Going with the Flow

Well, things don't always work out the way you want them to (ain't that the truth! :)) so I have had to adjust my goals/plans.

This weekend was crazy - we had Jody's sister and her boyfriend in town (a really great visit with both of them) and Jody also had a lot of commitments and plans that kept him away from the house so I had a lot of solo parenting. We also had a party for Jody's dad on Saturday and had a house full of people from about 4pm -11pm. I didn't get to bed early either night (normally I go to sleep right after Truman's last feed around 8:30-9pm) so I was pooped both days. Then Sunday night I was up all night (literally) with Truman - he was extremely uncomfortable and would only sleep on my chest which makes it challenging for me to sleep. I can sleep but it's very light. Fortunately, Jody's mom was here Monday afternoon and yesterday and so I got some naps in and was able to sneak away for a doc appointment solo this morning (thank you Nana!).

Point to all this is that I wasn't able to sneak in any workouts after Friday. Which really stinks. But I also know that the most important thing for me right now is my rest and when I don't get it, my choice to workout or sleep becomes a simple one. Now if I were getting 6 hours of sleep or maybe even 5 - I would squeeze in a workout but anything less than 5 at night makes it impossible. And I also make bad food choices when I am tired - eating more sugar than I should and choosing quick processed foods over wholesome whole foods.

Anyway, just wanted to drop a quick update....which is really no new updates. I will eat the best I can through next week and squeeze in workouts tomorrow and Friday. I am accepting that workouts on the weekends may be wishful thinking if I don't have any help at home and I might just have to deal with that for the short term.

More soon! XXOO
Jess

Welcome Baby Truman & My 18 Day Goal

On April 15th, we welcomed Truman Joe into our lives at 6lb/12oz, 20 inches. It was the opposite experience in every way from our daughter Francesca and I am finding out the post baby recovery and this baby are very different in general. More on that in a few but first, here are some pictures of our little man (at about four weeks old). 

 My blog today will be A LOT about the delivery and the experience of Tru being in the NICU for 3 weeks so if you are here to read about my fitness and health goals post baby (which I am TOTALLY cool with :)), scroll to the bottom. Otherwise, the beginning is my effort to capture our experience and share it with those of you who are interested.

Before I share the delivery (and post delivery) experience of Truman, let me refresh your memory on how Frankie arrived. I was 41 weeks (8 or 9 days over my due date) and started having contractions the night before she was born but they never got closer together and never got stronger. I called the doc the next AM and they told me to come in for a check up that afternoon. Jody and I were out having lunch and they called and said we could come in even earlier than the already scheduled appointment. We had the dog in the car and no hospital bad. When they tried to find her heartbeat (we didn't know it was a her at the time btw - both our babies have been surprises), a normally uneventful process, they couldn't and became very concerned. Without saying a word to us, the doctor called the OR and said she needed to do an immediate c-section. Needless to say, we were pretty caught off guard for what we thought would be a very different delivery experience. I was rushed to a room in the hospital stripped down and had my water broken and a node put on Frankie's head to get her vitals. She was fine - the doctor hypothesized that she just grabbed a hold of her umbilical cord and therefore they couldn't find her heart beat. At that point, I went into labor and started having contractions consistently - lasting longer and getting stronger - I was literally like a metronome. My water was broken around 4pm and I had Frankie 12 hours later.

With this pregnancy, I had been having what I thought were Braxton Hicks for a few weeks. I had also dilated to a 2 and was 70% effaced at my doc appointment just a week before I had him so I was moving a long MUCH faster than with Frankie. My original due date based on my recording of my last period had me at 38 weeks however in both of the level 2 ultra sounds I had (level 2 is when you have a really long ultra sound because of an increased risk factor - in my case age :)), the ultra sound doc wanted to move my due date as he though I wasn't as far along. The doctor actually changed my due date to May 7th (from April 28th) based on those two ultra sound. I was stubborn - insisting that I had my date correctly and they were just off because of the size of the baby. Frankie was small (only 7lbs, 1 oz at 41 weeks) and I was measuring the same and had gained the same weight so I dismissed the changed due date.

On Thursday April 14th, I had an AMAZING lunch with the CEO of our company and she shared some great news with me basically letting me know how invaluable I am to the company. I joked with her that I could have the baby now that she had shared that with me. :) Later that night, what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions got closer together and stronger and I started timing them only to realize they were real contractions (I didn't have these with Frankie so I was unsure what "going into labor" meant). I was actually pretty darn excited to go into labor as I was pretty miserable (I hadn't been sleeping much and chasing after a two year old while 9 months preggers is no fun) so I didn't think anything about it being early. I told Jody I thought this was "it" and we went to bed knowing that if the contractions continued while I was laying down, it was the real deal. I woke him up at midnight with a bag packed and said: "this is it". We called a close friend who came to the house to take care of Frankie (that's a great friend at 2am :)) and we headed to hospital. When we got there I was at 3CM and 90% effaced. The on call doc was concerned about me going early and said he might send me home but the new doc that came on call at 7am said that if he sent me home I would be back there in 24 hours to have a baby. Here we are in the hospital.

