Spring is here! As the weather starts to warm up, the sun shines brighter and the days are longer… we can’t help but get excited that Summer is on its way. We have plenty of warm sunny days ahead! With warmer days on our mind many of us are looking for ways to lose a few pounds, lead healthier lives and/or feel better about ourselves. Now is the time to spring clean bad behaviors and develop new healthy habits to help you feel your best this spring and summer season. I have compiled five ways you can achieve your goals and included three of my favorite protein packed smoothie recipes for you to try.
1. Bottoms up! I always tell all of my clients, “You can not exercise to burn off a poor diet.” It just doesn’t work that way. If you are putting in the effort and time commitment to workout consistently, DO NOT ruin it in the kitchen. And more importantly, drink more water!!! It is that easy… put down the ice tea and coffee, and drink more H2O. Water is vital to all of the bodies systems and to every single cell in our body. If we don’t drink enough water, our body cannot purify our system of toxins. If our body cannot detox from the toxins, we ultimately slow down the operating systems in our body, like our metabolism. Drink more water and I guarantee you will notice healthier looking skin, higher energy levels and shed some weight. 2. Eat Breakfast There is much debate about whether of not eating breakfast is really that important. I will continue to argue that, yes, breakfast is very important and should not be skipped. Here is why… when you eat breakfast, you activate the thermogenesis process thus you stimulate your metabolism. After 6 + hours of no food while you are sleeping at night, your body goes into rest and digest mode and your metabolism will slow down so that other systems can work at recovery. Eating a meal in the morning turns on your bodies’ metabolism. You want to consume a meal that is high in protein with moderate fat and some complex carbohydrate for sustained energy and ideal fat burn. An example of this might be one of my power protein smoothies below or a bowl of organic oatmeal with ½ a banana, some berries, crushed walnuts and shredded coconut. 3. Get Moving! If you want to live well and live longer, you need to exercise! This doesn’t mean you need to run out to your local gym, buy a membership and spend an hour there everyday to achieve wellbeing. While the gym scene may appeal to some… you can get exercise done right in your living room or even outside. Going for a walk around your office building on your lunch break, cranking up your favorite music and dancing in your living room for 15 minutes, go for a hike, ride your bike, hit the gym, or even jump rope. Just get moving. Here is a plyometric workout you could complete in your home in less than 24 minutes. All you need is a space to workout, a clock and your workout shoes! Beginners: 2 rounds, 30 seconds work, 1-minute rest between exercises. Advanced: 3 rounds, 30 seconds work, and 30-second rest between exercises.
(Don’t recognize an exercise? Send me a message and I can send you a demo!) 4. Fix Nutritious Snacks Often times snack foods are considered a bag of pretzels in our pantry or a granola bar we found in our workbag. I challenge you to fix yourself more nutritious snacks. It is a great way to get more vegetables and fruits into your diet and doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of my favorite snacks are carrot sticks and almond butter, avocado toast, yogurt and raspberries with a little shredded coconut and dried fruit (apricots are my fav!) with a handful of almonds. 5. Think Small. Often the biggest deterrent to improving health is feeling overwhelmed by all the available advice and research. The magazine tabloids and the ads that overwhelm our Internet browser are constantly throwing out new health claims on how to lose 10 pounds in one week or what “super foods” will make you thin. Rather then getting caught up on the overwhelming amount of information out there, try to focus first on one small, seemingly inconsequential, unhealthy habit and turn it into a healthy, positive habit. If you’re in the habit of eating as soon as you get home at night, instead, keep walking shoes in the garage or entryway and take a quick spin around the block before going inside. If you have a can of soda at lunchtime every day, have a glass of water two days a week instead. Starting with small, painless changes helps establish the mentality that healthy change is not necessarily painful change. It’s easy to build from here by adding more healthy substitutions. Three of my Favorite Power Protein Smoothie Recipes! Chocolate Peanut Butter
Blueberry Banana Power
Strawberry Banana
What gets you motivated this time of year? Do you have a "not so healthy" habit that your looking to change? Share below, I would love to help! xoxo
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I have always enjoyed reading other peoples birth stories and experiences, and at the end of the day, every experience is SO different. Every birth story has its own twists and turns. I wanted to take the opportunity to share our birth story with you. This post is one of the longest and most intense/personal posts that I have written thus far. These moments I share are moments that I want to have written down to share with Hudson one day. I share with those of you who are interested and kindly ask that those who are not, just skip this post, your negativity is not welcome. Enjoy!
