Mundane Thursday, but I got a workout in and some new makeup!

So far today, it’s been a “get things done” morning!

My mother-in-law left last night after being here for two weeks with us. I’m really blessed with an awesome mother-in-law… ALL of her daughter-in-laws would agree 100% with me! She’s so helpful, encouraging and fun to hang out with. There was lots of girl talk and laughing. But, everything comes to and end and it did yesterday after I dropped her at the airport.

Smiley boy this morning!

This morning after Moses gave me an amazing night of sleep (two, four hour increments) we woke up and hit the pavement with my friend and neighbor, Jen. We walked for an hour and a half and it felt SO good! I burned some major calories!! BOOM ;) I’m slowly getting back into my workouts, mainly walking hills and doing some squats/lunges/pushups. I haven’t started an actual “program” yet, I’m still researching which one I should dive into. DO you have any suggestions???

Burned some MAJOR calories today!

When we got home it was naptime for Moses, so I got some things done around the house, scheduled some appointments, returned e-mails, cleaned, did laundry… Normal housewife duties!

Anywho, in more exciting news…  I literally haven’t worn any makeup since Moses was born 8 weeks ago! I’m not the most amazing woman when it comes to applying makeup, but I love it. Some ladies (most of my girlfriends) can get all dolled up and their makeup looks professional!! I get all dolled up and look like a first grader got a hold of the makeup brushes. BUT things are about to change. I’ve been watching some awesome youtube makeup gurus and they are teaching me how to do my makeup and look good, not scary.

In honor of this “research” I’ve been doing. My hubby bought me some new MAC makeup :D Well, the truth is, I asked him to pick up the blacktrack fluidline eye liner and he went there and they got all crazy and in his words “were talking so fast and telling him, she needs this, she needs that” and soon enough the card was swiped and he walked out all confused on how he got bamboozled by crazy MAC ladies {They are pretty convincing.. And pretty}. Anywho, it ended up in a early Christmas gift for me. Hooray!

My IG pic of the new makeup! So excited to dive in!

I’m excited to try out some looks and look all cute for our Christmas vacation to Oregon!

I hope you are having a great Thursday!

XO

Hannah

{Baby Moses Arrives} Part 2

Right after I delivered Moses, he was laid on my chest. I was overjoyed to see him after carrying him for 41 weeks and 6 days! He was beautiful. We all knew something was wrong though. He wasn’t breathing well, not crying, he was more blue than pink. Shortly after he was laid on my chest he was taken away to the nursery.  They got me all cleaned and stitched up and moved me to the postpartum floor a couple hours after I delivered. My mom and doula, Lora, left and it was just Dave and I waiting to hear any news at all about Moses. At this point I had no clue what was going on. I was confused as to why I wasn’t able to breastfeed him or see him, but the nurse assured me his pediatrician would be in to speak with me shortly.

Another hour passed and finally a pediatrician came in with a look on her face that was awful! I was terrified! She pulled up a chair and started letting us know the severity of his situation. He told us he was not doing well and was going to be airlifted to the neighboring island {Oahu} Where there is a NICU to care for him.

My heart came up into my throat. Most hospitals have NICU’s, they take the kiddo upstairs to the next floor and the moms/dads can still be in the same facility of their babies. HERE in Hawaii, there is ONE NICU for all the islands. It’s on Oahu, making this experience way more difficult.

After the doc came to speak with us my husband had to leave {Another dumb Maui hospital rule} The postpartum woman can’t have ANY visitors, not even the husband from 10pm-8am. It was around 4:30am at this time and I begged the nurse to let Dave stay with me as I was completely devastated not being allowed to see my son. They didn’t agree with that so Dave had to leave.

Around 5am, the helicopter finally flew in to take Moses and the pediatrician asked me if I’d like to go see him before they send him off. OF COURSE I DID! So I followed her into the nursery and saw my beautiful boy. {This was 5 hours after I delivered}, I saw him for a few minutes in this huge incubator, he was all alone, I was all alone. It was so hard to see him like that. I hadn’t been allowed to hold my baby or give him a kiss or love on him at all.

As I walked out I lost it. I could barely make it back to my room – I was heartbroken, empty and totally broken. Not only did I not get to love on my newborn, but he was being flown across the ocean to another island and who knows when I will be able to get there, see him, love on him. I questioned, What if I never saw him again? What if he doesn’t make it? I’ve never experienced such a hard moment in my life.

