Mother’s Day Gift to Yourself: Baby Boot Camp

May 12, 2017 1 Comment A Well Crafted Lady

Baby Boot Camp is a fitness, nutrition, and social resource designed for mothers. Baby Boot Camp Baby Boot Camp franchises can be found across the United States including three Portland-area franchises Portland-area franchises covering several area locations. I was provided classes with purpose to review my experience. All opinions are my own. You can get your own first class free by scheduling your first class!

Each mother is as unique as the kids she raises. As unique as they are, there is one thing that many—most even— have in common, they often put their kids before them in all things. For example, my sons both have been to the dentist every six months since their teeth all came in. Me? I haven’t been to the dentist in 10 YEARS. (No flack…scheduling appointment now.)

After some pretty rough bouts of postpartum depression I have truly been working—with the help of my partner in parenting—to spend some time focusing on ME a bit more than I have done in the past. I work a lot, and I love my work, and that is where the majority of my “me-time” is devoted. What I haven’t made time for is exercise. I have a gym membership at my work, but after working 8 hours a day and being gone with the commute, I just want to be home and spend some time with my kids before bed time and time for me to open up my computer to work some more.

Signing up for Baby Bootcamp was an opportunity for me to spend an hour on some serious self-care while still entertaining and engaging with my kiddo. I liked that he and the other babies were able to watch from the strollers and laugh at the mommies doing silly moves. It was much better than the guilt I’ve felt so many times when I get home late because I took an hour to go to the gym after work.

My Baby Boot Camp Experience

I’ve got to admit… I was NERVOUS about saying ‘yes’ to this experience. My fitness level is less than ideal at this moment in my life. I was not looking forward to being in a class with women who were at a fitness level much higher than my own. Honestly, if there were a ‘slow and fat getting back at it’ class out there then I’d sign up much more willingly than I did with this class. That said… I am SO glad I did say yes in the end. Not only was everyone super friendly and welcoming, the instructor gave options for different fitness levels. She also gave options for people who had wrist issues which was AMAZING because of past carpal tunnel issues my wrists really can’t handle my entire weight at this moment in time. I was thrilled to have options that still allowed me to get in a full workout without risking injury.

Someday I’ll be able to do the below… but, until then, I sure was glad to have a less stressful move!

What to expect from Baby Bootcamp

Baby Bootcamp here in Beaverton moves venues throughout the season so that they can really take advantage of the good weather in Beaverton when the summer comes around. I went during the early Spring and was able to do my workout both indoors and out. Here are a few things to expect if you join Baby Bootcamp:

You’ll meet other moms with fitness goals. I am always super hesitant meeting new people, but these moms were super nice and all focused on achieving their own goals more than they seemed worried about what the next lady was doing. I didn’t feel uncomfortable doing the modified moves because there were other women that used modified moves as needed.
You’ll want to bring your jogging stroller. The kiddos stayed in the strollers the entire time that I went. At times we worked out with the strollers and at other times the kiddos hung out chatting with each other and watching the moms workout. I’m sure another type of stroller would also work, but the jogging stroller was sure handy.
Most all of the exercises are using your own body power and not any fitness tools. Nearly the entire workout was a set of moves that could be done without any additional equipment which was awesome because I was in turn able to bring those moves home! We did use a yoga mat to help cushion the floor when we did moves that were on the ground. We also used resistance bands for a few moves.
You will feel it. I felt GREAT after the first class. I was so excited that I made it through and I had so much energy afterwards. However, the next day, I was sore. It was the first time in a long time that I had done a full workout and my body knew it. I think I started feeling normal again about two days before the second class began!
Classes to fit your needs. There were a few different class types available including Stroller Fit (which I did) and Restore the Core. There was even a 5K training course available.
Enrollment Fee & Affordable Plan Pricing. You can get your first class free. After that there is an enrollment fee of $59 that pays for all the equipment you will need. There are several different plans at affordable prices for the classes.

There are several different Baby Bootcamps across the US. The Beaverton class was not even the only one in the Portland area! Many classes were available throughout the week, but as a working mom there was only one class that would fit for my schedule. The Saturday class offered free attendance to significant others as well.