It all started on Monday, March 26th. I was 2 days past my due date and my doctor requested that I go to the hospital for a stress test. During that morning I was feeling intense, regular contractions and felt like labor may have begun. Sure enough, the stress test told us that I was in fact in labor and after my exam with the nurse she told us that we would be back sometime that evening to have our son. The anticipation was intense and we spent the day getting ready and running last minute errands. I spent much of the day walking the neighborhood and mentally preparing myself for birth. The night approached and I noticed that my contractions were getting sporadic and not as intense at times. We went to bed that evening… and sure enough, labor had stopped. Yup, stopped. Tuesday morning we woke up and went to our OBGYN to meet with out doctor and talk about options. After explaining to her what had happened, she performed an exam and reported that I was not dilated any further. We had decisions to make. From recent ultrasounds we knew that Hudson was over the 90th percentile in weight and every day past our due date he was just going to continue to get bigger. Our options at that point were to wait a week and see if my body went into labor, but risk him being over 10 lb. baby, or to be induced that week. We went home to talk about our options and later that afternoon we called our doctor to schedule inducement. Wednesday, March 28th we woke up that morning and this time really packed the truck to head to the hospital and have our son! We checked into our room at the hospital at 10am. Unpacked our bags while the nurses came in to introduce themselves and start taking my vitals and medical information they needed. The mid-wife who was on duty at the time-shared with me that this process could take 3-5 days, and I couldn’t help but feel defeated before we even began. Around noon, a nurse came in to set up my IV and start my Pitocin. Our doctor had instructed them to start me on the lowest dose of Pitocin because I still was not dilated and it was going to be a long haul. As the Pitocin drip started I made myself comfortable and started watching Friends on Netflix. At this point they were not checking on me too often, so I had time to just try to relax and snack lightly. 5 o’clock rolled around and it was shift change. My water still had not broken yet, but I was about 4 cm dilated which was a good sign that things were moving in the right direction. I would say around dinnertime, because I specifically remember telling Timmy to eat dinner, but I was going to pass because the pain was intensifying, the contractions were starting to get pretty painful. At about 9 pm I asked Timmy to come over to my bedside and help me lower the headrest and when he went to go push the button on the bed I nearly jumped a mile. A loud “pop” occurred and sure enough, my water had broken! Once my water broke I knew things would continue to heat up quickly. At this point the pain was at a 7 or 8, (on a 1-10 scale), and the nurse had asked me to let her know when I felt as if I couldn’t handle the contractions another hour because at that time she would start to get the anesthesiologist in order to come in and administer the epidural. Tim and I had talked about our pain mediation options long before arriving to the hospital and I had written in my birth plan that if necessary I would receive one. The night turned into morning and my contractions were becoming very intense. Speaking to so many women about their birth experiences prior to this moment I had received so much feedback about how hard it is to describe what a contraction feels like, and now I totally get it. In the beginning of labor they felt like really bad menstrual cramps, but by the time we were talking about a pain level of 9, they really became indescribable. At about 2 am the anesthesiologist arrived and it was time to receive the epidural. The doctor made it very clear how important it was to stay still and work through the contractions while he administered the medicine in order to avoid a “wet tap” in which case, my legs would have lost feeling. My anesthesiologist was a rock star and my epidural didn’t cause my legs to loose feeling or create a headache. It helped mitigate the pain of the contractions, but I could still feel the pressure. 2 am was approaching and my doctor came in to check and see how I was doing. She suggested that Hudson was having a hard time making it around my bowel and dropping into my pelvis. She suggested that if I could get into child’s pose, for even just 30 minutes, it would really help progress things along. With some help from the nurse I got into child’s pose on my hospital bed and instantly all modesty went OUT THE DOOR and I laid their face down, ass up. Thirty minutes passed and the nurse came in to check on us, she was thrilled with the progress we made in such a short time that she asked if I could tolerate child’s pose any longer. I told her that I was willing to do whatever it would take to get our son out quickly and safely. So child’s pose was where I remained for the next two hours. 