Nothing too much to report… I feel like I haven’t been getting as many runs in as I’d like to. I’m still keeping up to 4 miles per run, trying to keep up to 6 on the weekend. Technically, I could have kept training for the Half Pig, but not comfortable pushing my body away from the task at hand. I’ll be curious to see how long I can really go… the nurse practitioner told me to just wear a bellyband to support the belly weight.
I’m actually bummed I’m missing the Half Pig, Hudy 14K and new fall Queen Bee Half, I like being part of the running community and pushing myself. But a friend brought up a good point, “I wish I could take the year off!” Fair enough - enjoy this time to take it easy and not on a strict running schedule.
I think I was itching to get back on the pavement when Nora turned 3 months old. I’d managed to find time and trained and made my first Half Marathon when Nora was 10 months old. I’m more nervous about finding that time with two little ones. Not sure if Tim will feel he can brave that alone time with 2 littles, or if my sense of obligation will keep me from training for a while. Will need to talk to other running Moms how they do it with multiple small ones!
In the meantime, I’m starting to brush up on my birthing and baby books.
My favorites birth books:
Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake [yup],
The Thinking Woman’s Guide to A Better Birth by Henci Goer
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
*All are biased towards natural birth, but still gives fantastic information about your other choices; I don’t think a lot of women know all the choices they have, or the side effects that are possible with some interventions.
My favorite baby books:
The Happiest Baby On the Block by Harvey Karp [Tim and my favorite]
Eat, Poop, Sleep by Scott Cohen [a first time Dad and pediatrician]
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth [contribute Nora’s good sleeping to this book]
Now I’m going to pass out at 9:30pm….
Sunday, March 30, 2014
The Girl Who Cried Poop
The past week has been exhausting… mainly because Nora’s new bedtime stall tactic is “My belly hurts - I have to pooooop.” This results in 15+ minutes of actual pooping on the potty [yay!] followed by two more claims of “My belly hurts! [booo!]” Trips #2 and #3 result in nothing. But she’s pooping on the toilet in the beginning. Once she hits attempt #4 then we say “No, it’s time for bed.” The kid’s tank is empty at this point, and we know there’s no way she can poop any more. She’s the Girl Who Cried Poop.
Once we try to gently say goodnight to her and that we love her, she flips out and sobs… it’s upsetting, but taking a full hour for bedtime is not a good habit I want to keep up. At the same time, I fear we’re giving her some type of complex with these battles at bedtime. Sigh.
Another phase that I hope we grow out of soon.
Once we try to gently say goodnight to her and that we love her, she flips out and sobs… it’s upsetting, but taking a full hour for bedtime is not a good habit I want to keep up. At the same time, I fear we’re giving her some type of complex with these battles at bedtime. Sigh.
Another phase that I hope we grow out of soon.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Public!
I told my our studio principals on Monday and their first instinct to me pulling them into a closed room was that I was leaving! They were relieved that I was pregnant and happy for me. As there were only 7 other people to tell, everyone knew by lunchtime.
Again, we have zero maternity policy so I cast the net far and suggested 12 weeks paid leave - ! My reasoning was because I’ll be coming back 5 days a week [a lot of the girls don’t work a full week]. I’m hoping since they are flexible with people’s schedules and we’re a small, tight group that they’ll be a little generous - ? Worst case, I have 3 weeks vacation and 1 week sicks days I’d tack onto the end of what the come back with.
We’ve called many local friends last weekend and over the week to spread the news. I’m happy to let my belly hang out now!
I’m 14 weeks tomorrow and I’m starting to feel my body shift. I can feel my insides shifting to make room and my regular jeans are amazingly still hanging on, though I doubt for much longer. Sleeping is starting to get tricky, too; I can feel the weight of my belly taking over and sleeping on my back is starting to cause middle-of-the-night soreness. 2nd pillow shall be coming to bed soon!
We also found out a few weeks back that our good friends, the Cowans are also expecting their 2nd - Betsie is due Aug 22nd, a month before me! We were both super happy to have a friend go through this with!
