Finally!
You guys - I’ve been thinking, talking, dreaming, scheming about starting a pre and postnatal wellness business for almost two years now. I had the name before I had the certification, I had the idea before I even knew about the certification, I had the inspiration before I even knew what being a mother means. Here’s how it all began:
Late in 2018, on Christmas Eve actually, Luke and I found out that we were going to be parents. Best.Gift.Ever. Also scary, extremely scary. Also, our annual wine tasting dinner was planned for that night - probably should’ve waited to take the test until the next day - inappropriate? Sorry, not sorry. ANYWAY - I was emotionally prepared to become pregnant, but certainly not physically and mentally. Yes, I was in good shape, I was a long distance runner, sometimes I stretched, sometimes I picked up a weight and put it down, I rarely ate dairy or gluten or processed sugar or foods. But my hormones were all out of whack from being on hormonal birth control for over a decade and my muscles were tight and sore and my joints misaligned from putting so many asphalt miles on those legs and never prioritizing moving my body in different, functional ways.
I fully planned on continuing to exercise at high levels during pregnancy. I had dreams of tempo runs with a baby bump. I had close friends who did this - one of them ran on the treadmill the day she went into labor. This dream was quickly crushed. I would go out for a run and start having cramps and freak out and stop. I would try again and get out of breath after a half mile. Sometimes a combination of both. I started walking as much as possible. I kept up with the spin classes that I LOVE. “Must get cardio in” (Frankenstein robot voice). Then both all those walks and spin classes felt like too much. It took being pregnant and having an overwhelming need to protect my baby that resulted in me finally listening to my body and stopping when I felt like my usual approach to exercise could possibly hurt more than help.
It was around this time, 18ish weeks in, when I decided to try out the prenatal functional exercise classes that I had heard about through my midwife (Shout out to Amanda, Kieran, and Antonia at The Functional Bump - my mentors - check out their online studio). I had been hesitant because I never really got into group classes - they were never “enough of a workout” for me and had always felt like I was wasting my precious time. Looking back, I can honestly share that that first month of functional exercise class completely changed my outlook on fitness and wellness. During my first class, there were four other women who had due dates within two weeks of mine. It felt like fate. After each class, we all stuck around chatting about our pregnancies, strollers, daycare, Facebook mommy groups, life. Here was a fitness and strong mama community I didn’t even know I was missing. And, as I became more and more pregnant, my body felt stronger and stronger. And, it looked stronger too - after a few weeks in, Luke and I both noticed that I was developing pregnant tummy abs. I seriously felt my ab muscles were more defined than before I was pregnant. Like, what?! I attribute this to the daily core breathing belly pumps I was practicing in and out of class (rather than the traditional crunches and core work that had been my go-to ab workouts for years). And, I was feeling mentally stronger as well. In class, we ended each hour with “labor training” - a combination of high intensity exercise and low heart-rate meditation or mindfulness that gave me the tools to visualize a happy pregnancy, a beautiful labor, and a successful postpartum life.
Then, my little guy came along. A quick note on my birth experience - I had Easton at a Midwife-run birth center. I wanted a natural, drug-free labor and did not want to feel encouraged to be induced if he was going to be late. He was late, by a week. During labor, I was not hooked up to any monitors. I was free to walk around, be on a ball, be in the tub, be on the queen-size bed with my husband, etc. My midwives did check my vitals and Easton’s regularly. I went into the birth center at around 9:30 on a Saturday night and Easton made his arrival shortly after 3am on Sunday. It was excruciating and beautiful. As so many of us know, though, your birth plan doesn’t always work out exactly as you hoped. Unfortunately, I did have to be transferred to the local hospital for my own care, not Easton’s. We had an amazing experience at the hospital as well. We felt so fortunate.
Very shortly after Easton was born, I started on my postnatal fitness journey. (Did you know that you can start the work of physically reconnecting to your core as soon as a day after labor? - more on that in a future post.) In postnatal fitness classes, we shared our labor stories, were assessed for diastasis recti, practiced healing and strengthening our pelvic floors and deep core, and chatted about all things new mama - sleep schedules, feeding, annoying husband tendencies, appreciated husband tendencies…etc. :) During the often lonely times of being a new mom, keeping in touch with the community that I had become a part of while pregnant was an emotional lifeline in many ways. And, because of those classes, I was able to start physically reconnecting with my deep core early in my postnatal journey. Unfortunately, shortly after my little guy was born, COVID reared its ugly head and our world was forever changed.
I will say that there was a silver lining to COVID for me and my family- which I acknowledge is an extremely privileged thing to say. Suddenly, I could spend more time with Easton AND, that time at home gave me much needed space to reflect on the momentous change that my physical, mental, and emotional self had experienced in becoming a mother. During those early days, I thought a lot about my experience as a pregnant person and my labor and how it was very different from what many of my pregnant friends had experienced who, for a variety of reasons, did not have access to pre and postnatal fitness. I felt and still feel that my particular experience, a very positive one (depending on how you desire to give birth) had a lot to do with my physical and mental preparation along with the stability, well-being, and resources furnished by the community of which I had become a part - all because I started taking prenatal fitness classes. The urge to accommodate and share this experience with others on their motherhood journey had started before COVID and before I became brave enough to start down the path of becoming a certified personal trainer and a pre & postnatal corrective exercise specialist. All of a sudden having more time on my hands than since I was…15?…and a fresh outlook on pretty much everything, I took that first step. In December of 2020, a little over a year ago, I became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer. In May of 2021, I became a Fit for Birth Pre and Postnatal Certified Exercise Specialist. In February of 2022, I will teach my first PPCES class (and will start accepting personal trainer clients, preconception through motherhood).
You’re still reading?! I’m impressed and honored that you’ve given me so much of your time. Chapter 47 of this story, abridged: In addition to being a CPT and a PPCES, I’m a librarian. As of July of 2021, I’m back on the job and loving it. Easton loves daycare and is developing in leaps and bounds. Luke can actually work from home in semi-quiet, with interruptions only from the cat - who knew?! So, I’m starting STRONG AS A MOTHER slowly and intentionally with one class per week and one individual client or a small group. I’m only able to do this because a kind and generous local business owner (Morganne at Blooming Tree Yoga) opened her studio space for me to hold my class. She had experienced a similar generosity when she started out and so wanted to give back in the same way. That is exactly the type of community feeling that I hope to share with my clients. I do not have the words to share how grateful and honored I am to be able to play even a small a role in helping women experience their prepregnancy, pregnancy, birth, and motherhood journeys in the beautiful and fulfilling way that they're meant to be experienced. Looking back at what the last couple of years have given me, what they’ve taken away, how I’ve grown, and who I’ve become, I can only say cheers to the future - whatever that may be.
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xoxo, N
PS: My comments above come with absolutely no judgement and all of the love if you are someone who:
-Is proudly addicted to cardio (I feel you!)
-Chose/plans to choose a medically pain-managed birth
-Chose/plans to choose a hospital birth
-Never, ever had a desire to be a stay-at-home mom, even temporarily
-Never, ever had a desire to be a “working mom” (such a problematic phrase)
-Is an annoying husband/partner