After exactly 39 weeks of growing, vomiting, pain and a whole lot of joy our little girl has arrived! Luckily she came at the hospital, but I had a few moments where I pictured it going down differently.

To explain, we held a Brewery Boot Camp this past Saturday. We knew it would be a bit tight as it was a week out from my official due, so we hired a friend to help us out. Morning of workout I was starting to have a few contractions and overall didn’t feel great, but figured I could at least make it through the morning. We arrived at the brewery at 10am to set up, at 10:02am I started timing my contractions as they were starting to come more frequently. I promised my husband I would do my best to last through the workout which went from 11am- 12pm. Unfortunately at about 11:40 the contractions getting closer together (less than 5 minutes apart) and quiet strong, I decided if we didn’t leave immediately the brewery would have it’s first ever “Brewery Baby”. Four short hours later, one epidural, ten pushes and baby girl Chavez was born! 6lbs 2oz and 19.5 inches long.

I could not have asked for a more perfect delivery. One, it was at the hospital! Two, doctors and nurses came through for me every step of the way to make this comfortable and memory to last a lifetime.

Since giving birth I have a few thing to complain about, number one being Cramps!!! Holy crap do the cramps hurt a hundred times more with the second one. Don’t get me wrong I love the idea that my uterus is contracting back to it’s “original” size, but wow not a fun feeling. Second, I have also struggled with regulating my milk flow. I am lucky in that my milk came in a day or two after delivering, but I am truly a rock solid D – literally! Last pregnancy pumping was helpful to relieve the pain of being full with milk, but this time it seems to just make it worse. Therefore, I have succumb to the internet for help. My current trial is to feed only on one side every two hours and try to not pump unless absolutely necessary. Thus far (six hours into this) I am either somewhat relieved or I have become used to the “rock solid” chest!

Below are my horribly embarrassing post pregnancy photos! I want to share these with everyone for two reasons. One, accountability! By showing you these I am ensuring I get myself moving and back into shape or I will look like a fool telling everyone else to do. I truly believe you must walk the walk and talk the talk. Two, I want you to follow me on this journey of recovery with workouts and healthy eating.

4 Days Post Delivery

My Goals:

#1 Spartan Beast – August 27th

The Spartan Beast is between 12-14 miles long, 30-35 obstacles and has an average finish time of 5+ hours. This means I need to not only gain back a great deal of my muscle to complete the obstacles, but I need to get my endurance/running game in check. Last May, I did the Spartan Sprint at Fort Carson and absolutely loved it. Without even knowing what to expect I took 2nd place in my age group and was only behind the first place group finisher by 1 minute. This year my goal is to finish in the top 10 of my age division, but it is going to be tough as I will only have nine weeks to train and that is considering everything goes well.

To join our team register here and find team “Strength Train 4 Life”.

#2 goal: Possible CrossFit Competition in September

This is the same competition I competed in last year while several weeks PREGNANT!! I really want to come back and try again without the nausea, vomiting and overall fatigue. This one may have to wait or may be a different competition as one of my teammates is one the injury list with an ACL tear. Boo! I’ll keep you up to date on the decision with this one.

Note to all my followers: I will be waiting my entire six weeks to start my training, which I know is a debatable subject as many trainers and women start training before their 6 weeks doctors appointment. My feelings however are this: While I may do some light body work (squats, abs, walking etc.) I feel you spent 9 months rearranging your body, it will take another 9 months to have it truly heal your pelvic floor, abdominal walls and body. Therefore, to ensure everything is healed I will wait until my doctors appointment at the end of June to start my real training in hopes that when I cough, sneeze, run or laugh I won’t pee my pants every time! 🙂

For the next 6 weeks I will take the opportunity to focus on my nutrition. This will be great for my body as well and to provide needed nutrients to my daughter through my breast milk.  Follow me here on my blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with nutrition and exercise ideas to get you back to your pre-pregnancy body.