Napping on and off throughout the night I finally awoke in the morning to crying babies. I woke up and looked around questioning where I was, where my baby was, what had happened, was it a dream? There was no one but me in the room. It was awful, I called for the nurse in panic – What is happening? Where is Moses? She assured me everything that happened earlier that morning was in fact true. Moses wasn’t here. Listening to crying babies was so hard as I wanted to wake to my baby, like I had planned.

Quickly, the care manager came in to talk with me and comfort me. I was almost in a dream, it was slow motion, I couldn’t wrap my head around everything that had happened.  Over the next few hours, I had a flight set for me to get to Oahu, my mom booked the same flight, my hubby packed me a bag, my amazing doctor released me 24 hours early from the hospital to catch my flight, we picked up all my prescriptions {The doc wrote a few knowing I would be up and walking a lot, which isn’t something most people do right after delivering a baby AND I had lost way too much blood during labor and needed a high dose of iron} we caught our plane, got a hotel, took a taxi to the NICU and I saw my beautiful son for REAL—The most special moment was when I spoke and he turned his little head, totally recognizing my voice. It was so touching and emotional. AMAZING, NO words to describe my love for this baby.

Holding him for the first time! 

 It was shocking to see him with tubes and IV’s and all sorts of cords coming out of everywhere. But his nurses were amazing, they loved on him, reassured me. Everyday we stayed in Oahu, we’d wake up around 7-8am, go to Denny’s and get breakfast, catch a taxi to the hospital, spend time with Moses even if it was just sitting and staring at him while he was in the incubator, leave around 9-10pm, and do it all again the next day.

Moses all "hooked up"

The prayers of everyone were so appreciated and we know it’s why he healed SO fast and was able to leave on day 5. It was a miraculous healing, all glory goes to Jesus. When we were there I just visualized my Baby Bjorn Carrier, I looked at it each day and said, that’s what I’m surviving for right now. To pack MY baby up in that carrier and head back to Maui. It gave me the energy I needed to get through. My emotions were so intense, my body was trying to heal, my mind was running on 10% brain power… It was the hardest 5 days on my life.

Taking my baby home!

We are now 8 weeks postpartum and it’s been a journey. I’m so in love with my little boy. He’s so in love with me and I look forward to the MANY years of watching him grown into an amazing person. My little miracle.

 Thanks for reading about our amazing miracle and THANK YOU for your prayers!

Xo,

Hannah {& Moses}

{Baby Moses Arrives} Part 1

So excited to finally have the time, energy and strength to put together a blog post sharing the amazing arrival of baby Moses. It's been EIGHT weeks since our little miracle was born and it's been an eventful eight weeks at that!! Enjoy :)

It all started at 12:04am on Monday October 14^th, 2013. I woke out of a dead sleep with a contraction that was definitely different then ALL the others I had experienced in the days/weeks before. I laid in bed for about 15 more minutes with a couple more of the same type of contractions. I couldn’t stay in bed anymore than that, they were consistent so I decided to start timing them. After about an hour I woke my hubby up and told him I thought this “WAS IT”.

About an hour after that we went and woke my mom {who flew in a week prior to be here for baby Moses’ arrival}, letting her know it was time. I wanted to wait at home for a while before heading into the hospital so we waited, but my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart and living almost an hour from the hospital, we decided to head in.

We checked in around 4:30ish, they checked me and I was only dilated to 2 {which is what I had been for about 3 weeks}, I was a little discouraged because I had been having such regular contractions for 4 hours now and had no progress… But hey, this is my first time, what do I know?

My labor support was my amazing hubby, my mom and my doula, Lora. They were the BEST team I could have ever asked for, so supportive, comforting, sensitive, and helpful.

My labor was intense {everyone’s is, right?} LOL. My contractions were non-stop, I had barely any time in-between to rest. I just focused on breathing throughout the whole thing.  Basically I labored in any position I could handle {mainly sitting, standing was TOTALLY uncomfortable!} Moving from the bed to the bathroom and back again.

I labored and labored and labored.. The morning turned into the afternoon, which turned into the evening. No real amazing progression. After 18 hours of labor we decided to do an epidural. I was stuck at 7cm and the doc said they needed to up the Pitocin and if I don’t progress, my labor will most likely end in a C-section, which I DID NOT WANT!