By about 11am I was 5CM dialated and 100% effaced so they broke my water. I told the doc that if he broke my water, I would be good to go after what happened with Frankie - my contractions would get closer together and we would have a baby shortly! :) So, that DID NOT happen. My contractions stopped getting stronger and closer together. I was going backwards pretty much! :) Anyhoo, the doc decided to give me Pitocin after a couple hours of nothing. At this point I had been at the hospital for a long time. Since I was already at a 5, things started to happen fairly quickly and at 6:49PM on April 15th Truman was born.
The birth experience was awesome as the doctor turned Truman as he was coming out so Jody could be the first one to see the "parts" and Jody shouted "it's a boy!!!! it's a boy!!". And then Truman peed all over me.

Truman was taken to the nursery for the traditional evaluation and later that night (around 9pm) the doctor came into to tell us Truman had been admitted to the NICU as he was having trouble breathing. It was a very scary moment but the doc explained it happens to a lot of babies born at 36/37 weeks. Truman was lacking surfactant and had RDS (respiratory distress syndrome). Surfactant is the substance that helps remove the amniotic fluid from a babies lungs after birth and RDS is the #1 thing that premature babies suffer from. Truman was given a synthetic surfactant and had to get four doses before he recovered. He started out on a nasal canula (the tube that goes under the nose) and later had to go on a respirator. It's pretty scary when your child is in the NICU and hooked up to tubes/wires, etc. Here is a picture of our little man with the respirator. I was able to hold him with the nasal canula but not with the respirator.

Overall it was a very traumatic experience to say the least and the opposite of what we experienced with Frankie. After he got through the RDS and the lung issue and he had turned the corner (the term the docs and nurses use when a baby is starting to show big signs of improvement), we were on track to getting ready to bring him home that Sunday night. I went in for a late night feeding and as I was holding him getting ready to feed him, his heart rate shot up to over 200. His temperature also started to increase progressively every few minutes they took it up to 102. While I was holding him, his head arched back and he appeared very lethargic and a little like he was having a seizure. I was scared to death and I could sense the nurse was concerned as well. I then asked her the most difficult question a mom could ask: "Do I need to leave so you can attend to him?" Deidre - one of the most wonderful and caring nurses in the NICU - looked at me with pleading eyes and said "Yes, I will call you when we have him stabilized."

I walked out of the NICU not knowing if I would see Truman alive again. Jody was at home with Frankie and Nana and I called him as I walked down the hall to our courtesy room. When Jody answered I asked him to hold on until I got into the room....I couldn't tell him what had just happened without collapsing. I made it to our room and fell apart explaining how Truman had reacted. He got in his car and raced up to see me. The doctors came into our room about two hours later (felt like 20 years) and explained they had him stabilized but weren't sure what was wrong.

The next day we learned that Tru had a staph infection and would need to be hospitalized for the 14 days required to be on IV antibiotics. While we were very sad to know he would have to stay that long, we were thrilled he was alive and well and they were able to identify the problem. The next two weeks would be a trial in testing my strength as I split my time between my daughter and the hospital. In the end, I chose to spend the week days at the hospital (30 minutes from our house - so an hour round trip) and the early mornings/evenings with Frankie. She is at such a fun age right now and knew she would appreciate my time with her while Truman would have very little memory of the event. In the end, I am glad I made that choice as her joy and energy kept me sane with all of the trauma of Truman.

Our family and friends were AMAZING. We received a constant stream of positive notes and calls from everyone and the prayers and love sent our way was incredible. We are so fortunate to have such a fantastic support network and I want to thank everyone for everything they did for us during that time.

We brought him home on Monday the 9th of May and we are thrilled to say he is as healthy as a horse. Has been a regular baby since! He's eating a TON more than Frankie did (every 2 - 2.5 hours) and he isn't sleeping as well as she did yet. But I have to remind myself that he is three weeks behind so at 7 weeks old, he is really only 4 weeks from his due date. I am hoping that his sleeping settles down before I go back to work in 18 days (OMG!!!). But 18 days to a baby is probably like 6 months to us adults.

Frankie is SUCH a proud big sister and loves him so much. She never got to meet him while in the hospital because kids aren't allowed in the NICU however we took her up to see him through the glass into the nursery. It was a very funny moment because I had her outside the NICU holding her up and Jody and his mom were inside holding Tru. When she saw him she stuck BOTH her thumbs in her mouth and started sucking. :) Here is a picture of her holding him and another where she gave him some crayons.

For me, I struggled for those three weeks with the incredible guilt I felt for having him early.....did I wish myself into labor? Did I workout too much? Did I not eat right? Did I skip too many days of prenatal vitamins? Did I do something wrong during pregnancy to cause this lung problem?


After a lot of introspection and long talks with my rock (Jody) and others, I know I didn't WISH myself into labor - Frankie was 41 weeks and trust me, if I could WISH my body into labor, I would have with her. :) I worked out LESS with Truman and less vigorously. With Frankie I often did weights in the AM and cardio in afternoon. With Tru, I usually just did one a day - not both. And I only missed a few days of vitamins. I ate the same with Tru - pretty much did everything the same so it really makes no sense why only that I did and there is a lesson in this experience somewhere.

