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It’s time to honor mothers!

We have amazing giveaways all week long leading up to Mother’s Day with all sorts of mama and baby resources for you! Scroll all the way to the bottom to enter both of these amazing giveaways!

And we have a Zulily maternity store gift certificate worth $100 – partnered with an Ultimate Homemaker’s Resource Library of 97 books {exclusive}!

Package #1

We are very excited to bless an expectant mother with a $100 gift certificate to Zulily Maternity & 1 Ultimate Homemaker Ebook Bundle {which is no longer for sale}!

~The Zulily Gift certificate generously brought to you by the bloggers below.~

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Package #2

This giveaway package has it all! Something for any mom, whether this is your first baby or your tenth!

Lisa Jacobson of Club 31 Women donated her book How Did God Make Me?

Boys and girls love to know that they are special, and nothing instills a sense of uniqueness like the knowledge that they were known and loved before birth. Help your child develop feelings of understanding and closeness with the God who is intimately involved in our lives — even before we are born!

The Mission-Minded Child is a practical book to encourage Christian parents and teachers placed in the strategic position of impacting the next generation.

As a guide to world missions, The Mission-Minded Child is filled with facts, information, and tools for teaching. It focuses on the “why” of missions–including our Biblical basis, historical heritage, and the world’s need–and contains over 25 mini-missionary biographies, motivational mission stories, classic poems, hymns, and hundreds of easy-to-use ideas. The Mission-Minded Child will inspire teachers and parents to look for God’s potential in their child, “release” their little one to God for His purposes, and “raise” their child to fulfill God’s specific mission, whatever that might be. As a resource tool, this book will be referred to again and again.

Heidi St. John donated her eBook The Busy Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Romance. Heidi blogs at The Busy Mom.

Homeschooling offers parents the best opportunity to shepherd their children both academically and spiritually. Yes. It’s worth it. But do you ever feel as if your life is “all homeschool—all the time?” Do you ever wonder where the girl your husband married went? This book is for every mom who has collapsed into bed at the end of the day, looked into the eyes of her husband and promised “tomorrow” she’d have time for him. Trouble is, tomorrow finds her more exhausted than the day before. If you have ever felt caught between the demands of homeschooling your children and meeting the needs of your husband, you’re not alone. Read and discover how even a busy homeschool mom can make time to nurture her marriage. It’s not as hard as you think—and more important than you may realize.

Shoshanna Easling, owner of Bulk Herb Store donated their Making Babies set that includes the book and 3 DVDs.

Making Babies is a fun, informational, artistic, and colorful pregnancy book. Follow Shoshanna through her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter as she stays healthy and builds a baby. The book covers information that is in the DVDs volumes 1, 2, and 3, includes many deliciously healthy recipes, wonderful gluten-free recipes, grandma’s remedies, herbal concoctions, and need-to-know facts, and is packed with research about fertility, conception, morning sickness, pregnancy, birth, nursing, postpartum issues, losing weight, and more!

Source: Laura Newman Photography

Blessings God’s Way donated A Celebration of Pregnancy DVD Combo {DVD + Guide}

This set enables you to feel confident and sure about hosting a Blessing God’s Way gathering in your community! This DVD is 30 minutes long . Watch this prior to hosting your own gathering or pass it on, along with the book,  to friends and family that you can share our message with. What a blessing to know there is a God-centered instructional DVD  and book for celebrating birth! May God be glorified!

    The Joyful Giraffe donated one large snack bag and one large sandwich bag.

These are two great reusable products that will save you money and are eco-friendly too!Both have a waterproof lining on the inside and a zipper closure, so whether it has grapes or a sandwich, all messes are contained! Bags are handmade by a work at home mom.

Angie Tolpin of Leaving a Legacy is donating a signed Redeeming Childbirth Package {Book & Growth & Study Guide}, $30 value. I love this book! Angie is a friend of mine, and she gave me a signed copy that I hauled around in my purse for a week, reading it hungrily! Then I passed it on to a dear friend planning her third pregnancy! There is an amazing note from her husband to new fathers about how to support their women. Love it!

