Our postpartum bodies are so different. It amazes me the differences I see and feel. At first, I didn't like it. I knew what I was getting in to but at the same time to see my body so different was hard. My belly was and is still so soft. I actually had slight diastasis recti after giving birth, too. I didn't even know where to start to getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I had gained about 30 lbs during my pregnancy but also was not happy where I was weight-wise before I got pregnant.

I was cleared to work out after my 6 week postpartum appointment but didn't even know where to start. I felt so loose, weak, and my tailbone was still pretty bruised. I also didn't want to make my diastasic recti worse. Plus, what mama has time to workout!? I was excited at the prospect of "getting my body back" but was also overwhelmed. I decided to make a small plan for myself though that started me out really slow and see how it went.

I slowly got back in to being physical and made it a point to make time for myself to workout. There was plenty of ups and downs at the beginning and I would go through periods where I wouldn't work out for weeks. But after my bout of PPD, I knew I needed to change something. I knew I needed to get healthy not just for Kai, but for myself. I lost a significant amount of weight when I was struggling with PPD and it was not healthy at all. After getting the help I needed, I tried to look at the silver lining of it all that I had lost a good amount of weight and the number was almost where I wanted it to be. I would never encourage anyone to lose weight by not eating and letting anxiety run their life though. It made EVERYTHING worse. So please mamas, if this is something you are struggling with please seek the help that you need. No shame. I'm here. Your doctor is here. Whoever, you need, please turn to them.

From there though I realized I needed to appreciate myself so much more. I stopped working out to lose weight and instead started working out because my beautiful body deserves to move and be loved. By changing this mind set and doing workouts that I truly enjoy, it changed everything. I love working out now. I'm disappointed when I miss a workout. I crave it now. I'm so proud of myself when I look in the mirror and see how far I've come. To me it's a moot point but I know numbers are easier to grasp for some so here it is...I've lost all 30 lbs of my baby weight plus another 10 lbs to get myself back to where I've been wanting to be for a long time. All my clothes fit again...even things that didn't fit prior to my pregnancy. But mostly, I feel good and to me that's what's most important about beginning my fitness journey.

So I wanted to share with you all how I got back in to a good fitness regimen after having Kai all the way through up to where I am at now.

*Week 1 meaning from the time I started working out again, not postpartum weeks. I wanted to state this in weeks of the journey, not postpartum because we are all ready to begin working out again at different times in our postpartum journey.

I go to yoga on Sundays and Thursdays and go running on Mondays. Monday and Thursdays are my work from home days, so going to workout is the perfect way for me to get out of the house for those days. I am currently still on the 1 mile run and 2 moderate level yoga classes phase of this journey. I was actually up to running 2 miles once a week, but after my dad passed away, I just wasn't getting my workouts in. As much as I want to believe I can run further than that, it's important that I don't rush that part of exercising. When you give birth, your pelvic floor becomes very very weak and your hips/back are very out of whack. If I miss too many runs, I back to track to 1 mile again. My philosophy is 3 weeks at a time. After 3 weeks of being consistent with a workout, I feel that I can bump it up to the next level. This has been a nice steady incline of workouts for myself to where I'm not overdoing it but at the same time not staying stagnant for too long. I was very active when I was younger and can tend to push myself too hard sometimes so it has been very hard not to do that now. It's so important though to give yourself grace and time to get back to where you want to be from a physical standpoint though...you did give birth to a human after all! Our bodies need a lot of time to heal. Exercising can actually help with this but overdoing it with exercise can make things much worse. It's about finding that balance and I believe the schedule up above was perfect for me in finding that balance. Like I've said, I feel better than ever these days! I feel good from the inside out and feel like I look it too whenever I look at myself in the mirror. So I encourage all of you to find that schedule that works for you, too. Know that it does take some sacrifice, but it's worth it. It makes me sad to give up my Sunday mornings snuggling Kai and reading to him before his morning nap to go to yoga, but at the same time I need that time for me. It makes me sad to not have dinner with Kai and Caleb after work on Thursday nights, especially because I have to go in to the office on Fridays, but I know I need that break to go to yoga for my own sanity. I do have mom guilt for even taking 3 hours a week for myself to do these workouts, but it's only 3 hours. Kai will be ok and I'm better for it. So mamas, pick out some time for yourself, do what you enjoy, and start slow! If you have any questions or need any advice or motivation I am always here for you!