4:30 am had arrived and that same nurse came in and this time checked to see how far I was dilated. Over the entire 17-hour labor process they only checked to see how far I was dilated twice, maybe three times, because once your water breaks the risk of infection increases. She stated that I was 9 cm dilated and she was going to go grab my doctor and let her know. My doctor came in and suggested that I flip back over to my back and give it a push to see how close things were. At this point my body was completely numb from being on my hands and knees for 3 hours that I needed a bit of assistance to get myself to flip over onto my back. With my doctor’s cues, I gave it a push. I believe my doctor was under the impression that we would have another 2 hours of pushing ahead. But, much to her surprise, I pushed and the next thing I know, our doctor yells, “grab a catcher, and tell the mid-wife, this baby is on his way!” I pushed for 25 minutes. 7 sets, 3 pushes every time. (Apparently that is unheard of; a typical woman pushes for 2-3 hours) The first push I felt like I could conquer the world, the second push I was still feeling strong but could feel how hard my body was working, and the third would take absolutely all the air from my body. I remember how important the environment we created for ourselves in our room really helped me during this extremely exhausting time. The lights were dim, our aromatherapy was diffusing lavender throughout our room and we had a playlist that we created months ago playing softly in the background. For 25 minutes I had my doctor, who I really grew to love and trust over my pregnancy, ready to catch out son. I had my husband holding one of my legs to help me bear down and another one of our trusted nurses holding my other. I feel so grateful for the support network I had around me to help push through the most intense moments of my life. March 29th, 2018, at 5:07 am, our new life began with such a beautiful, peaceful little boy, Hudson Alden Dow. So many of my mama readers continued to share with me that I just wouldn’t even understand the love a parent has for a child until you are one… and I totally get it! Hudson entered this world and was immediately placed on my chest, umbilical cord attached and all, and we got to enjoy over an hour of skin to skin. I will never forget the rush of emotions that overcame me that moment they placed him on my chest. I was uncontrollably crying, tears of joy and just pure happiness. Our little boy was finally here and most importantly, he was safe. It’s amazing how what seemed like such an impossible thing, in a single moment, instantly melted away when I saw his sweet little face. Even after 17 hours of labor, I would do it all over again a thousand times, to bring our boy into this world. HUGE shout out to Timmy… I thought I loved him as much as one person could, until that day. The entire experience brought us closer than I ever thought was possible. Timmy was my rock, my supporter and I could not have hung in there and done it without him by my side. He was right there and ready to help any way he could throughout that entire process. Now, THAT is a keeper. We had an amazing experience at Cape Cod Hospital. Our expectations were far surpassed and we really had the exact birth experience that both Tim and I envisioned for our little family. To all my mamas out there- you are warriors! To all of my soon-to-be moms or hope-to-be-moms- you got this. Whether your pregnancy/delivery is easy or hard, it will all be so WORTH IT! Here are some pictures of our handsome little dude during his first week of his life. So many people are under the belief that clean eating means restriction, and I am here to tell you, that is not the case. The basic idea of clean eating is to consume primarily whole, unprocessed foods. The idea of clean eating has been evolving for decades, and it really means something different based on the individual. Eating clean revolves around maintaining a balanced and personalized diet of fresh, unprocessed foods, including fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and whole grains. For some people, it also includes eggs, meats, fish and dairy. Why are more and more people making the shift toward clean eating? When you eliminate processed foods from your diet, you will notice a mental boost, clearer skin, weight loss, increased energy, stronger hair and nails, improved mental health and better sleep. Rather than going on a 30 day diet or some silly cleanse… making the shift to clean eating becomes a sustainable lifestyle. There are no rules to follow or cans & cant’s, rather, it’s a frame of mind.
