Wow! I blinked and little Jaxson is already 4 months old today! Everyone kept telling me to “soak it all in” because they grow up so fast and boy were they right! I am already that Mom is is looking at Jaxson’s newborn pictures saying “where did my baby go?”. This past 4 months has probably been the most challenging, most rewarding, and best 4 months of my life. I knew my life was going to change after having a baby, but I love this new life so much that I don’t even remember life before Jaxson? The toughest challenge I am facing right now is trying to find that healthy balance between spending as much time as possible with my rapidly growing boy, keeping my business flourishing, training a few clients a week (for my own sanity and I truly missed all my clients when I was off work post-baby), and fitting in my own workouts.
I Knew The Life of a Fit “Mompreneur” was not going to be easy, but I’m always up for the challenge!
Below I will share my tips on how I have managed to find a balance that I feel is working well, allowing me to keep my fitness and healthy eating a priority without sacrificing time with hubby and baby Jax.
What did we used to do with all of our time??? Oh yeah……sleep! lol JK
Life Has Been a Whirlwind
I feel like life has been in a full sprint since the day we got home from the hospital with Jaxson, even though I have had more free time than I remember having in a really long time! We were blessed with an angel of a baby who has been sleeping pretty good out of the gate and it has continued to get better as the weeks go on (I am always scared to say this, as I feel like I’m jinxing it!). He has had his moments like any baby would, but I want to say in the big picture, he has been great! I always laugh at how our life has changed since having Jaxson, for example, the amount of times we have been to the mall just to get out of the house on cold rainy days is actually comical; however, we don’t feel that bad when we see a bunch of other couples pushing strollers around the mall too because we are all in the same boat. Unfortunatley all the time spent at the mall means more shopping for cute clothes for Jaxson LOL. I truly love dressing him each day, it’s like having a little doll and he’s just so darn cute in everything we put him in! I don’t even look for clothes for myself anymore, I find myself living in leggings, hoodies, and Nike’s which I”m totally OK with!
Here are just a few of his stylish outfits…….
Balancing Entrepreneur-Life With Mom-Life
As much as I have been at home a lot with my little guy, I have still been able to get a lot of work done from my laptop while he is napping. I love my career and my business was my first baby, so although I wasn’t physically training clients at my studio, I still had to make sure I didn’t forget about my baby. I actually found I was able to get a lot of stuff done that I didn’t have time to do when I was actually working pre-baby. I was able to continue training my online personal training clients, blogging, writing for magazines, and general behind the scenes stuff for my business. I started training clients again around 3 1/2 months postpartum as I felt ready to get back at it for just a couple hours per week, but found it hard once people caught wind that I was back to work – they wall wanted sessions again! LOL I’m not complaining at all, this is a great problem to have; however, I know my little guy will only be this little for a while and I had to learn to create a schedule of when I am available and stick to it! I find it hard to say no to clients because obviously I want them to get a workout in,but I found it very helpful to have a schedule. Now I have a great balance of getting the best of both worlds! Being able to whip down to my studio for 2 hours and then head back home and spend the day with Jax is the best of both worlds! I feel very lucky to have this flexibility in my work, but also know I have worked very hard to get to this point and now I’m just reaping the benefits!
I vowed to not let my own workouts and healthy eating slip after having a baby
I know this sounds crazy to other new mom’s, but by keeping fit throughout my entire pregnancy and really my entire life, I know that movement is my medicine. I knew that I was going to be lacking sleep and find myself exhausted in the early months; however, I knew that (just was when I was feeling crappy during my pregnancy) exercise would keep me feeling my best. I was actually back in the gym (midwife approved) by 4 weeks postpartum! My midwife said I was ready if I wanted and I felt ready to slowly start getting active again.
I was very lucky that hubby was working from home, so I had a little bit of freedom between feedings to sneak away to get a workout in while Jaxson was sleeping 🙂 He was also taking a bottle from 3 weeks old, so this gave me a little more freedom also to pump some milk and head down to my studio to get in a solid workout without having to worry about being back home within 2 hours to feed Jax. These are just a few things that made my transition back into the gym a little bit smoother, but I also believe it was a lot because this is my lifestyle and it was easier to just fall back into the swing of things. My reason for getting back at it so soon after baby was not at all about weight loss or getting my “pre-baby” body back, this was not even a goal of mine. It was to remain healthy both mentally and physically! Having a baby is a whirlwind of events and include the crazy hormones that come along with it – man – trust me, me working out was the best thing I could have done for our family! I had a few “crazy lady” moments LOL – I’m sure my husband would agree! I knew I couldn’t control what Jaxson was going to do, how long he was going to sleep, how long I was going to sleep etc. but I COULD control what I put in my mouth and if I move my body or not.
Even just strapping him in the carrier and walking up and down the stairs in my condo building was a great way to move my body, get my heart rate up, get out of the house on a rainy day, and Jax loved it!
New Mommies or Mommies to Be — If I could offer any advice it would be – remember you are still important!!! Yes, your baby is your world and you want to cater to them 24/7 to make sure they have all the love, cuddles, and milk they need to thrive; however, the happier mommy is the happier everyone is! I found even just 30 minutes to an hour out of the house to exercise left me feeling energized and ready to get back to being a Mom!
Just remember that you are still important and you need to take care of yourself! Even I had to remind myself of this quite a few times
BUT………
ON THE OTHER HAND…..
Don’t freak out if you miss a workout or end up ordering take out because you didn’t get a chance to cook healthy or get to the gym for a day….
This happens too!!!
I had quite a few days where I had scheduled myself to workout and then maybe I just felt like spending more time playing with Jaxson, or he didn’t nap when he usually does, or woke up from a nap early, or whatever. I found myself on the verge of frustration, but then I soon reminded myself to chill out and just workout tomorrow – it’s all good! When it’s a lifestyle you can skip a day here and there and just get back at it when you can 🙂
Check out some of the workouts I’ve been doing over the past 4 months…..
Overall this has been an amazing journey so far!!! I feel like I have really found a good balance between being a hands on Mom and spending as much time as possible with my little man, but still being able to run my business, workout, and train a few clients a week. I feel this balance is really important to me because I feel like I get to experience the best of both worlds! Business owner and Mom life!
Bring on the next 4 months and lifetime with this little guy!!!
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