Erica’s Fav Things: 10 Necessities for Newborns

March 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
baby-love

I luv baby things, don’t you?  Part of the fun of being pregnant is getting to shop for (and receive) all those adorable accessories.  There are some things you need and some things you just want to have for your newborn when they arrive.  These are my Top 10 Newborn Favs:

1. Little Giraffe Chenille Blanket - I want one too! Can you say “warm & snuggly”?

2. Swaddle your little darling with these super soft Muslin Wraps from aden+anais

3. Who doesn’t like a 2-for-1?  Luv this Burp Cloth and Bib combo!

4. Honestly, these are the cutest diapers I’ve ever seen!  And eco-friendly too.

5. Gotta keep your baby super soft.  My fav lotion is California Baby Everyday Lotion.

6. And for any skin problems, Mum+Bub Soothing Ointment is the best!  I’ve used it on my son for his little eczema spots, for baby girls cradle cap, & my lips.

7. Baby girl LOVES her WubbaNub Kitty!

8. Even BPA free bottles don’t cut it with me!  I like to use these Glass Bottles from Dr Brown’s (drinks from anything plastic always taste a little ‘off’ to me).

 

9. Glass bottle sleeves – a must have for glass bottles, especially once your little one starts to hold the bottle herself.

10. And the cutest, coziest clothes around!

I know you and baby will love these as much as I do.  If you’re using any of these favs, I’d love to hear about it!

Filed Under: After Baby, Erica's Fav Things, Favorites, Real Moms

Erica’s Fav Things: Diaper Bag Must-Haves for Moms

March 8, 2012 Leave a Comment
diaperbag

As a Mom, you have to be prepared for anything!  You always make sure you have whatever your kids need, but don’t forget what you need too!

These are my diaper bag must-haves that I never leave home without:

First, the bag itself is super important.  It’s got to have lots of pockets to keep everything organized, and be a great quality to handle the everyday wear and tear.  My fav bag is the Storksak Emily.

I love that the outside pockets on both sides of the bag are insulated, so it can keep a bottle cold for 3-4 hours!  Everything is easily accessible, and it’s made with nylon so you can just wipe it clean.  Plus, it’s stylish and could totally double as your purse (mine does!).

If you’re like me, your wallet probably bounces around between purses a lot.  I love my HOBO wallet because it lets you keep your ID separate, so it’s easy to get to when you need it!

I never leave home without my iPhone – I love that I always have a camera & video camera with me so I never miss a moment with my active kids!

I actually have the older model, but I'm ready to upgrade!

Degree 24hr motionSENSE deodorant.  Sound strange?  Maybe…but a girl’s gotta stay fresh at all times!  Especially in my line of work, when I run out the door at 5:45am & realize later that I forgot to put deodorant on!  So I always keep one in my bag.

 

Once you go polarized, you never go back.  I love my Ray Ban polarized sunglasses!

Last thing, my fav baby wrap from Moby.  There are so many ways you can wrap it, here’s one called the “hug” hold.
 

 
These are my faves, what are yours?

Filed Under: After Baby, Erica's Fav Things, Favorites Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Thank You!

January 31, 2012 1 Comment
Food Table


Thanks to everyone who stopped by this past Saturday for my DVD Launch Party at Xpecting!
I greatly appreciate your support :-)
~E

Look closely & you can see mama2b by Fitlosophy over in the bottom right hand corner, another must have during pregnancy! Available soon!

Ritual Cleanse was there giving out samples of their amazing daily juices! My favorites: Almond Mylk, Green Lemon, & Pineapple Mint (& the others are yummy too… those are just my personal favs!)

 

 

Filed Under: Real Moms Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Still Here…

October 1, 2011 Leave a Comment

Wow! It’s been wwwaaayyyy too long since I’ve been here! But I am Still Here…. (& Very Pregnant).

 

 

~E

Filed Under: Real Moms, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Shanna’s FINAL Before/After Results!

June 25, 2011 2 Comments
Shanna Final UPdate 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you say “WOW”

I am so proud of how far Shanna has come! Yes maybe it was a bit slow in the beginning but that’s perfectly ok. As mom’s we try to do it all & sometimes we just need to take a deep breathe, slow down & do what’s best for us…taking care of us!

“If Momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy” ~ & don’t forget it ;-)

Did Shanna lose the total weight she wanted to from the beginning? No, but eventually she will & what she has accomplished is a complete transformation, burning excess fat & building strong, lean muscle. See my post on Fat vs. Muscle.  Exactly what happened with her is real-life. Trying to take care of yourself, to lose the baby weight (remember she had 3 babies in 3 years), eat healthy & exercise. That in itself is a challenge not including traveling with 3 littles, sick littles, & potty training! But in the end she did it & mostly importantly is continuing to keep her healthy habits that were created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The point being that slow progress is good progress. The slower (to a point) that you lose the weight the more likely it will stay off for good. No “diet’s” they really don’t work. Think about it, if it took you 3 years to put the weight on it’s not going to come off in 3 months! It also shouldn’t take 3 years. Remember your body is different, but good different, after baby(s).

 

Shanna’s Stats from December to May she lost…

  • Weight loss: 20 lbs!!!
  • Shoulders: almost 4 inches
  • Chest: almost 3 inches
  • Waist (smallest): 3 inches
  • Waist (biggest): 5 inches!!!!!
  • Hips: almost 2 inches
  • Thighs: 2 inches
  • Calf: almost 3 inches
  • Arms: 1 1/2 inches
  • In total she lost 23 inches!!!
  • BODY FAT lost: 3 1/2%


Look how happy she looks! Yay Shanna, you have been very motivational for many moms. Keep it up!