I did feel really good about my pregnancy this go round...here's a couple pic of me at about 36 weeks:

I did a combination of spinning, HIIT workouts and weights this pregnancy and gained about 23-24 pounds total. I gained 23 with Frankie (I think ;)) and was 125 when I got preggers with Truman (less than I weighed when I got pregnant with Frankie). Truman is 7 weeks old and I am 132lbs with VERY LITTLE exercise since I had little man and no modifications to my diet. In fact, I ate pretty crappy during the three weeks he was in the hospital. There were very little options for me in the hospital and to be honest, I probably comforted myself a bit through food.

The post delivery recovery was 10x better than it was with Frankie. I think my body going through it once was the main reason it was easier. He weighed close to the same weight as Frankie and the doc said had he gone to term he would have been over EIGHT lbs. Whoa. That's all I will say about that! :) I was able to walk right within a few hours so that was awesome (I couldn't walk for about 12 hours with Frankie).

I tried on some regular work clothes the other day and while all my clothes "fit" they don't fit the way I would like them to and some of my more fitted clothes don't really fit. :) So, I have 18 days until I return to work and have to dress NOT in sweats or stretchy type clothing. You moms out there know what I am talking about but when you are a  staying at home on mat leave and are breastfeeding all the time, you pretty much wear the most comfy clothes possible. Elastic or drawstring is your friend. And that's pretty much what I am wearing every day so the reality of regular dressing hasn't kicked in yet. Anyhoo, I am SO ready to get back to work but also want to feel "ok" about my post baby bod. The hubby tells me I look great ("you just had a baby babe") but that doesn't make ME feel like I look better.

So, I have an 18 day goal to lose about 3-4 pounds. Now, my husband (who is reading over my shoulder as I type this) won't think that's a lot of weight but for a 5'3" female, that is a big goal. Also, the weight may not be the best indicator - how my clothes fit will probably be better if I gain back any muscle.

How do I plan to do this?
1. Improve my diet. As I mentioned earlier, I haven't really been doing anything with my diet - eating as I like as often as I like.
2. Do some type of workout each day.

That said, I have to be very careful about not hosing my milk supply like I did after pregnancy. Essentially, when I tried to add back in my more intense workouts (and heavy lifting) my milk supply totally dropped. I started working out much later after Frankie and so I think my milk supply had already regulated. I am hoping by starting earlier I can trick my boobs into accepting workouts. ;) I have done a few supreme 90 workouts (25 minutes tops) and so far, it seems to be fine. Wednesday I did a supreme 90 shoulders and arms workout and did hill repeats pushing the stroller. About 25 minutes of lifting and another 25 minutes of cardio. Today I did a spin HIIT workout for 20 minutes.

I will check in with you guys every couple days and also do a before after abdominal pic. Wish me luck! Aw shucks, you all know luck has nothing to do with it - it's all preparation and dedication. :)

Love you guys!! XXOO

Baby Soon? Week Late Recap :)

 Hey y'all!!

Crazy couple of weeks with work....of course. This maternity leave will not be as stress free for me as the first one was. I was in between clients with the last one so things felt much more "doable" in terms of being out for eight weeks. This go round, things are crazy busy but I will just have to let go and trust that our clients are in great hands. Plus I will be so sleep deprived I am sure I will barely be able to remember my name. :)

Anyway, I am 37 weeks as of today and the baby is officially full term! Some stats below:

• Total weight gain 22lbs (about where I was with Frankie - maybe a pound more) 
• Measuring 35 weeks (top of belly to bottom of belly)
• Had doc appoint this week and I am 1cm dilated and 40% effaced (my cousin tells me this could mean delivery right around the corner but mom says she was effaced for like a month - awesome :)). 

Overall feeling good - sleep is difficult but still getting some. Still haven't packed hospital bag (planning on doing that tonight or in the morning) and am slowly getting things set up around the house. We don't have an official baby room because this baby will share a room with little Frankie so we are doing to set up a temporary nursery on the main floor where I can sleep and keep the baby near by. I am still tripping out that we are having another baby! AHHHH! ;)

Overall, my workouts have been pretty consistent. I think my shoulders and arms look better than they did this time around. I have definitely been working them more consistently. Here's a couple pics I took tonight after my workout (sorry they are so grainy):

Here's my weekly summary from last week:

Week of March 28nd
Monday: OFF
Tuesday AM: Spin Intervals 30 mins
Tuesday PM: P90X Back/Bi's speed round: 25 mins
Wednesday PM: S90 (Supreme 90) Cardio Conditioning 35 minutes intervals
Thursday PM: P90X Chest/Shoulders/Tris speed round: 30 mins
Friday AM: Spin Intervals 30 mins
Saturday: P90X Shoulders & Arms/speed round: 30 minutes + 30 minute bike
Sunday: OFF
Total cardio workouts: 4, total weight workouts 3

I will keep you guys posted with baby H #2 arrives! Hopefully all these workouts will make me strong enough to pop it out quickly! :) Hee hee.

Jess

Supreme 90 Cardio Challenge Review & Less Than 5 Weeks to Go!

