Exercise, Pregnancy, and Working Out with Baby

A post by Abbie, of A Glimpse of the Girl Next Door, got me to thinking about how to fit in exercise during pregnancy and once you actually have a baby in the mix.

The number one thing you have to do throughout it all is listen to your body.  Especially when you're pregnant.

 via

So, this is my experience -- and of course, everything here is specific to me.  The best advice for you will probably come from your doctor. When I found out I was pregnant, one of the first questions I had for my doctor is how much I will be able to exercise during the pregnancy.  He advised that I could keep up with everything my body was already used to (running, tennis, classes at the gym), but suggested that I keep my heart rate below about 160 for any extended periods of time.  I invested in a heart rate monitor because I didn't know how else I'd know exactly what my heart rate was.  I like the Polar F6 Women's Heart Rate Monitor.  The bonus is it also tells you how many calories you burn, and it'll send you a report each week detailing how many times you worked out that week, total time, calories, etc.  There were times that I had energy to do a 3-5 mile run, there were times that all I could muster was a walk with the dogs, and in that first trimester, there were times when I just felt too ill to leave the couch.  I stopped running and intense classes at the gym at about month 4 (I didn't last long - it just wasn't comfortable for me).  I played tennis till month 7.  I did the elliptical, used free-weights and walked 3 miles till the very end.  I feel like because I stayed active throughout my pregnancy, I was able to bounce back to getting active post-pregnancy pretty quickly.  It didn't necessarily stop me from gaining weight -- I gained 45 pounds (yowza!), but the first 35 came off ~2 weeks after Logan was born (it was amazing!).  The next 5 pounds took like a month, and I'm still somewhere between 1-4 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, depending on the day.  I'm almost there....I will note that my body still feels totally different compared to pre-pregnancy.

So after Logan was born, in the first 6 weeks you're really only able to walk.  It was painful at first, so I would walk around the block, and slowly increase the distance/time.  Very slowly.  Don't rush yourself during that time while you're still healing.  After 6 weeks, I gained my doctor's clearance and I started to play tennis again, and jog.  Tennis was harder to work into the schedule as it meant I could only do it when SB was home and could look after Logan.  The best thing about running for me, is that I can bring Logan along with me.  The BOB Revolution is our jogging stroller of choice, and it is a-ma-zing  (highly recommend it with the infant attachment.  Worth every penny.)!!!!  I do feel lucky that working from home allows me to run before work if Logan wakes up early enough, during a lunch hour, or after work.  The heat we've experienced this summer limited my options - so I'd only do it if the temperature was comfortable enough for Logan.  I'm not sure if/when I'll be able to re-join the gym as Scott is just working too late right now for me to get away, but as long as I can get out and run a few days a week, I'm happy :)

The bottom line is that exercise is important for your health, and especially, if you're like me, it helps keep you happy.  It is worth the effort to fit it into your day.  Don't think of it as selfish, because it isn't -- you need to make some time for yourself, and you need to stay healthy! 

Travelin' Man...er....Baby

Logan took his first plane ride on Friday, August 5 to Lynchburg, VA.  We flew out there for my  college roommate's wedding.  Scott wasn't able to join us as he is working around the clock right now, but fortunately my parents were excited to meet us there for the festivities!  They were an enormous help.  I could not have done it without them.  The day started at 3:50am when my alarm sounded to get ready.  We were out the door by 4:20am (thanks for the ride, husby!) and the plane took off at 6:00am.  I'm not going to lie, that early wake-up made for a loooong day, and a tired mama!  However, this little guy was a real champ throughout it all:

 Love those little piggies!

 This is us before I left for the bridal luncheon. 

 My mom was happy to get to squeeze Logan's little thighs!

 We stayed at Betty's house, which is always a treat.  She is a real hoot.  At age 86 she just recently had to stop playing tennis (my idol), and mentioned "that big tennis court in the sky" a couple times.  Here she is watching Logan as we all got ready for the wedding.

