T-Tapp and sibling love

I'm back to exercising again. I am trying to find muscles I fear may have been permanently lost from months of being smooshed and pushed out of the way... for the third time. Let's just say I am a long way from being able to do this:

I feel more like this:
Pregnancy really does a number on a woman's body. By the end of the day everything in my mid section aches. I can almost hear my chiropractor yelling at me about my horrible slumped posture. My core muscles are long gone, but I hope to get them back. It seems like most of the exercise programs assume that a person has a foundation, not taking into account the havoc that is caused by pregnancy. They jump right in and pummel every muscle you have to whip you into shape. But after pregnancy, there is no foundation and I would seriously hurt myself (not to mention the exhaustion) if I tried to make it through something like Tai Bo or Zumba or Shred without first building up to it. 

Shortly before I had Mandy, I discovered T-Tapp by fitness and wellness instructor, Teresa Tapp. I did it in my third trimester with Mandy and then continued to do it afterward, along with walking every day and managed to lose the pregnancy weight in 3 months. I LOVE T-Tapp. I can't say enough about the programs and how it makes me feel. It is pilates and yoga along with stretching and aligning. Here is a description on a video from YouTube.com:

I'm back doing the 15 minute Basic video. Unless you've lived through it, there is not way to adequately describe how bloppy and gross a body feels after giving birth. T-Tapp makes me feel good. It would be delusional of me to assume I could shed all the pregnancy weight in 3 months again, especially since I gained an extra 15 pounds this time around and now I have 3 kiddos to look after and take on walks instead of 2. My current goal is 6 months to get back to "normal." 

Many people have asked me if I am still doing "no sugar" in my post-pregnancy diet. I've had desserts, but honestly the sweetness has lost a lot of appeal. My taste buds have truely changed and I am not anxious to go back to my old way of life. For now I am taking it easy on the sugars and indulging in a few delicious things in moderation. The Burgerville pumpkin milkshake may be my undoing.  There are so many benefits to living without sugar, but that is for another post. :)

In other news, the girls are still madly in love with the baby: 

Mandy tends to be way over the top in her smothering, I mean loving. We are constantly dragging her off of Remi and saying "Too much! Love him gently." But Mandy is two and hauls the cat around by his tail, so she has a bit more development and training to get through before I can leave her alone with the baby.

At almost five, Emma is the ideal age for helping me. She eagerly takes on any responsibility I give her in regard to Remington. She holds him very steadily and BEGS to change his diaper. She does a pretty good job with it too. We gave a lot of thought and consideration to whether we should let Emma walk around with the baby (all grandparents cringe at this point). She does such a good job at it and is more help than hindrance. The rule is that she can only pick him up when we ask her to, otherwise she would be snatching him from his crib at all hours. In her mind, there is not an hour of the day when she doesn't need to be walking around burping him.

Remington continues to be one fantastic baby. He is so easy to please and doesn't cry, really at all. I am in awe that God would give me such a child (my second born showed me what difficult can be), but also know that I need the extra time to concentrate on Emma and Mandy. We're all making the adjustment to this new little life very well.