So epidural was given and immediately everything went numb, it was bliss, yes BLISS. Oh my goodness. Finally, there was no pain, I laid in bed crying happy tears of relief. It was awesome!!! Dave, my mom and Lora took a little snooze while my Pitocin pumped away into my veins getting the contractions to really get me going. Around 9:30pm They inserted an IUPC {Intra Uterine Pressure Catheter} to measure contractions better so they could really see the progress.

A couple hours later I finally felt the pressure to push and I was at 9cm.  About thirty minutes after the pressure set in it was time to push! I pushed for 55 minutes and BAM – Moses was born. At 8 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long, he was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen.

Unfortunately, little did we know our little boy would have breathing difficulty. His lungs didn’t expand fully with his first breath and there was meconium aspiration. He was flown to Oahu and had a 5 day stay in the NICU. But, that’s another post! ;)

XO,

Hannah

41 weeks PREGGGGGGGGGNANT!!

So, it seems as if I will be pregnant FOREVER!! Haha.

I know SO many women carry their babies past the "due date" & everyone has their story as to what they swear put them into labor, but in my current situation... I believe it just happens when it happens.

The last three weeks I've been dilated, effaced, having regular contractions, feeling extreme pelvic pain,  pressure, heaviness and much much more -- And still, no baby ;) 

I've tried all of the home remedies to induce labor... 

Eaten PLENTY of pineapple

Accu-pressure points

Massage

Swimming

Squatting

Walking

Hill-climbing

Sex <-- Super fun when you feel like a whale!

Had my membranes stripped <-- Not at home for that one ;)

Drank TONS of raspberry tea

Focused on everything besides being pregnant

Talking to my belly

Laying on my left side for two hours... (weird one, right?) 

Fiber capsules 

Bouncing on a Yoga ball

Induce-your-labor-yoga <-- Found that on YouTube... Strange one, but I did it!

And there are more... This is all my weary-preggo-brain could think of at the moment.

Basically, little Moses is going to come when he comes and I think that will be PERFECT timing. Yes, there are days where I have emotional fits and super crazy personality disorder moments:

Here are a few of my personalities -- They are happy to meet you:

Mrs. Sadness -- that Moses is not here yet...

Mrs. Pity -- Like I'm the ONLY one who has ever gone through this "10 months pregnant" agony.

Mrs. Emotional -- Just crying, no reason... Just crying in random locations over absolutely nothing. Yesterday I cried over the rotisserie chicken I was eating... "This little fella was once alive..." :(

Mrs. Excitement -- Overjoyed, happy feelings about his arrival and what he'll look like and the excitement of being a mom. Almost a "High on Life" experience! <-- Endorphin overload.

Mrs. Cranky -- Total disregard for anyones feelings around me. I could care less feelings... "How dare you (anyone) even look at me or talk to me?! I'm over here suffering in the name of pregnancy" <-- I experienced this in Costco yesterday and about lost it on a little kid who was staring at me, or maybe he wasn't, but I wasn't having it... Whatever it was! 

Mrs. Clean -- Everything must be scrubbed RIGHT NOW!

Mrs. Self-Concious -- This comes from living in the ONLY thing that fits me, stretchy pants and huge shirts... "How unattractive can I get??" I finally went and bought myself a pair of big hoop earrings, like that will take the attention off of my huge yoga-pants-covered behind ;)

Mrs. Lovey -- I just want to cuddle my dogs and hubby forever, super at peace with everything, no worries about being pregnant or the uncomfortable-ness I feel. 

Mrs. Stretchmark Patrol -- The moments when I lock myself in my bathroom & survey my belly/thighs/butt for stretch marks --> Attack potential "marks" with coco butter/shea butter/coconut oil/vitamin E oil and pray healing over my skin!

Mrs. Post-baby planner -- Diving into blogs/books about breastfeeding, post-baby weight loss, exercise, meal planning, After-labor care, having a newborn at home, etc...

These are a few of the Hannah's my hubby has been so AMAZING at dealing with. 

Oh, and speaking of my husband... He's awesome! He's SO excited to meet Moses, some days even more than I am. He's working hard for us, going to RN school and still coming home and giving me foot massages, making sure my vitamins are taken, telling me how beautiful I look, "Those yoga pants look hot on youuuuu!" ;) 

I'm SO grateful for him, words can't even express it!

Anywho, hopefully my next post will have little newborn photos all sprinkled through it :)

XO,

Hannah

Maternity Photo's {38 weeks}

My amazing and talented friend, Alysse & her hubby Clint, offered to snap some pics of Dave and I so we could have some memories to cherish of this pregnancy.

