they didn't carry any maternity clothes and here I am 8 months pregnant.   No maternity clothes? No problem they said! Just send us your custom measurements and we'll customize any dress so that it fits your pregnant belly :) I was really excited about this, since I was having a hard time finding a dress for my baby shower, I figured this was the perfect opportunity. I chose this dress to customize, because I loved the color and I LOVED the ruffle detail at the top.

Now, this is the important part..send them your REAL measurements! Not the ones you wish you were, or the ones you think you might be when the dress arrives...I was super nervous about how much my chest and belly would grow over the course of a month and a half, so I basically added "a few" inches to all of my measurements just in case...the result was a dress that was pretty big on me all around.  I was in love with the dress otherwise though, so I just pinned and tied it the best I could...I'm actually hoping to be able to have it altered after the baby comes so I can wear it again, I love it that much, and I got TONS of compliments on it at my shower!

Overall, the company was great to work with, they have so many beautiful dresses to choose from, and it's no big deal to get custom measurements, or change the length of the hem, or add sleeves, etc, so I really think I"ll use them again in the future.   If you join their email list, you get a $30 credit right off the bat, and they've also thrown in a coupon code for all of my readers to use for an additional 10% off! Just type in the code "babebeforebaby" at checkout :) Talk about a good Black Friday deal!!

Please note:

Code has to be entered in the ‘promotional code’ box.   It is not case-sensitive.  

Code can be used any number of times until the validity period. 

It can be clubbed with any other promotional offer, gift coupon or gift card in the same order unless explicitly specified otherwise in the offer conditions.

This discount code is not applicable on clearance / sale, gift cards & overstock categories.

Not applicable on previous purchases.


And while you're at it, check out the eShakti pages on FB, Pinterest & Instagram  where they post specials and sales! Happy Holiday shopping!

Showered with Love

This past Sunday, my sisters threw me a beautiful baby shower! It was perfect in every way, and I'm so grateful to them and all the hard work they put in.  We got more stuff for our baby girl than we know what to do with...thankfully we have a few more weeks to sort through it all before she makes her debut, but she's already spoiled :)  My sisters (and my nieces) were amazing and made the room beautiful; they even decorated the present table with a whole clothesline of new clothes for our little girl!

My best friend and her mom also helped by putting together some beautiful diaper cake creations for all of the table centerpieces, they were so adorable and too pretty to take apart!! 

One of my favorite parts of the shower was this little activity my sisters came up with, to leave us notes on a diaper for those late night changings...they're seriously hilarious!

Overall it was a wonderful day; I feel so very lucky to have so many people in our lives that were willing to shower us with their love and gifts for our baby girl...now to find a place to put everything!!

Third trimester!?! You snuck up on me!

Wow! Here I am, neglecting this blog, and before I know it, I’m already 29 weeks and into my 3^rd trimester!

Things are moving along quickly…I’m actually feeling a bit panicked lately realizing that I have about 10 and a half weeks to go until my official due date, and with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s thrown in there, there’s not much time to get things done and get all my appointments made!

We’re checking things off the list slowly but surely, I've been touring daycare centers for a few weeks now, and we’re close to making a decision on that (side bar: holy expensive!).  We have an appointment to meet with a possible pediatrician in 2 weeks, we took our maternity tour of the hospital last week, and have a few birthing and breast feeding classes to get to in the next few weeks.

I’m starting to think about things like packing for the hospital, and meanwhile I don’t even have anything in the nursery ready!

We’ve decided which room to make the nursery (we have 2 extra bedrooms right now), so we did start cleaning that room out last weekend, but we’ve got some serious work to do still! I’ll be sure to post pictures when we get it further along, but there’s nothing to look at right now lol.

I’m trying my best to stay active and make healthy choices, but I’d be lying if I said I was perfect.  I’m working out a few days a week, walking as much as I can, and probably eating more poorly than I have in a few years, but I’m trying not to be too hard on myself about it.

The baby is moving around pretty regularly now, so it’s fun to watch my belly jump up and down, especially when I eat something sugary (like all that Halloween candy!).  I’m looking forward to these next few months of excitement; we've got a lot to do still but I know we’ll get there!

BUMPdate: 26 Weeks!

I know, it’s been far, far too long since you’ve had a decent #bumpdate from me, so here you go!!

How far along are you: 26 weeks – I actually am into the “less than 100 days to go” countdown…eeek!!!

Fruit: This week baby is as big as a head of lettuce (well that’s not very adorable…)

Baby bump: It’s in full effect!! There’s really no question now, although strangers still won’t come out and ask, they just stare at me strangely…

Maternity Clothes: Yes, yes, and yes.  I still have a few dresses I can wear that are stretchy (like the one in this pic) , but who knows how much longer that will last.

Gender: Baby Girl J

Stretch Marks: No new ones (yet)

Sleep: I wake up every night to pee, but so long as I get my workout in each day I’m getting a good amount of sleep each night.  I’m still tired a whole lot though!

Cravings: No new ones really.

What Makes Me Wanna Gag: No specific food, but I’ve been getting heart burn like crazy – at this rate, she’s bound to come out super hairy because it’s non-stop!

Exercise: Walking, running, Piyo, a little Turbo Jam, and the 21 day fix.  I do what I can, when I can, even if it’s not every day its better than nothing!

Mood: I feel pretty good, no real complaints!

Favorite thing this week: Our little girl is moving quite a bit these days, she’s super active and kicking around on a regular basis.

Excited For: Deciding on a name and starting the nursery!

In other news...I think I NEED this shirt, don't you!???

Happy weekend! :)

No more excuses

I've let my little corner of the internet here slip away, I'm sorry for those of you waiting on regular posts from me, my life has just gotten so crazy lately and to be honest, I'm usually too tired when I do have the time that I don't want to come up with a new post! I hope you cut me a little slack on that, but to tell you the truth, I feel like I've been full of excuses lately. 
I'm pregnant.  So what.  That's not an excuse to throw out my good eating habits or my daily exercise routine, or just feeling good in my own skin.  I posted last week about weight gain woes and feeling more fat than pregnant some days, and that's still very true, but the more I think about it, I'm realizing that I'm feeling so terrible about it because I KNOW I'm not making the best choices.  I've started a new round of the 21 day fix more times than I can count during this pregnancy and fell off after just a few days when I gave into my cravings.  I've been using those excuses, and the "I'm pregnant I'm allowed" mentality to allow myself to slip back into my old habits, and to tell you the truth, I'm miserable because of it.  I've been very lucky in having a fairly easy pregnancy with no major issues or morning sickness (vomiting) issues, so it's about time I take advantage of that.  I'm starting (yes another) new round of the 21 day fix on Monday.  I will eat healthy for me AND my daughter, because we deserve to be healthy, period.  Here we go (again)!