They say nothing can prepare you for motherhood. While I still think that is entirely true (hello, your heart is filled with so much love, sleepless nights, and laundry, how hard it is to get a toddler to listen to you).
I want to think that all my years of being a personal trainer and an avid exerciser have also helped me through the early years of motherhood. Neither one is always easy, and both can have ups and downs. But when they come together and “click,” nothing can beat those magical moments.
My name is Jess, and I am a mom of three wonderful kids; Keegan (9), Beckett (7), and Tierney (4). I live in Katonah, NY, with my husband, Mike. Before becoming a mom, I was a personal trainer in NYC. Once I got pregnant with Keegan, we moved out of the city to grow and raise our family in the burbs of Westchester County!
When I had Keegan in 2014, I thought I would love every second of motherhood and be on top of everything. That lasted until we pulled out of the hospital parking lot in the middle of a snowstorm, and the “baby blues” set in. Keegan rocked my world (in the best, messiest, all-consuming love kind of way).
After weeks of feeling discouraged that I was doing it wrong, I needed to pull the “pivot” trick out of my bag that I had to use for many years of personal training. If something isn’t working, change it, pivot, and move on.
Nineteen months later when we welcomed our second son, Beckett. I felt confident again (or stupid) that I could handle it. Breastfeeding, wakeups, crying baby, I knew I just needed to go with the flow of it. (Clearly, you can see by now that newborns aren’t my favorite stage).
If you have two kids, then maybe you’re like me, and having that second kid is like getting the rug pulled out from underneath you. This was, by far, my most challenging transition. I struggled to manage two kids under two and again had to pull from my “personal trainer” bag of tricks.
This time, I just kept telling myself to grit it out. Everyone always says to just get through the first year of two kids, and it will get easier. That reminded me of running (the one and ONLY) marathon that I did. Just push through and get to mile 26. Suffice it to say on Beckett’s first birthday; I did feel a similar sense of accomplishment.
Fast forward three years later, having two active young boys came Tierney. No longer being man-to-man coverage, my husband and I were now working “zone coverage.” More than ever, we came together as a team to manage the chaos. Tierney was the one who made me realize that if I was going to stick to my workouts, I had to be creative with time. Ten minutes here, 20 minutes there. If I was going to stay consistent, I had to stay focused and be creative.
It was also getting to the point with the older two that I was constantly chasing after them or playing with them. It would have been A LOT harder if I wasn’t strong physically.
I love being a mom, and it’s the best job I’ve ever had (being a personal trainer is a close second). Watching our three kids grow up so far has been nothing short of amazing.