“Childbirth is more than an event that makes a woman a mother. This journey was designed to be a spiritual milestone that draws every woman’s heart back to the only Deliverer.”

Bethany Learn of Fit to Be Us {that’s me!} is donating a 6 Month Membership to her online exercise site, a $50 value.

Juju Band is donating one Baby Belly Binder.

Baby belly binding has long been used in various forms by many different cultures. The ancient art of binding has been made easy and quite cute by the Juju Band. Its design is simple and made to accommodate even the busiest of parents! The Juju Band has been a family tradition for over 100 years. It is a tradition still used today in our family. We hope that you will join our family tradition and try the Juju Band on your newborns and infants. Juju Bands are used for 2 different purposes. First, it is used on the Newborn as a shield to protect from constant contact of diapers and clothing. This helps reduce the likelihood of irritation and infection. The Newborn Navel Protector also helps give your baby the perfect “innie” belly button. Second, the Infant Belly Binder helps relieve colic and soothe fussy babies. The snug fit calms and comforts even the most finicky infants.

Jennifer Lambert of Royal Little Lambs donates a Gentle Babies book and Gentle Baby essential oil.

Combining two decades of professional knowledge with tried-and-true techniques and first-hand testimonials, the author Debra Raybern has compiled this insightful and easy-to-follow guide benefitting both experienced and first-time mothers. In addition, Gentle Babies book contains an introduction to therapeutic-grade essential oils and applications and provides safety information and a section on discerning the quality of essential oils. Every family taking proactive steps to better health should have this resource in their home library. Gentle Baby™ essential oil is a soft, fragrant combination of essential oils designed specifically for mothers and babies. It helps calm emotions during pregnancy and is useful for quieting troubled little ones. It is also soothing to tender skin. Many of the essential oils in this blend are used in elite cosmetics to enhance a youthful appearance.

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Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

I’m so excited to partner with Charity from The Homegrown Family, as well as a few other bloggers, to bring you this awesome giveaway!!! An Ergo! If you have a diastasis, the best way to wear your baby is on your back or on your side, and this carrier allows that. You don’t want the baby’s weight resting right on your tummy, pushing on your damaged abdominal wall, and the belt on the ergo – if worn right – will aid in splinting your gap, in my opinion because it helps the transverse abdominus do its job while reducing pressure in the core.

I’ve owned many baby carriers over the years and the Ergo carrier is one of my favorites! I especially like that I can carry my children, even my strapping toddler, on my back, in front, or my hip comfortably.

I can work hands-free while still mothering and keeping my little ones safely nearby.

When I’m out shopping, I can tuck them into the Ergo, where they can comfortably sleep next to mama’s heartbeat.

And on windy days, I can fasten the head cover to protect their delicate skin.

As for other benefits, read this info, straight from the site:

ERGObaby’s baby carrier design supports a natural sitting position for babies, eliminating compression of the spine and hips that can be caused by unsupported suspension. The baby carrier also balances the baby’s weight to parents’ hips and shoulders, and alleviates physical stress for the parent.

Not only does The Homegrown Family offer this fabulous product, but they also offer awesome kitchen tools, such as The Wondermill Grain Mill (a favorite of mine), Bosch Mixers, and the Excalibur Dehydrator (another favorite).

She even carries high quality coconut oil which I use for everything from my goat’s udders while milking, to diaper rashes, to cooking, to smoothing out scratched in our knotty pine paneling. 