All in all, I must say that I was happily surprised with how easy it was to fly with a baby.  It would have been a million times easier had SB been seated next to me (those seats are quite close!), but I was ready for the worst and it just wasn't that bad.  I will admit that nursing on a plane is really awkward, but it made Logan happy, so everyone else could just deal with it.  I used my oh-so-cute nursing cover, and I just hope I didn't flash anybody!  We had a great time celebrating with Francie and some other Duke friends, and it was really, really fun to be able to spend time with my parents.

Favorite Things: Baby Edition, 0-3 months

When you bring a baby home from the hospital, it is amazing how much stuff you feel like you need just in order to enable them to eat, sleep and bathe.  With as many questions as we had about if we were doing things right (is he napping too much, too little.....eating too much, too little.....can we take him outside, etc. etc.), it was helpful to have seen a few lists from friends about the items that worked best for their babies.  Here are the things that I feel like we really needed in the first 3 months.

Sleeping 
 The miracle blanket is just that.  A miracle.  Logan was a Houdini when it came to breaking out of his swaddle.  This contraption kept him snuggled up tight and helped him sleep better and longer (which was much needed for our sanity!):

When we did swaddle him in blankets, we found these Aden & Anais blankets to be the best.  They are bigger, which allows you to get a better, tighter wrap - and the light fabric was great as Logan was born in April.

You start a bedtime routine pretty quickly after you bring your little one home.  Ours involves the mobile every time, and he loves to watch the boats move around.  There are other mobiles that are more visually stimulating, and I'm still considering getting one of those for over his changing table, but for now, this one does the job!

Eating
I feel fortunate that Logan took to breastfeeding pretty well.  For the first 24 hours in the hospital, he wouldn't latch on quite right, and we had to pump so that he'd get the colostrum (which was a very frustrating thing for me seeing as how I felt the only thing I needed to provide him was my milk and I couldn't get him to take it straight from the source).  However, he did eventually catch on and aside from my worries over how much he is actually getting -- it's been a good experience.  All that to say....if you breastfeed, you don't need a lot of equipment, which is nice!  The Boppy pillow has been great for me -- it makes the whole thing a little easier and more comfortable.

Resources
So while I was pregnant I read all about the pregnancy, and what the baby was doing week by week.  I didn't think ahead to actually read about how to care for the baby.  I wish I had done more of that.  After Logan was born, we were given the first book by my parents (and it was actually recommended by our pediatrician).  It is produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and is a little more science-based than some other books.  It has terrific information about each age range, and then specific issues that may arise.

This second book was recommended (as is this site:   http://www.babywhispererforums.com/) - - it helped me to get a sense of knowing when Logan was tired, and structuring the day with the EASY schedule (Eat, Activity, Sleep/Your Time).  It is a good idea to separate eating and sleeping early so that they can soothe themselves to sleep.

Bath
We had baby registries at Target and Pottery Barn Kids.  Target was great -- they have so much online and in stores, and their return policy was excellent.  PBK was good b/c their stuff is so darn cute, but I found that a lot of items would be unavailable all of a sudden, and they don't have tons and tons of stuff.  Anyways -- this is the bath we got from Target and it is just great.  

Out and About
The BOB Revolution is just awesome.  I love that stroller.  It has such a smooth ride, it's easy to open/close, and the infant adapter makes me happy because I feel he's secure in his carseat.  

We also got the Graco Snap and Go stroller for traveling.  It's smaller, lighter, and much less expensive (ie:  you don't care if it's dinged up on a plane ride quite as much as you'd care if your Bob were dinged!).  This is what I usually toss in the trunk of my car if we aren't doing serious walking anywhere.  It's just light and easy.  We got the Graco 35 snugrider carseat that fits with it.  I like it - but it is SOOO dang heavy. 

I absolutely love my diaper bag.  It's Petunia Picklebottom -- and my favorite feature is that it converts to a backpack.  I know that isn't the most stylish thing around (though I do love the pattern), but being able to have my hands free is a great relief.  It has ample room on the inside, and a great zip-out changing pad. 

