After looking at my post pregnancy tummy every hour of every day and seeing how very skinny I am but with NO muscle tone now that they are all stretched I figured I should take another step into getting fit. I am now drinking a protein shake a day! It is actually really good without that weird protein/medicinal taste, and it’s Meijer brand! Chocolate flavor and mixed with skim milk I feel like I am drinking a frothy glass of chocolate milk. It is super yummy. You’re supposed to drink it either before or after a workout… for the most part I have been doing that but sometimes I drink the shake and do the workout hours later, or not at all. Haha. I am still doing On Demand Ab Workouts and some of them actually kick my ass. The only thing is I still love my junk food. I am able to eat super healthy all day long such as oatmeal for breakfast and tuna on whole grain bread with spinach for lunch. But if I don’t cook a homemade healthy meal, then dinner is just down the tubes. Don’t even get my started on dessert. Ever since I had my daughter I have had a huge sweet tooth which I never had before. I am Italian… I would have taken pasta over a pastry any day. Now immediately after dinner, I MUST have something sweet. I guess it’s not a bad thing because I never really go over board… and it keeps me so I am not depriving myself of foods I really love yet I am still eating healthy all the other times. Last night (my dinner downfall) I went to Buffalo Wild Wings with my family. Needless to say, my dinner was very unhealthy and then I decided to order their amazing chocolate cake that I was basically addicted to two Summers ago. (Before I was ever pregnant so it didn’t really matter). That cake was DELICIOUS and I am so glad I got it. I can’t wait to see the results of the protein shakes on my abs… gonna be interesting and a long road.

AHHH! I am 5 foot 2 inches and weigh about 90 lbs yet I have this little belly that makes me look like I am 4 months pregnant! I am 6 months post partum and my muscles are still sagging. I am working out doing ab work and I have seen an improvement but I have this thing called Diastasis Recti also known as abdominal separation. This causes my tummy to pertrude just below the belly button every time I eat something. I have been to my OB about this, a personal trainer, and a physical therapist. I cannot seem to get a straight answer out of anyone. They all tell me “you’re so skinny it’s not even that bad.” Just because I am small and don’t have loads of fat and flab around my post partum belly does not mean that “it’s not that bad.” They all think it’s not a problem because compared to a lot of post partum women my belly is not half bad. I will be the first to admit that it’s not. But it bothers me and it is not “normal.” There isn’t stretch marks, or loose skin like what is expected after pregnancy (thank God). This is a condition that does not happen to most people. I have been told that in time and with conditioning the muscles can get closer together… but that isn’t good enough for me. I want to know (without surgery) if the muscles will go back to their pre pregnancy place with lots of dedicated work and conditioning. Were the muscles ever attached by tendons? Or were they just close together? I don’t know because nobody can give me that straight answer. If they were attached somehow will they ever “grow” back together? I am not being petty or superficial… I am just a girl who wants to know if  I can ever wear a bikini again. I care because that is a part of who I am and who I have been for the past 26 years. I used to have a belly button that was so tight it had that little flap (some get that pierced) at the top. Now it looks like a deflated balloon. When I contract my muscles, it goes right back to normal which give me hope to believe that with more toning it will be ok. I have read other blogs and no I am not alone in this I just wish I could get an honest professional answer.

I am 27 weeks pregnant and I am feeling more and more kicks and flutters every day! It is such an amazing feeling. Last night at around 3 AM I was being kicked so much that was laughing out loud in bed. My husband asked why I was laughing and I said “Lola is kicking like crazy!!!” It is so fun to know that there is a little baby inside there. I feel her getting so big now. Before when she’d kick it would be in one general area. Now it’s like she is getting so long that when she kicks I feel her on opposite ends of my body! I cannot believe that we only have 13 weeks to go! I remember the first 13 going by super fast, and I have a feeling that the last 13 will go by fast as well. With the shower coming up in a month and getting her room ready we will be so busy time will fly. This weekend I plan to paint one of the walls of her room pink since the rest is already a pretty green. This is such an amazing time for my husband, myself, and our families. We are super anxious for our little Lola Margherite to arrive!