Check out her fabulous items and help support a homeschooling mama to many! Her family is beautiful! Here’s more about them: 

Due to shipping restrictions, this giveaway is only available to our US friends.
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Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

‎A new member recently posted in our private member forum: “I’m a mother of 2 with my second pregnancy ending in a c-section as a result of my diastisis that went unnoticed (the midwife at the delivery was appalled that no one had addressed the problem, yet had little advice to offer me afterwards). Having a diastisis of at least an 8 at the widest (and I’m a petite person), many professionals that I saw wanted to steer me towards surgery, perhaps, or pass me off to some one else. In the months following delivery, I finally became educated as to how to deal with this issue, and was amazed at the lack of knowledge in this area exhibited by those I saw. Having just joined Fit2B Studio last week, I wanted to let everyone know how much I appreciate all the thoughts/comments being posted.” – Fit2B in Maine, Samantha

When I shared her comment on our main facebook fan page, a friend of mine, Donna in Washington, added another thought: “This makes me wonder about a few things. I’ve had 4 pregnancies, 3 beautiful boys. My last 2 pregnancies I was on bedrest (6 weeks and more than 20+ weeks). The doctor believes that my pregnancies will continue to be tougher on my body. Do you think if I got my tummy repaired by tummy team that this would change?”

Several who have healed their bellies under the care of Kelly Dean, Founder of The Tummy Team, commented that they believed Donna could definitely benefit from healing her abs. My answer to Donna took a more “spiritual” angle that I now want to share with you because I sometimes struggle to find words to sum up my belief that our Creator never meant for women to suffer with the hopeless darkness of diastasis recti. And we see that proof in our how bodies are designed. Here’s what I wrote…

“YES, I do think that healing your core will dramatically affect your future pregnancies. When there is a large diastasis, the abs simply cannot do their job correctly, and the effect on how the baby is carried, how the baby is positioned for birth, how well you can push, how your bladder is pushed on, and perhaps even how the placenta is held in place (my own unresearched theory) are all factors that come into play. Yet the core is heal-able! We don’t have to settle for those problems. Our loving Creator designed us to carry many children, and I don’t believe that “Eve’s curse” damns us to suffering forever AFTER birth. We are created to heal! It’s our fallen world’s patterns and positions that perpetuate cycles of unhealth and unhealing. When we look at the intelligent design of how our bones are supposed to align and naturally engage our bodies without CRAZY workouts, you see the hope. That’s why my site’s stuff is so alignment-based and focused on loving, functional movements.”

If you’re a member, you really need to try our new “Align it Flat” routine which is not about flattening your spine but about getting a flatter tummy just by positioning your body in the proper load-bearing stance so that your belly isn’t bulging out with effort all the time. If you’re pregnant right now, you need to read my article entitled, Three Exercises for a Strong Birth.

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

Do you see that mama at the top of the screen? Her name is “Molly” and – while she looks a lot like me (when I get my hair cut and styled on a regular basis) – she’s really every mom. She’s got a baby in one hand, weights in the other, and a purse slung over her elbow. But Molly’s journey hasn’t been easy; getting “fit to be” balancing a busy schedule of homemaking, mothering, networking, volunteering, and all that while harnessing whatever skills she has help pay the bills hasn’t taken time and stick-to-it-ness. Like every mom, Molly has a story, and one of our members in New York, Lynn Andrews, is a talented artist who is going to illustrate Molly’s tale of becoming a Fit2B Mama…

Has something similar not happened to YOU while you tried to workout at home? Hahaha! This gal Molly has been in my shoes. She’s you. She’s me. She’s every mom who barely has time to get dressed in the morning, let alone find time to herself. At least cleaning up the bathroom can be a warmup for the rest of the safe, gentle, effective, and FAMILY-FRIENDLY video workouts we provide here on Fit2B Studio, right? If you’re like Molly in also wanting to get rid of your pooch, be sure to check yourself for diastasis, which is an ab injury that contributes to the “barrel belly.” Then get excited, because all you need is 10 minutes to wake up your whole body with our complimentary core routine by signing up for our newsletter today.

