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Birthing Strong, Hawthorne, NJ (2025)

05/26/2025

Moms can do Murph too!

Murph is a hero workout usually done on Memorial Day to honor the fallen. It’s named after Lt. Michael Murphy who gave up his life to save the lives of his friends. It consists of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run, while wearing a weighted vest.

Doing this workout as written is hard for anyone! But there are few areas we want to be mindful of when we’re considering our heart rate, body temperature, and more. Thats why I created these variations for some of my mama friends & I want to share them with you!

You can create so many versions & variations of one workout, but a few things hold true:

1. This day & this workout aren’t actually about the workout, but more about the meaning BEHIND the workout and why we’re doing it 🇺🇸

2. You’ve got to listen to your body: How you feel could change in a minute, a few hours, the next day, but ask yourself: how do I feel right now? Base your intensity and movement options on that but also remember that it’s ok to change your mind & change the workout if that’s what your body needs too!

3. Use your breaks wisely: these are your opportunities to check-in, down regulate, breathe, and take it all in. I encourage mamas to cheer others as well. Plus, Cheering on someone else means you’re moving at conversational pace - that’s the goal!! 😉

If you find this helpful, share with a friend who’s going to be doing Murph tomorrow!

05/15/2025

Did you know that the pregnancy & postpartum coaching industry is growing?! - with more MALE coaches! 🤩

I love this because while, yes, women happen to listen to other female coaches most often, there is something so reassuring about educated men who know how to help and work with women in this space and season of life.

They are calm, approachable, non-judgmental, caring, curious, and so knowledgeable! We need more of these coaches! 🙌🏾

Does your fitness facility have coaches like this? If so, make sure to tag them!

04/01/2025

Hey everyone!

It’s been a minute! And I’m back to share a little bit of different content than my usual pregnancy and postpartum content. I debated sharing this but it’s too important not to share.

I have recently been learning a ton about another season in life, one that all of us women will inevitably experience: perimenopause and menopause.

Did you know that Symptoms can start as early as 35?! It’s more common than we think.

I recently was invited to an event called Demystify Menopause by and although I’m not personally in this season, y’all, I learned so much!

I learned that a lot of old “research” on menopause was actually poorly done (I’m a former lab researcher so this was mind blowing) and results are SO outdated on hormone replacement therapy. Plus the majority of the practitioners on the panels are local!

The reason I’m posting about this here though is because I have some followers who started with me within the last 10 years or so - & like I mentioned, some of you are now experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms for the first time and you have no idea what to do or what’s happening to you & it’s frustrating.

For the record: yes, your postpartum season can definitely influence your experience in perimenopause and menopause! Which is why what you do in pregnancy and postpartum matters so much not just for the short-term, but also the long-term.

But back to peri-menopause and menopause: this season is often filled with so much mystery & shame. And the truth is, our medical system is no better at supporting us. But it doesn’t have to be shame-filled and there are some really incredible people and local resources like the women in these slides. You just need to ask for help.

If you’re in this season, you don’t have to do this alone & you do not have to suffer. I want to be really clear: you do NOT have to suffer. & if you’ve lived through this season, please encourage other women around you who haven’t been there yet or are in it. Better yet, share your resources.

Women need women in all seasons, not just pregnancy & postpartum 💕

DM me if I can help & let me know if you want more content like this 🙏🏾🙌🏾

06/25/2024

Are you watching the US Olympic Trials?!

….moms can (still) do AMAZING things!!! 🤩

Congrats to !!!

📸 credit

03/13/2024

The Reina Birth Circle is only weeks away! 👑

This is a 7 week online course that combines both prenatal birth education and fitness.

My favorite part of the birth education course is the Info Sheet. This provides questions and options that help you answer the following before you get to the birthing center/hospital for birth:

🔰Documents/info to carry & have on hand
🔰Comfort measures
🔰To post or not to post on social media
🔰What to do if you have pets
🔰What to do when you 1st arrive to hospital/BC
🔰Types of Inductions; natural & medical
🔰The birth environment & preferences
🔰Episiotomy?
🔰Types of cesarean sections; emergency & non
🔰What happens to baby post birth
🔰How long to Skin to skin
🔰Mama’s recovery
🔰Umbilical cord options
🔰Placenta options
🔰Vitamin K
🔰Eye drops
🔰Vaccines
🔰to bathe or not bathe baby
🔰Breastfeeding &/or Formula feeding

What else would you add?

03/05/2024

👑Enrollment for Reina Birth Circle is now OPEN! 👑

See link in bio ⬆️ for registration options

This is a 7 week Birth Prep program + Fitness/workouts included.

Swipe ➡️ to check out some of the topics we will be covering in this 7 week series.

The most important part, in my opinion, is the live check-ins. I think the community aspect plays a pretty significant role here in that you can both ask questions and receive answers to questions you didn’t even know you had but that another couple may have asked. In this way, we can learn from one another’s experiences as well as receive vital information together.

I’ve also received a couple questions about the fitness portion of this series that I’d like to answer here. The fitness portion includes 3 programmed workouts per week with modification options for each day. Most workouts include a breath and prep section, a strength portion and a conditioning piece. The fitness portion is not live but will be completed on your own time and will be provided through an app that’s super easy to use that includes videos and instruction on each movement. Once you sign up, you’ll receive an email with all the details! I tried to make it as easy and seamless as possible - because let’s be honest, you have enough other stuff going on!