The only thing I want you all to know and remember is, please do not workout prior to your doctor or midwife clearing you for it after giving birth. It is very important to rest those first 6 to 8 weeks or longer if recommended by your doctor or if you just simply need it yourself.

Hello hello! I hope you all are having a great week. It feels like this week is taking forever! We leave for our trip to Salt Lake City tomorrow and I'm so excited for it! It will be Kai's first plane ride so send me allllll your tips and tricks for keeping a baby happy on a plane! It's a 3 hour flight, so not too long but long enough.

On the flip side though, I want to talk to you all today about road tripping with babies! We didn't do a ton of travel with Kai this year but we did do a couple of road trips out to see family in Ohio, which is about a 5 hour drive. The first one when he was 4 months old was a little rough but this last one we took went so much smoother. I believe it's because I thought out way more how to keep him occupied and how to help him nap when he's supposed to during the drive. So here are my biggest tips for road tripping with an infant...

So what I mean by this is if you are going on a 5 hour road trip, bring 5 toys. They don't have to be huge or anything, just small things they can bang, throw, chew on, etc. Just keep rotating them out when you notice them getting bored with them. I honestly think I only ended up using 2 out of the 5 I brought plus his pacifier.

I don't normally sit in the back seat with Kai when we drive around locally, but I did for our road trip out to Ohio the 2nd time. The first time I didn't at first, but had to move back there in the end because he wouldn't stop crying. Just think, they get lonely and bored! I was able to entertain him, plus give him back his toy whenever he would throw it. Which I would encourage because it kept him happy and entertained, ha! I was also able to feed him some solids when he was hungry + kind of guide him in to his nap when he needed to sleep a little. He's usually really good about napping in the car but when he's been in it for hours, he gets restless.

Our babes are buckled in nice and tight in their car seats so they need to stretch every couple of hours otherwise they are going to get real cranky. When it's time to feed them milk, find a rest stop and feed them. We're forced to do this because I still mostly breastfeed Kai, but he is bottle fed, too. So technically I could just give him a bottle in his seat, but the break is still necessary to give us all a stretch and bathroom break. Plus this is the perfect opportunity to change their diaper.

We don't usually let Kai watch TV, but a thing like this is an exception. I give him a toy and put on Mickey on my iPad and he's good for at least 30 min to an hour. He mostly plays with the toy but occasionally watches Mickey and gets all excited. We also have an awesome Disney playlist put together for him on Spotify. It's full of the best Disney songs + other kid-friendly movie soundtracks. It's called Kai Tunes, look it up and follow it for your little ones too!

When push comes to shove a pacifier or some puffs almost always does the trick. We have these Wubbanub pacifiers for Kai and he loves them so much. They almost always comfort him. Depending on what comforts your little one most besides you holding them, bring that. He is also a huge fan of these puffs from Happy Baby. He could probably eat the whole container in one sitting! They quickly dissolve in their mouth so they aren't a choking hazard and they actually taste so good! So snacks and binkies for the win!

That's all I've got for you all so far! Simple, but useful. I'll keep the tips coming as we travel more and will definitely do a post on all the tips and tricks I learn from flying with an infant soon!

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope you've kicked off this holiday season in the most magical way possible! Over the last week I've been decorating our house like crazy person for Kai's first Christmas. I truly love this holiday so much, and it's something I've been looking forward to sharing with Kai all year. In the end though, we celebrate for the reason for the season, the birth of Christ. I believe decorating our house all beautiful like we try to do every year is in his honor. We begin decorating the night of Thanksgiving by putting our tree up, drink hot coco, and watch all the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends. Then over the next week or so we decorate the rest of the house and the outside. We then leave all our decorations up until the Epiphany, which is January 6th. I don't like to rush our decorations and I like everything to have sentimental meaning. So today, I am going to share with you our cozy holiday decorations all around our house! Welcome to our very merry home...