Oh wait, not sure I’ve mentioned my due date: September 20th, ya’ll! (Nora will be 3 months shy of 3)
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| I think around 9 Weeks? After a day of eating, mind you. |
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| 13 Weeks - I feel way bigger than I look. |
13-Week Sonogram
*Written Saturday, March 15th
Friday I had my 13 week OB appointment - doppler sonogram time! I’ve basically been waiting for this appointment for things to feel a little more real. 8 weeks we saw a moving bean, but this past Friday we did hear a heartbeat - whew. The heart rate was around 150 beats per minute. Nora was always around 160. I’m not going to guess - whatever the gender is will be lovely. *The heartbeat theory says If your baby's heart rate averages in the 110 to low 130s range, the thought is that it's more likely a boy, and if it's in the mid 140s to 160 range, it's more likely a girl. Mid-130s to 140s is unpredictable -- and where a lot of heart rates fall.
Friday I had my 13 week OB appointment - doppler sonogram time! I’ve basically been waiting for this appointment for things to feel a little more real. 8 weeks we saw a moving bean, but this past Friday we did hear a heartbeat - whew. The heart rate was around 150 beats per minute. Nora was always around 160. I’m not going to guess - whatever the gender is will be lovely. *The heartbeat theory says If your baby's heart rate averages in the 110 to low 130s range, the thought is that it's more likely a boy, and if it's in the mid 140s to 160 range, it's more likely a girl. Mid-130s to 140s is unpredictable -- and where a lot of heart rates fall.
Now I feel like I can look ahead, bust out some maternity clothes, pregnancy books and start telling people!
Thursday night I had dinner with a few girlfriends - it was great to get out socially as well as tell the news. We’ve been calling a few friends as well. I’m mainly ready to tell my coworkers - I’ve been having to hide this pooch for a while now and I swear they all know. Especially after turning away wine frequently. Hello, obvious.
My studio is so new and small they don’t have a maternity policy - ! I’ll be the first of a handful of women who also want second children. I’m sure they’ll be fair, but I’ll definitely be suggesting what I’d prefer - 12 paid weeks. But I’ve only been there 6 weeks - ! We’ll see...
A Heartbeat on Valentine’s
*Written February 14, 2014
I had my first visit to my OB today for Kron #2. Tim came with because I thought we’d be able to hear the heartbeat with the sonogram.
Apparently that doesn’t happen until next visit, but the Nurse Practioner said we could still see the baby with an “unofficial” ultrasound - yes please! So I got the cold goo and she moved her wand around and the little bean was already moving and squirming! We saw the fluttering heartbeat - whew! Very exciting and a very appropriate experience for Valentine’s Day : )
I had my first visit to my OB today for Kron #2. Tim came with because I thought we’d be able to hear the heartbeat with the sonogram.
Apparently that doesn’t happen until next visit, but the Nurse Practioner said we could still see the baby with an “unofficial” ultrasound - yes please! So I got the cold goo and she moved her wand around and the little bean was already moving and squirming! We saw the fluttering heartbeat - whew! Very exciting and a very appropriate experience for Valentine’s Day : )
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| Typical “bean” shot where nothing is recognizable. But hey, it’s OUR bean! |
The White Lies Begin...
*Written January 27th, 2014
The white lies and alcohol-dodging are in full effect. Below are the events that have happened where I wouldn’t be drinking and their outcomes;
1. College friend dinner - no questions asked; whew!
2. Landor Happy Hour - no questions asked; whew!
3. Bookclub - no questions asked; whew!
4. Friend’s 40th birthday weekend in Athens - now this was complicated…
When we decided to try for #2, we originally thought we’d give it a go after this weekend in Athens. Then I became nervous that it might not happen as quickly as Nora did. So we tried earlier.
Two weeks before we’re scheduled to go out of town and for my Mom to come watch Nora all weekend, we got the positive sign. DOH!
First Task; fib to my family that the weekend was rescheduled due to reservation/scheduling flubs. Vague, right?
Second, we’d already agreed to go in on a small rental so we were going to pay for that regardless. I told Tim to just go without me. And as the weekend got closer, I bailed on the weekend because I was “sick” we told our friends.
Since I had the day off Friday between jobs, I took Nora up to my parents house for the day. Stephanie was able to make it too. My Mom had bought me a bottle of champagne to celebrate my new job to which I replied, “Well too bad I can’t drink it.” Confused, gaping stares from Mom & Stephanie. “…because I’m about 6 weeks pregnant!” Tears and excitement : )
I probably wouldn’t have even told MY family this early if it hadn’t been for the debacle of canceling on my Mom to watch Nora all weekend.
