Working Full Time & SLAM’n All the Time

My name is Allison Dugger and I have been SLAM’ing since September 2016.  My husband and I have been married since 2014.  We have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and I am currently 36 weeks pregnancy with baby girl number 2.  I have always been active with sports and working out, playing multiple sports in high school, and continuing to work out through college and beyond.  I continued to workout throughout my first pregnancy until the day I delivered.

Once I gave birth, my whole world changed, as it does for every mom.  I can say now that it was in the best way possible, but those early days were extremely hard for me.  I went from being super active with a demanding job, to sitting around and feeding a newborn what felt like 24/7 at the time.  I am not too great at sitting around the house and was going a little crazy in those early weeks of my maternity leave.  I did some research online and saw that Stroller Strong Moms – Dayton was starting at the beginning of September.  I was nervous to go, as my baby was only 4 weeks at the time, but knew I had to take my chance to get out of the house and do something for me.  So I packed up and headed out and haven’t looked back!

It was so nice to have something to look forward to and to be around other moms who could share their experiences and advise in those early days.  I remember being so nervous my daughter would cry or get hungry during class but everyone was so great and encouraging, and I went to every class I could for the rest of my maternity leave.  Four weeks later I had to go back to work and was super sad to be ending my SLAM classes, as only morning classes were offered at the time.

A couple months later Alexis announced she was adding evening classes and I was thrilled.  Working full time, I couldn’t justify being at work all day and then coming home and leaving to go do a workout on my own.  So this was wonderful news for me.  With a mix of SLAM, running, and lunch time workouts with my coworkers I was able to lose the baby weight and feel better and stronger and also more confident in motherhood.  Working in an athletic department, there are not a lot of other moms with small kids so its so nice to have a community of other moms to see on a regular basis.

I have met so many great and supportive mom friends, and some of my daughters best friends are the kids she sees at ‘Stroller Class’ as she calls it.  I love that she gets to be a part of it with me and truly enjoys going.  It’s become such a part of our routine she knows what days we go, and when we have to miss, she asks about her friends and Mrs. Alexis.  We have even had to draw a couple family portraits of Alexis, Aiden, and Owen while playing at home 🙂 She practices her lunges and burpees at home and other things she sees us do, and I know she is getting a great example to be strong and healthy for the future.

Fast forward to today, I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and have continued to go to class twice a week almost every week throughout this pregnancy.  It helped me get us out of the house in the early days when I was nauseous and just wanted to lay on the couch and let my daughter watch Mickey Mouse all evening.  It has helped me have the energy to work full time and come home to a crazy two year old.  I truly enjoy going to class and all of the extras that have come along with it like play dates, Moms Night Out, birthday parties, and welcoming new little Slam babies.  I am so thankful that I took the plunge 4 weeks after having my first baby to start this journey.  I’m already anticipating being eager to come back to class after the birth of my 2nd daughter and hope she will come to enjoy it as much as me and her sister do!