PB = Post Baby. and Pure Barre.

As I type this, I am sitting in my cluttered living room with a baby sleeping on my lap, articles about dissociation following childhood trauma for my next class lecture strewn around me, a pile of unread Real Simple, Elle, and People Stylewatch magazines in the corner, and a not-quite-finished knitted baby sweater on my table, among many other things.

Life after Henry has been hectic. Being a mom is hard. Being a grad student is hard. Being both is...?? I'd say impossible, but I'm still here, right?

Just keep swimming.

One thing that has totally helped me survive is Pure Barre. I miiiiight be addicted. While I'm not entirely positive I'll ever be able to banish the flab away that settled nicely in the place that Henry called home for nine months, pb has helped me keep my energy and self-esteem up. I'm within 10 lbs of my pre-pregnancy weight. Granted that's a function of weight naturally coming off post-baby and maybe also to breastfeeding (although most moms tell me they were never able to shed the last of their weight until they stopped breastfeeding), it feels good to almost be back to my normal self. Pb is great - workouts involve working your muscles to fatigue using small isolated movements and then stretching them out. You do exercises on the floor as well as using a ballet barre. When I did my first workout I felt like such a slob because I couldn't even make it through the warm-up. I still struggle through the workouts now, but it's a good struggle. I love the burning feeling in my arms, thighs, and "seat," as they say in pb. And I can even almost do a full split now! Pb is uber pricey, but I invested in the Baby Bounce back and New Client specials. Been going 3-4 times a week. Totally worth it. And it helps that the Magazine St. location is about 4 blocks from my house. If you're local and wanna join me one of these days, please do. The first class is free!