Happy Sunday everyone!! I hope you have all ROCKED it out these last two weeks! I am trying to post as regularly as possible but realize I am doing what I used to do and that is to wait until I have something amazing to post. ;) Who needs amazing??? I can post anytime!!

My last post was a bit somber because it was sharing what happened with my co-worker and his untimely death. :( The office is doing better but it is still a bit surreal. His girlfriend isn't back at work and not sure when she will be....I don't know how I would deal with something like that.....it feels like a bad dream to me so can't imagine what it feels like to her.

I also got pulled into a HUGE project for Walmart and P&G this week and most of my week was dominated with preparations and the meetings themselves. I still managed to have a pretty good week of workouts (see below). It was challenging barbecue I was definitely exhausted but I working out always makes me feel so much better and such a good stress release.

I am TOTALLY digging the Supreme 90 series. It's pretty awesome and despite all the little "quirks" that make it less quality than a P90X, it's a great mix up in the routine. I did the Cardio Challenge DVD this weekend and although I was a little concerned over the pelvic pressure, the workout was great!! 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for 31 minutes. A lot of compound movements and plyos. There was also a bit of core work however I just did kettlebell swings when they were doing core work and that kept the heart rate up big time! It was very dynamic cardio utilizing weights, core and high intensity moves. But my philosophy with intervals is you can do anything for ____ seconds. :) And that's just what I did. It is one I will definitely do A LOT in future workouts plus I tacked on the spin bike for 20 minutes to really burn up any extra reserves.

Here is a snapshot from the leg workout I previewed today - plan on doing it this week sometime.

Below is my weekly recap for the last two weeks.


Week of March 14th:
Monday: OFF
Tuesday AM: Spin Intervals - 30 mins
Tuesday PM: Supreme 90 - Back & Biceps- 35 minutes
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday AM: Spin Intervals - 30 minutes (followed by 15 mins back/bi finish from Tuesday)
Thursday PM: Supreme 90 - Chest, Shoulders, Tri's - 35 minutes
Friday PM: Spin Intervals - 35 minutes
Saturday: Supreme 90 - Shoulders and Arms - 35 mins
Sunday Late AM: Cathe 4-Day Split Legs Only

Week of March 22nd:
Monday: Off
Tuesday AM: Spin intervals - 35 mins
Wednesday AM: Supreme 90 Chest, Shoulders, Tris - 35 mins
Thursday AM: Spin intervals - 35 mins
Friday PM: Supreme 90 Back Bi's - 45 mins
Saturday: Supreme 90 Cardio Challenge (loved it!) -40 mins followed by 20 mins Spin bike
Sunday: Supreme 90 Shoulders & Arms

On a happier note, I am 4 weeks and 4 days away from my due date with just 32 days left to go. We both can't wait to meet this little critter!

Have a great week all!!

What a Week......Remembering What Matters

If you follow me on facebook you will know that I rarely post sad or bad stuff....I really believe in being silly, fun and using facebook to light up others lives or express joy/love. I feel the same about blogging....but less so because I believe it is a great place to share struggles and challenges in a longer format/context. Well, this week was a challenging week for me personally and professionally.

On Monday I got a call from a good friend of ours that their 25 year old daughter had passed away unexpectedly. She was beautiful inside and out and her life ended too soon. I don't know all the details behind her death but I know she died in her sleep and her family is not surprisingly devastated. Jody and I were both taken aback by it and forced to think about how we would deal with something so tragic if it happened to us. I don't know how I would ever get past the pain.

Jody left Monday night for a week long ski trip (thrilled he could go - it was a last minute trip that came together for him with a good friend) and on Wednesday morning I got more bad news. A coworker of mine committed suicide on Tuesday night. It is a tragic story - he had lost his brother a few years ago in a tragic car accident and his mother passed away three months ago. He had been going through a very rough time and his depression had started to severely affected his relationship and his girlfriend broke up with him. It was apparently too much for him to take and he ended his life. He lived with his girlfriend and she also works at our office. Between the two of them, they touched many, many lives. He was absolutely hilarious and was a genuinely good person who worked hard and impressed our clients every step of the way. He will be missed.

As you can imagine, Wednesday was a whirlwind - not only were we all dealing with our own tragedy, I had to communicate the terrible news to our client whom he worked very closely with. It was a very difficult time with people streaming into my office crying and struggling over why someone would take his own life. Because we are such a close knit family, it affected all of us in some way. Thursday and Friday were spent talking and remembering him in the most positive ways possible and today we have a memorial for him. Working at a creative agency means that we will have many unique and creative ways of saying our goodbyes.

Jody normally being out of town for a week would mean a lot of free time for me at night and lots of workouts, etc. I spent most of my nights squeezing in a quick workout and then working because I wasn't getting much done during the day with a lot of people needing to talk. But I did get in some workouts and overall my energy level is ok. I am not sleeping well at night just trying to get comfortable and the baby is obviously getting bigger making moving around not as easy. I am loving the Supreme 90 workouts - despite the crappy music, bad cueing it is a fast paced, fun workout that is more the speed I enjoy.

