Sunday, February 28, 2010

Fashionably Late...

Sounds like Aubrey is already acting much like both her parents. Showing up fashionable late seems to run in the family. Baby Aubrey's official due date WAS February 26, 2010. She has decided mommy's tummy is a much more fun and comfortable place to be at the moment.

For the first time I am actually starting to feel pretty uncomfortable. Body parts are starting to ache that I've never felt pain in before. I'm getting so impatient too. Bryan and I were so excited for her due date to arrive...then it came and went. We were so sad that she wasn't ready. Tomorrow we have yet another appointment to check on the progress. We promise to keep everyone posted. Hopefully we'll have some great news and pictures soon.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Waiting Game...

Today was the day of our supposed last doctors appointment to check on my progress with Aubrey. We were once again bummed with the news. I am 3 days away from my due date but am not showing any signs of being ready to deliver any time soon. I think my body may have gone into shock from the way I've been treating it this past week. The excessive amounts of junk food have been horrible for me. I've decided to clean it back up immediately. I am going to have one more "yummy" meal before I officially start my extrememly clean diet again, but that's going to be my push present meal to myself from Landolfi's restaurant in Pawleys Island the day Aubrey is born. I have been looking forward to that treat for a while. Until then, I am back to the organic fruits and veggies and lots of organic protein. And of course, tons of water! I promise to keep everyone posted as anything changes. Hopefully my next post will be much more exciting than today's post!

Monday, February 22, 2010

My Final "BAD GIRL" Week...

Oh I have been so bad!!!! Just a few days ago I realized that this is my last week before I start an extremely clean diet again. I quickly thought of so many goodies I wanted to enjoy before I couldn't have them anymore. It started out slowly with a little bite of tiramisu or a sip of chocolate milk, all while continuing to eat a very healthy diet considering the average person's typical diet. I was only feeling slightly guilty. I made sure to keep up with my daily exercise to help with the guilt trip a little.

This past weekend Bryan and I had been discussing making a goodie bag for the nurses at the hospital as a little "thank you" for taking such good care of us while delivering Aubrey. We quickly decided to head to the store and load up! We walked very slowly through aisles, I must say, I have not been down in years. We bought goldfish, sun chips, scoobie fruit snacks, rolos, skittles, cheerios, crackers, wheat thins, gatorade, grape juice, chocolate pudding, oatmeal cream pies, snickers ice cream bars, a pepsi....oh the list goes on and I wanted more! We were terrible. I kept seeing things I said we could give to the nurses, but deep down all I could think about was taking just one bite and savoring the flavor that I would soon not be able to touch for quite some time. Bryan and I decided we had enough and made our hefty purchase.

As we headed to the car I was already opening the snickers ice cream box. I told Bryan I was just checking to make sure they weren't melting. Hehe. Bryan totally didn't fall for that one! We drove home sharing the snickers ice cream bar that was SO incredibly yummy!! As I unpacked the goodies I saw the sun chips Bryan had picked up and decided I need to try at least one. One led to two, two led to three, three led to four....I ended up pouring us a small bowl. They were fantastic! After that, I was done! We snuggled up with full tummies to a movie and enjoyed the rest of our low key night.

On Sunday I decided to create a goodie bag for the nurses. BAD IDEA!!! I should have left everything in boxes until I knew we were heading to the hospital. Bryan and I sadly taste tested way too many oatmeal cream pies and scoobie snacks. And those sun chips that Bryan decided to introduce me too, pretty much were nibbled on all day. Thank goodness it was a beautiful day because Bryan and I obviously needed some exercise. We headed to the beach with Emma and let her run her little heart out until she was too tuckered out to move. I did my very best to keep moving too and work off some of my terrible eating.

Due to my excessive eating patterns over the weekend, I was slightly nervous about stepping on the scale. Thank goodness for all my walking!!!!! I was very happy to see I was still 152 lbs. Today I have resorted back to my typical much healthier diet with a few sun chips added in here and there. They are just so good!

