Alison Sweeney only has two months to go until the
birth of her second child -- a daughter -- mid-January,
but she is still juggling two jobs -- her hosting chores
on "The Biggest Loser" and her part as Sami
Brady on "Days of our Lives." Then, of course,
she also fills the all-important roles of wife and mother.
And, if all that isn't enough, Sweeney has added spokesperson
for the new Generations Huggies campaign to her to-do
list.
"It is Huggies 30th anniversary and, to honor
that, they want to honor 30 real-life moms," Sweeney
explains. "If you go to generationhuggies.com,
you can register and send in a video of yourself on
why you're a real mom and why real moms are every-day
heroes."
Sweeney, whose son Ben will turn four on Feb. 25, did
her own mommy video for the site, talking about why
being a mom is tough and why she loves it. One of the
reasons she says she leant her name to the campaign
is that Huggies, which will give the 30 moms with the
highest number of votes for their videos each $300,
acknowledges how different parenting is today than for
previous generations.
"One of the things I like about Huggies is they
talk about how important it is to trust your instincts,"
she says. "It is not all about following a formula
or believing in set stages, such as by this age, they
should be able to do this. It is about trusting that
you know what is good for your kid."
Sweeney trusted her own instincts when she decided
to get pregnant in the middle of production on "The
Biggest Loser." Her decision was based on the ease
of her first pregnancy, but she quickly discovered that
the second time around can be a completely different
experience.
"[With Ben], I was nauseous for a little bit and
it was really no big deal, and I went on and led my
life," she recalls. "[This baby] is making
it hard for me every step of the way. I get headaches
and I had morning sickness all the time."
So much so that Sweeney says she basically lived on
a Cheerios diet for the first four-and-a-half months,
but she is doing well now. In fact, at the "Day
of Days" event at Universal Studios on Nov. 1,
the 32-year-old looked healthy and vibrant, which can
be attributed to the fact that she has made it a point
to stay in shape during her pregnancy.
"Obviously, there are new rules and guidelines
that you follow," she explains her current exercise
regimen. "First of all, you are not working out
to lose weight, but to maintain your muscle tone and
your fitness level. When you are pregnant, you don't
want to spike your heart rate. You want to get your
heart rate up to a certain level and then just keep
it there and your blood pumping. I also do a lot of
strength training to keep my muscles toned."
Sweeney is also doing her best to prepare Ben for the
new arrival. She talks to her son a lot about his new
sister and how he, as her big brother, will have to
show her the ropes. So far the talks are going well,
and she thinks that he is old enough to understand some
of what will happen, but it remains to be seen when
the newcomer actually arrives.
"He is already in school, so part of his day is
already away from us," the "Days" star
says. "He has already adjusted to that. He is not
in diapers anymore, so I won't have to do double diaper
duty. He can help. He takes his own plate to the sink
when he is done eating. He walks everywhere. He doesn't
need to be carried. There are a lot of things that I
think are an advantage, not that there aren't disadvantages,
too. You have got to make the best of what you've got."
And Sweeney plans to do just that by attempting to
keep everyone's schedule as normal as possible -- and
by not taking a lot of downtime herself.
"I am hoping not to be gone except for a week,"
Sweeney says of "The Biggest Loser" schedule,
"but your birth plan is always subject to change.
There are a lot of people who have an opinion about
it."
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