Life Update: Mom of Three
Quite a bit has changed since I launched my own fitness business- I’ve worked in a boutique studio then moved to medical fitness (which I LOVED), coached so many mamas in nutrition and running, and also got pregnant. If you know me personally, you’ve probably heard me say, “Two and through” in regards to how many children my husband and I wanted. And if you’ve listened to this episode, you’ll know I have endometriosis that likes to take over all of my organs. I was diagnosed with stage four endometriosis in August of 2022 and it looked like I was headed towards a hysterectomy. With my doctor’s approval, I came off the medication (hormonal birth control) that was supposed to be helping ease pain and halt tissue growth but was doing neither. I was in the thick of marathon training, so my hormones were already shifting (did you know you produce more testosterone in periods of intense training?) and he confidently told me he didn’t think it was impossible for me to get pregnant, but it was around a 1 in 999,999 chance.
Enter Briley.
I was tipped off to me being pregnant by my dog- I hadn’t even missed a period yet. She’s sensitive to hormones and had a pseudo-pregnancy when I was pregnant with Callie, so when she started bedding down in our closet, I rushed to get a test immediately. Within seconds two blue lines popped up and my whole world and plans shifted.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll spare you the in-depth recap, but within those months of pregnancy we found out our baby had a pleural effusion (fluid in place of where her lung should be developing), I had hyperemesis gravidarum, again, and had to get weekly iv fluids, developed tachycardia, and went into pre-term labor.
It was hell.
I survived the pregnancy, which I say jokingly but also not. My doctor has made it very clear that getting pregnant again would likely be too much for my body. It’s scary to think about but I’m so beyond grateful to have Briley here and to be done with pregnancy. I was able to run up to 34 weeks pregnant, and trained until 35 weeks pregnant when my heart decided to go wild. Movement was my medicine mentally, like so many periods of my life prior.
Fast forward to now, I’m two-and-a-half months postpartum, post c-section and excision surgery (I got a BOGO surgery- they removed excess tissue from my organs while I was still open from having Briley), and ready for the next phase of motherhood- life with two big kids and one baby. So what does that mean for me professionally? Well, I’m going back to stroller fitness and developing the class plans and curriculum for what that will look like. If you’re local and have a stroller baby, stay tuned! I’m also doing virtual coaching and training. I’ll be taking on a limited number of clients because I have to train during naps and in the evenings now. Mother Runner training will be back in March/April.
I’m happy to be back and excited to see what this new chaotic phase of life will look like. I’m so grateful I have other moms to walk through it with me.
You have to nourish to flourish,
Caitlin
