Good morning! 

How was everyone’s weekend? We had a few low key days over here but honestly is anyone having anything different, ha. I had been receiving some of the same questions in my DM’s recently and figured I would answer a few of those here since the answers are a bit too long for that format. 

 

 

Are you going back to dentistry? 

If you are new around here, I am a dentist in the public school system here in Louisville. I technically never took a maternity leave because my job operates around the school calendar. So, I had planned to have a month and a half off after having Zahra and return back to work after that. Obviously Covid-19 has put a kink in that and although I will be attending our company wide annual meeting next week, I won’t be returning to work until the schools resume.

I know every area is different but our school district is not going back in the fall with in person classes but is instead opting for NTI. I will be honest, I am so relieved. We are constantly in patients mouths and there is so much spray while working. With a tiny newborn at home I have been so cautious and am fortunate I don’t have to go back right away. 

 

 

Is Zain going back to school? 

We struggled with this decision the most. Zain has been out of school since March and while I hadn’t realized it initially, it has already been close to 6 months. I know he misses friends, school and his teachers and we were waiting as long as possible to make the call.

Ultimately, although we know his school is taking every precaution necessary we have decided to keep him home. He’s only 3 and in an early preschool class so it’s not critical he be there academically and with the baby at home we just felt it was too risky. Since I don’t currently need the childcare for work outside of the home it felt like the best option for us. 

However, it will obviously make blogging a lot more challenging. Although it seems like an effortless job, it takes a lot of time and commitment. I will try to navigate work with two kids at home just like everyone else and hope for the best. 

 

 

How did you lose the baby weight? 

I really hesitate discussing this in general because I feel like the urgency and importance put on women to ‘get back into shape’ is kind of ridiculous and looks different for everyone. I’m not someone who weighs myself a ton and I’m actually not sure how much weight I ended up gaining with either pregnancy.

That is somewhat due to the fact that they both happened in a semi-panicked situation and I wasn’t paying attention. I do know that I stayed 10 pounds over my pre-baby weight after having Zain and was fine with that. I like working out and how it makes me feel so once I started getting back into exercise after having him, I felt good again!

As far as this time around, I’m sure I gained less weight and have lost it quicker because of quarantine. Trevor and I are very much into food and once quarantine started we stopped eating out and only recently started ordering takeout once a week. I’m sure my eating habits were generally better even if I was baking banana bread every week 😉 I also now have two kids and way less time to snack. I’m a very emotional eater so when I’m stressed or tired, I relax by eating. I haven’t done that as much this time around. 

Honestly, I think the biggest change is my walking! I used to be of the mindset that I liked quick and effective workouts. So I would rather go on a 20 minute run than an hour walk. Now, with quarantine and my two babies I have totally changed my perspective. In general, this time has taught me to stop trying to get to the next thing on my list. I have been better about enjoying the days and soaking up as much time outside as possible. Luckily, we live in a beautiful park that is closed off to cars and prime for long beautiful walks. I try to go out for a 2-4 mile walk at least a few times a week. It keeps me mentally and physically strong and Zain loves scooting part of the way. 

All this to say, I still don’t fit in my pre-baby clothes and am not putting any pressure on myself. I literally have no where to go so that helps 😉 I also made a point to order some clothes in a size up so I could be comfortable after I had Zahra and not trying to squeeze into things that don’t fit! I highly recommend it. Also, just a reminder that most bloggers are great at capturing the right angles and the internet usually shows us everyone’s best side. 

Wherever you are on your journey I hope you do what feels good to you!

 

Hope you are all having a wonderful start to your week!