MSI Press Blog

  When I was pregnant with my older son, the Army had just begun allowing pregnant women to stay in service. There were no regulations yet, no accommodations, no modified PT standards. If you were in uniform, you did what everyone else did — period. So every morning, I walked two miles to work. During the day, I did chin-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, and formation runs. I took — and passed — a full PT test at nine months pregnant. At the time, no one asked whether this was wise. It was simply what the Army required, and I did it. My son was born on time, healthy, and strong. In fact, he was my healthiest baby. But he was also… different. At just a few months old — when most babies are learning to roll over — he would do chin-ups if I offered him my fingers as a bar. If I held his ankles the way soldiers do for sit-ups, he would perform sit-ups with perfect form. It wasn’t a party trick. It was instinctive, rhythmic, almost familiar to him. (Bit he as definitely the life of every military...

  When I was pregnant with Shane, the Army had just begun allowing women to stay in service through pregnancy. There were no rules yet — no modified PT, no exemptions, no “take it easy.” If you were in uniform, you did what everyone else did. So I did. Every morning I walked two miles to work. During the day, I did chin‑ups, sit‑ups, push‑ups, and formation runs. I even took — and passed — a full PT test at nine months pregnant. No one thought to ask whether it was safe. It was simply what the Army required, and I was determined to prove that pregnancy didn’t mean weakness. Shane was born on time, healthy, and strong — my healthiest baby. But from the start, he was different. At just a few months old, when most babies are learning to roll over, Shane would do chin‑ups if I offered him my fingers as a bar. If I held his ankles the way soldiers do for sit‑ups, he’d perform sit‑ups with perfect form. It wasn’t a trick; it was instinct. He seemed to know the rhythm of exertion before h...