I Run Like A Girl

Hi blogging friends, and happy new year! I’m at the end of my maternity leave, and I thought I would share some updates and reflections on the last three months at home.

The last few months have been just magical… I honestly don’t remember life before Natalie, as she has been my world and has added so much joy to my life. Since my 6-week postpartum update, I feel more out of the fog and have found more balance in parenting. I will always be grateful for this time off work to spend time with her and see her grow.

In between taking care of Natalie, one of the biggest things I did during my maternity leave was furnish our home. When we moved in last fall, I originally thought I would take my time to buy furniture. However, to state the obvious, having an empty house meant we couldn’t use a lot of it. So over the last few months, I focused on buying the bigger items so each room would be more functional.

Funny story – I bought our living room couch on my due date since I was going crazy waiting for the baby. The store salesman was so surprised when I told him I was due that day. 😛

I think our house is finally in a good spot where we have most of the big pieces and can use each room comfortably. I’m excited to take a break from the big purchases (my wallet will be happy too) and continue to style each room over time, which is my favorite part. 🙂

In terms of styling, I’ve always loved bohemian design, but over time my bohemian style has evolved from colorful and eclectic to more modern and calming. Flashback to my studio in San Francisco’s Haight neighborhood that was my bohemian paradise. This time, I still wanted each room to have that cozy boho feel, but I focused on lighter wood tones, natural textures (stone, linen), and earthy colors. I was also inspired by Japandi design (Japanese meets Scandinavian), and tried to convey its minimalism.

Let’s talk about exercise. Getting back into shape after the baby has been a goal of mine. Even though I’m still relatively in the beginning of the postpartum timeline, I’m happy with the consistency I’ve been able to maintain so far.

After having the baby, I took it really slow as my body changed quite a bit (wider hips, loss of core, etc). So exercising in the beginning was a lot of stretching, mobility, breath work, and strengthening my core.

Once I had a good foundation and got cleared by my doctor to work out again, I’ve been focused on rebuilding my strength. I currently have a 3-day rotation: upper body strength on day 1, cardio + lower body strength on day 2, and core + yoga on day 3. Some days I’ll program my own workouts, and other days I’ll follow a YouTube video. My favorite fitness coaches on YouTube are Bodyfit by Amy, Lauren Fitter, and Nourish Move Love, who all have great postpartum videos.

My biggest motivation is getting strong to take care of Natalie. She is growing so quickly, and I want to make sure I’m strong enough to hold her and keep up as she becomes more mobile. Truthfully, I have vanity reasons too, but that is a secondary goal right now compared to getting strong again.

My mantra right now is something or nothing. I used to think that I had to go all or nothing for a workout to “count”, but now I tell myself that doing something is better than nothing. Some days, I only have 15 minutes to work out before mom duties call. I’m focusing on staying consistent and doing something each day.

Another way I spent my time over maternity leave was cooking new recipes. For a while, I was rotating between the same dishes, and I wanted to learn some new ones to add to the rotation. My favorite new recipe so far has been this Chinese braised beef. It tasted just like my mom’s version, and I’m excited to add it to my repertoire. 🙂

A lot of baking happened, especially around the holidays. Some favorites were pumpkin cheesecake muffins and homemade Rice Krispies treats.

One of my favorite combos lately – cottage cheese and grapes. It sounds weird, but I love it and have it for breakfast every day.

Even though I’m happy with all that I accomplished over the last few months, by far the best memories have been the other 90% of my time that I’ve spent with Natalie. I’ve loved every small, precious moment with her. It seems like every day she makes a new sound or discovers something new about the world. I will always look back at my maternity leave with so much joy.

When Joe and I talked about our New Year’s resolutions, the first thing I said was to relax more (which I admit doesn’t come naturally to me). Last year was full of many life milestones, and now I want to try to enjoy everything. Having Natalie is a big motivation to slow down and savor time with my family.

Thank you for reading along today. I hope you had a wonderful new year!