October 15th is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Read our heartfelt letter to you on the blog (blog.FIT4MOM.com | link in bio). These words are powerful below via @latchedla 👇🏼 . . . . “As mothers, we often feel incredibly connected to our babies from early pregnancy. It can be life shattering to lose a child, whether that child was born & lived a short while or only lived in your womb. It’s a struggle that many women suffer silently. If you are one of those women I’m sending you a so much love & want you to know that you aren’t alone. To help break the silence, I am sharing a little bit about my son, River. (Trigger warning: he passed away in utero & the story gives details about his passing. If this feels like it will be too much for you to read, you might want to stop here.) On March 12, 2016 I was 14 weeks pregnant with my third child. I had been bleeding lightly on & off for a few weeks, but had heard many stories about women who bled through pregnancy & went on to have healthy babies. I was hoping this was the case with my baby, too. That morning was different though. The bleeding was intensifying & I was starting to feel uterine cramps. By mid morning, I knew I was going to have a miscarriage. I spent the day crying in bed. I started having contractions late that night & labored till the early morning. I was surprised by the intensity of it all. I gave birth to River in my home with my husband by my side on the morning of March 13th. That day & the months that followed were by far my hardest. I had never felt grief so deep before. I wondered how life would go on without him, but somehow it did. As the weeks & months passed, it got easier. I was far along enough that most people around me knew I was pregnant, so I then had to tell them all that my son had passed away. I was surprised by the amount of women who said they also had a miscarriage. Or two. Or three. It breaks my heart to think of all the women who lose a baby & then mourn silently. If you you have lost a baby, you are welcome to share about him or her below. Sometimes it feels good to talk about our loved ones. “ Art by @shelley_illustration

*all the fall things bring us joy* #FIT4MOM

aaannnddd THERE’S A #ROYALBABY ON THE WAY 💗💗💗💗💗 Photo via @she_saidyes

@thecuttingveg showing us how to do weekend avocado 🥑 toast right 🙌🏽

My ovaries 😍😍😍 @fit4mom_collegestationtx we are melting over your sweet girl!!! HAPPY WEEKEND, Mamas!! What’s on your calendars this weekend?? Pumpkin patch? Whatever is penciled in, we hope you stroll with us at a class near you! Bring your hubs or partner, or come solo! Check FIT4MOM.com/locations for the nearest classes and programs by you...

Repost @experiencerivulet 👇🏼 ・・・ Are you familiar with @fit_4_mom? Did you know that they make it possible to get a workout in with your baby in tow? . On top of that, they offer a variety of classes, play dates and support for all stages of motherhood. . @fit_4_mom is very near and dear to my heart, as it is where I went after 3 months of having Cameron. . I needed to get out and I needed to take care of myself while also getting a chance to be with other moms! Now Cameron is almost two and we still go. . I love that I am able to show him how important it is to stay healthy and take care of myself through this program. . Want to learn more? We will put the link in profile. .⠀ Photo credit @featherssky ⠀⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ #fit4mom #strengthinmotherhood #ourvillage #workoutwithbaby #takingcareofme #RESOURCEFROMRIVULET

It’s #WorldMentalHealthDay and @takingcarababies said this so beautifully 👇🏼 ・・・ I always wanted to be a mom, but now that my baby is here, I am crying too often. I wasn’t prepared for how overwhelmed I feel. I have a beautiful baby, but I’m so anxious. Some days, I wonder if I’m cut out to be a mom. I feel so alone, and I’m so ashamed.” -a hundred moms I know - Today, World Mental Health Day, I want to talk to you about the mental health of a mama.  Can I share part of my story with you? - Let me set the stage. I had a 6 year old, a 3 year old, a 10 week old, and found out I was pregnant with our fourth. That 10 week old cried ALL DAY. If he wasn't puking, he was screaming (#reflux). I hit a wall; I hit it hard. I remember falling to my husband's feet, as he left for work, begging: "Don't leave me here with this crying baby!" I laid there in a puddle of tears. I don't remember how I got up, but I can tell you I did. Those were the hardest days of my life. - And here it is, the thing I didn’t share for years because of shame: I needed an antidepressant for an entire year, while I was pregnant. - I felt crushed by my guilt. What about this baby inside me? Wasn't I strong enough to just "handle life"? Didn't I care about my growing baby more than my own desire to "feel better"? Why was I such a failure? - But mamas, I needed it. Ultimately, it was the right decision for my health AND for all of my babies. So, today I'm sharing my truth; today, I'm choosing #noshame. Because I needed HELP, and my babies: they needed ME. A mentally and physically HEALTHY ME. - You may not be where I was, but we've all had some dark moments. Taking care of your mental health and reaching out for help may look like hiring a babysitter, talking to a counselor, starting an exercise plan, beginning meds, or something else. All of those deserve #noshame because to be any good at #TakingCaraBabies we also need to be #TakingCaraMamas. At the end of the day what babies need is love from healthy parents. - How are you taking care of your mental health today? If you've been in a dark spot as a mama, what are some things that helped you? Tag a mama friend who has been there for you in the dark.

Hands up for #marriagetruths 🙌🏽 because #themotherhoodisreal . . Repost @theperfectmom: ・・・ I remember our first therapy session vividly. My heart was racing and my body was shaking as Ryan and I sat across from our therapist. My hands were sweaty. I sat separated from Ry and the tension between us felt so strong. We were two hurting people only hurting each other. I had so much I wanted to say to Ryan, many things that I had said to him before, but saying them in front of someone felt like they would be heard. But that day my heart ultimately exploded, literally, in the form of tears and anger. To be honest, as much as I thought the reason we were in therapy was because of Ry, I quickly realized I, also, had my own wounds that were eating away at me. It takes two people to have a marriage. And we needed a lot of healing, together and separately. We both came into our marriage with baggage, broken moments, and painful experiences that ultimately never really faced. I was thankful to finally have a third party, someone who could help guide us through our conflicts and help us communicate and hear each other. Someone who we could be vulnerable with and share hard truths with; someone who didn’t judge me, Ry, or our marriage. Someone who offered love, prayers, advice, and support. 🌿 Our first session ended horribly. It felt like my heart hurt more when I left than when I walked in. We didn’t speak the entire drive home. It was horrible. However, healing was happening, I just didn’t see it at the time. Week after week, for two years, we faithfully went to therapy. We went together and separately and over that time we learned how to effectively communicate and hear each other. We let God do a work in our hearts and break down the walls that were holding us back in our marriage. The lack of communicating clearly and actually taking the time to listen to one another (especially if we disagreed) was something that we really struggled with. However, we learned the value in having honest conversations and communication effectively. It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s about hearing each other, loving one another, and growing together. #marriagetruths101 #FIT4MOM