Fit2B Yours, Bethany Learn 

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

My daughter spent a healthy amount of time this weekend with her cousins while I did the Portland to Coast Walking Relay. We ended up having a spontaneous aerobic dance party in the car after I retrieved her and my sister’s kids from my parents. Later we looked those silly songs up on youtube and worked out another impromptu dance party in my sister’s kitchen! Here’s one video that got us all bee-bopping and laughing! Mahna Mahna!

So I got to thinkin’ how stringing them together in a blog might help other parents have something to do that gets their kids moving and grooving in a positive and fit way. Then I realized that sometimes blogs get buried, and I should turn it into a workout resource in our Fit2B Kids pathway of exercise videos. So CLICK HERE to find the whole FREE dance party!

How does bopping around help you get or stay in shape? Well, if you keep your belly button drawn inward and bounce a little, it’s a great way to wake up your core and whole body. People think they need to pay big bucks at a gym to workout, but you don’t. You just need to move. Right where you are. Dance and bop around and giggle and wiggle. Don’t even worry about hitting the beat. Just go with your own flow and enjoy your body’s ability to be athletic in its own way.

JOIN TODAY to GET FULL ACCESS to ALL OF OUR WORKOUT VIDEOS!

CLICK HERE FOR MEMBERSHIP INFO!

(they’re not available on youtube)

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

What do you tell women who are trying to lose that post-baby line of fat around the belly button? Does it sometimes not go away? (And if that’s the case, what do you say?) This question came to me in an email from Jenn Sinkler of Experience Life magazine, and here’s how I answered it in my email back to her

It really is worth a full article, this question you’ve posed about that last troublesome line of fat on a mother’s belly. What I often ask the mother is “Why? Why are you so worried about it?”

If the mother is still nursing, she shouldn’t try to lose all her fat, because she needs it to lactate and to restart her period.

If the mother has young ones, they need a soft belly to rest on, to relax against… and so many mothers OBSESS about it when they should either…

a. Accept it if their overall bodyfat is within normal, healthy ranges

b. Determine what the culprit really is…

Most moms don’t really want abs of steel – we just want our core back – but we feel driven to “keep up” by a society that obsesses about six packs! Our husbands are perfectly happy with a softer body with a few extra curves. BUT IF A MOM REALLY WANTS TO GET RID OF that extra line of fat for healthy reasons (not just because she’s tied her self image or body image to have fat-less abs) then – again – the real culprit must be located. Is it…

a. Diastasis -this is always what I look at first because a distended transverse abdominusthat has never been reactivated after having been stretched to its limits is often the culprit behind the “extra tire.” If it’s a client of yours, perform the check yourself – not at a full crunch, but just as the head lifts off the floor. CLICK HERE to watch our video showing how to check yourself for diastasis. This image is from Tupler‘s super awesome campaign!

Now I ask my readers, what do you think about that “extra line of fat” and how it affects your mental and physical outlook? Please comment!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

I follow a page on facebook called Made to Birth, and she asked a question: How do you go with your body? What do you do to be tuned in to birth? For me it always goes back to fitness, because that’s how I’m wired and trained to think. Babies and workouts are my two biggest passions, so here is how I answered her…

“As a pre/post natal fitness specialist, I must answer this awesome question from my experience. From what I’ve seen in myself through 3 pregnancies and in other women, the more a woman exercises in safe ways, the more in tune she is during the ultimate workout of birth. She is unafraid of a little cramping, a little rush of pain. She knows the payoff is worth it, and she knows her limits. Each contraction is just one more set in the workout, one more exercise in the routine. And we breathe… and we tune into our core’s deepest muscles, and we summon strength we didn’t know we had to bring forth a healthy NEW life! Okay… I gotta go blog this!”

Most of my members come to me hurting and injured. They are recovering from birth or being beat up in bootcamps – military and gym style – and they realize they need to start at the beginning because they are finally tuning into what their body really needs: progression.