So that's my advice for those first few months!!  One thing that I wish I'd known prior to buying a cute crib bumper is that the AAP (and our pediatrician, specifically) advise against putting anything in the crib other than the mattress itself to reduce the risk for SIDS.  We bought an adorable bumper from PBK and it never really saw the light of day b/c once she said that it shouldn't be in the crib, it was in the basement pronto.  Yes, they are adorable, and yes it seems like it would be nice to have a soft side in the crib, but anytime they mention SIDS - I take the advice to heart! 

I'll start working on the next phase now :)

4 months old!

Stats:
Weight:  15 lbs 10 oz (70%)
Height:  26" (85%)
Milestones:
Sleeping:  This month was a roller coaster when it came to sleeping.  You started the month sleeping through the night for the first time when we were at my parents' house (July 3), but by mid-month you were waking up 3-4 times each night like you did when you were a newborn.  Turns out you had an ear infection and a bad case of silent reflux. 
Eating:  You started the month eating like a champ, but not long after you started screeching after eating and really arching your back.  Our pediatrician diagnosed reflux (even though you rarely spit up), and we started medicine to treat it.  In the last week or two it started to really help you, and while you aren't eating as long as you once were, at least you aren't screeching in pain anymore.  We also ran out to buy you a highchair to start eating rice cereal (to help with the reflux).  You LOVE your cereal!  You have taken to eating rice cereal really well, and our pediatrician said that we can start mixing it up with baby oatmeal or baby barley cereal as well (1 week at a time to be wary of food allergies).
Etc:  This has been my first full month back at work, and things are going really well with balancing caring for Logan and taking care of work duties.  SB traveled to KC for a work conference mid-month, and we survived 5 days alone, and with an ear infection!  I am very thankful that we really like your pediatrician and have 100% confidence in the care that she gives you, because it is really tough to be a new mom and not know exactly how to help your baby.
This month you really started rolling over (belly to back), grasping and reaching, and interacting with your toys.  You have a new exersaucer type of toy that you just love.  It plays classical music, and has lots of buttons to push, and toys to play with.  You like tummy time and can really lift your front half off the floor.  It is amazing to see how much you can do now compared to when you were first born!

The {long overdue} Birth Story

To help us remember the April 2 events leading up to the arrival of our sweet Logan, I figured it would be good to jot everything down.  This is a little long, so bear with me!  Here is a recap of Logan's big day:

Ever since we learned that Logan's due date was April 3, I was a little nervous about the proximity to April Fool's Day.  However, by the time we had dinner at the Creve Coeur Lake House restaurant on Friday, April 1, I was pretty sure that we were in the "safe zone" of not having an April Fool's Day baby!  (that was the best part of the meal....the food left much to be desired!  haha)  We had a scheduled induction for 4:30pm on Sunday, April 3 -- however, it turns out that Logan had plans of his own!  After eating, we came back to the house and watched a movie and then turned in.

At about 4:30am on Saturday, April 2 I woke up -- but I had trouble falling back asleep as my stomach wasn't feeling comfortable.  At about 5:30, SB suggested we start timing the discomfort, and sure enough - the pain was happening at regular 3-4 minute intervals, for about a minute each.  Turns out they were contractions!  We kept timing the contractions (sidenote:  if you are expecting, get a contraction app if you have a smart phone -- it helped us to keep track of how long they lasted, and the intervals between each), and then started to think about heading to the hospital.  Our bags were already packed, but we added a few last-second items, and SB put them in his vehicle.  At about 6:15 we decided to take the dogs to the kennel, and potentially head to the hospital.  When we were all in the car SB asked if he had 30 seconds to grab something else, but by that time I was starting to really feel the contractions.  Turns out he wanted to grab some running gear so that he could log a few miles while we were at the hospital!  No joke :)  We headed to the kennel sans running gear, dropped the dogs off, and then called the doctor's after hours number to alert them that I was having regular contractions and we were going to head in to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at around 7:30am and a nurse (who happens to work in our doc's office during the work week) got us ready and hooked up to a few machines to monitor contractions and see if I would be admitted.  The contractions quickly picked up in intensity, and my doc gave her the ok to admit us (much to SB's surprise as he thought I was jumping the gun a bit!).   From 7:30am to about 10:30am, I labored through contractions -- not really using any of the "techniques" we learned in the birthing class, but just gripping on to the bed and hoping for an epidural!  Let me just say that before April 2, I was open-minded about whether or not I would use the meds.  Once I felt the contractions though, I knew that an epidural would be very much welcomed!!  For me, it was the greatest thing.  I felt no pain, and the contractions continued.  Scott and I watched a movie (The Sandlot), he grabbed breakfast and lunch in the hospital cafeteria, we talked to a few friends and family members to let them know how things were going, and we napped a bit in preparation for our arrival!  At some point in the early afternoon a different doctor came in to break my water.  At about 4:20pm, our nurse Dawn (who was assisted by a nursing student, Christine) helped me start to push.  My doctor (who, thankfully, was on-call that weekend), and a pediatrician and several additional nurses arrived at about 5:10pm, and by 5:20pm we were holding Logan!  The pushing part was a breeze, more or less, thanks to the epidural!  The delivery was such an emotional experience.  It was amazing that all of a sudden we had brought a beautiful, healthy baby boy into this world.  He was perfect.  Scott and I felt such joy, pride, and love -- it was awesome.  I couldn't stop smiling.  When I was preggers, I would cry every time I watched TLC's Baby Story, but I didn't shed a single tear when Logan arrived -- I was just filled with such intense happiness and pride.

