A little bit about C and T

C is asleep. T is at school. I just ate a chocolate chip cookie and it was amazing.

This is the eleventh week of my maternity leave. It has been so wonderful, but it has also gone so incredibly fast. I don't remember it going this quickly with T. This leave has also been easier than my first one. When I had T, everything was new. It was a complete life change... in a good way... but a complete change to everything that my husband and I thought was normal. There were no more spontaneous movie theater dates, no more sleeping in, no more getting extra rest when you're sick, etc. It was tough. I think I was ready for that change when T was born, but I'm not sure I embraced it very well. I happily blame hormones for part of it. I think the post-baby hormones really do have an affect on your emotions and your mood. Lack of sleep doesn't help matters. This time around, I'm 3 years older and have a little bit of experience, not to mention perspective. I survived the newborn phase with T, I survived going back to work and I survived all the phases since then (walking, talking, self-feeding, potty training (success), sleep training (fail), temper tantrums, etc.). There's a lot to be said for being through something and surviving so when you go through it again, you know you'll be okay. Since C's birth, I was annoyed by the physical recovery, but I knew it would eventually be better. I know the sleepless nights are few and far between. I know the little cold she's suffering from that's keeping her up at night won't last forever. Transitioning to two kids from one has been easier than I expected, but that's not to say I'm not tired or living off of coffee and Coke to keep up with the two kids.

I don't want this baby phase to end. It's going so fast. Maybe its going so fast because I'm not run down by first time mom anxiety. C is such an amazing baby. She is beautiful and full of smiles. She coos and squeeks. I tickled her armpit today and she almost laughed. I saw it in her face. She calms down when I hold her and nuzzles her face into my body to fall asleep. She's only 10.5 weeks old and I feel like I know her so well. It's weird to know someone so well who doesn't talk, walk, roll over or eat anything besides milk. But when she looks into my eyes and smiles, I am just so thankful that I am blessed with the responsibility of being her mommy. Every night when I put her to sleep, I thank God for giving her to us. I pray for protection while she sleeps and for patience when I'm up with her during the night. A friend of mine, whose baby started sleeping through the night recently, told me she misses those night time feedings now that they're over. I'm trying to remember that this precious time with my baby C won't last forever and despite how exhausted I am, I really should enjoy every minute. Before I know it, she'll be 3 and won't want me to hold her like a baby and rock her.

My charming little boy won't let me hold him like a baby, but instead wants me to shoot hoops (you should see his hook shot), play tractors and hunt for ghosts (and then eat them, of course) with him. He asks me to build forts and cries his big blue eyes out when I tell him its time for bed. T is full of joy. He always has been. He lights up any room that he walks into because he has a great smile and the cutest dimple. His eyes smile, too. T has a colorful imagination and at least one night a week, you can find him between my husband and me in bed telling us stories about adventures at "the orange store" aka The Home Depot. He's a spirited boy with high highs and low lows. He feels deeply. It's really hard for him to not get his way, but he's learning slowly. I want to eat candy and popsicles for breakfast too, but the line gets drawn sometimes. T regularly thanks God for tractors and boat rides. One time when he was done praying for his dinner, he said "the end." And another time, he thanked God for "the sunshine out there" and for "the snow that dropped." His sense of direction and memory are incredible. He might be addicted to the iPad, but he can navigate the home screen better than his grandparents, which is kind of like how I had to show my grandparents how to use the VCR when I was a kid.

I think having this second child and being through all of this before helps me see the joy that these children are to me earlier on. I'm less dragged down by the hard newborn phase because I know I'll make it through. So blessed. That's all my mind is thinking. So amazingly blessed.

I meant to write about yoga and when I opened this blank post on the computer, all I could think about was how much I love my babies. They are my world. I live in a great world. You'll have to wait until next time to read about yoga.

Consistency

I just sat down to write a new post and the baby woke up. My runs haven't been consistent and neither have my blog posts. I'm hoping to do better in both areas starting soon. I'm still figuring out how to balance life with two kids.

I better go feed my baby girl before she wakes up the 3 year old napping in the other room. More about yoga classes and running coming soon!

I had a [big] baby and should probably start running again

Hello!

I've been quiet for a year. That year went really fast and I didn't intend to be quiet that long, but life got busy and the blog fell off my radar.

