Ran my first 5K postpartum - which technically indicates I'm back to pre-prenatal shape - without killing my ankles and lungs. And judging by the photo it only took me .02 mile to get my phone ready and document the achievement.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Three days of hail in the row.
It's good that Von Zobel has fully installed the greenhouse: the loss from last night's hail was minimal: a pot of young basil and a pot of flowers.
Interestingly enough, I remember being way more impatient when expecting Arthur - by week 38 I could not wait to meet him in person :) Now I almost don't think about having a baby (and not looking forward to the actual process either), as I know this is something that will come around soon anyway. On the contrary - I caught myself saying a couple of times last weekend when talking to somebody at a party: "Oh, there's no way I can have my son in the next few days, I'm way too busy this week!", "Too much going on, and all the unfinished stuffed in the condo... I definitely can't have the baby before my due date" :) The attitude does change. Now it is - "what goes around comes around, I just need to make sure in the next couple of weeks I'm done with my prenatal-bucket-list and do not become more sleep deprived than I will anyway become... in a month".
In a month I will be able to wear my regular clothes again. I will be able to go to sauna, have all-I-can-eat raw fish sushi rolls, resume running, boxing and long walks with audio courses in my ears, ankle weights and a stroller to push...
The lane lines in our swimming pool are light-blue and white. So are the little flags stretched above the center of the pool. When swimming back and forth becomes too boring and annoying, focusing on the colors and ignoring sounds can help imagine I'm somewhere in Bavaria :)
Interestingly enough, I remember being way more impatient when expecting Arthur - by week 38 I could not wait to meet him in person :) Now I almost don't think about having a baby (and not looking forward to the actual process either), as I know this is something that will come around soon anyway. On the contrary - I caught myself saying a couple of times last weekend when talking to somebody at a party: "Oh, there's no way I can have my son in the next few days, I'm way too busy this week!", "Too much going on, and all the unfinished stuffed in the condo... I definitely can't have the baby before my due date" :) The attitude does change. Now it is - "what goes around comes around, I just need to make sure in the next couple of weeks I'm done with my prenatal-bucket-list and do not become more sleep deprived than I will anyway become... in a month".
In a month I will be able to wear my regular clothes again. I will be able to go to sauna, have all-I-can-eat raw fish sushi rolls, resume running, boxing and long walks with audio courses in my ears, ankle weights and a stroller to push...
The lane lines in our swimming pool are light-blue and white. So are the little flags stretched above the center of the pool. When swimming back and forth becomes too boring and annoying, focusing on the colors and ignoring sounds can help imagine I'm somewhere in Bavaria :)
Sunday, May 24, 2015
The difference between the first and the second pregnancy is that the second pregnancy is much more... empowering!
Having some experience with pregnancy diet already, now there is no need to refer to the "safe foods" guidelines on bookmarked Babycenter page. No need to count calories consumed and calories burned on a phone app either; when expecting the second child the deal is - when you have a chance - you eat!
The first trimester of the first pregnancy feels like 10 hours of sleep nightly would not be enough; during the first trimester of the second pregnancy I could function on the usual 6-7 hours just as well. At the same time I could also manage my mood swings better (especially if Arthur was nearby), and... ignore hallucinations.
I was generally able to maintain same level of physical activity throughout both first and second pregnancies - say, at 37 weeks I still do prenatal yoga twice a week and swim twice a week - but certain things that seemed impossible 2 years ago just happen now! For instance, 2 years ago I stopped jogging around month 5, when my belly started showing, and by month 8 whenever I had to cross a road running I was literally holding my belly with my hands, and yet it was still shaking and jumping up and down, making me worried about the baby and convinced I physically can't run or jump anymore at that point of my pregnancy.
Ha-ha-ha.
3 weeks till the due date - whenever Arthur sprints away from me in the street at an unpredictable trajectory, I chase him at a speed faster than a car coming our way and before a single thought of whether I'm supposed to be running crosses my mind. If I have to run - I will :) If at a playground I have to climb up a few steps to help Arthur get on the top of the slide and then - to jump down and run to the bottom of the slide to catch him - I will. I will also lift or carry around these 26-27lbs of pure awesomeness: if that needs to be done immediately - all out of sudden I can do that! :)
I am also one of those lucky women who never suffered from morning sickness throughout their pregnancy, but I can speculate that if I were prone to it, my nausea experience during the second pregnancy would have been much less brutal. Of other significant differences - this time I am much less swollen than 2 years ago, however my lungs gave up on jogging after month 2.
As for the remaining few weeks, the actual big day and the time of recovery - I am even more curious how things will work out this time. I'll have to wait just a little bit more until I actually have the right to compare and make conclusions :)
The first trimester of the first pregnancy feels like 10 hours of sleep nightly would not be enough; during the first trimester of the second pregnancy I could function on the usual 6-7 hours just as well. At the same time I could also manage my mood swings better (especially if Arthur was nearby), and... ignore hallucinations.
