2015: What a Great Year!

2015 has been such a fun and rewarding year and I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of the women who participated in the FITMOM 2B, FITMOM & Baby, FITMOM Stroller Strength and FITWOMAN classes. It has been my pleasure to offer a variety of workouts, both indoors and outdoors and to see so many of you achieve or surpass your fitness goals, becoming stronger and healthier each week.

Here are a few of the highlights from 2015, a year that saw me celebrate 5 years as FITMOM Ottawa's owner, 10 years of FITMOM in Ottawa and 15 years since FITMOM's inception!

I started the outdoor season with a new location - Brewer Park! As it turns out, this was a terrific choice and the classes there were very popular! All of the moms seemed to really love the fact that it was so central, there was a large, shady area and of course, there was great camaraderie among both women and babies. There was plenty of space and lots of moms and babies, making it easy to find new friends at every class! As a bonus, there was a large covered area that we were able to use when Mother Nature decided not to cooperate with us!

The other change for the outdoor season was a new FITMOM Stroller Strength class on Friday mornings at Brewer Park. This was a great addition to the schedule and lots of moms were happy to add a Friday workout to their weekly fitness sessions.

Outdoor FITMOM 2B, FITMOM Stroller Strength & FITWOMAN classes

2015 saw social media explode and I took the opportunity to learn how to better use various platforms to help spread awareness about the FITMOM program, so that more women could benefit from safe and effective exercise during their prenatal and postnatal years. I was overwhelmed with the response when so many of you began sharing information, photos, blog posts and newsletters and as a result, all of the FITMOM classes were quite full for the entire year. In fact, this year, I had some of my largest classes ever - with over 30 moms, babies and sometimes toddlers! Thank you so much for believing in FITMOM and spreading the word to your friends, colleagues and family!

Indoor FITMOM & Baby and FITWOMAN classes

For the past few summers, I've run an unlimited promotion for the spring and summer time. This summer saw the most women participate in the promotion and with four FITMOM Stroller classes and three FITWOMAN classes to choose from, the level of commitment and dedication was terrific! I was lucky to see a number of moms at least twice a week, if not three times a week! The best part? Watching their babies get bigger while they were getting stronger and leaner! Despite often being sleep deprived, it was amazing to see them all leaving with smiles on their faces! Be sure to keep on the look out for the Get Fit promotion in 2016!!

In March 2015, I joined the Ladies of Old Ottawa South to Bust a Move for Breast Cancer. As part of our fundraising, I taught three FITMOM classes over the March Break where the only cost was a donation to Bust a Move. I was very grateful that you all helped me raise over $600 for the cause! Our last FITMOM and Baby class in December was an extra class that was used to support the Food Bank. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to these two wonderful causes.

Ladies of Old Ottawa South Bust a Move Team!

For four years, I have been so fortunate to have Lindsay teaching the Monday night FITWOMAN class for me. I can't thank her enough for continuing to bring fun and interesting workouts for the Monday night FITWOMEN each week. It makes my life so much better, knowing I can rely on her to teach a great class week after week.

I've also been lucky to have had three new teachers help me out this year - Candace (who has sadly moved to Texas), Tonya and Jenn. You may recall that Tonya taught the Monday night FITWOMAN class this summer and Jenn taught the FITMOM 2B and FITWOMAN class in the fall. I'm looking forward to working with Tonya and Jenn again in 2016!

Lindsay teaching FITWOMAN & Candace teaching FITMOM & Baby

So many great things happened at FITMOM in 2015! But the best part has definitely been seeing so many amazing women week after week and watching them work hard to become stronger, leaner and happier. So, thank you to all who continue to support FITMOM, whether it's coming to classes every week, returning to classes after a hiatus or telling your friends about me. I am truly grateful to have you in my life!

From my family to yours... I wish you all the best for a healthy and happy 2016. May all of your wishes come true:)

From our family to yours... Happy New Year!!

Welcome to M.A.M.A. Month!

We, at FITMOM, have made November 

“Mental Health and Motherhood Awareness” Month – M.A.M.A.

Since 1999, when Andrea Page, founder of FITMOM Inc., had her first baby, she has been advocating for more support and awareness on the effects of mental health and its connection to Mothering.

Photo Credit: trinaphoto.com for FITMOM

Her personal experience with serious postpartum depression following the birth of her first son, Akua, makes her an ideal spokeswoman on an issue that touches so many families. Like most women dealing with mood disorders, she found a lack of support from both the professional community and her own personal network. Today, a lack of education, coupled with long waiting lists to access support, continues to be a barrier for many women to get the help they need.

Women’s Health Matters, a program operated by Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, cites maternal depression as one of the greatest threats to an infant’s development: “The first couple of years of life permanently set the stage for the cognitive, mental, and medical health of individuals. And, maternal depression is one of the greatest adversities an infant can face.”

In August 2013, a research study released found that mothers in urban areas were almost twice as likely to suffer postpartum depression (10 % of reported cases vs 6 %).

Throughout the month of November, FITMOM will be sharing stories and resources about motherhood and mental health. We want to educate mothers, along with their family, friends, colleagues and community members who connect with or support families during the first 6 years of a child’s life.

Building a strong base of support within a community is a major step in creating a mother that is healthy and strong. By creating awareness and sharing tips on how to build an effective and healthy network, we hope to shed the stigma that is attached to women’s mental health and to impact and teach communities the simple steps that can have a positive effect on moms and babies everywhere:

• A mother needs to be mothered. She needs to be nurtured by others, listened to, and cooked for. She also needs space to deal with the emotional and physical changes after birth and time to adapt to her new responsibilities as a parent.
• A mother needs extra support to sleep. Excessive sleeplessness is directly linked to postpartum depression.
• A mother requires frequent breaks from responsibility. This time away does not make her weak but rather, restores and replenishes her.
• A mother needs a community surrounding her. Historically, child rearing was a community concern. Our busy and sometimes overscheduled lives have impacted our ability to form ‘villages’ that support families effectively. Returning to these community roots has a far reaching, positive impact.
• A mother needs permission to be human. She needs to be relieved from the pressure to achieve “supermom” status. A shared responsibility to nurture with support and time to invest in self-care should be a priority. Anything else leaves a mother and her children vulnerable.

During the month of November, we'll be sharing our M.A.M.A information on our Facebook page every few days. Please look out for our posts and share them with other women who may be experiencing similar feelings. Please feel free to get in touch with any questions or comments you might have.