Bryan and I have our supposed final doctors appointment tomorrow morning. We are excited to see if Aubrey has decided to make her debut this week. Our official due date is Friday, 2/26. We are so ready to meet our baby girl!!! I promise to post the latest news from our appointment after seeing Dr. Gerber tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Mega Mommies Shoot

Mega Mommies is slowly coming together! We had our little fun photo shoot at the gym yesterday. Dad and I worked on pulling together some of the best shots, then Bryan, Dad, and I started getting creative. We are creating a rather large poster to hang on the wall at the gym as well as some smaller fliers and post cards to have laying around just in case someone wants to take one with them. http://www.megamommiesmb.blogspot.com/ is not really the easiest link to remember unfortunately. Hopefully having something that gym members can take home with them will help.

Below I have attached some of the shoot highlights. We had such a blast taking the photos, especially the silly ones. Training with Tyron is honestly much the same way. There is always someone smiling and laughing about something. It is such a great distraction to the typical painful workouts you would expect. Nothing painful ever takes place with Tyron! Just fun, challenging workouts that change on a constant basis to keep you and your muscles guessing. Hope you enjoy the photos!!



Typical smiling Tyron and his muscles!

First attempt at a push up in 10 months!

Arms shaking just a tad but still focused.

Totally possible, yet not highly recommended. I was able to complete two push up/belly touches!
My sorry attempt at remembering how to box. Poor Tyron...

Bryan trying to punch Aubrey out of my tummy. He's more than ready to hold her.
Pretending to get even. I could never really hit anyone...
MY FAVORITE! I just can't wait to get back!!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

No News Is Good News...

Bryan and I had our second to last doctors appointment this morning. We were so excited going in this morning to hear the latest on Aubrey's arrival. However, Baby Aubrey has basically decided she is quite comfy in mommy's tummy and doesn't feel there is any rush to come out into the real world. Dr. Gerber only wished she had a great health reason that would require inducing me. She knows just how ready I am to have this little girl.

Yesterday we had a Mega Mommies photo shoot at the gym with Bryan and Tyron. We had a blast! We are working on getting a poster up in the gym to inform everyone of the blog site and intrigue their interest enough to follow. I'll be posting some of the photos on the blog hopefully tonight or maybe tomorrow. Some are quite amusing!!

Ok guys, time for me to nudge Aubrey along a little. I'm headed to the gym to walk on the treadmill for as long as my poor little feet can support this extra weight. Then I'll be back on here to update photos and finish all my last minute to do's for Mega Fitness, Knockout Bootcamps, and Mega Mommies. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Photos & Measurements

We are getting very close to Aubrey's arrival. Just in case she comes early, I was thinking now would be a better time than ever to post my monthly pregnancy photos and stats for you. I am currently 38 weeks along and literally ready to pop. I have gained more weight than I had hoped, but that makes following my journey much more entertaining for the viewer. Lucky you, haha! I welcome the challenge.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I would attempt to find measurements and photos from when I was training with Tyron. I didn't have much luck. The Mega Mommies main photo of Bryan and I in Punta Cana was roughly a week or two before I got pregnant. That is the most recent photo I have with a flat tummy! When training with Tyron we focused mostly on how I truly felt and how I was able to perform in the gym. I hardly ever stepped on a scale or even thought about it. My proud moments were reaching goals in pulls ups, chin ups, push ups, and even hand stand push ups. (I had a little help with the hand stand push ups.) I also worked hard with my endurance through jumping rope. With a combination of these exercises and many others, my body was leaner and more defined than it had ever been. My 7 meal a day diet also had a huge play in my overall health and appearance. I will list my structured eating plan in one of my next few posts!

Posted below are photos and measurements taken on a monthly basis shortly after Bryan and I discovered we were expecting. Month 2 photos were lost in a computer malfunction but I do have the measurements. Enjoy the drastic changes!!