I was generally able to maintain same level of physical activity throughout both first and second pregnancies - say, at 37 weeks I still do prenatal yoga twice a week and swim twice a week - but certain things that seemed impossible 2 years ago just happen now! For instance, 2 years ago I stopped jogging around month 5, when my belly started showing, and by month 8 whenever I had to cross a road running I was literally holding my belly with my hands, and yet it was still shaking and jumping up and down, making me worried about the baby and convinced I physically can't run or jump anymore at that point of my pregnancy.
Ha-ha-ha.
3 weeks till the due date - whenever Arthur sprints away from me in the street at an unpredictable trajectory, I chase him at a speed faster than a car coming our way and before a single thought of whether I'm supposed to be running crosses my mind. If I have to run - I will :) If at a playground I have to climb up a few steps to help Arthur get on the top of the slide and then - to jump down and run to the bottom of the slide to catch him - I will. I will also lift or carry around these 26-27lbs of pure awesomeness: if that needs to be done immediately - all out of sudden I can do that! :)
I am also one of those lucky women who never suffered from morning sickness throughout their pregnancy, but I can speculate that if I were prone to it, my nausea experience during the second pregnancy would have been much less brutal. Of other significant differences - this time I am much less swollen than 2 years ago, however my lungs gave up on jogging after month 2.
As for the remaining few weeks, the actual big day and the time of recovery - I am even more curious how things will work out this time. I'll have to wait just a little bit more until I actually have the right to compare and make conclusions :)
Thursday, April 9, 2015
One of the pregnancy paradoxes
is that you get a huge fruit bowl feeling like you're going to pass out if you don't eat every single piece of fruit RIGHT NOW.
20 minutes later and only 1/3 way through the bowl you realize you can't have any more. Physically. The bottom of your stomach is somewhere 3 inches above your solar plexus, last bite of mango wouldn't move down the throat; no fruit physically would fit in.
But you still feel like you're going to pass out if you don't finish every single piece of fruit RIGHT NOW!
**** All characters are ficticious. Any resemblence to eating habbits, beahaviour or feelings of real pregnant women is purely coincidental :) ***
maybe one just like that
20 minutes later and only 1/3 way through the bowl you realize you can't have any more. Physically. The bottom of your stomach is somewhere 3 inches above your solar plexus, last bite of mango wouldn't move down the throat; no fruit physically would fit in.
But you still feel like you're going to pass out if you don't finish every single piece of fruit RIGHT NOW!
**** All characters are ficticious. Any resemblence to eating habbits, beahaviour or feelings of real pregnant women is purely coincidental :) ***
Sunday, March 1, 2015
I had a feeling there would be something crazy about this week
when I found myself dancing at Bistro Al Vino around midnight on Saturday, shocking the clubbers around with the mere looks of my 3-rd trimester belly (at least I think this time it was the looks of belly at the dancefloor that widened the eyes of those around).
In the next 4 days I managed to cover the Litigation section of REG (to those who find themselves having an urge to do the same - don't even attempt!); survive the last week of Dr. Chill's daycare; take a Friday exam and while running errands all day after that - to get a huge screw in my rear tyre and to actually discover I have one - by the hissing sound I heard while unloading my truck. Some things just need to happen 1.5 hours before you need to pick up your kid from the daycare, and on the day when you need to also get ALL his things out of there, so you DO need the car! Thank God, miracles do still happen to me :) and the car shop across the road from the daycare fixed the hole in less than an hour!
Next day I assembled Dr. Chill's new furniture in his new room. Never again! - the skin on the palms is rubbed and hurts like crazy. I was lucky to get help from Dr. Chill though - he does an amazing job putting the screws in the proper wholes, bringing and holding parts and pieces. And once he got a hold of the screwdriver - he immediately personalized his table by punching a dozen of holes in his brand new table top, before I could reach out and take away the screwdriver. What a sweet cutie, aaaargh...
Sunday, after brunch with friends - the annual pregnancy and baby-wear swap took place. Now there are a few minor things to get, and I'm ready for enhancement of my motherhood experience :)
Little project of the week - Dr. Chill allowed to brush his teeth every single day of this week. Another little victory, given his gums are full of bumps, and the teeth are not showing yet!..
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On a larger - scale - in the month of February - the trip to the 2nd new place to visit this year has been booked. The date of the month has been arranged, but not taken care of, for health reasons. Still counts though :)
5 new books read in February. Plans for the on-going education modified slightly. Plans for the education for the side-project - are moving forward.
I wonder now, how do you take an international trip with a 4-5 month old baby and a 2 year old toddler? Say, to even Canada? And how do you find time to study for 3 different areas all at once? And what comes first in my side project - education or experience? :)
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Snowing again. Heavy snowfalls forecasted.
The week started with cleaning up the driveway. Very fun, especially when you have an 18 month old toddler hanging around; thank God mine is as smart and patient as it gets - I was able to clean up the whole driveway. Nevertheless, to all 6 month pregnant girls out there - do not attempt!