I will hop on and do a full recap Sunday or Monday but wanted to leave you with this parting thought:

Be grateful. For all that you have and the people in your life. Be thankful every day that you are able to do all the things you can do. That you have food, water, electricity, loved ones and the gift of life. While the tragedies I experienced this week were sad, the people of Japan are dealing with much more significant challenges. They are dealing with it all with grace, respect for each other and humility. Our lives can change in an instant and I want my daughter to always know I love her and will be here for her no matter what she is going through. I won't be a perfect parent but I will do everything I can do let her know she is loved.

Love you guys.
Jess

Are we there yet??? Two Week Recap and Supreme 90 Chest, Shoulders & Tris Review

Hey y'all! Hope you have had a FABU week!

It's been super busy for me and little Frankie got sick toward end of week (again). We have a consult a week from tomorrow to get tubes and by all accounts I think it will be a life changer for us. She is constantly sicky with a runny nose and has had about 8 ear infections. Ugh. Because I am already sleeping poorly with the large apparatus on the front of my stomach, if she is up at night, it is a killer for me because I just don't have the energy to workout. Anyhoo, everyone says tubes are amazing so I would rather get them in now than wait till baby #2. ;)

Below is a summary of workouts over the last two weeks. I have decided to alternate Supreme 90 with P90X speed rounds for my upper body. That means I will work upper three times a week and perhaps even a fourth if I sneak in a total body workout.

Week of February 28th:
Monday PM:
Supreme 90 Shoulders & Arms - 45 min circuit
Tuesday AM:
Spin Intervals - 30 mins
Wednesday:
OFF
Thursday AM:
Spin Intervals - 30 mins
Thursday PM:
Supreme 90 Back/Bi's - 45 min circuit
Friday AM:
Spin Intervals - 30 mins
Saturday:
OFF
Sunday:
Supreme 90 Chest, Shoulders, Tris followed by 35 mins spin intervals
Summary: 4 cardio workouts; 3 strength training


Week of March 7th:
Monday PM:
P90X Back Bi's Speed Round
Tuesday AM:
Spin Intervals - 30 mins
Wednesday:
Off (slept about three hours on Tuesday night and just couldn't muster the energy)
Thursday AM:
Spin Intervals - 30 minutes
Thursday PM:
P90X speed round of Chest, Shoulders and Tris
Friday:
OFF (up Thursday night with baby most the night :))
Saturday:
Spin Intervals AM
Sunday:
Cathe 4-Day Split Upper Body + Boot Camp Workout (90 minutes weights/cardio)
Summary: 4 cardio; 3 strength training 

If you are a Cathe fan, I would recommend you get her 4 Day Split DVD set. While I am not a fan of step (not coordinated enough :)),  there are a TON of premix's on these two DVD's that rock. Here is a link to the DVD with all the premixes. I did the Boot Camp/Upper Body today and loved it!

As for the Supreme 90 Chest, Shoulders, Tri's review.....here's a couple addition thoughts in addition to the review on Supreme 90 I gave before.

• There is such little cueing that when you do an alternating exercise, he doesn't indicate whether 2=1 rep or 1=1 rep. For example on P90X, there are some exercises you do that 2=1 and some where 1=1 even on a unilateral exercise. 
• I do like that Tony shares the weight he is using - I usually do 1/2 of what he does which works well for me. You really have no indication on here what is being used. 
• That said, I love the speed and pace of the workouts. I think it is a great mix/alternative to P90X. I have yet to do any of the cardio workouts because of my pelvic issues ;) but I did purchase a female jock strap that seemed to help during Boot Camp today. Hee hee. 

And I am totally over being pregnant. I keep asking myself, Are we there yet???? We are only 6.5 weeks away from baby #2 and I am having TONS of anxiety but am also so excited to have my body back and have it back permanently. Now, I have to keep reminding myself I really have about 7-8 months since I will be breastfeeding (plan to) for about 6 months BUT at least having my bladder back and not feeling so cumbersome will be nice. :)

Keep rocking it out kids and remember, if I can get off my bohunkus and do this at 7.5 months, so can you! :)

XXOO
Jess

Sassy Saturday Video Review: Supreme 90 Shoulders & Arms and Back & Bi's

Hey chicas (and chicos for those boys stumbling upon this blog)!! Hope everyone had a great week!

Had my two week doc appointment on Tuesday and I am definitely having some pelvic floor issues (let's just leave it at that eh :)) which means I have to take it a little bit easy and not do a lot of high impact exercise but I can still do the bike and all my upper body workouts just fine. Plus I have a few low impact DVD's that still get my heart going crazy - in particular some awesome kettlebell workouts. Love those.

I will give you a weekly review on Sunday or Monday but wanted to start doing some video reviews for you. I am a self admitted workout video addict so why not pass on some of my finds to you!! My hubby is the opposite and likes to do his own stuff. One day he asked me about why I liked them so much and after thinking about it, it occurred to me that I love them because I enjoy having someone else tell me what to do. My job is fairly stressful and I spend my days directing teams and people to deliver for our clients. Having someone plan out and tell me what to do in my workout is very relaxing for me.

