More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖 👀 th Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖
👀 the comfiest heels I own by @naot.northamerica 
#naotic
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Baby, fitness, Health, Kids, Motherhood, Sponsored · August 14, 2017

My Story of Diastasis and Postpartum Recovery

Hey mamas! Today I’m hoping on here to tell you about one of the little issues I’ve been dealing with in my postpartum recovery since Evy was born back in March: Diastasis. But first, let me give you a little background on my fitness journey:

Safe to say Josh and I did not set ourselves up for fitness success when I was pregnant with our son. It was my first pregnancy and I had no idea how HUNGRY I would be ALL THE TIME!! I had a hankering for spicy foods and we had a Taco Bell right around the corner. Not good. Not only that, but we both won a free meal at Zaxby’s each week for a year and had also been gifted Pasta Passes at Olive Garden by my mother in law. Delicious? Quite. Healthy? No.

After I had David, I barely recognized myself and was not proud of how I was eating and putting off exercising. Several months later, Josh and I started learning more about how the foods we eat affect our bodies and we decided to really really reduce the amount of sugar we ate along with introducing some other healthy eating habits. I also made working out a few days a week part of my regular routine and by the time we got preggers with baby #2, I was honestly in the best shape of my life! Here’s a picture of me first learning how to power clean (I had just found out I was pregnant with Evy girl about 4 days earlier).

I was super proud of how far I’d come and extremely determined to keep it up during my second pregnancy. Since I had been exercising regularly for a while before we became pregnant and wasn’t necessarily starting anything new, it was relatively easy to keep up the routine, with a few adjustments.

After Evy was born, I was super eager to get back into hitting the gym. I figured that since I had maintained a lot of the same workouts I had done before getting pregnant, that jumping back into them after delivery would be easy.

I was wrong.

Of course, one of my main focuses was trying to get a “flat” tummy. When I would try to do a sit up, I saw a long triangle of flesh pop up down the center of my abdomen where my abs had spread apart. And when I felt the area with my fingers, it felt like there was a hole right through my abdomen! When I would try to perform push-ups, I felt extreme pressure on my pelvic floor and lower back. I had thought that these workouts were only things that I had to avoid when I was pregnant and that as soon as baby was out, I’d be able to pick them back up again.

I had no idea why I was seeing that weird triangle pop up in my abdomen whenever I would try to use my core. When I read up on it, I learned that the issue I was facing was called diastasis.

I was actually really surprised that no one had taught me about diastasis or warned me that this was actually extremely common for postpartum mommies. At first, I thought that all I needed to do to fix the issue was just more core exercises, but I had no idea that I could actually make the issue worse by doing the wrong exercises! I wanted to build my core strength but had to do a lot of searching in order to figure out what exercises my body could handle without injuring myself.

That’s why I’m so excited that Natalie Hodson and Dr. Monique Middlekauff created their program Abs, Core, & Pelvic Floor!

It’s a 30 day program designed by personal trainer Natalie Hodson and Dr. Monique Middlekauff- a specialist in pelvic floor dysfunction, specifically to help women address diastasis recti, pelvic floor issues, and incontinence! While this is perfect for postpartum mamas, any woman who feels like she carries an extra pooch around on her tummy can benefit from the extremely educational program, without even having to leave home.

In the program, Natalie Hodson and Dr. Monique Middlekauff take the time to educate mamas on why and how diastasis happens and how to heal from it. In addition to the printable program, you can also access videos that help you understand the exercises they talk about and how to engage each muscle. SO helpful for me to be able to see it done before I try!

Seriously, if you’re struggling with incontinence, diastasis, or any type of pelvic floor issues, Abs, Core, & Pelvic Floor is a must! You put the work in by carrying your babies, now take the time to educate yourself on how your body has changed and how your workout routine needs to change to accommodate your body.

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Natalie Hodson, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #abscorepelvicfloor  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

In: Baby, fitness, Health, Kids, Motherhood, Sponsored · Tagged: abs, baby, core, delivery, diastasis, exercise, fitness, Health, healthy, incontinence, momlife, motherhood, pelvic floor, postpartum, pregnancy, pregnant, program, recovery, recti, routine, stomach, strength, tummy, tutorial, video, workout

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Comments

  1. Allison says

    August 14, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing your story. This is something that’s so common for moms, and something that isn’t really talked about a lot. I wish I knew more about this right after I had my son!

  2. Sylvia says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:45 pm

    It’s crazy that we as women are basically sent home to figure it out after we have a child. I don’t remember the doctors ever checking me for diastasis at the hospital or at my 6 week checkup.

  3. Lisa says

    August 15, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    I have never heard of this condition. It is very interesting read. Thanks for the information.

  4. Nicola says

    August 15, 2017 at 9:15 pm

    I read about this condition just the other day and wondered if I might have it…unfortunately I think I just eat too much! It’s definitely something more people should be aware of though.

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Hi! I'm Chelsea and we're the Damon's. We spent the last two years in WA state paying off student loans and just bought our first house in SC! I love a smooth black coffee, Josh's first love is the Seattle Sounders. Our kids are huge dorks and constantly make us laugh and we all love spending as much time outside as possible.

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More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.

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More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖 👀 th Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖
👀 the comfiest heels I own by @naot.northamerica 
#naotic
When you get home from the event and immediately t When you get home from the event and immediately turn into Adam Sandler..

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