The last race I ran was the TC 10k last fall. Loved it. In late December, I got pregnant with our second baby! A girl. I was determined to continue running and exercising throughout the pregnancy. My plan was to gain less weight than I did with my son (50 lbs...gasp) and the goal was 35 pounds. Well, I ran a couple times at the gym and then called it quits. Chasing around my son and giving him horseback or piggyback rides everyday after work was enough of a workout for me. My body felt pregnant faster this time. I had more aches and pains than I did during round 1, and they were mostly in my lower back. It was the hottest summer EVER and I was so uncomfortable. The baby dropped early and people kept telling me they were sure I'd deliver early. I started believing them. Bad idea. Horrible idea to believe them. I was hopeful the baby would come early, or even on time, but all along I knew she'd arrive in perfect time. I delivered a beautiful baby girl 4 days late. She was a whopping 9 pounds, 3 ounces and 21.5 inches long. Caroline was born with a head full of dark hair and she already has well-defined eyebrows. She's a lovely baby and we are so blessed.

So, did I stick to the 35 pound goal? Ha! No way. I didn't quite hit 50 this time, but I got nice and close at 45 pounds. I wasn't thrilled, but I also realize that the body is going to do what it wants to do. Yes, I ate a fair amount of ice cream, but remember it was the hottest summer EVER. After Caroline was born, I gave myself a few weeks to recover from birthing a big baby. Well, recover as in doing life as usual with the exception of working out. After all, I was busy nursing, changing diapers, cleaning spit up off of everything... I am so over spit up... and helping my son use the potty chair. (Having a newborn the second time around is a lot different than the first time since I have to share my time between two kids. Meeting their needs is a full time job. How will I keep all of this up plus go back to work in January? I suppose that is an entire post in itself that we'll get to later.) My husband kept the house clean and always had food on the table the first couple weeks. I couldn't have done it without him. Two weeks after Caroline was born, he went back to work and I begged him to work from home. He said his boss wouldn't approve, but I think he was ready to get back into a routine. Can't say I blame him.

Around my fifth week post partum, we had a beautiful, sunny afternoon and all I could think about was getting out for a run. Technically, I was supposed to wait until the sixth week, but I was feeling good and since I had no complications during delivery, I figured I would be okay. We were driving home from church when I told my husband I was thinking about going for a run. He encouraged me to give it a go. One nursing session, a pair of beat up running shoes, my favorite hat and two sports bras later, I was outside ready to hit the road after nearly 10 months off.

I started the run slowly because I didn't want to injure myself or put too much strain on my joints. I ran 3 minutes and my lungs felt tired. My legs felt very heavy. My stomach felt... well, jelly-like. Normally, I would've been disappointed, but I knew the first few times out would be this way. I picked back up and started running again a minute or two later. The sun was shining on my back and I know anyone who saw me running... er... slooowly jogging... would've seen a huge grin on my face. It felt so good to be out of my house alone. I wasn't loading PBS Kids on the iPad for my son, I wasn't nursing the baby, I wasn't tripping over Legos in my living room. It was just me. It was a chance to think, to reflect on the previous 5 weeks and to make some goals for my road back to pre-pregnancy weight. It was a hard run, but so incredibly peaceful. When I came home, I told my husband it was the first day since Caroline was born that I felt like my normal self. What a great feeling.




Run number 1 post baby.

Since that run, I've joined a new gym and I'm really excited about it! I've been twice already. Once to run on the treadmill and last night, I attended a yoga class. The treadmill run was good. I ran 2 miles with a couple stops. I ended the run with some sprints to fry a few extra calories (I bought way too much Halloween candy and somebody has to eat it) and test my legs. They held up amazingly well. I loved the yoga class, too. I felt weak and strong all at the same time. The 60 minute class gave me a chance to stop and do something for myself during the day. I know I have a lot of work to do over the next couple months to get back to where I want to be physically. But not only that, this time I spend alone will be good for me emotionally because I always feel rejuventated and happy when I get back home to my little family. I'm looking forward to posting my workouts here so others might be encouraged and so I can look back and see my progress. Above all else, I want to be happy and healthy for my kids.

Baby's crying! Time for another feeding!