Just like labor starts with a tiny twinge, a braxton hicks tightening of the transverse, then a tenseness that wraps around the belly and into the back, and then a menstrual cramping feeling in the low belly, and all of that builds and fades, builds and fades, builds bigger and comes quicker, over and over… So a workout routine must start small. Fit mamas know this: You don’t get pregnant and give birth the next day. There is progression, development, growth, adaption, and then you’re ready for the biggest workout of your life. Keep reading below…

Founder of Fit2B Studio, Bethany Learn, STANDING during a gnarly contraction after climbing out of the tub. Her sister is giving counter-pressure. She's at 6 cm and it's 90 minutes before her son's birth.

It’s a workout that is exhilarating and painful and emotional and rewarding and difficult and wonderful and you’d never want to do it again anytime soon, but maybe you do because WOW! That is how my two natural births felt. I was in tune. I knew the power and the push was all me. I was as strong as the contractions because I was the contractions. It was my birth, my children, my womb, my core muscles working in unison to bring forth LIFE!!!

Birth is the day of the race that you supposedly have been training your body for. There is a warm-up, then the interval training with the peaks of contractions and the rest in between, then the burner set of pushing and – just like at the gym – sometimes we yell to get through those final reps. We call on spotters and assistants to stand beside us and support the weight we are pushing … And then it’s over, and you’re cooling down and shivering with the excitement and adrenaline of muscles that have been pushed to their max. Only, unlike the gym, you don’t just move onto the next set – unless you’re having twins.

Just as a life starts as a microscopic joining of egg and sperm and grows into a human ready to breathe, cry and crawl to the breast… AND just as birth starts as a small flex and grows into the biggest marathon event of your life, so your workouts should start small as you get going. And that’s what we offer here at Fit2B Studio: Progression. You start with short, easy workouts that are safe for if you’re dealing with injuries like split abs or sore knees (because it’s really not safe to just go right into Turbo Fire after having a baby). Then you move forward through over 50 more videos that will build your strength, challenge your endurance, and lower your body fat percentage OVER TIME. It’s all about progression and tuning into your body’s pace, your body’s rhythm, your body’s needs. Are your ready? If so start by checking your belly for a diastasis!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

This is an interview with Mommy Baby Spot‘s Darlene Watson. A birth educator and mother of two, she is also a member of Fit2B Studio!

Bethany: Welcome Darlene! You are very passionate about helping moms have healthy, fit births. Can you tell us little about your own births? 

Darlene: My own births are what made me decide to be a childbirth educator. My first son was born in 2009 and I labored for 9 hours, pushing for an hour. I had a wonderful midwife and she was incredibly supportive, but my son put up a fight and was born with his hand up at his ear. I didn’t even know that was possible! I had attended childbirth class, but it didn’t really prepare me the way I wanted it to because it was a quick, 6-hour long weekend class that I just couldn’t absorb.

After giving birth, I was fascinated with childbirth and breastfeeding, but it was a general fascination, and I didn’t really know how I wanted to be involved. I got pregnant again and gave birth in November, 2011. That birth experience decided me on being a childbirth educator. I had not gone to classes this time (which I recommend you at least take a refresher course for each birth) and wish I had, but the only thing available was the hospital class which I knew I didn’t want.

Darlene nursed her baby while "walking" for her graduation!

During the labor and delivery, my wonderful boyfriend supported me the best he could but my doctor ended up strong-arming us, and I gave birth on my back, feeling very helpless and furious that I was in that vulnerable un-helpful position! Once I recovered my wits about me, I told myself that no woman ever needed to go through that type of birth and that I would educate as many as would let me. Since then I started the process to get my International Childbirth Education Certification, my Breastfeeding Counselor certification, and started teaching Courage to Birth childbirth classes… Oh, and I graduated college about a month after giving birth the second time.

Darlene: I can see the difference when a woman has good posture and core strength and is pregnant! She doesn’t have a lot of the pain and discomfort because her body is able to handle the weight of her baby and she is able to properly stand and support that weight with the proper muscles. Hooray for a good pelvic floor and core! Her belly isn’t hanging down with the weight of that baby–like mine was with my second pregnancy! Instead it’s supported and standing out proudly.