2 Months

Waist - 27 1/4
Belly - 32
Hips - 37 1/2
Thigh - 21 1/4
Chest - 33
Bicep - 10
Weight - 122

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3 Months

Waist - 28 1/2
Belly - 32 1/2
Hips - 37 1/2
Thigh - 21
Chest - 34
Bicep - 10
Weight - 124
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4 Months

Waist - 29 3/4
Belly - 33
Hips - 38 3/4
Thigh - 21 1/4
Chest - 33 1/4
Bicep - 101/4
Weight - 127

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5 Months

Waist - 31 1/4
Belly - 34 3/4
Hips - 40
Thigh - 22 1/2
Chest - 35 1/2
Bicep - 10
Weight - 135 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6 Months

Waist - 35 3/4
Belly - 33 1/2
Hips - 39 1/2
Thigh - 22
Chest - 35 1/2
Bicep - 10 1/2
Weight - 140


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7 Months

Waist - 36 1/4
Belly - 36
Hips - 39 1/2
Thigh - 22
Chest - 36 3/4
Bicep - 10 1/4
Weight - 142

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8 Months

Waist - 37
Belly - 37 1/2
Hips - 40 1/4
Thigh - 22
Chest - 36
Bicep - 10 1/2
Weight - 146 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9 Months

Waist - 37 1/2
Belly - 39 1/4
Hips - 40
Thigh - 22
Chest - 38
Bicep - 10 3/4
Weight - 152

Thursday, February 4, 2010

The Countdown Begins...

Bryan and I are now in our ninth month. We had a doctor appointment yesterday to check the position of the baby and the progress of the pregnancy. Our appointment was unfortunately in the afternoon which we hate because it always takes soooo much longer to be taken back to a room and then to finally be seen by the doctor. When our doctor finally came into our room she came in laughing and declared that her nurses LOVED the fact that I weighed 153 lbs! They were so excited that I'd finally broken the 150 lb mark. Oh but I wasn't! That meant I'd officially gained 30 lbs. When everyone tells you that you'll gain more weight at the end of the pregnancy, they're right! Just five weeks ago I had only gained 19 lbs. Overall I am very happy with the amount of weight I've gained and the places I've gained it in. Bryan has been wonderful and makes me feel even more beautiful each and everyday.

Dr. Gerber checked the position of the baby and said everything looked perfect! She said I was ready and it could be anyday. She strongly suggested I start sitting on a trash bag anytime I'm in a car just in case my water broke. Bryan and I laughed so hard when she said that. It also made us quickly realize just how close we are to Aubrey's arrival. We are so excited!

Over the next few weeks I'll be updating everyone on the status of Baby Aubrey and her hopefully earlier than later arrival. She starts the kick off to this whole journey. I'll post my before pictures, pregnancy photos, pre baby weight, pregnancy weight gain, the most recent pre baby measurements I can find, and my current and laughable measurements now. I promise to list everything I can think of!

Pregnancy Journey

My journey through this pregnancy has been quite an interesting one. It was far from easy and relaxing, but Bryan helped make it the very best that it could be. Before knowing I was pregnant I had taken on a new job with a new company in a position I had previously been in for almost three years. With the new position I had to endure two solid weeks of training in Atlanta, GA. I, however, only made it to two classes the first week. I was deathly ill and couldn't figure out what was going on. I am extremely health conscious and cautious about what I put into my body. I take my vitamins daily, believe in letting your body rest to heal rather than masking any problems with medicine, eat a very healthy (usually organic) diet, and exercise regularly. I almost never get sick, but for some strange reason I could not get better! By the second week of training I gave in and was drinking medicine like it was going out of style just to make it through the classes.