7.5 ft Pre-lit Christmas Tree - Target
6.5 ft Pre-lit Christmas Tree - Home Depot
Mantle Garland - Michaels
Stockings - Pottery Barn Kids (sold out, similar)
Fake Poinsettias - Michaels
Let It Snow Sled - Apple Holler
Large Black Plant Holder - Target
Gold + White Jug Vase - Target
Nutcracker - Gifted by my aunt, similar
Gold Tree - Target (old, similar)
Candle Sticks - White Barn Candle Co (old, similar)
White Rug - Ikea
Tree Skirts - Target
Red + Gold Ornaments - Target
Gold Stars - Target (old, similar)
Disney Ornaments - Gifted by my parents, other options available through Shop Disney
Name Ornaments - Bronner's Christmas Store
Stocking Hooks - Target
Joy + Bird Pillows - Target (old, similar)
Candy Cane Sign - Target ($1-$5 aisle, similar)
Nativity Scene - Michaels (old, similar)
Candle Lanterns - Michaels (old, similar)
Table Garland - Michaels
Pine Cones - Michaels
Gold Runner - Hobby Lobby (gold fabric cut to 120 in)
Red Chargers - Michaels
White Dinner Plates - Pottery Barn
Christmas Salad Plates - Pottery Barn
Napkins - Sur la Table (old, similar)
Napkin Rings - Sur la Table (old, similar)
Gold Flatware - Target
Hot Coco Sign - Michaels (old, similar)
Christmas Tree Sign - Michaels
Santa Pillow - Michaels
Letter Pillow - Michaels
Holly Bucket - Target
Holly Vase - Target ($1-$5 aisle, similar)
Sleigh filled w/ ornaments - Target (old $1-$5 aisle)
Letters to Santa Mailbox - Target
Wreath - Trader Joes
Wreath Hook - Michaels
Christmas Sheets - Target (old, similar)
Euro Pillow Shams - Pottery Barn
Quilt - Pottery Barn
White Duvet - Pottery Barn (old, similar)
White Cozy Blanket - Pottery Barn
Dr. Seuss Pillow - Porter Lane Home (old, similar)
Wood Christmas Tree - Le Marigny c/o
Wood Joy Letters - Nordstrom (old, similar)
Ski Mountain Lodge Candle - Bath & Body Works (sold out)
Candle Wreath - White Barn Candle Co (old, similar)
Pup - Not for Sale ;)

Hi friends, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! It was a cold and rainy one here, but we still made the most out of it and were super productive. On Saturday, we took Kai to meet Santa and do some Christmas shopping! He didn't cry at all, was very interested in the big guy's beard, and looked a little dubious when Santa held him for his picture. I'm calling it a win though! Yesterday I did my weekly yoga class in the morning and then we spent the day running errands and finishing up decorating the house for Christmas. Kai and I baked our first batch of cookies for the holiday season, too! We always start out with snickerdoodles in our house. You can find my recipe here!

For today's Tiny Talk, I want to talk all about confidence in yourself. This is something I've struggled with for so long and it wasn't until a few months ago that I really felt like I am proud of who I am. Things really started to change for me when I became a mom, but even at the beginning I really lacked confidence in motherhood. I was always worried if I was doing the right thing for Kai or if people had negative things to say about my parenting style. I reached a point though where I finally realized, I am doing the best I can at every aspect of my life. I give 100% to all areas whenever I can and that is enough. I am enough.