Happy to have finished The Black Monk by Akunin. It was getting a bit boring towards the end, although the final scene of the murderer escaping with a load of uranium, making plans about using the money on scientific breakthroughs, restoring himself as a scientist and finding new source of energy - not knowing he had already been lethally poisoned with radiation - got stuck in my mind for some time.
Next fiction in line - Pelevin. Smart, unpredictable and incredibly delicious! Read the first several chapters of The Sacred Book of the Werewolf - and after Akunin's attempts to depict woman's psyche, - it gives a special pleasure.
Caught myself ironing a shirt for a 18 month old guy :) Who would have thought!
Actually, cleaning up the whole house with Dr. Chill around is still doable. He can wipe furniture with dust cloth, even helped me wash the baseboards in the kitchen this week, put things back to their places, help me with the laundry - put dirty clothes in the washer or take clean dry clothes out of the dryer, and then sit on the clean dry laundry in the laundry basket - he just loves that! And vacuuming! He's been checking on the vacuum cleaner 2-3 times a day for the past 3 weeks,- must be going through his vacuum cleaner phase, - so whenever I vacuum, he will shadow me holding on to the vacuum cleaner.
As for the Dr. Chill Jr, it feel like he is a pretty active guy too. Probably a bit more good natured than the older brother :) but just as active. Great - I can have them both exhaust each other!if I survive the next year with them I mean
There is something exiting and aspiring in thinking the 2nd pregnancy will only last for 3 more months. That all this constant self-discipline, hard work and inconvenience is only for the lesser part of the pregnancy. And then - life will get easier in terms of getting my body - and what's even more important, my brain - back in full use. Time flies with the second pregnancy so fast I'm only glad I manage to jot down a few notes into my little pregnancy diary every now and then, otherwise I'ld only realized the whole speed of it once I was in hospital.
The improvements from my 1st pregnancy - my abdominal muscles still flex (I completely lost control over them end of 1st trimester of the 1st pregnancy); I am more flexible (was more swollen at this time of my 1st pregnancy a couple of years ago).
Downsides of this pregnancy - lungs (had to stop running half way into 1st trimester this time, and can already feel they are not functioning at their best); and back (my prenatal masseusse claims the right side of my back along the spine feels quite bad. Probably because when I have to carry Dr. Chill for 10-15 minutes straight, I do so with my left arm only while I am doing whatever I need to do with my right hand. :) )
Another important upside is that I am still able to do 1/2hr of elliptical with my tummy!
Happy to have finished The Black Monk by Akunin. It was getting a bit boring towards the end, although the final scene of the murderer escaping with a load of uranium, making plans about using the money on scientific breakthroughs, restoring himself as a scientist and finding new source of energy - not knowing he had already been lethally poisoned with radiation - got stuck in my mind for some time.
Next fiction in line - Pelevin. Smart, unpredictable and incredibly delicious! Read the first several chapters of The Sacred Book of the Werewolf - and after Akunin's attempts to depict woman's psyche, - it gives a special pleasure.
Caught myself ironing a shirt for a 18 month old guy :) Who would have thought!
Actually, cleaning up the whole house with Dr. Chill around is still doable. He can wipe furniture with dust cloth, even helped me wash the baseboards in the kitchen this week, put things back to their places, help me with the laundry - put dirty clothes in the washer or take clean dry clothes out of the dryer, and then sit on the clean dry laundry in the laundry basket - he just loves that! And vacuuming! He's been checking on the vacuum cleaner 2-3 times a day for the past 3 weeks,- must be going through his vacuum cleaner phase, - so whenever I vacuum, he will shadow me holding on to the vacuum cleaner.
As for the Dr. Chill Jr, it feel like he is a pretty active guy too. Probably a bit more good natured than the older brother :) but just as active. Great - I can have them both exhaust each other!
There is something exiting and aspiring in thinking the 2nd pregnancy will only last for 3 more months. That all this constant self-discipline, hard work and inconvenience is only for the lesser part of the pregnancy. And then - life will get easier in terms of getting my body - and what's even more important, my brain - back in full use. Time flies with the second pregnancy so fast I'm only glad I manage to jot down a few notes into my little pregnancy diary every now and then, otherwise I'ld only realized the whole speed of it once I was in hospital.
The improvements from my 1st pregnancy - my abdominal muscles still flex (I completely lost control over them end of 1st trimester of the 1st pregnancy); I am more flexible (was more swollen at this time of my 1st pregnancy a couple of years ago).
Downsides of this pregnancy - lungs (had to stop running half way into 1st trimester this time, and can already feel they are not functioning at their best); and back (my prenatal masseusse claims the right side of my back along the spine feels quite bad. Probably because when I have to carry Dr. Chill for 10-15 minutes straight, I do so with my left arm only while I am doing whatever I need to do with my right hand. :) )
Another important upside is that I am still able to do 1/2hr of elliptical with my tummy!
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