Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Mommy Sacrifices

I'm a mom. I have 4 kids.  That means I went thru 4 pregnancies, gained 40-50 lbs with EACH pregnancy (except my last, I only gained 30 - he was born 9 weeks early).  I never worked out (well, at least consistently) before I became a mom. I rollerbladed now and then, NEVER ran, I did ballroom dance in High School, that's it. I was a reader. I'd MUCH rather be reading a book than exercising, besides, you get all sweaty!
Well, after I had my first baby, I realized it was going to take some serious work to get back into shape. I worked out, lost the weight, got pregnant again...  This happened multiple times. I felt bad when I was working out at night because it took time away from "family time." I usually put myself on the back burner.
Then I had my last baby. I made a goal to workout the entire pregnancy. I was TRYING to take care of myself. Then he came 9 weeks early. And I got put on the back burner again. We spent 6 weeks in the NICU, and even after he came home, I worked out a little and even ran a 5 K when he was 5 months old, but time just kept seeming to get shorter and shorter. I did make a goal to run a marathon, so when my son was 2 I did run a marathon, and then I got sick. I found out I had an autoimmune disease and extreme fatigue was one of the symptoms. Exercise helped, but I was SO tired all the time. Then my medications kicked in and I started feeling better, and I would try to workout a few times a week...  notice, I said try. If it didn't happen, it just didn't happen. It wasn't my priority. And I gained 15 lbs. I know that's not a LOT, but it was the largest I'd ever been besides being pregnant. And I made a decision.  I was going to start putting myself first. I HAD to. I didn't feel good about myself, and I hated that. I've learned that it's VITAL to being a good wife and mom to put yourself first.
So often moms have the excuse that they had other things to do because of their kids.  Our KIDS (and even our spouses) are the reason we need to take care of ourselves and put us first, not our excuse.