So we have been keeping a VERY BIG secret!  Grant and I are very excited to announce that we will be expanding our family by welcoming a baby (a human one this time)!  I am 15 weeks today and we are due the first part of August!  We do not yet know the gender, however we did that test 3 weeks ago.  We have a completely healthy baby and low-risk pregnancy thus far based on our 12 week results.  I have not been sick one single time, nor have I missed a PowHer.fit workout either!  Grant’s Godmother has the gender and will keep it quiet until we have a Gender Reveal with our Families and Closest friends in the next few weeks.  We do not have a preference on the baby’s gender, but we do want a safe pregnancy and delivery as well as a healthy baby!

We’ve Always Kept This Part of Our Life Private

Whether or not we would have children as well as when we would begin expanding our family has been something I’ve respectfully kept private rather than sharing on my blog or social media.  However, I can’t hide this growing tummy anymore and I’m happy to get this secret out in the open.  There are a few very important reasons why we waited to announce a little later than most people do, and we will talk about that in more detail in an upcoming video.  Yes, we are going to sit down and finally talk all about why we’ve never talked about having children, why we had those boundaries set, as well as diving into more detail about our very own pregnancy story.

Body Changes Thus Far

I do sleep a lot harder and more than I did before I was pregnant, and I also have to pee wayyyyy more than before. (Maybe TMI, but y’all know I always share a lot!). That’s really the only difference as far as how I’m feeling.  In the gym, I still have great strength, endurance and stamina, but I’m not pushing for any PR’s right now, nor am I giving my ultimate highest intensity either.  Some days it takes me a little longer to recover after a workout, but nothing that is alarming!  I promise I will NOT push it at this season of life.

My Plan for Pregnancy Fitness

I do hope to continue to do my full body strength training workouts up until the day I give birth, but ultimately my body is in control.  There are many other PowHer.fit members and influencers who are pregnant right now, so I’m excited to have others sharing this season of life with me, too!  If you’ve been following me on instagram stories, you’ll notice I’ve been sharing a lot of back views of my workouts to not expose my little growing belly.

I also just finished a “bulk phase” of going through the PowHer.fit Strength 1.0 in a caloric surplus, but now everybody will realize that I HAD to be eating in a caloric surplus.  I’m now starting week 2 of the Bikini Body Program with PowHer.fit  tomorrow, and I’m still eating in a caloric surplus.  On endurance days, instead of trying to beat my personal PR’s with long distance running, I’m focusing more on walking on incline.  Maybe this is also TMI, but I’ve gained the most of my weight thus far in my chest, so running is a little more uncomfortable than normal because of that.  I’m still confident enough to workout in pants and a sports bra, but my mid section is starting to look thicker than what I’ve been used to seeing over the past few years.  I will be sharing and documenting this entire journey, and get ready for more front and side views on my videos to really show you all how my body is growing and progressing while this baby becomes bigger and bigger.

Will it be hard to see myself gain weight and my body change?  Absolutely!  However, I’ve lost 40 pounds before and I can lose whatever amount of weight I gain this time around.  I know my body’s job right now is to gain weight and to create a healthy/strong environment for our baby to grow!  I don’t look very pregnant in the mornings, but this little belly grows by the end of every day!  We took these photos right at sunset and I got to pig out on one of my favorite guilty pleasures (Taco Bell) right before the shoot to help make my bump look even more noticeable.  This dress helped to show it off better than anything else I’ve worn thus far.  (This dress is from Dillard’s by Calvin Klein BTW). I have to say that’s a very different photo shoot prep than what I’ve become used to these past few years.  I’ve said it many times before, but I am not a naturally lean or thin built woman, so I know I will probably be someone who looks V pregnant in no time.  As I always preach, the scale will not define me nor steal any of my joy!

While all of the PowHer.fit  programs are perfectly safe for pregnancy if a member has been currently strength training before pregnancy,  cleared by their doctor to continue exercising, and not a high-risk pregnancy, we will be working on launching a Pregnancy specific program in the next month or two.  Stay tuned for more information coming soon.  We do already have a Postpartum HealHer program at PowHer.fit for those members who are recovering and looking to get their pre-baby bodies back after giving birth.

Pregnancy Story Video Coming Soon

In the coming video we will tell you if this was a planned or surprise pregnancy, how we found out, sharing clips of us telling our closest loved ones, answering the pregnancy questions we receive and more.  Feel free to leave your question below so Grant and I can answer it in our upcoming Pregnancy Story Video!

This pregnancy did come at my absolute busiest time of the year.  December and January were basically black out months for PowHer.fit – as this is the time of the year when most people join/start a fitness program.  Plus we were launching our new  Empowerment Coach membership option which has required me to create a 7 phase training course and work with the coaches in a very hands-on way for the first 3 months, planning our first ever PowHer.fit member meet up & influencer retreat, plus we were hosting our first ever $5,000 transformation challenge!  Thank you Jesus for allowing me to stay healthy so I could tackle all the work projects that were already set on my plate.

This recent “personal boundary” space I’ve given myself with unplugged time should make even more sense now.  Getting ready to be a mom will come with more personal boundaries as my family will ALWAYS come before any business venture.  I believe in Marriage over Business as well as Family over Business.  Raising our child will become one of the top priorities and most important things in our lives!

We are so excited to share the remainder of this journey with all of you.  I promise no more secrets or big announcements for a while!  Even I am a little exhausted from them haha!

Grant and I have NO IDEA what is ahead!  Together we only have nephew on both sides of our families, so entering this “mom and dad” and “kid-friendly” world on the regular will definitely be new territory for us.  We aren’t aiming to be perfect, we just want to be present and give each other as well as everyone in our little family all the love, comfort and support we can!  Bucky and Barbie Love wanted everyone to know that they are excited, too!

I hope you enjoy some of our pregnancy announcement photos below!  This was the same location as our first look at our wedding, and I was sure to wear my beloved Dior wedding shoes.  Special thanks to Phoenix Fregia of Photos x Phx for snapping and editing these, to Kristi Schiller for letting us borrow her stunning baby stroller, to Mrs. Sadler at And Sew On for the bulldog’s big brother/big sister handkerchiefs, to Kaylee McCoy for letting me borrow a white bow for Barbie, and to Katie Ruffino for showing up and helping us wrangle Barbie Love who was not on her best behavior that day.

Until we share the pregnancy story video, be sure to check out our most recent video when Grant and I sat down for our 3 year anniversary to talk about our marriage journey thus far.  That anniversary blog and video is linked HERE.  The video from our special day can be found on my instagram IGTV HERE.

God is so good and receives all the credit for this pregnancy! “Children are indeed a heritage

from the Lord, offspring a reward from HIM!” PSALM 127:3

xo,