Friday, January 25, 2013

Our Turn

That's right - arriving this summer, Fit with Farrar will go from being a dynamic duo to a powerhouse of 3!!

I (Lindsay) figure since I'm carrying this baby, I'll tell the story :)

It has been a long road to get here, and while we will keep the very personal details between the two of us, we will bring you up to speed on our general experience.

Our TTC (trying to conceive) journey was way more overwhelming than we ever anticipated. We just figured that we were two healthy individuals and it wouldn't take us any time to get pregnant.....WRONG. The whole process involved a lot of tears, a lot of "why us?", a lot of emotionally draining discussions, and a lot of sheer frustration. Everyone around us was getting pregnant and there we were, still not pregnant. We were and had been doing everything we could, but it STILL wasn't happening; it still wasn't "our turn". Every month, without fail, I would convince myself that this would be the one - and every test was negative. We began to talk about what other options we needed to consider to get our family.....

Right after Thanksgiving, I took a pregnancy test....And much to our surprise....

IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?!


Shock. Some amusement (Seriously, just a few hours prior was yet another teary discussion of what other options to have our family were, and now BAM, positive pregnancy test. Universe is cruelly funny like that). But mostly shock.

Shock eventually gave way to sheer excitement. We determined I was 4 weeks and we decided to keep it a secret from everyone until around 9 weeks or so. While we were so excited, we were also fearful of losing the baby, so it was our little secret.

At 9 weeks, 1 day, we had our first appointment and ultrasound. We laughed throughout the entire ultrasound.....laughing from relief of seeing the little heart flickering, laughing from the joy of seeing little nugget dance around like a wiggle worm. What an awesome moment that we will treasure forever.

Around New Years, we planned 3 separate get-togethers will all our parents.....we made a gift certificate for each of them that said "Good for one grandbaby, expires 7/31/2013" and put it in a card. Everyone was so excited and happy for us and that made our joy multiply!

A couple days after that, we informed a handful of other family members (grandparents, aunts/uncles), but still wanted to keep it on the down low for a couple more weeks - well, that doesn't work so well when people have been waiting for this baby for so long :) It lasted about a week then we started fielding whispering-congratulations from random folks, so we just took matters into our own hands and here we are, announcing it to the world!

Pregnancy is going well! In the 2nd trimester, and for those interested in this kind of thing (we see lots of other bloggies do it and we enjoy it), here are some of the details:

Weight gained: 3-4 pounds, although the "bloat" makes it look (and feel!) so much more than that some days. 
Symptoms: I feel just fine! Never got sick; really just some itchy, dry skin and FATIGUE. Slept like a champ prior to pregnancy, but now - things are insane. I shoot for 9-10 hours on weeknights, and 12 hours on weekends, and some naps! :)
Food Aversions: No real aversion so far - but I have lost my taste for coffee. And pepperoni gives me awful indigestion :( 
Food Cravings: initially it was BBQ, now it's mostly salty/crunchy things, clementines and sour cream (not all together, obvi)
Of course - there is still some fear. I don't think that'll completely go away until we are in the 3rd trimester (if ever). We try to keep the fear in check because we really are just radiating excitement and energy about the entire thing - we know that this moment is a blessing and no matter the outcome, we do not take a single aspect of it for granted.

Talk soon,

Lindsay and Timothy

Thursday, January 3, 2013

How to Make Your Resolutions STICK This Time

We are three days into 2013. Most folks are riding the high of a healthier lifestyle right now....

My eating was awesome today!

I totally killed that workout!



But the hard, cold truth is this: by the end of January, most folks' inner dialogue looks like this.....

Meal prep is a pain; I'll just grab some fast food every day!

It's too cold/too early/too late/I'm too tired to workout!

Sound familiar? If so, don't fret. We've all been there - you are definitely not alone. 

So how can you make 2013 different from all the rest? How can you make your resolutions, goals, and objectives for this new year STICK?? Here are some tips:

  • Watch out with the "All or Nothing" approach.
    • You either eat perfectly clean or you completely binge - this is a resolution sabotage! If you've been eating well and then went out to dinner on a Friday night and had dessert, it is not the end of the world and you don't have to blow the rest of the weekend because of it. Start fresh with your next meal :)
  • Ease into it!
    • You don't have to do a complete 180 overnight. Pick a few habits that you can really focus on and put your energy into these smaller, more manageable changes. 
  • Really, truly understand that it is a process.
    • If you can establish the mindset that this is a journey and you are trying to make being healthy a lifestyle, you will be ahead of the game! 
  • Make your goals measurable.
    • Instead of saying "I want to lose weight and get healthy", make your resolutions quantifiable: I want to lose 1 pound per week for the first month, then blah blah, or I want to quit smoking, by decreasing my consumption by 1 cigarette per day until I'm at 0 cigs!
  • Make your goals public knowledge!
    • Don't keep your resolutions a secret. Put them on Facebook, tell your friends, family, and coworkers. Knowing that people are "watching you" is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success! 
  • Surround yourself with people you want to be like.
    • Both in-person and within social media - make sure those that you are seeing/talking to on a daily basis are encouraging individuals who either have the success you want, or are on the same journey. We sponsor year-round challenge groups with this exact purpose and they have been wildly successful!
Here's to an amazing year!

In Health, 

Timothy and Lindsay