Q&A: Talking Motherhood, Skin Care, and Morning Routine

After having baby G, now having 3 kids to take care of on the daily and moving back into my normal life.. I wanted to hear from you all! I asked you to ASK ME ANYTHING - motherhood, nutrition, lifestyle… and you did! I picked a few of my favorites to answer below! ENJOY xo

“Coming home with Baby #3, how did you get adjusted to being back home within the first few weeks?”

It was a relief to be back home after spending nearly 2 weeks in the hospital! Normally, I enjoy the time in the hospital, having help from the nurses to adjust, but this time was very different since we were in the NICU. I just wanted my bed and my things! To see the girls! To have G see our home!

So most of my “adjusting” postpartum, as far as my body goes, took place this time at the hospital which was NOT ideal. I did not take good care of myself at all.

Adjusting as a family of 5 was both wonderful and insane. Mostly, we tried to figure out how to divide and conquer the household and the kids. We decided that John would sleep in Carmen’s room and handle the girls in the morning and at night, and I would be on overnight duty with G. Seemed fair!

“Do you feel comfortable bringing Baby G into restaurants, cafes, etc?”

Not really. I am a very anxious person when it comes to the kids. It’s not that I think something bad is going to happen, but I just think I am not prepared for every situation, and that makes me anxious. So much so, that I don’t really go out much in the first few weeks or months - and when I do - just short distances. And I prefer to be outside in case he cries!

“Can we talk Post-Partum fitness and weight loss, and doing it while breastfeeding?”

OMG this is hard, right? I give myself a lot of grace in the PP period. My body just made THREE BABIES in the last 5 years. It is AMAZING!

Do I LOVE having a different belly now? Not really, but I just don’t focus on it. I dress for how I am comfortable, so that any extra skin, fat, weight gain, is not a focus area. I like looser clothing, anyway. And like I said - I don’t focus on the negative. I focus on how amazing the female body is to be able to literally make a human, birth a human, and feed it.

I wait until I am cleared for exercise - but I’m not like…jumping to get on it. LOL. I will ride my Peloton bike 1-3x a week, nothing crazy, and maybe some light weights or sun salutations. Honestly, G is so big that my arms get a workout EVERY DAY and we take walks too - which is nice!

Breastfeeding puts a kink into things. I CANNOT work out if my boobs are full of milk, so I have to wait until after a feeding or a pump and I will schedule anything I do end up doing, accordingly.

“What is your best advice for someone about to have baby #1 and/or baby #2?”

Use your intuition. Believe it or not - you know more than you think you do. When you make a decision - then move on. Don’t dwell on the different outcomes; it’s not worth it!

Have strategies in place. Like, for your sanity, not to have every little thing figured out. EX: John handles our girls, I handle Graham (for the most part). Done. John does pick up and drop off, I do night duty. Done.

I’m actually working on a series of posts around this very topic, to come soon!

“What do you recommend for clearing skin? Foods, products, etc?”

Your skin pushes out the stuff your body doesn’t want. So truly you have to figure out what you body doesn’t like or can’t digest well. For some, dairy is a big trigger, for others - its sugar. I also love adding in a lot of really cleansing foods like lemon, greens, veggies and TONS of water to flush things out every day.

I also use very simple products topically - where you know the ingredients. The only chemical thing I use- which I can’t drop! - is the P50V lotion from Rescue Spa. It’s addicting! AND I don’t wear makeup because I was finding that to build up a lot of crap in my pores.

“Do you count macros? And if so / if not, do you do anything when eating healthy?”

I don’t count anything. Too hard! I can’t imagine doing this with 3 kids.

On this type of diet, you have ideal macro (carb, protein, fat) ratios dependent on your height, weight, activity level, age, and your goal. You have to figure the ratios out with a Dietician or using an online calculator.

It’s definitely helpful for some people for weight loss, but it's a diet and I just don’t like diets :)

“What is your morning routine?”

Right NOW it is:

feed Graham and check my email, wash my face, brush my teeth, QUICKLY jade roll (lol, it is always nice and cool on my cheeks in the morning), drink a smoothie, walk to coffee shop and get a coffee and avocado toast

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