My journey of weight loss begins in August 2012.
I delivered my beautiful twin boys January 5, 2012. Pre-pregnancy I weighed 131
lbs. By the time I was in the delivery room, I weight 181 lbs. I had a
relatively healthy and near perfect pregnancy. Twins do not run in my family so
I hadn't the slightest bit of clue what was about to happen and how much of an
impact it would have on my life. Because I was a M.O.M. (mother of multiples),
I was considered a high risk patient and I saw two doctors throughout the
course of my pregnancy. I had ultrasounds done weekly for the 37 weeks I
was pregnant. Some people are against this but I trusted my doctors and
felt a peace about this in my heart that we were in good hands. I found out I
was pregnant Memorial Day weekend, found out it was twins at 7 weeks in June
and in August 2011 I found out they were identical twin boys. In September,
I was diagnosed with stage one of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. If
you don't know, there are 5 stages with 1 being the less severe of the 5.
Five results in the loss of one of the twins. Needless to say, as a
first time mom, I was nervous and scared.
I knew I
wanted to name one of them Logan, but it wasn't until I was watching Sleepless
in Seattle one night when the unnamed boy kicked me right as Tom Hanks'
character was calling out for his son Jonah in the movie. Alas, I had my second
name. I also liked the brave Jonah in the whale story-the biblical man of
courage and determination.
Within a week's time, we had prayed for this illness to disappear
without a trace and by the time we returned to the doctor, it had. We were
given blessings from above and after that day, it never surfaced again. Not one
trace of TTTS was found. I was considered
full term when I was induced at 37 weeks and delivered the boys were delivered,
Logan first at 9:29 a.m. and Jonah at 9:30 a.m. Logan was laying vertex in my
belly but, Jonah was laying transverse. That was the reason behind the induction.
I was fully prepared to deliver this blessings naturally.
Fast forward to sixteen
months later and my sons are thriving beautiful handsome little
future heart-breakers getting into anything and everything and making
mommy and daddy proud. The reason for this post is to show that you don't
have to be afraid to let your body change and give in to the beauty that is
within. Too often we judge a person by their status in society, the
clothes on their back and the physical overall appearance.
Beauty is interpreted in many ways. Learn to embrace it all.
Another reason for this post is because I read a rather disturbing
article that described one couple's anger towards being pregnant with twins. As
you can imagine, that article broke my heart. It's one thing to think about
aborting a baby let alone both because of your decision to try IVF.
As a mom, I
couldn't think of anything better in my life than those two little men.
They've enriched my life as a person, as a mom and as a woman.
Following my clearance from my doctors, I was in the gym working on my next
mission-getting my fit dream body and competing for my pro card in the bikini
division of the bodybuilding world. Today, I am a fit 118 with nothing
but determination and drive to get on that stage and proudly show what I have
sacrificed for. Everything I do, I do with my kids in mind. I want them
to be proud of me when they get older. I want to inspire women every
where and more importantly, the moms who think they have to use their kids as
an excuse to not get into shape. If anything, having kids should motivate
you even more. Work hard so later you can play harder. Don't quit. Don't
ever give up. Keep going until you meet your goals then set new ones and
conquer those. I hope this helps you all! I love and believe in each and
every one of you. This isn't just for the women. I want men to know the same
applies for them. There is nothing more attractive and honorable than a
daddy in shape with his kids. So, find your inner inspiration and hold on to
it. I promise it's worth it all in the end. And, your kids and family will
thank you for it.
Love,
Andie