We stayed in the delivery room for a little while, and then they transported all 3 of us to our recovery room.  At some point I ordered dinner from the hospital cafeteria, SB headed out to get dinner at Chick-Fil-A (along with a tasty milkshake for us to share), and then we settled in and watched a little of the UCONN vs. Kentucky Final 4 game.  Unfortunately for SB, Kentucky lost -- but both of us were pretty transfixed on our little guy to care too much about the game.  We kept him in the room with us till about midnight, and then decided to take advantage of the nursery to allow us to get some sleep (well, as much sleep as SB could get on the uncomfortable pull-out bed!).

Over the course of Sunday and Monday morning we changed diapers, cuddled our little guy, took lots of pictures, called family and friends, and I tried to learn how to nurse.  That was probably the most frustrating/difficult part of the experience - but thanks to the night nurse Kathy, he finally caught on Sunday night.  She was the greatest.  We skyped with my family, and with friends on Sunday night.  It was really neat to be able to communicate with our friends and family and actually see them!  We met our pediatrician on Monday morning - and she said that Logan was healthy as could be.  He had a hearing test and a few vaccines, but otherwise he was just with us.  We felt pretty confident as we left the hospital on Monday at about Noon for home.  All 3 of us. 

After experiencing pregnancy, labor and delivery, and then the recovery period, I would say that the most difficult part for me was the recovery.  Your hormones and emotions are all out of whack, there's a huge new addition to your life and you have all sorts of questions about how you're supposed to care for this new person.  Plus your body is healing, and that can be pretty brutal.  I say all that because I was expecting it to be a walk in the park after delivery!  I thought that the tough part was done!  BUT every body is different, and I have friends who say that the pregnancy was the hardest part, or the delivery.  But every husband should know that they need to be extra sensitive with their wives following the birth of a baby!  Thankfully, SB was forewarned by many women in our lives, and he was wonderful.

A few updates...

• Logan rolled over (tummy to back) about 10 times in one day last Wednesday!  Of course, he has yet to repeat that performance.  He first rolled over July 3, but that was the most he had done it in one day since then.
• Logan found his feet in week 15!  Now he loves to grab those cute toesies in his crib, on the changing table, basically whenever the opportunity presents itself.
• Logan started eating rice cereal!  With all of the troubles we've had with his reflux, and his 4 month birthday on Tuesday, the pediatrician recommended that we try the cereal to provide a thicker substance to hopefully stay down in his tummy.  So far it's working ok -- not a drastic improvement, but it's definitely helping.  Pictures from the first highchair session to come..
• We are just thrilled that the NFL season is back in full effect.  SB has been working like a maniac (left at 6am Friday, returned 9pm that night.  Has worked yesterday and today too....I'm missing our weekends together already, but still so thankful that the season is on.) 
• I logged 5 days of running this week, which I'm proud of, especially b/c the weather has been so darn hot.  I'll fit it in any time I can - whether it's when Scott comes home at night, first thing in the morning -- whenever.  I am so much happier when I exercise regularly - it just makes me feel good :)  Yesterday was my longest run at 5 miles.  I'm starting to think of running a 1/2 marathon to keep up the motivation.  There's one here October 23.  Of course SB will be in Dallas with the team, but maybe my parents will come in to watch Logan.  TBD :)

 He loves the bumbo seat! 