Anyhoozle, a couple months ago I caught an infomercial for a program called Supreme 90. I was a little shocked and appalled they would so blatantly hijack the P90X system with their references to 90 days, muscle confusion and shocking the body. I knew there was no way at $19.95 they could put together a program that would be anywhere close to P90X.

Fast forward two months and I see it at Bed Bath and Beyond of all places (JUST where you would expect to find workout videos right?? :)) and picked it up for $19.95 (yes, you heard me correctly. Since I am 32 weeks or 8 months pregnant, I will not be doing the full 90 days program but I think I would really like to do it as a full program post baby. The cardio workouts seem harder and more insanity style which is what I prefer. I have done both Shoulders & Arms and Back & Bi's  and plan to do Chest, Shoulders, Tri's tomorrow and put into a regular part of my pregnancy rotation. It was immediately clear to me these are nothing like P90X. Here's some highlights of why:

Things that might matter if you are a hardcore P90Xer looking for something to mix it up):

1. It's circuit style weight lifting - no rests or breaks. 
2. Workouts are around 40 minutes start to finish.
   
3. There are no countdown timers for either exercises or the full workout. I really like that feature for P90X and most workout DVD's - it's mental for me but because these are fast paced and fairly short, it's ok.
4. You can't fast forward by chapter - meaning, if you hit fast chapter forward or reverse you go to the end or beginning. 
5. Ab/core work is done at the beginning of both of these and much of the exercises incorporate the core.
6. The warm up and cool down was the same on both DVD's. Pretty basic. 
7. I was sweating like crazy when I was done. I do P90X circuit style as well and fast forward through all the breaks so the 59 minute shoulders/arms workout is done in about 30 minutes.

Things that might matter to some but are just details in the grand scheme of things: 

1. I honestly felt like I got a better "pump" but that might be because I have been doing P90X for so long and because of the new exercises. 
2. There isn't a lot of cueing or true weight lifting pointers.
3. The menu is very basic. Very. 
4. People in the videos are super ripped. Way more ripped that P90X.
5. The instructor doesn't do the workouts - just hosts.  
6. The set is very basic - nothing like a P90X set.

So far my assessment/recommendation is this:  for $19.95 - why NOT add it to your workout rotation?? Especially if you have been doing P90X for awhile and want something different. It is totally worth the price although if you want or think you are getting a P90X quality workout, prepare yourself you will not.

You can pick up the set at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Academy Sports or online at https://www.supreme90day.com/

Enjoy and have a great weekend!!
Jess

Hump Day Happiness!

Hey y'all!!

Have some updates....and hopefully will get more into the swing of things with blogging. I am feeling totally back to normal and we haven't had any bad weather so I've had a normal schedule. Frankie had another ear infection weekend before last (we're going in for a consult for tubes in two weeks) but she is feeling 10x better and life is grand as a result.

I am eight weeks away from baby #2. Have gained about 20lbs total so far and anticipate staying at the 25lbs total gain mark. Without sharing too much TMI (or in this case it would be WTMI), I am having some issues with my lower girl parts that are going to slow me down a bit. Basically, I strained some things (not working out - just doing things we all do every day) and I probably won't be jumping around as much as I have been. Let's just leave it at that. :)

Anyhoo, below is a recap of my workouts last week (not bad) - and I track my workouts on the right hand side of my blog so I can keep you updated. 

Week of February 21st:
Monday AM:
Cathe Maximum Intensity Strength - 60 Mins
Spin Bike (steady state) - 30
Tuesday AM:
TurboFire HIIT 25 + 2 rounds (total of 30 minutes)
Wednesday PM:
P90X Chest, Shoulders, Tris
Thursday AM:
HIIT on the Bike - 30 mins
Friday AM:
P90X Back & Bi's
Saturday Noon:
Cathe HIIT - 30 mins
Sunday:
OFF

I gotta tell you guys, I can't WAIT to get my body back. I don't relate to women that love to be pregnant. I am happy for them but it's definitely not something I want to do again. Two is plenty. :) I just keep telling myself eight more weeks, eight more weeks, eight more weeks. I can do anything for eight weeks!

Gonna start doing workout video reviews for you guys. I have a TON of them and my girl Kelly O does them pretty regularly and it is a great way to share with you videos/programs I like that you might like too. :)

Will kick that into action this weekend!!
Love you guys!
Jess

Cabin Fever, Fever Fever and one long week!

If you watched the news at all, you saw that we got 22 inches of snow here in Arkansas week before last.  Now, for people that live in Minnesota or Nebraska or really any place north of Iowa, that's a regular snow dump. For Northwest Arkansas it's the most snow we've had in one single snow since 1918 and the first time in 26 years the post office hasn't delivered the mail. This was the third week since Christmas we had closed schools and closed daycare. So last week (not this week), I worked Monday and Tuesday in the office, woke up to 22 inches of snow and -17 degree temperatures and closed schools/daycare, etc. UGH!!! I showed the pic of snow from our last snow...but check this one out - we got A LOT more.

