I know I said yesterday how I don't make goals or resolutions at the start of a new year but I always have some goals that I am trying to focus on in my life! After having Kai, I really started focusing on health and wellness for myself. Our bodies do amazing things and in return they deserve to be treated for how amazing they are. I mentioned a little bit in my post about My Postpartum Fitness Journey how I have a list of wellness goals that I have been trying to master. I came up with these goals back in the fall and was doing so well with them, but then my dad took a turn for the worst and I really struggled to stay on track. I've tried my hardest to get back to where I was back in September but I just haven't gotten there yet. Well now that the holidays are over and we're off to a fresh start in 2019 it's time to focus on them whole heartedly again!

The way I believe it is best to master any kind of fitness or lifestyle goal is to take it slow. They say it takes 14 days to break a habit and 21 days to make a habit. So if we try to create 10 different habits all at once, we're going to fail. Plain and simple. Now I don't want to drag my goals out super long so I settled on 1 week at a time. I'll explain this part in more detail down below.

​I have 10 goals on my list. These goals are things that I want to become natural habits within my life. There's no end to them and I allow myself grace when it comes to them because life does happen and it's not always perfect.

• Workout 3x per week
• Take 10,000 steps per day

• Drink 72oz of water per day + additional 16oz of water on workout days
• Have fruit every morning + vegetables w/ lunch & dinner
• Take vitamins every day
• Eat a salad every other day

• Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night
• Complete skin care routine every night
• Meditate every day
• Self care Sundays

My thought process for making it through this list of healthy lifestyle goals is to take 1 goal and focus on that each week. So for instance, next week I am aiming to complete my 3 workouts per week goal. Remember when I said though that I'm giving myself grace when it comes to these goals? So this goal is a perfect example of how sometimes life doesn't go as planned and I'm not going to beat myself up if I miss a workout.  If I'm really sick or if it's a holiday or if we're on vacation I'm not going to stress about working out. But I'm also not going to use those things as excuses for missing workouts when I really am able to get a workout in. Working out is something we really need to make time for in our lives because our mind, body, and souls deserve it.

Then the next week I will pick a new goal to focus on if I completed the previous week's goal. So if I do all my workouts next week then the week after I will focus on drinking all my water every day. If I don't meet that goal  then I will just try again the following week. Get where I'm coming from? It's not about failing and giving up. It's simply just about being the best you can be. Some times I know I won't meet all these goals in a week and that's ok. Just because I missed a work out or went to sleep late one night doesn't mean I should just completely toss out the idea of getting 8 hours of sleep all the nights after. I know how hard it can be to set your mind on something and then when you mess up you just throw your hands up in the air and say forget it...you ruined it. The thing I love about this list that I've made for myself is it has no end, they are habits I plan to create and keep for myself forever. They are lifestyle changes and not something that I just check off of a to do list.

So here's to being healthier and happier in 2019. Let's give our bodies, minds, and souls what they deserve because we as human beings are remarkable. What is one of your health and wellness goals for this year?

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.

Every night I tend to follow the same routine. After we put Kai down for the night, it's important to me to take some time for myself and Caleb since so much of the day is about Kai. These couple of hours that I spend every night mean so much to me for my own sanity! Today, I want to share my routine with all of you as I feel like I finally have a good mix of productivity and self-care down. It only took 7 months to figure out...ha!

9:00PM: We lay Kai down in his crib for the night after reading to him and saying our prayers. This is where my night time routine begins. After I put him to bed, I head in to our room and turn on his monitors. From there, I go in to our bathroom and prep my teeth whitening trays. I started using the Smile Brilliant teeth whitening kit a couple of weeks ago and it's done wonders already for my teeth! In just two weeks time, I have seen a noticeable difference on how white and clean my teeth look. I am a big coffee drinker and love me some red wine so my teeth definitely have gotten some stains on them over time. I feel so much more confident these days to show off my teeth in selfies with Kai Bear.