 

~E


Filed Under: Real Moms Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

I’m Pregnant!

May 6, 2011 2 Comments

 

So excited to officially announce ….I’m PREGNANT!

13 weeks that is

Finally! Felt like the 1st trimester would never end…you forget how awful morning sickness (or rather “all-day sickness”) is until you’re there again. Of course it’s all worth it but I feel this time around is a bit harder, probably because I’ve got 2 active ones I’m trying to keep up with which is challenging when my doc puts me on modified bedrest, boo :-(

The modified bedrest which consisted of no walking, exercise, or sex (which well that wasn’t a huge deal to begin with since I felt like I was going to throw up any minute).  The reason being that I had  a 8-9cm cyst. I guess that’s  pretty big & they were concerned with it getting bigger & my ovary twisting which I’ve been told is more painful than labor (hard to imagine huh?). I’m happy to say the cyst is now down to 4cm, so I’m able to be more active but nothing like I was during my 1st 2 pregnancies. Thank goodness for my prenatal exercise knowledge :-)

I’ll keep you all updated from here on.

~E

Filed Under: Pregnancy, Real Moms Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Getting Momma’s Groove Back Update Week 9

February 14, 2011 1 Comment
Fitbook Inlay

YOU GO GIRL!

Shanna has lost another 2 inches off of her midsection in the last 2 weeks!!!

I couldn’t be more proud of her. If you read Shanna’s blog then you’d know that in the last 2 weeks everyone in her household (except for her) has been sick :-( We all know this sucks! Especially when all the little ones are sick..sleepless nights, cranky babies = tired & cranky momma’s. THANK GOODNESS FOR EXERCISE & EATING HEALTHY ;-) Kudo’s Shanna for not letting sleepless nights, & cranky babies slow you down!!!

Both exercise & eating healthy will decrease your chances of catching all those little bugs your little ones get.

Check out the difference in 9 weeks!


Shanna has been keeping track of her exercise & diet in her Fitbook. However, I don’t like the word “diet” :-( It has a bad connotation for most people. So rather, I’m officially changing the word “diet” to “healthy eatz” ~  because you are eating healthy about 90% of the time, right? I know Shanna’s healthy eatz have improved & are now the staples in her diet healthy eatz! Ok, so maybe it’s cheesy but at least it sounds fun…

Feel like you just aren’t losing the pounds like you “think” you should be? Read my explanation of fat vs. muscle.

What are you doing to keep you accountable?

Is it working?

~E

Filed Under: After Baby, Real Moms Tagged With: , , , ,

Getting Momma’s Groove Back ~ Update Week 6

January 27, 2011 3 Comments
1.24.2011 Groove Update 1 Shanna

“WOW”

~ Check this out! Shanna’s belly is disapering…

(Current Wk 6 Pic)

(Where she began)

She’s lost 5 lbs & LOTS of inches!!!!

Only 5 pounds you say? Your probably thinking that’s all, really? We all know the saying of “muscle weighs more than fat”.

Let me clarify, “Muscle is more DENSE than fat”. A pound is  a pound is  a pound. A pound of muscle takes us LESS space than a pound of fat. So if you lose a pound of fat & gain a pound of muscle you have lost, no weight, but you are now a little more dense.

(Look they weigh the same)

Shanna is a great example of what changes you can make only losing 5 lbs!!! So if you’re in this spot feeling like “Dam*t! I’m working my a** off & the scale has barely moved!!! AWWWW!!!” ~ anyone? Don’t let that scale discourage you.

My advice: THROW OUT YOUR SCALE!

I know this may seem like a sin to most but it’s what you need to do. So how do you determine if your losing weight (or rather LOSING FAT & GAINING MUSCLE) & moving in the right direction…

  1. Your clothes are getting loser ~ this is the best guide
  2. You feel great!
  3. Your eating healthier & are being honest with yourself about it
  4. You’ve gotten into a regular workout regimen
  5. You have more energy / feel stronger

Back to continuing my update:

Shanna has been doing awesome! After she hit a rough patch over the holidays & after it was hard for her to get going again, we all have times like these & for some it’s much harder than others.

~DON”T GIVE UP!~

Say it again with me “Don’t Give Up!”

Shanna pushed through – even with all those sleepless nights & frustrations – & now look at her! This is were accountability plays a huge roll. It’s way to easy to just say hey this is “too hard” or “not worth it” & continue moving on with your life feeling tired & exhausted & low on energy. Now I’m not saying your not going to feel tired getting up early before your hubby leaves for work so you can get your workout in. However, as time goes on (& it doesn’t take long) your body adjusts to getting up early & can’t wait to exercise. Once you’re there you’ll realize  you can’t live without exercise. Once you start seeing the amazing results, & realize even though you may be getting a little less sleep cuz your getting up early, you feel so much more energy during your days.

Your muscles – wait what! Yes though things that help you through your days of lifting kids, picking up toys & groceries, constantly chasing little ones around…You need to be fast on your feet with them. As you become stronger all these things get easier (isn’t that a nice bonus).

To Read more about Shanna’s Journey:

~”If Momma Ain’t Happy Ain’t Nobody Happy”~
So momma’s I want to hear from you! What are you doing to conquer the challenge of getting your exercise in everyday / losing the baby weight? Have you thrown out your scale yet?

~E

Filed Under: After Baby, Real Moms Tagged With: , , ,