During birth, she knows how to stand to make the most out of the opening in her pelvis and her stomach muscles are in shape to help push that baby out! Birth is the most rigorous thing most women will ever do and having that core strength can make the difference. I also need to mention, if she’s been doing proper core exercises (i.e. NO crunches), and her core was in great shape before pregnancy, and she has been standing properly, she’s going to bounce back from that pregnancy and birth much faster than a woman who is suffering from diastasis, prolapse, incontinence, and other problems that occur when there isn’t that strong core and pelvic floor holding up what it was supposed to hold up.

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

When I first watched this video about why exercise does NOT need to be hard or hurtful to work, I felt like standing up and cheering! As a mom who understands the quest to get your abs back, I nearly destroyed my post-birth body doing too many crunches and crazy workouts. My diastasis was still 3.5 fingers wide two and a half years after having my son! This video shows that all we need for health benefits is about 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. It’s as simple as walking, paying attention to good alignment, playing with our kids, doing a little stretching and strengthening, mopping the floor, and lending a helping hand. Why must we complicate things? Please watch!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

This high-energy and high-impact workout is sure to help you burn major calories and tone your muscles along the way, yet as I analyze turbofire clips on youtube, a few things make me cringe.

As a fit mama with a bachelor degree in exercise and sport science, multiple certifications, and 16 years of experience in the fitness industry, I am trained to go beyond the burning of calories and dissect issues that play into posture, alignment, health history, functionality, and how each workout will positively AND negatively affect the demographic that is most likely to buy into said workout. A lot of workouts will make you LOOK good on the outside while hurting you on the inside. Turbofire could be one of them.

1. It is my educated opinion that turbofire is not safe for those with a history of knee issues or lower back pain, because the jumping will exacerbate those issues. 

The high-impact aspect could be modified with no jumping, and I understand that the pre-cursor Turbo Jam is less intense, but as a person who has been through knee-surgery after years of teaching intense group fitness classes, I can say with certainty that the ache and expense of damaged knee tissue is not worth such an intense workout. I can burn just as many calories in my workouts without hurting myself. There are ways to do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) without a bunch of jumping and core-damaging motions.

2. I see a lot of leaning forward and hunched shoulders in the clips I reviewed, and that could worsen bad posture and diastasi recti.

If you have a poochy belly, one of the worst things you can do for your gut is a lot of high-impact work in a forward-bent position! So if your belly dangles down when you lean forward, or your tummy makes a v-shape when you sit up, you need to check yourself for a diastasis. We want to train how we want to look. There are ways to burn calories without ruining your posture and pooching the muscles of your belly. Moms are the ones who are flocking to these workouts, because we are so desperate to get our bodies back. We can even ignore the fact that most of these workouts make us pee our pants, thinking that’s just normal… but it’s not, ladies. It’s not. If your workout makes you pee your pants, it’s doing more harm than good.

3. It is also my opinion that the attire of the presenters and participants is not family-friendly and would be unsuitable for me to play with my son present.

I do not believe I need to be half naked to inspire my followers to have good form. What’s wrong with a tank top! I can believe they have great six packs without seeing so much skin and bouncing breasts! But sex sells… sigh. Just watch the video above for yourself! It’s inspiring but also intimidating to the average women with 100 lbs to lose!

4. Last but not least this workout is connected to Shakeology. I’m not a big fan of shakes for losing weight, because you won’t drink shakes forever and then what? 

In short, if you have NO issue of knee issues, lower back pain, diastasis, pregnancy, abdominal surgery, spinal disc issues, and you have time to exercise for an hour at a time, go for it! But why not find something more gentle and more family-friendly? You only have one body. Don’t ruin it just to burn a few extra calories on the outside while rupturing discs on the inside.

Click here to try three of our low-impact workouts for $3 

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!