A simple shift that if you can accomplish, you can change your life, forever. Clean Grocery List Vegetables
Sample Clean Eating 2- Day Menu Day 1 Breakfast Oatmeal with blueberries, coconut flakes, crushed walnuts and cinnamon Tea or Coffee Lunch ½ cup of brown rice or quinoa, sautéed spinach, extra virgin olive oil, diced tomatoes, hard boiled egg, avocado 1 oz of dark chocolate water and lemon Snack Brown rice cake with nut butter and a sliced banana Fresh green smoothie Dinner Grilled wild salmon Baked sweet potato with coconut oil and sea salt Sautéed kale with onions and garlic Day 2 Breakfast Poached eggs over whole grain toast with sliced avocado, tomato, sea salt and olive oil Tea or Coffee Lunch Lettuce turkey wrap with hummus, cucumbers, lettuce Sliced Apple Water with lemon Snack Celery sticks and carrot sticks with guacamole Dinner Grilled grass-fed steak Sautéed peppers and onions over arugula 1 oz of dark chocolate and fresh raspberries Not so bad right? Clean eating again, doesn't mean restriction, it means eating wholesome, nutrient dense foods, and feeling satisfied. I hope many of you find my sample grocery list and 2-day sample meal plan helpful. If you give it a try... let me know what you think! Currently, I work with many individuals on optimizing their nutrition, personalized exercise programing, and taking a hold of their health and their happiness. I offer a free 30 minute, online consultation for anyone who may be looking for some coaching. Please send me a note to [email protected] with your contact information if you are interested in a consult! I would love to hear from you :) Sitting here in the middle of this Blizzard hoping that baby boy just stays put for the next 24 hours! We have lost power and cable once again. I actually think we have had more days in March without power than we have had with power. March is proving to be a real lion, but I am hopeful that this will mean spring is arriving early and April will be beautiful! Baby Dow and I want to get outside this April and walk the beautiful Harbor loop here in Chatham. Okay, here is my 39 weeks pregnant bump update that you all have been waiting for! Not sure whether or not we will get a 40 week update, but I will be sure to keep you guys posted on his delivery and life with our new baby. Size: We had an ultrasound last week, and baby boy is approximately 8 lb.. He is ready to go! (So is Mama J) Weight Gain: Total weight gain since conception has been 16 lb.. I am ready to start having the scale go the other direction! Symptoms: I am still feeling great, I am sleeping well, no heartburn, the pain in my groin has decreased as my body has adjusted to all of these changes and my energy levels are pretty good considering. I absolutely feel like my belly couldn’t possibly get any bigger and its not easy getting up from the couch or getting comfortable for a long period of time in one spot. Favorite Wardrobe piece to wear right now: There is no such thing as a favorite piece of clothing right about now. Getting dressed is just pretty much a nuisance. Nursery Update: The nursery was really complete as of Week 35, so there really isn’t too much to report here. It’s really such a warm, beautiful space that we cannot wait to bring our son home too! One moment I loved about this past week: Marrying my best friend!!! Tim and I made it official and tied the knot. It was such a private, beautiful ceremony and truly everything that the both of us really wanted. We said our vows and made our promises to one another along the shore here in Chatham on a deck at the weather station that overlooked a lot of the coastline. It was a beautiful day. One thing I plan to do for myself this week: This week I am finishing up most of my work with clients and trying to take it a little easier. Remembering to rest when the opportunity arises and enjoy just being with Timmy and relaxing before the big day.