And we live on a SUPER steep hill and our driveway is pretty much impossible to get up and down. So, we parked the SUV at the bottom of the driveway and got up and down using this mode of transportation. :) 

The biggest challenge for me was that I still had to work and that is tough to do with an 18 month old at home. While daddy was home and a big help, if baby sees mommy around she wants to be with mommy. So I would have to sneak around a bit to get some work done.


I got in some great workouts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday hit and I had a fever, the chills and definitely knew something was wrong. By Friday night, I was really sick. Runny nose, cough, exhausted. The funny thing was on Wednesday when I worked out, I had to really go get the workout. Meaning, I had to really talk myself into the workout. And normally I don't. I should have listened to my body and known that something was coming and I needed to rest.


At 9 weeks out from due date, my body is definitely starting to react differently. I find myself more out of breath and it's more laborious to move around. I asked the hubby to switch sides of the bed with me for sleeping because of my increase in bathroom trips at night. :) But I can't imagine NOT working out while pregnant. I feel so much more powerful and so much healthier. This week, I was still sick Monday, Tuesday and finally felt better Wednesday morning. This was the first full week I worked in about three weeks and it felt SOOOOOO LOOOOOONG. Thank goodness for President's Day tomorrow!! WOO HOO!

I did P90X Shoulders and Arms yesterday and plan on hitting a full body workout with some cardio today. Still not feeling a 100% but definitely want to get back after it.


Hope you are all having a great week! XXOO

Previous Belly Bump and Snow, Snow, Snow!!

Hey y'all!! Hope you are having an awesome week!! It is NUTS here in Northwest Arkansas. We have been pummeled with snow and there's no end in sight. I know there are many other areas across the US experiencing the same thing so I feel for everybody....the only challenge or different with Northwest Arkansas is we literally have like three snow plows.Total. And people here simply don't know how to drive in snow (how would they?? :)) so it's pretty crazy. Schools have all been closed since Tuesday. Yikes! Here's our deck. This wouldn't look out of place in Iowa or Wisconsin but in Arkansas, it is. And still coming down.

So my good pal Kelly O suggested I post the old pics of my belly bump so you can see my progress. And like any typical mom, I haven't done half of the things I did for the first pregnancy - like take weekly pics. :) So I will have Jody take a pic of me in the next week or so to share. I am pretty sure the belly is bigger at this stage but I weigh less overall. You can double click the pic below for a bigger view. Yippee!

Looking at the pics, I think I am showing about a week ahead (so I look like I did at 29 weeks at my current week of 28).

So one thing I LOVE about having a home gym (since my last blog, we moved and have an awesome set up - have a walkout basement that has a huge bonus room we converted to a workout room) is that when the weather is bad, I don't have to stress cause I can't run outside, can't drive to the gym, worry about gym hours, get a baby sitter, etc. LOVE IT.

Here's what I have done so far this week:

• Monday: Off 
• Tuesday AM: Turbo Fire 25 HIIT Workout with three extra rounds - 35 mins total
• Wednesday AM: P90X Shoulders and Arms - all my P90X workouts are done Jessica style (no breaks/rests) 
• Thursday AM: Cathe HIIT Pyramid Workout (30 minutes intervals)
• Thursday PM: P90X Back/Bi's
• Friday AM: Spin Intervals - 5 min warm up, 25 minutes intervals 1 min on, 1 min off, 5 minute cool down 

If you aren't familiar with these workouts, they are high intensity plyometric rounds - lots of jumping and leaping. I usually only work legs once every week or two weeks because of the intensity of these workouts on my legs. I LOVE them!! TurboFire is another Beachbody product and Cathe can be purchased on Cathe.com or Collage Video.

Good week so far....not sure what I will do this weekend - probably P90X Chest/Shoulders/Tris and a full body cardio type workout. Weekends I usually just play by ear but definitely need to get another upper body work out in and another cardio workout. Body is definitely taking longer on recovery - feel muscle soreness for probably a half day longer.

I hope each of you are having a great week! Anyone have any recommended HIIT workouts they love? Tell me about it! :)
Jess

Metamorphosis: Fitness Life After Baby

Yes, I am back to blogging. Officially. (P.S. I actually shut down my blog a while back because some foreign wankers were hijacking comments to give all you good followers a virus. NOT cool.)

My last post was July 26th, 2009 - just four days after our baby girl introduced herself to us. Life has totally and completely changed. More on that shortly (might not be what you think :)).

Why am I back? Well, let me share my top ten list with you starting with #10:

10. I soooo miss this aspect of my pre-baby life.
9. The community of support I receive from blogging is AMAZING.
8. It's a great way to share my thoughts/opinions.
7. It's a great way to share my experiences so that they might help others.
6. I can say the STUPIDEST things and you guys love me anyway.
5. Being a mom is tough - knowing there are others out there with my same challenges - time, patience, weight and balancing makes me feel like I'm part of a team.
4. I need feedback from a larger community - one that gets what I am trying to do and why I am trying to do it (which is ultimately to be healthy, fit and show my kids why health is so critical to life - and yes, I said kids - plural - more on that in a few).
3. Kelly Olexa pretty much double dog dared me. Actually more of a triple dog dare if you ask me but regardless, I will take that challenge!! :)
2. My husband told me one day how proud he was of my blogger commitment and the happiness he saw it bring me.....he was right - blogging is a part of my life!
1. I love each and everyone of my blogger peeps. Without you, this journey wouldn't be as fulfilling.

