New Year's Resolutions

I'm not a fan of New Year's Resolutions because why start tomorrow what you can start today? Sometimes, though, it can be a good starting point and when you set a date it becomes more of a commitment, which is motivating (for me). Something I had started to do in December was get in shape. During my 14+ weeks of pregnancy, I gained about a pound, which is normal. A pound doesn't seem like a lot but my stomach had been expanding, muscles loosening and all that, to make room for the baby. I didn't have a super flat stomach before I got pregnant but I wasn't embarrassed to wear a tight fitting shirt. Since we lost the baby I gained an additional 3-4 pounds from eating lots of comfort food and being very inactive. My weight isn't unhealthy (at 124 pounds) but it's the most I've weighed and I'm the least toned I've ever been. After I eat or when I'm bloated I look like I'm 3 and a half months pregnant again. It's so embarrassing to me that I went out and bought a few looser fitting shirts. Then I decided to try and take charge and get my body back as best I can. I started with Wii Fit, which can actually be quite challenging and tiring! I figured if anything I would use it as a stepping stone to something harder where I would be able to tone more and burn more calories.

As of last week I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred after reading about it on someone else's blog. It's insane! I felt like I was going to die after the first workout and I couldn't even do all the exercises for the full time (like pushups...ugh). I have done 5 days of it so far and I've lost a pound. Not much, but I've noticed my body is starting to tone up, even my abs a little bit, and my endurance has gone up quite a bit from day one. It's only 20 minutes a day so I can do it after I get home from work and then I'm done for the day! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to lose weight and tone up but is short on time. Andrew and I have also started to eat much healthier and lower the calorie intake. I would ideally like to get back to 120 pounds and really tone up my abs before I get pregnant again.

That may conflict a little with my second New Year's resolution which is to get pregnant and have a baby. I'm going to continue working out for as long as possible but if everything works out the way we want it to, I'll be pregnant in February. Maybe I'll be setting enough of a tone that I can still keep working out after I'm pregnant, though I probably won't be able to continue with the 30 Day Shred since the rule of thumb is that while you're working out you should still be able to carry on a normal conversation without becoming out of breath. I can't do that now and I don't know if I'll be in good enough shape in a couple weeks to still be able to do it.

As for trying again, the doctor said wait two cycles, and I'm on cycle number two! Waiting has been really hard, but I know that I have to because it's really important to have accurate dates. Now that we're a week away from being able to try again, the waiting is even harder. The last couple of months have gone by pretty fast, to my surprise, but I know I have done a lot of healing, both physically and emotionally. Dealing with the loss of our son was a really depressing time, but I had an amazing support system. I still think about the miscarriage every single day and, of course, I'm scared that it could happen again, possibly for completely different reasons than the first time, but I'm also so excited. I seriously can't wait to be pregnant again! I am also very lucky to have such an amazingly patient husband, who is really excited for the baby-making part of the whole process. ;)

We have already booked a room at the Armstrong Hotel in Old Town for January 30th, for a relaxing night away from everything. We haven't had a romantic night/getaway since our honeymoon so this is going to be a special night for both of us! From the pictures, the hotel is really nice. It has a bed and breakfast appeal but in a hotel type setting. If that doesn't make any sense then check it out for yourself! http://www.thearmstronghotel.com/

Wish us luck for a rainbow baby in 2010!