Product Details:
Smile Brilliant Whitening Kit + Desensitizing Gel c/o

Product Details:
​Baskets: Ikea | Finding Nemo Jumper: Target | Bookshelves: Ikea

9:05 PM: After I have my whitening trays in, I head downstairs to tidy up the house, fold some laundry, and do the dishes. I usually spend around 30 minutes doing these little tasks to keep up with keeping our house somewhat clean and functioning!

Product Details:
Owlet: Amazon | Motorola Video Monitor: Amazon | Bed Frame: World Market (old, similar) | Euro Pillow Shames: Pottery Barn | Night Stand: 2 Fancie Gals

9:30 PM: I start to settle down for the night after my quick clean up of the house, check my social media accounts one last time for the night, and do a devotion in my Bible app. This also gives me a few extra minutes to let my Smile Brilliant trays keep doing their magic before it's time to take them out. I try to leave them in for about 45 minutes.

Product Details:
Ocean Cleansing Mudd: OSEA Malibu | Dyrbar Sake Bomb Shampoo: Sephora | Drybar Sake Bomb Conditioner: Sephora | Aveeno Body Wash: Target | Rosewater Facial Toner: LOLA JANE | Blemish Balm: OSEA Malibu | Grease Lightning Acne Treatment: LUSH | Korres Rose Eye Cream: Sephora | Honest Belly Balm: Amazon | Sleepy lotion: LUSH | Burts Bees lip balm: Amazon

9:45 PM: Next, I take my whitening trays out and put in my desensitizing gel in the trays. I have really sensitive teeth, and I've had problems with whitening kits in the past really hurting my teeth. This gel from Smile Brilliant though has really helped the sensitivity level that comes with whitening your teeth. I've had minimal sensitivity with eating and drinking hot or cold things since starting the process. I leave the desensitizing gel on while I hop in the shower and do my skin care routine, so about 15 minutes.. I love showering at night because it's so relaxing and one less thing I have to do in the morning. After my shower, I do my skin care routine and moisturize. After all that I take my desensitizing gel out and that's it! It is kind of a long process but at the same time it's barely noticeable how long it takes because I'm still able to go about my routine without it hindering it. I'm still using my kit now too after these two weeks but instead of every night, I do it every other night. I then get my PJs on and relax a little bit with Caleb before I have to pump again.

10:00 PM: Caleb and I will either snuggle up with some Netflix and ice cream or we'll just take some personal time and he'll do whatever while I work on my blog. Either way it's such a nice way to wind down for the night and get my mind at ease before going to bed.

Product Details:
Spectra Breast Pump: Amazon | Dr. Seuss Pillow: Porter Lane Home (old) | Duvet Cover: Pottery Barn (old, similar) | Ralph Lauren sheets: TJ Maxx (in store only) | Lamps: Target (old, similar) | Painted Letters: Anthropologie (old) | Sonic Electric Toothbrushes: Amazon | Toms toothpaste: Target | Canisters: Target (old, similar) | Hand Towel: World Market | Vitamin D3: Target | Evening Primrose Oil: Whole Foods | One a Day Prenatal vitamins: Amazon

11:00 PM: I do one final 15 minute pump session for stimulation and supply purposes and then I brush my teeth and take my vitamins. After that it's lights out by 11:30 so I can get plenty of sleep to take on the next day!

And now for the exciting part! I've partnered with Smile Brilliant to help you also #SmileFearlessly and have a discount code, tinydapperfox15, for 15% storewide for all of you to use to get your own whitening kit! We are also hosting a giveaway together for 1 free teeth whitening kit! All you have to do is fill out the giveaway form here, follow me (@dmcab) + Smile Brilliant (@smillebrilliant) on Instagram, and tag a friend in the comments on my night routine post. Giveaway will run until 10/5 and the winner will be contacted by Smile Brilliant! This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Instagram and is sponsored by Smile Brilliant. Giveaway is open to all US, UK, Australia, and Canadian residents.