Overall I hope to continue using the skills I learned in the class and plan to attend more Baby Bootcamp classes in the future! If you are on the fence right now about devoting a little time to yourself and your fitness goals then please think about giving yourself a very much deserved Mother’s Day gift of classes with Baby Bootcamp!

Portland-Area Mommas: Join Baby Boot Camp’s Free Mother’s Day Event on Saturday, May 12th at 9 AM at THPRD Athletic Center in Beaverton. Hosted by Baby Boot Camp Beaverton. The first 80 moms in attendance get a SWAG Bag!

A Well Crafted Lady

Post Baby Body Love with Olga’s “Flirty” Intimates

December 1, 2016 4 Comments A Well Crafted Lady

I’m now nearly a year postpartum and am still learning to work with the new shape of my body. While my weight is the same as when I got pregnant and my size is the same, my clothing does not fit the same. I was excited to partner with Olga for their new intimates collection Flirty as the biggest discovery I’ve made this postpartum experience is how important it is to love yourself and feel comfortable in the skin you are in at the moment. This post is in partnership with Olga an intimates company that specializes in intimate apparel for curvy and busty women. All opinions are my own. Olga’s Flirty collection may be found at Macys and Kohls.

How having kids has changed my physical appearance

Having a baby does some pretty crazy things to your body. It is basically stretched, pulled, swollen and deflated all in the course of a year or so. My body bounced ‘back’ a little easier after baby number one than it has with baby number two. Though I have technically lost the weight gained during pregnancy, my body is different than it was after my first pregnancy and certainly different than it was pre-kiddos.

I can’t blame ALL of these changes on the kiddos, because, in fact… I have AGED over the past six years. It is funny. In my head I’m still 25, but when I look at myself in the mirror I now see my mother and grandmother looking back at me. Between my changing body due to both aging and having babies, I really need to learn to love my body all over again. This holiday season I am really working on taking steps to feel comfortable in my new skin while making efforts to be healthier overall.

Tips for Loving Your Post Baby Body

There has been so much this past year that I’ve struggled with both silently and pretty loudly depending on how well you know me or how close you’ve been to a melt-down. One of those struggles has (obviously) been appreciating my body as it is now and feeling good about myself in total. I’m gonna be totally honest, the tips below are from someone who doesn’t have it all together. These tips have worked for me in the past. These tips have come from friends who have dealt with these same struggles. But, they are from a totally imperfect person who is still trying to follow them all.

1. Appreciate what you have now, stop dwelling on what you had then.

There have been so many times this past year where I’ve ran across a photo of me five, ten, or more years ago and have been caught up in wishing I still had the slender frame I had then. At some point I even broke down in tears for not really appreciating what I had then when I had it! Then it hit… that is the key. We are getting older. As much as I would love to not get another wrinkle or roll of funny mole on my back I also really, really want to keep getting older. (The alternative is really not a fun option.) So, my biggest tip is to take a moment and appreciate what you have right now in this very moment in time. Do you love your eyes? Think your ankles look great in those shoes you bought? Find the things about yourself that you LOVE and celebrate them. Focus on them. Appreciate them.

2. Dress in a way that makes you feel good about yourself

A bit of TMI here (though, isn’t this whole post really?): I wore my stretched out underwear and old nursing bras WAY past their expiration dates. When your panties are falling off you while you walk because the elastic doesn’t work anymore it is time to get new underwear. I had been waiting. I’d been waiting for my wonderful sleek figure that was just gonna suddenly appear. I was waiting until I had time to hit the gym more often or for my thyroid meds to finally make a difference. At some point I thought, It is time to STOP WAITING. Finding beautiful, comfortable, and well-fitted underwear, bras, and clothing items made me feel so much more comfortable in my own skin.

I don’t care if you feel best about yourself in a pair of yoga pants or some heels and earrings. Dress in a way that you can really feel comfortable and beautiful.