She took SO many amazing ones, they are BEAUTIFUL!!!

Here are a few...

XO,
Hannah

Fall is upon us... What are some of your health/fitness/wellness goals?

What are some of your fitness/health goals for this Fall? Tell me, I really want to know!

****I know most of my "blog readers" are friends with me on FB/Instagram/Twitter and if you want to private message me through there with some of your fitness goals/questions, go on ahead. You don't HAVE to put them out here for all too see ;)

Considering I'm 9 months pregnant --> My goals need to be bite size {smallllll}. If you know me, you know I'm a "Goal Setter Extraordinaire". Even now, this far along into my pregnancy, I come up with these HUGE plans/goals that are way too outrageous for this season I'm going into--- My husband gladly calms me down and reminds me that I could have a baby at any second, maybe I should take my dreams down a few notches... In the moment I feel that he's a dream killer, but when I step back and look at the HUGE life-change that's about to take place, he's right :)

Sooooo... Since it's still a part of WHO I AM, I do have a few goals for this fall I'm going to share with you.

After baby arrives {Again, could be ANYDAY}

My goal(s) will be: Keep baby, mommy and daddy healthy and happy! Boom <-- There it is!

I am taking 2 classes this Fall at the University of Hawaii, still running a business, helping my husband get through nursing school, trying to maintain a clean house, make sure we are eating healthy meals and so on... Sitting at home with baby is not the only thing I have on my plate, but it's definitely one that I'm excited about and hope and pray I'm good at.

My mom is flying in as soon as she gets the "I'm in labor" phone call and she is staying for a few weeks which will be a life-saver. I'm so blessed that she can do this and thankful my dad is able to take over all of her duties while she's here with me.

I do have some health/fitness goals as well... Definitely journaling my food intake, getting back on track with my usual eating {It's changed a lot with pregnancy}, AS SOON as I feel well enough to go on walks, you bet I'm going to be out there walking!! Once I get clearance to work out from my doc, it's ON.

Yes, the goal is to breastfeed-- {Lots of you have been asking}. So I want to make sure I'm eating PLENTY of calories, healthy foods and not overdoing myself as that can lead to lower milk production and that is no bueno...

I'll keep you up to date on the happenings around here and I'm SO excited to share Project: New Mom & Lose the Baby Weight, over the next few months!!!

XO

Hannah

9 MONTHS PREGNANT <-- Waddle alert!

Definitely coming to the END of this pregnancy. This week I'll be starting my 37th week of pregnancy!! ABSOLUTELY crazy that Moses "could" arrive ANY DAY. My doctor said if labor starts, it's go-time, meaning they won't do anything to stop it :)

I have Braxton Hicks contractions every day, all day! Also, everyday I'll have quite a few really strong menstrual-like cramps. Every contraction is one step closer to meeting my son which is VERY exciting.

Walking for any period over 10 minutes is NOT COOL. I have to sit at least every 10 minutes or I have major contractions and then it's too late to find a place to sit and I just have to stand and breathe through my contraction which won't stop until I sit... Good practice for the upcoming birth.

Nesting is kind of here, kind of not. We are totally prepared for Moses, the ONLY thing we haven't done is pack our hospital bag which is TOTALLY not something to "wait till the last minute" but we have. Maybe we'll work on that tonight!! The pic below is really how I'm going about this whole nesting thing...

Being this far along in pregnancy is definitely a challenge. My pregnancy has been AMAZING, no real complaints. But this last week has been pretty rough.

-Hot flashes that DO NOT stop {a constant state of sweat dripping down my neck, SEXY!}
-NO SLEEP- Possibly because I'm propped up against hot pillows and icepacks, I have to pee every 10 minutes and my hips are sore from only being able to sleep on my hips for the last 5 or so months.
-Walking- uugh! Waddle, waddle & then stop for a contraction... Baby is SO low I feel like he may fall out...
-Exercise- I've been getting in the pool everyday, LOVE the weightless-ness of swimming AND the fact that it's cold water which helps with the overheating feeling.
-Water consumption- WOW! I carry a 33oz Camelbak water bottle with me EVERYWHERE and I drink about 6 of them a day. That's 198 oz of water a day. Way over my body weight which is the minimum I want to drink everyday. YAY for me. I'm thirsty all the time and if I forget my bottle {which has happened twice} I panic and pull into the closest mini-mart to pick up a gallon jug. Water is my BFF right now, that is for sure!
- Weight Gain- I want to the doc at the beginning of the week and I lost 2 lbs... LOVED SEEING THAT ;) I don't know how or why, but it happened and I won't complain.
-Complaining- I'm really trying to not complain, but 95% of the time I'm pretty miserable... Just uncomfortable doing anything. I guess that's 9 months pregnant??