If you have questions about this series and the fitness involved, send me a DM so that I can tell you more! 🤳🏾

02/27/2024

👑 SAVE THE DATE 👑

Reina Birth Circle launches 3/24/24!

Reina is Spanish for Queen. This name honors every woman becoming a mama for the very first time (or multiple times) and my Latina heritage …& honestly, it just rolls off the tongue easily!

I’ve ran other groups before but I’m excited to offer one that includes BOTH birth education/prep AND fitness all in one! Honestly, friends, it’s a one-stop shop and takes the guess work out of everything!

The education and workouts shared will combine my experience being a birth doula (since 2018) and long term fitness professional in the pregnancy and postpartum space (2014).

This course will meet remotely for 7 weeks, requires minimal equipment, and is limited to 15 couples.

Stay tuned for more details and registration coming soon!

01/22/2024

An early

This is me getting ready to go into the OR with a mama and her hubby. She needed to have a cesarean and I was allowed to be there as well.

It seems rare that doulas are allowed in the OR anymore (except maybe for those doulas who are already employed and known by the hospital) and I understand why - the less people in surgery the better.

This was one of those days though where I’m so thankful I was allowed “past the veil” as I called it, to support mom. In this particular occasion, dad needed support too as he came close to passing out. Let’s just say he was taller than the blue cloth drapes. These drapes hang together by mom’s chest and block her view from her c-section. In case you didn’t know, you can also request clear drapes to view your c-section and feel like you’re part of the birthing process.

…but back to dad. Dad should not have looked over the drapes, but he did anyway. He has never seen his wife this way and not only locked out his knees, but started swaying.

The next thing I know I’m leaned into his side (so he didn’t pass out on his wife), making a fist, and jamming it (punching it) into his thigh in hopes of “waking him up.” I wish I was kidding. But it worked. The anesthesiologist came over and helped me help dad into a chair.

The crazy part is that dad did NOT remember any of this. Completely blocked it out. That was his protective response. He remembered seeing his daughter for the first time though 💕

But, if you and your partner are expecting, I want to encourage you to make sure dad is ok too. Not just at the actual birth event… but after. They see EVERYTHING and hold it all in, forever. This is just another reason to have a doula IMO, but also, please encourage them to seek professional help to process what they saw and experienced, even if YOU feel like it was the best birth ever 🫶🏾 & if you need local resources, DM me and I’ll send them your way.

01/19/2024

Happy Side-lying Friday! 🥳

On a call last week, someone asked me how I know when a mom is ready to return back to fitness postpartum?

Great question. The answer, as you all know, varies from person to person. Besides making sure she isn’t experiencing incontinence, lochia (discharge), some other core dysfunction, inflammation, or any other “unfamiliar” pain, one of my favorite indicators that I think a lot of people overlook is a side-lying hip raise, similar to a clam shell. It’s the foundation to a future side plank.

It’s one of the few movements I’ve observed that most mamas cannot do immediately postpartum. I hear this from moms pretty often post baby but they say something along the lines of: “It’s like my obliques and posterior chain completely shut off…even though I was consistently working out up until yesterday!”

Listen, it takes time for moms to feel “normal” again in their own skin and like they can trust their body once more. The side lying hip raise - and various progressions - is just one tool in my tool box to help mamas return to movement and it’s a good one!

Ps. No, I don’t always coach with a baby in my arms, but I sure do love it…. If you couldn’t tell! 🥰

12/26/2023

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!! 🎄

Despite the crazy year it’s been, this holiday season has been restful, joyful and filled with so much love! That has been the real gift ♥️ I hope it’s the same for you and your families as well. Merry Christmas, my friends 🎁

10/11/2023

The last few days have been hard. For everyone.

To witness what is being done to babies, to women, & families at the hands of terror.ists….And then to witness supporters of some of the most inhumane acts I’ve ever seen….. is hard.

I cannot unsee what I have seen.

Right now we are mourning. And can’t even find the words to share. But I do know that people still need help. They need us to mobilize and send resources. They need milk supplies and so much more.

Please continue to pray for these families …& keep doing what we can to help. I’ll post what I have and what I can when I have it 💙

09/01/2023

The last month may take forever…. But when babies are ready to come, some of them are impatient and have been coming so fast! Could the blue super moon have anything to do with it? 🤔

Very recently I was training 2 mamas and helping them prep for their births…..both mamas birthed their babies in the car (on the way to the birthing center or hospital)! Both moms expressed they hardly felt labor symptoms or didn’t recognize them at first; one was a first-time mama and the other a 2nd time mama. For the record, zero tearing or complications occurred, which was amazing! It could be genetics, their preparation, the blue moon…. We don’t know, but I’m thankful that both mamas and their babies are doing so well 🙏🏼

But it’s yet another reminder for me that babies come when babies want!

Do you know anyone who was born in a car 🚗??

Ps. I have a cool project I’ve been working on exclusively for moms-to-be! Stay tuned for more details coming out within the week!!

Credit:

Birthing Strong

05/26/2025

05/15/2025

04/01/2025

06/25/2024

03/13/2024

03/05/2024

02/27/2024

01/22/2024

01/19/2024

12/26/2023

10/11/2023

09/01/2023

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