Food cravings: No particular food cravings… I do have the appetite though. Timmy and I went to breakfast Saturday morning, before he could ask me how my breakfast was it was already down the hatch! “I’ll take a short stack of pancakes, side of bacon and a poached egg please.” …. #noshame. Currently working on: We are working on our birth plan and finishing up our music playlist. Together we are working on how to keep me as calm and focused as possible. I am working on easing any anxiety as it comes up for me and reminding myself that this is a beautiful process that brings us closer to meeting our son. Women have been doing this forever! Any mamas out there have anything to share about what helped them during their labor day?? I would love to hear about your experiences. xo If you are packing your hospital bag, that means you are getting close to meeting the newest member of your family, CONGRATS!!! There is sooo much information out there about what to bring, what not to bring, that I wanted to write a post based on all of my research and reading about what you really need and what products work the best. I have packed my bag and am sharing what is inside my Hospital Bag, and hopefully it will help some of you when packing your own bag!
1) Kindred Bravely Nursing Bra My outfit post labor will be basic and comfortable. After all… it is the hospital. Kindred Bravely Nursing Bras have by far been the most comfortable sleeping/nursing bra I have tried so far and I have tried quite a few to try and get the right fit. This bra will be perfect because it is so soft and supportive which will be important when the milk boobs come in! I also love that the Kindred Bravely Company is run by work-at-home moms who share the same mission, to be grateful, be generous, be brave and be encouraging. What better mission for moms!? Use the promo code MY20 for 20% off! 2) Kindred Bravely Hospital Socks I know that the hospital will provide socks, but for any of you who have spent a night in the hospital… the socks they provide and usually very loose, not cozy and not comfortable. Being as comfortable and cozy as possible is important to me! These Kindred Bravely Non-Skid Hospital Socks are perfect. They have all sorts of inspirational quotes on the bottom of them, like mine that say, “Keep Calm and Push On.” They are MUCH more comfortable then the hospital socks they will give you and the non-skid feature will make them hospital approved. 3) Slippers Slippers are an absolute must. When I am not in my socks, I will wear my slippers. But make sure that they are non-skid and have good traction. I have always loved my LL.Bean Slippers. I recently just ordered these and they are super comfortable and a great more affordable option in three great colors. 4) Dark Colored Joggers Joggers are super comfortable and allow for enough room to wear the ice packs, pads and big net underwear the hospital will provide you with post labor. I am going with a dark color because the possibility of leaking is well… very possible. So I am packing a couple pairs of dark colored, comfy joggers to wear. I also love that the ankles are tight so you don’t need to worry about tripping. Here are the joggers that I have decided to go with. 5) Bathrobe Other than the fact that I absolutely LOVE bathrobes, after talking to many, many mamas about nursing in the hospital, the overwhelming consensus was that a bathrobe makes dealing with nursing in the hospital setting much easier. So what I will do is wear my nursing bra under my robe, with joggers during our stay. That way the bathrobe will keep me warm, and when I need to nurse I can easily pop it open and nurse our son. Here is the bathrobe that I decided to go with. I didn’t want to pack my bulky, UGG Robe for two reasons. One, I didn’t want to get it dirty because its tan. Second, I didn’t want to pack such a bulky robe in my bag. The bathrobe that I ordered for the hospital is super soft, flattering and comes in grey or black, its also super affordable so I won’t be upset if it gets stained or nasty during our stay. 6) Flip Flops I have lots of friends that work in the hospital and have shared with me that you never want to step foot into the shower without flip-flops. I didn’t need to hear anything else. So I am packing these flip-flops. 