I got a pedicure this week, a massage and the hubby bought me an air conditioner :D Overall, a great week!! I'm hoping this next week will be a tad more active if ya know what I mean... ;)

Here I am this week: comfy dresses are my lifesaver. They are lightweight, they are flowy and I still feel cute in them.

XO,

Hannah

::Just being honest:: A new way of thinking...

This is a totally raw and honest post from yours truly J

2 ½ years ago I took on a HUGE goal—LOSE weight! Get HEALTHY! It was my life, it was my passion, my every thought, my total mindset was focused around this. I did it too—I lost 30 lbs of FAT! Put on muscle and never felt better in my whole life. I never starved myself, didn’t use a “lose-weight-quick” plan, never thought about throwing up my food, nor did I obsessively weigh myself. I am proud to say I got healthy the healthiest way you can do it. Eating healthy and getting active…

In this pursuit for the perfect body ;) What’s that? Right! LOL!

SOOOOOOO many changes occurred. As they do whenever you make or have a significant life change. My goals, focuses, aspirations changed. A lot of them were for the better, but some weren’t… I started asking questions like:

WHY doesn’t everyone do this?? Why don’t people lose weight? What’s with all of the excuses? {I know I had my excuses for about 5 years} What will MAKE people change? How can I MAKE people change? I posted about it on my FB, twitter, told everyone I knew, I just became obsessed with “Fit-Thinking”. I have to make everyone lose weight!!

What I didn’t realize in this crazy, one-track-mind, obsessed frenzy I was in, was that not everyone wants to make this change. Not everyone was as obsessed as I was about their body image. Needless to say, the “healthy-looking mindset” I thought I had, wasn’t too healthy. I offended people with these thoughts and couldn’t give my clients what THEY NEEDED. Even though I thought I was doing it out of love {Who wants to watch their family/friends die, be depressed or get sick because of obesity related issues you can do something about it??} The way I was going about it, was not loving.

My point of this post is not to be an advocate to being overweight or that it’s okay to shovel fast food into our mouths on a daily basis while we follow it with a HUGE soda. I 100% believe in living a healthy lifestyle, but that also means being able to have “cheats”, enjoy cake, take a rest day from fitness, be a size 8/10 without having criticism, help people find a plan that works for them and their lifestyle.

Over the last year-ish {steadily gaining weight} during this pregnancy, not being involved in any fitness/weight loss company, stepping back from FB, prioritizing and re-fueling, I feel I’ve have a “mindset change” I’ve been able to step back, take a break and my eyes have been opened. I thank the Lord for this time. Although I’ve maintained a healthy pregnancy and stayed active throughout- I’ve still GAINED… My skin has stretched and I’m a vessel for this little boy who has already stole my heart and I haven’t even met him!! Also, stepping out of the fitness industry has been huge, constantly feeling the pressure of the competitions and media can take a tole on your thoughts!!

I want to be in a place where I can HELP people. Not force people to be a certain size or weight, but ENCOURAGE them to just make healthy changes in their lives.

It really, really, really is AMAZING to have a healthy, functioning body. To sweat out toxins, fill up with endorphins, feel confident in swimwear, have energy to LIVE, fight off diseases, feel sexy and proud of the work you are putting in. I’ll never stop living a healthy lifestyle!!

After baby comes I’m SO BEYOND excited to work on my post-baby body {I dream about it everyday, lol}, which will be amazing, beautiful and any flaws will be proof that I created LIFE inside of me! I want to encourage others to join me and help people find their way of living healthy.

It’s just important to keep healthy and happy in the forefront of my dreams! There is no one-size fits all fitness plan, people are fabulous no matter their shape or size. As long as they happy and healthy!!

Over the past couple years I’ve been BLESSED to have helped quite a few ladies {And men}

lose weight, get their bodies to a place where they feel confident and sexy. It’s a passion of mine to help, motivate and encourage people. It’s also been amazing to go through this journey and discover my flaws so I can better help MORE people. Thank you Lord for showing us our weaknesses and flaws so we can work on ourselves and be better, more joyful people J