So, let's get to the nitty gritty. Let me give you the reader's digest version of the last year and a half.

July09 -February '10: Holy crap having a baby is HARD!! I had about 22 stitches (sideways no less - sorry to any guys reading this :)) and walking was very challenging for the first two weeks. Breast milk came in and I had NO idea I could be that hungry. OMG, I was starving all the time breastfeeding. Literally thought I could eat a horse. Total weight gain was about 25 lbs with Frankie. I would say I lost most of the weight (and yes, I wish I had kept better records) in the first 4 weeks and was back in my regular clothes as quickly but still had another 5-7 lbs to go. Frankie had colic so I had a lot of trouble with getting my diet to a place where she could tolerate it - literally ended up eating only green beans, chicken and rice. Ugh. I went back to work at8 8 weeks and started exercising with about 5-7 lbs to go - but when I would do anything more that a light lift, two things happened - first, my milk supply dropped drastically and secondly, she would react negatively to the lactic acid. Ultimately, I decided to not stress or obsess, I enjoyed breastfeeding and put my daughter first. It sucked mentally because I wanted to workout but knew it wasn't what was best for her. And here's why:


February -August '10: I had stopped breastfeeding and had about 3-5lbs of weight to lose but really needed to focus on my body composition more than anything. I had lost a lot of muscle and had some of the typical belly weight to lose.We had a trip to Mexico planned and I was determined to look good for just having had a baby. I was on a mission! But I also had a LOT less time. Balancing a baby, job and trying to squeeze in workouts changed everything. I used to workout an hour + each day - sometimes twice a day. I used to stayed at the office until 6 or 6:30 pm and had plenty of time after to workout at my leisure. With Frankie, I had to leave the office at 5:15 to pick her up from daycare, get her home, feed, bathe and get her in bed around 7:00 pm. After that I would work to try to catch up on not working later and then if I had any energy, I would workout. I finally figured out I had to workout in the mornings. Now that my boobs were back to regular size again, I felt more comfortable working out.

I started out with p90X workouts but did them in a cardio format....I literally fast forwarded to the next exercise after I finished my reps so I would literally finish an hour long workout in 25 minutes and I would be drenched in sweat.

Then I got really crazy and ordered Insanity from Beachbody. OMG!! I thought I was going to die after the warm up much less the workout but I could get in a great workout in about 40 minutes. Insanity is an awesome workout - Shaun T is a great instructor and the workouts were so much fun. The premise is high intensity intervals or HIIT training and I was hooked. The regular Insanity program of 6x a week of that type of workout was too intense for me but I created a hybrid between P90X and Insanity that I LOVED. I did one of the 40 min Insanity workouts, a P90X Plyo or Interval workout every other day and did a P90X weight workout on the alternate days with one day off.

My eating was less regimented as I just didn't have the time to prepare food or plan the way I used to but I would guess I was around 2000 cals a day. But certainly not all whole foods or anything else crazy. I lost all the weight and THEN some. If memory serves me, I was around 129-130 when I got pregnant with Frankie. By the time we left for Mexico I weighed about 122 which is the lowest I had ever been EXCEPT when I was getting ready to compete which was so crazy.

How could it be that I was in better shape than I had ever been (except post contest prep) and I was working out less than I ever had???

No more 90 minute workout sessions or two a day workouts and I was smaller and leaner than ever?? What???

Here's what I learned:

• HIIT workouts WORK. Your body becomes a fat burning furnace during and long after the workout. With Insanity, your whole body is engaged.
• Workouts that are short can be just as effective. My hubby has been doing this for years - he is 43 years old and has the body of a 25 year old.
• Being laid back about my diet and workouts and putting my daughter and husband first made me workout harder and smarter and the results showed.

I don't have any full body shots to share with you but here's a pic of me a little less than a year after I had our daughter that shows my progress.

We went to Mexico at the beginning of August and had an amazing trip. In late August, I found out I was PREGGERS again!! YAY!!! So, it's now January and I am 27 weeks pregnant. So far I have gained about 15-16lbs but am about 4lbs lighter than I was at this same time in my pregnancy which is awesome.

Weekly workouts right now, look a little like this:

• 3-4 HIIT cardio worktouts on the spin bike or TurboFire HIIT workouts (30-40 minutes)
• 3-4 weight workouts - mostly upper body, possibly a total body weight workout - usually P90X or a Cathe upper body circuit (30-40 minutes)

I am due at the end of April and we don't know what we are having (gender wise). We're so excited!!! We knew if we had one we would have two and although I am totally freaked out about two, I can't wait to invite baby two into our lives.

And before I sign off, I want to say how awesome my husband has been.....he is still my best friend, my love, my soul mate. Though our lives have changed and our time is now more divided than ever, I know he sees me for me and gives me all the support I could ever ask for. I love you pumpkin.

I am so glad to be back and look forward to following you all again as well! Miss you guys - thanks for being so awesome!

XXOO
Jess