When this mindset finally took over I honestly haven't felt judged or mom shamed. I probably have been but I really don't care or notice anymore. Kai is thriving and so happy and so am I. We breastfeed in public and I just smile when someone looks at us. I wear crop tops to yoga and if my pants slide down and expose my tummy stretch marks I just keep going until I have a few seconds to readjust. Let me tell you friends, it's so freeing. I am so proud that I'm still breastfeeding my son at 10 months old. I didn't even think I'd make it to 3 months let alone 10! I do yoga twice a week and am doing poses I wasn't even able to do before I was pregnant. Plus I always pick a spot in the front row! The thing is, you need to find things that make you proud of yourself and use them to build your confidence. Thrive on them. Let them spread through your life. For the first time in my life I look at myself in the mirror and I truly smile at myself. It's wonderful. Here are a few things that I've done to change my mindset to really help with my confidence especially in motherhood.

• Begin a wellness journey
• Listen to podcasts + good playlists
  • The Goal Digger by Jenna Kutcher
  • Better Than Happy with Jody Moore
  • The Birth Hour with Bryn Huntpalmer
  • Your Best Self playlist on my Spotify account
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Make a list of your strengths and a list of all of your achievements
• Smile all day, every day
• Every night before bed, think of 2 things that you did well that day

I'm planning on doing a whole blog post on my current wellness journey very soon here but a slight overview of this is that I've started doing things that make me feel well from the inside out. I eat healthy because that's what my body deserves (see self appreciation post here), I drink water because my skin and breastmilk need it, I sleep 8 hours a night because my mind, soul, and body need that much sleep. By gradually doing all these things for myself I finally feel well and in turn I am able to let that shine on the outside. When you feel happy and healthy you will automatically have more confidence.

I am a big lover of podcasts and one that I recently started is The Goal Digger podcast by Jenna Kutcher. Just listening to her speak gives me this sense of happiness all throughout myself. She instills confidence in me just by listening to her 30 minutes a day. I always listen to a podcast to and from work and hers just brings so much light in to my life. I also have this killer playlist that I love to listen to on Spotify. I created it myself and I believe my account is public so you all are more than welcome to follow it. It's called "Your Best Self." The songs on this playlist aren't specifically confidence boosting songs but what they are for me are reminders and motivators. Each of these songs fills me with love, adrenaline, happy memories, and motivation to be my best self. Some songs remind me of Caleb, some of Kai, one of my papa & dad, and so on. I listen to it on my way to yoga, when I'm cleaning the house, or when I'm getting ready for the day. So I encourage you to sit down and just add a few songs that have a lot of meaning to you to your own "Your Best Self" playlist! I didn't just create this playlist overnight either. As I hear songs that resonate with me, I add them to my playlist, so it is ever growing.

Do things that scare you. You can do anything you set your mind to and when you succeed your confidence will grow. If you don't succeed, find motivation to keep going or try again. Trying again to me is a success in itself because you had the courage to pick yourself back up and do it again. My biggest example of this for myself is in yoga. Like I mentioned, I love wearing those cute matching crop top and yoga pants sets. This scared the shit out of me at first. I was always like "what if other women judge how big my boobs are in this top?" "what if my stretch marks show?" "what if my love handles pop out?" But I went for it. And you know what, I feel so strong and beautiful in my yoga clothes now!

Literally sit down and make two different lists that are ever growing. One of all your strengths and one of all your accomplishments. Keep them in your Notes on your phone and just add to it whenever you think of something. Remember, your strengths matter more than your weaknesses. Yes, you should work on improving your weaknesses but they don't define you. Your strengths and accomplishments are what define you. A few of mine that might help you get started are:

All the cliches...a smile is worth a thousand words, fake it till you make it, smiles are infectious. They're true though. Smile at everyone you see. You will make their day and in turn it will fill yourself with warmth and confidence in yourself that you can bring goodness in to the world around you.

I've made it a habit when I lay down in bed for the night to think of two things I did well that day. It can be anything from I made a great batch of cookies or I got everything on my to do list at work done. Big or small, it doesn't matter. When you do this you start to realize how much of a boss you really are!

Apologizes for getting this post up so late today! I will host the Tiny Talk on Instagram Live tomorrow night instead of tonight since it's such short notice. Tune in on my Instagram at 7 PM CST for a great chat and head over to the Tiny Tribe to talk with the group about confidence there, too.