7) Depends THIS was a huge recommendation from many of my readers and clients who have been through this. I think it is genius! Rather than wearing the huge, mesh underwear and the humungous diaper-sized pad that the hospital will give you, I am packing these depends for a closer, more comfortable fit. 8) Dermoplast Spray This spray is recommended for after birth. It doesn’t contain any agents that cause a tingling or burning sensation, which is important, and overwhelming reviews say that it does not get sticky either, which is great. Apparently, this helps with all of the pain down there that follows childbirth, so I put some in my bag incase I need it. I also bought a more natural option, Earth Mama Perineal Spray. I wanted to have them both on hand incase one works better than the other. I don’t want to mess around with pain down there! 9) Motherlove Nipple Cream I am sure that the hospital will have some sort of nipple cream if you need it, but I wanted to bring my own. I would much rather be stocked and ready when I need something rather than wait for a lactation consultant to make their rounds. I decided to go with this nipple cream because it is lanolin-free and organic, it is also safe to apply after feedings and it doesn’t need to be wiped off before the baby feeds again. Safe for everyone. 10) Bamboobies Washable Breast Pads The thought of having a disposable breast pad stuck to my leaky and sore nipple just sounds terrible, so I am going with these super cute, washable nursing pads. They have regular absorbent and overnight options in the package and when you are done using them I love that I can just throw them in the wash! They are so soft to touch and will be much more comfortable. Also, I will absolutely save money because I wont need to continue to go buy the disposable ones that are not cheap. 11) Bath Towels Again, another inside scoop from a nurse who works in the maternity ward… the towels that the hospital provides is the size of a postage stamp. So I am packing my own, large, soft and comfortable bath towels for a shower. That shower post delivery is going to feel AMAZING and I don’t want to mess around with any wimpy towel. 12) Diffuser Every hospital has different rules about what can be in the delivery room and what cant, so you need to check with your birthing facility, but where we are giving birth we actually get to check in to our own private room where we will stay with our son for the duration of our stay. That being said, I am packing our essential oil diffuser and some of our favorite scents, lavender, eucalyptus, and calm from Young Living. 13) Snacks The food offered at my hospital is crappy. It really just blows my mind how unhealthy the options are in the hospital setting, but I am NOT going to go off about that right here, right now. SO I am packing tons of snacks for Timmy and I. I plan on bringing some of our favorites like RX Bars, plantain chips, and nuts. 14) Going Home Outfit for Baby Our hospital does not provide a onesie to bring the baby home and even if they did I think I would bring my own, especially with the way this weather has been thus far this month. I am bringing a cute cotton onesie, and an adorable Patagonia Fleece Bunting snuggly to keep him warm. 15) Going Home Outfit for You I am going to keep this very basic and comfortable. I am bringing a pair of joggers, a kindred bravely nursing tank top, a loose fitting shirt and a pair of slip on sneakers. I would say keep it simple and keep it comfortable, ladies! 16) Toiletries and Hair Items This will look different for everyone, so I am not going to list out everything that I use, but personally I will be bringing all of my body and skincare products to use during and after I shower. Then I am packing just a couple of my makeup basics, I just personally want to be able to freshen up a little bit after giving birth and bringing a few of my essentials will help me feel good. As far as my hair goes, I am going to pack my brush and blow dryer, but I don’t have any expectation of a fancy blow out, just enough to get by. 17) Pictures and Music Timmy and I have collected some of our favorite pictures of our family and friends and created a playlist to listen too during our stay. The hospital can feel so cold that my hope was with pictures and music it can help me relax and keep us comfortable. 18) Thank you Notes and Gifts for the Nurses After all is said and done, I think it is SO important to show the nurses and midwifes our gratitude for their work to help bring our son into this world safely. We are bringing a card for the floor and I plan on having Timmy grab some breakfast pastries and coffee for the staff before we head home! There you have it, these are the essentials that are being packed in my hospital bag for our stay. Have you thought of something that I may be forgetting? I would love to hear from you in the comments below. And for those of you getting ready to pack your bag, congratulations to you and your family and I wish you a healthy, happy and comfortable experience. xoxo |
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