Upon returning home to the beach I recovered enough to start back into my normal routine of life and working out. Bad idea! This lasted only a couple weeks before I relapsed again. This is around the time Bryan and I found out we were expecting. We were so excited, but I was so sad too in the fact that I was so sick. At our first official baby doctor appointment, our doctor couldn't believe how sick I was and how long I'd been dealing with it. She diagnosed me with Bronchitis and said I needed to take two rounds of antibiotics or run the risk of catching walking pneumonia. I listened! I loaded up on my probiotics and took the horrible antibiotics that I didn't believe in. I swear I still had that stupid cough half way through my pregnancy. The very moment I started to finally feel my body getting better, the morning sickness began. That hit me so hard I truly thought there was something wrong with me. Throughout the entire sickness fiasco I wasn't able to keep up with my gym routine or my work schedule. Bryan suggested I focus on myself and really start listening to my body. I was rarely seen at the gym for months and my poor little Emma missed out on her daily walks. We also went through the stress of a very difficult separation from my now previous employer. Bryan wanted nothing more than to take care of me and let me rest. I fought it originally but he was right. No matter how much I pushed, I just couldn't keep up. I started sleeping a lot and constantly ate tons of apples and cottage cheese to keep my tummy as calm as possible.

Since I was little, I had always dreamed of being the hot pregnant mommy that wore heels everyday and took on the world no matter what. I, however, quickly realized I was failing miserably. I had turned into this sick weakling and couldn't believe it. I struggled terribly with morning sickness until I was six and a half months pregnant. I was seriously starting to wonder if I'd ever feel well again. I tried working out whenever I felt decent enough to make it into the gym which was rare. I made the mistake a few times of pushing too hard in my semi workouts and ended up straining my back several times, which put me in bed for a week each time. Oh I was getting so mad! I finally listened to my changing body and my loving husband and relaxed into the fact that I was doing the very best that I could do. My new workout goals were to walk on the treadmill in 30 minute intervals three times a week. The next couple months were a breeze and I finally felt amazing. I was gaining the perfect amount of weight and I somehow still felt pretty tiny.

As we quickly approached the middle of the eighth month Bryan got really sick. My poor baby was home sick for an entire week. I somehow managed to feel great the entire time he was under the weather and couldn't believe it! That was until he decided to go back to work. I woke up that Monday morning with whatever Bryan had been in bed with for a week. Again, I was so disappointed in myself and quite frustrated. It just so happened those two weeks Bryan and I were under the weather were the two weeks we'd scheduled all our baby classes. We had to cancel them. This meant study time in the evenings on our own. Bryan and I would take turns reading chapters to one another on preparing for the baby, the delivery, and bringing the baby home. My favorite study times were the nights I'd be soaking in the tub while I watched Bryan make tons of disgusted faces while he read to me about the delivery stages. I'd laugh the entire time. His favorites were reading about the funny things that could speed the labor along and distract me during the painful parts. Some were quite amusing but most would be just so much fun for him!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Mega Mommies Begins...

Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for taking the time to view my page. With our little girl only weeks away from arrival, I've quickly started to realize my casual thirty minute walks on the treadmill are coming to an end. Bryan and I discussed creating this blog for everyone to follow along in my progress of getting the baby weight off and back into shape. The blog will include continuously updated pictures, measurements, weight changes, diets, specific workouts, and other misc info along the way. I promise not to keep any secrets! I will be completely honest about everything I'm going through and feeling. Of course, doctors orders will determine just how quickly I am able to return to the gym, but then I'm back for good! No excuses! My plan is to start back slowly training one on one with Tyron Johnson, owner and creator of Knockout Workouts. Before Bryan and I discovered we were expecting a child, I had already been training with Tyron three times a week for almost two years. I was in the best shape of my life, felt the best I'd ever felt, and loved my quick and complex workouts. Training with him again was an easy decision for me. Tyron is currently sharing his techniques with MegaFitness in the Knockout Bootcamp classes held Mon/Wed/Fri three times a day. Bryan attends the 5:30am classes and absolutely loves them! The variety keeps him interested and his body is changing drastically. Due to the intensity of the classes, it may take a little time to get my endurance back up to par, but most likely I'll eventually be taking the bootcamp classes as well.