 Hugging his Ellie (the Elephant)

 Trying to fit the whole ball in his mouth...

 Last Saturday we bought a Baby Einstein exersaucer/jumper, and Logan is loving it!  It is really cool to see how he's able to interact with the toys.

 Toes!!

 Tummy time! 

Mama on the run

The Inaugural Opening Act 5K by the Numbers (by Fleet Feet):

2,000: split times and result texts sent  

1,800: bottles of water consumed

1,000: cans of soda consumed

1,000: Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip rolls consumed

1,038: finishers

677: female finishers

400: servings of potato chips eaten

361: male finishers

360: cookies eaten

250: bananas eaten  

200: oranges eaten

92: heat index at race start

84: temperature at race start

50: "Roadie" volunteers

17: laptops needed for race timing

8: number of states represented by participants

Last Sunday I ran my first 5k race since last summer.  More importantly -- my first 5k race since giving birth!!  My finishing time:  28:53.  My goal:  29:00.  I still can't believe I beat it -- the heat was unbelievable, and the course was really hilly, but it was very empowering to run a race, and beat my goal (albeit a ridiculously slow goal!).  I think this first pic was taken near the start of the race, because you really don't want to see the one taken at the end of the race.  I look like I'm dying!

 

Struggling with Infant Reflux (GER)

We have had a rocky month of July.  Poor little Logan kicked off the month with a diagnosed ear infection (his first).  I was surprised he would get one because he's exclusively breastfed, not in daycare, and hasn't had a cold or fever or anything of the sort.  It turns out that it was likely related to reflux.  He improved slightly with the antibiotic, but his eating hadn't improved so I kept calling the pediatrician.  They brought him back in and diagnosed him with silent reflux (he isn't spitting up, but he does eat for very short amounts of time, and ends the session by arching his back and screeching in pain.  He would cough during feeding sessions, with some wet burps -- apparently those are symptoms too).  It was awful to see him in pain, to not know how to help or what to do.  The first medicine (Zantac) made no obvious improvements after a week, so I called back and they increased his dosage.  However, I still didn't see any improvements with the new dose so now he's on Prevacid.  I have to be honest that I hate giving him medicine.  I was so careful my whole pregnancy by not ingesting anything that was on the "do not eat list" -- caffeine, cold cuts, sushi, artificial sweeteners, etc. etc.  I was so careful, and he still has to go through this.  I guess there's just so much about raising a child that you can't control.  He's been on Prevacid since yesterday and it is supposed to really take effect in 7-10 days.  I have to thank my neighbor who has really been a great help during this all b/c she has endured this with her boys.  I've read a little about how sensitivity to dairy can make this worse.  My pediatrician didn't advise me to remove dairy from my diet, but I will ask when we go back on Monday for his 4 month appt.  Have any of you experienced reflux in your children?  Any advice???

Boden's fall line

I am almost down to my pre-baby weight (that's another story entirely -- it is taking A LOT of hard work (at least for me) to get these last 10 pounds off.  I knew it would be hard, but it is harder than I thought!), and it's fun to be able to look at clothes again knowing I can actually fit into them these days!  Of course, my clothing budget has gone waaaaay down as I have to focus on saving for our family....but a girl can look!  There are so many cute things from Boden for the fall.  I love their items, I just hate that the fit can be so hit or miss, but at least they've been offering free returns lately.  I'm hoping they offer some good deals soon!

Happiness....

I love everything about this OKL image.  The dogs, the lemon trees, the crystal clear pool, the perfectly manicured lawn, the furniture, the yellow mirror and rug.  I'd love to throw down a beach towel, and lay right next to those yellow labs for an hour or two!