Only 90 more days until we're hanging out at the happiest place on Earth again! I am so excited for our next trip to Walt Disney World because obviously it will be Kai's first time but also because we've never been in the spring. We tend to always go for our anniversary which is in September. While I absolutely love going in the fall for all the Halloween decorations, I'm really excited to go in the spring for Epcot's Flower and Garden festival! I get asked all the time when's the best time of the year to go to Disney and my answer is always the complicated, "well it depends..." answer. But here's why; Disney has so much to offer than just the rides at the parks. There are a lot of extra things that you can do and some of them are seasonal! So when I answer "it depends" it really does depend on what you're in to. Do you want to go when all the pretty flowers are in bloom? Do you want to go to celebrate Halloween? or Christmas? Well today I am going to tell you about a bunch of Disney extras that you can take advantage of and when!

This special festival is always at the beginning of the year. It is actually pretty new with it being only the 3rd year for it. In 2019 it is taking place from Jan 18-Feb 25th. This festival is all about...you guessed it...the arts! There are special visual art exhibits and culinary exhibits all set up around the World Showcase to celebrate each country. You can even join special workshops to create your own Disney inspired art! No special ticket is required except a park ticket to get in to Epcot. 

This is Epcot's spring festival! This year is it taking place Mar 6th-Jun 3rd. Epcot is decorated with an incredible amount of flowers and topiaries in the shape Disney characters! They also have a special food menu for all the pavilions around the World Showcase. No special ticket is required except a park ticket to get in to Epcot.

So Dapper Day technically isn't a Walt Disney World sponsored event, but it's still a very special one that is put together by Disney lovers! You know the lovely greeters when you first walk in to Magic Kingdom that are all dressed up and sing to you? They are called the Dapper Dans! There are two whole weekends, one in the spring and one in the fall, where everyone gets dressed all dapper like them to celebrate old school Disney! The spring one is being held on April 27th + 28th and the fall one has not been announced yet. This past year though it was held on November 17th + 18th, so you can expect it to be around then again next fall. There are no special tickets required to celebrate Dapper Day, you just get dressed up and enjoy the special events all around WDW resort!

This is Epcot's fall festival and the one we love oh so dearly! The 2019 dates have not been announced yet but you can expect it to go from late August till mid-November. It is Epcot's longest and biggest festival. It features over 30 different countries around the World Showcase all having their own special tasting carts for you to try food and drinks from all over the world. There are concerts in the American pavilion almost every night, too! No special ticket is required except a park ticket to get in to Epcot. You can use your snack credits on your dining plan for some of the taste portions, as well. If you do not have a dining plan you can expect to pay around $150 a person if each person were to get a food and drink item from every country.

Mickey's Halloween party is held in Magic Kingdom every fall. The first one usually takes place in late August and the last one held is on Halloween. You can go trick or treating down Main Street, enjoy a special parade and fireworks show, and lots of extra treats all over the park. There are so many more meet and greet characters available during the party and the best part is that you can dress up in your Halloween costume! Disney does not allow visitors to dress up while in the parks except during the Halloween party. This is a special ticketed event costing $75 per adult and $70 per child.

This is Epcot's holiday season festival. The park is of course decorated for the holiday season and the World Showcase features decorations to celebrate the holidays from all over the world. A seasonal holiday menu is available at the different countries for visitors to try cultural holiday favorites. No special ticket is required for the festival except a park ticket to get in to Epcot.

This is another special Mickey party that is held in Magic Kingdom! Christmas decorations go up all the week after Halloween and then the Christmas party promptly starts! This year this special event is going from November 8th to December 21st. This party features a special parade with Mickey and Santa, Elsa does some magic on Cinderella's Castle, and there are lots of extra special holiday treats! This is a special ticketed event costing $99 per adult and $94 per child.

This special event allows visitors to experience the parks after every one else for 3 additional hours! You can go on lots of attractions with little to no wait. You need to call to get tickets for this event as the dates are not advertised online. The number is 407-939-7795 and tickets cost $125 per person.

What is your favorite Disney special event? Or if you've never been, which one do you want to go to the most? Let me know in the comments!