It’s Friday! Another week down! (I get really excited when the weeks fly these days, because its one week closer to meeting LR!) I’ll be 32 weeks on Monday–WILD! We’re back with another Ask Jess post–thanks to everyone for submitting your Q’s on stories yesterday! I’ll be answering a few more over there this afternoon as well if you want more Q + A fun, follow along on Instagram.
Let’s jump into a handful from this week…
Ask Jess: Pelvic Floor PT, a hint on LR’s name, and more!
Are you still working with your pelvic floor physical therapist? Can you share her info?
Yes! She is amazing and I highly recommend her. Her name is Erin and she owns West Town Physical Therapy and specializes in women’s health physical therapy. Pelvic floor PT is something that isn’t normalized in the US, but it is in many other countries (where it’s typically fully covered by insurance and is considered to be standard in postnatal care in many cases!)
I figured it wouldn’t hurt to meet with a specialist before LR came, to see if there is anything I could be doing during to ensure a smoother pregnancy and delivery, and I’m SO glad that I did!
Erin has been working with me on breathing exercises to focus on pelvic floor control, strengthening muscles to help set me up for a smoother recovery, and also helping target some occasional lower back pain I’ve been having. Later, around 36 weeks, we’ll start talking specifically about labor and some helpful tools to keep in mind around that topic. Erin will be helping me with a Q & A blog post because I received SO many questions from you all, so stay tuned for that!
The short answer is that many women struggle with issues related to the pelvic floor (whether they’re childbirth related or not)
The after-effects of having a baby, for example, like ab separation, leaking (i.e. peeing when you laugh, run, etc), pain during sex, and more–struggling with these issues chronically is SO common, but it’s NOT the “new normal” and PT can easily address all of these. You don’t have to “suck it up and get used to it” or get surgery (which is unfortunately still commonly proposed by many doctors because the concept of pelvic floor PT hasn’t caught on in the mainstream yet).
I really hope I can use my platform to bring awareness to this and help women advocate for themselves better! Tip: Your insurance likely at least PARTIALLY covers a PT near you (google is your friend!) and in many states (like Illinois) you don’t even need a referral from your doctor. You can also use your HSA to cover PT if you have one of those!
You can check out my IG story highlights here for more I’ve posted on the subject!
Any good “hacks” you’ve been doing lately to save time or stress? Or both? I love me some good hacks!
I have two that come to mind right off the bat (at least that have worked really well for me this past year and that I will continue with moving forward!):
Take meetings while walking:
This is one of my favorite things to do and it REALLY helps cut down on the zoom fatigue. I know it’s not possible to be off-camera at every meeting (or visibly “on a walk” when you have to be on-camera, haha) but for those larger meetings/calls where you are mainly listening, take them while you’re walking!
Not only will it help you cut down on the mental toll of sitting on the computer all day, but it’s a way to squeeze in some exercise and movement without it even feeling like exercise! You’ll feel much more productive and accomplished as well. All around, “walking meetings” are a HUGE win in my book! They make a big difference in my mood and mental health.
Also, this goes for “fun” meetings too! Meet up with a friend or a coworker to go for a walk as an active (and socially distanced!) alternative to grabbing drinks or coffee!
(P.S. read this post for ways to upgrade your daily walk!)
Meal subscription service:
I know I talk about Blue Apron ALL the time, but I truly cannot say enough good things about them–both how delicious they are and also how much stress they save us. (Disclaimer, they’re a GG sponsor but that doesn’t mean I’m not truly a die-hard fan.) It’s so, so nice to not have to worry about meal planning or grocery shopping. It also makes it much easier to split kitchen duties because it just makes cooking much easier to “hand off”–since the planning/prep is done for you, and all the directions are right there!
I think a lot of people think the options are limited with a meal service, or what if you don’t feel like eating that one thing that one night? Or what if you don’t like one of the ingredients?
It’s actually WAY easier to improvise and make swaps than I thought. There have also been several times where I’m making a non-Blue Apron meal, but I happen to have an ingredient I need on hand from Blue Apron that I’ll use in something totally different, and it’ll save me a trip to the store! Another perk is that it has helped us dramatically cut down on our food waste! There are just so many ways it comes in handy.
They also have SO MANY menu options each week, so whether you’re trying to eat better or you feel like a big bowl of pasta, or you want to make something nicer for dinner to celebrate something–they have so much to choose from. Take a look at their menu here! (They have some awesome menu options for Mother’s Day too!)
You can read my full Blue Apron review right here (and see reader reviews too) and save $100 when you use my link. Something else fun for this week only: if you sign up this week you get 3 free months of the Calm app!
Going on a safari! Do you have a cute hat suggestion? Will need a chin strap!
First of all, that’s amazing. I’m so jealous–take me with you!
Second–YES! Actually–for anyone who needs a cute/functional sun hat for any outdoorsy adventure, I love this one from Amazon! (The one I’m wearing in the photo above!) I included it in my Camping/Hiking Essentials Packing List.
It’s packable, the inside has a little band inside so it fits snugly to your head, and it has a chin strap to save it from blowing away. It was my favorite thing to wear on our hiking trip last summer. It got REALLY windy in the Badlands and I never had issues with it blowing away!
Can you give us ANY hints on LR’s name!?!?!
I will say that her name is one I consider to be a classic name, but it’s not common at all–so definitely not a “top” or “on trend” baby girl name. (I don’t even know if it would make the top 100?) It was more popular in previous decades (think 1950’s and before). It’s also not “old fashioned.” I think it’s darling and sweet for a little girl, but beautiful for a woman and will suit her through all stages of life.
Ever since I was in my mid-twenties, I have dreamed of having a daughter and naming her this. In fact, one of the first things I said when we saw the two lines on the test was, “if we have a girl can we name her ____!?!?!!” and Neal was like “okayyyyy” (I’m really happy he came around to it.) Now we both love it so much and can’t imagine her name to be anything else. I still am kind of superstitious in using her actual name out loud a lot– and still call her LR when referring to her. But lately we’ve been calling her by her nickname. Just talking about this is making me so excited. I wish I could just fast forward the next couple of weeks!!
Okay–that’s all you’re getting for now.