Side note: I have always had difficulty finding bras that are actually comfortable in my plus size figure. I even threw down way too much money at a popular plus-size clothing retailer to NEVER wear the bras that they custom fit to my body. They pulled and pinched and were so HEAVY. Enter in Olga’s Flirty Collection. I loved the look of them when the team at Olga sent over the lookbook, but was still weary that I’d actually like the selection. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I’ve been with the quality, styles, fabrics, and fits of the Flirty bras and underwear I received. If you are looking to buy yourself (or a loved one) some really nice (yet affordable) intimate wear items then I’d highly recommend this brand. The sizes range from 34 C to 46 H.

3. Make healthier choices

This is the part I really, really struggle with on a day-to-day basis. I know what is good for me. I know that exercising and eating healthy will go a long way in making me feel better. I do overall make fairly good choices. However, I also know that when I am feeling down and out about things it is SO much easier to make the unhealthy choices. No judgement from me here and I will take no judgement on this as well, thank you. This is human. Sometimes we don’t always act in our own self-interest. I feel that moms especially don’t take enough time focusing on their needs because they want the needs of their family to be fulfilled first. So, whether it is committing to drinking more water, walking more steps, cutting certain indulgences… making a commitment to your health with invariably help you feel better about yourself. It is not going to fix it all right away and I really stress BALANCE in this area. Going into extreme lifestyle changes with high expectations is a sure fire way to get burned out and feel worse about things.

4. Get in the photograph

One of the hardest parts of these changes for me is not so much seeing myself in the mirror, but seeing myself in photographs. I’ve cringed and cried at the site of me in photos with my sons. I’ve focused on those rolls of fat or the swallow looking skin. I’ve made myself get in the photographs anyways. I’ve made myself STOP focusing on what I deem as imperfections in me and instead focus on how HAPPY I look or how beautiful my family is in that moment. I don’t want to get to sixty to look back and not see me in my photos of my family. I’ve found that making myself get in more photos and making myself look at the good in those photos has had the side effect of me actually liking myself in photos more and more often.

Well, now that you’ve seen my underwear and quite a bit of the most vulnerable side of me at this moment in time… tell me, what do YOU do to make yourself feel wonderful about yourself?

About Olga’s Flirty Collection:

With the launch of Flirty at mass department stores, Olga now provides sexy solutions for curvy women everywhere, encouraging and empowering women to be #FearlesslyFlirty because “sexy comes in every shape and size.”

The collection features four bra styles ($45 each) – deep plunge, balconette, unlined underwire, and deep plunge with lace. It also features coordinating hipster panty ($12.50) in playful colors and prints. I chose a deep plunge and balconette bra and coordinating panties to test. I am in LOVE with both though the deep plunge is worn more often simply because I got it in the nude shade.

Olga’s Flirty collection may be found at Macys and Kohls.

Motherhood

Featured: Happy Mother’s Day to Me on Ten Thousand Hour Mama

May 9, 2016 No Comments Motherhood

How was your Mother’s Day? I hope you either spent some time being pampered or pampering someone you call mom. I had a lovely day, even if nearly the whole family has come down sick. It was nice both getting some alone time and getting some time with my boys.

I got to spend the day with my lovely mother-in-law who will never truly know how much I appreciate her. She is a wonderful mother-in-law and fabulous grandma, but the fact that she was (and still is) a fantastic momma to her own kids led to me having a husband who is kind and giving, a wonderful partner and parent.

I missed a few mommas and had to phone in my happy wishes for the day. I have had the good fortune of having a friend in my own mother and wonderful examples of mothers in my grandmothers. I think it took having children, or perhaps finally get to a certain age, to truly understand all that the mothers in my life have done. I hope that the way I live my life, the choices I make and the work I do is a good reflection of the work that they put into me.

My Mother’s Day Gift to Myself

This year I participated in a little “Mother’s Day Gift to Myself” series that I really enjoyed, not only writing, but reading throughout the weeks coming up to mother’s day. It really got me thinking on the subject and I felt a little bit more like I appreciated myself and this chapter of my life.

Check out my story about a recent moment with my son when he asked me, “Mom, do you get a prize when your reach 100?”

Happy Mother’s Day to Me: My 100 year old birthday prize