As I write this, I’m 6 weeks along, my first appointment is in two weeks, so once we see everything is going well, we’ll be headed onto the Krons!
The white lies and alcohol-dodging are in full effect. Below are the events that have happened where I wouldn’t be drinking and their outcomes;
1. College friend dinner - no questions asked; whew!
2. Landor Happy Hour - no questions asked; whew!
3. Bookclub - no questions asked; whew!
4. Friend’s 40th birthday weekend in Athens - now this was complicated…
When we decided to try for #2, we originally thought we’d give it a go after this weekend in Athens. Then I became nervous that it might not happen as quickly as Nora did. So we tried earlier.
Two weeks before we’re scheduled to go out of town and for my Mom to come watch Nora all weekend, we got the positive sign. DOH!
First Task; fib to my family that the weekend was rescheduled due to reservation/scheduling flubs. Vague, right?
Second, we’d already agreed to go in on a small rental so we were going to pay for that regardless. I told Tim to just go without me. And as the weekend got closer, I bailed on the weekend because I was “sick” we told our friends.
Since I had the day off Friday between jobs, I took Nora up to my parents house for the day. Stephanie was able to make it too. My Mom had bought me a bottle of champagne to celebrate my new job to which I replied, “Well too bad I can’t drink it.” Confused, gaping stares from Mom & Stephanie. “…because I’m about 6 weeks pregnant!” Tears and excitement : )
I probably wouldn’t have even told MY family this early if it hadn’t been for the debacle of canceling on my Mom to watch Nora all weekend.
As I write this, I’m 6 weeks along, my first appointment is in two weeks, so once we see everything is going well, we’ll be headed onto the Krons!
My Second Rodeo
*Written January 19th, 2014
It’s been about 3 years since I’ve been pregnant and I feel like I need to re-learn everything; not a lot of caffeine, easy on the herbal teas, watch the soft cheeses, no lunch meat [no big deal there].
I’m going to try and keep running a bit - maybe 2X a week, no more than 6 miles. I want my body to focus on the task at hand. Will try to fit in some yoga and strengthening.
I think my body has evened out after this past weekend - now that I know I can’t have any alcohol, I think it’s done wonders. I’ve been sleeping awesome now and my skin is clearing up - ha!
Assuming everything goes smoothly, I will miss having a pregnant friend to do this with - with Nora I had a few close friends who were pregnant around the same time. This time, not so sure unless someone surprises me.
Feb 14th is my first exam - hoping that we hear a heartbeat on Valentine’s Day!
It’s been about 3 years since I’ve been pregnant and I feel like I need to re-learn everything; not a lot of caffeine, easy on the herbal teas, watch the soft cheeses, no lunch meat [no big deal there].
I’m going to try and keep running a bit - maybe 2X a week, no more than 6 miles. I want my body to focus on the task at hand. Will try to fit in some yoga and strengthening.
I think my body has evened out after this past weekend - now that I know I can’t have any alcohol, I think it’s done wonders. I’ve been sleeping awesome now and my skin is clearing up - ha!
Assuming everything goes smoothly, I will miss having a pregnant friend to do this with - with Nora I had a few close friends who were pregnant around the same time. This time, not so sure unless someone surprises me.
Feb 14th is my first exam - hoping that we hear a heartbeat on Valentine’s Day!
No, Really - 2014 is CRAZY.
*Written January 12th, 2014 (2 Weeks left at Landor, 2 Weeks before starting new job)
I’ll be forthright: Tim and I do want a sibling for Nora. Tim would like to extend the family before he is 40. Assuming things proceed, I’ll be pretty nervous about getting back into that rodeo.
Well, everyone - saddle up.
This past week has been uncomfortable for me, specifically terrible sleep. Thursday night’s sleep was so bad I felt like a zombie at work on Friday. Tim went to hang with friends Friday night, so I went to bed around 10pm, had an okay night sleep and thankfully Nora slept until about 7:30am so I felt pretty refreshed.
Saturday morning we woke up and I had my usual weekend coffee, and by about 10am on Saturday, my stomach was fighting back. My stomachache/nausea didn’t go away until about 5am Sunday morning. Additionally, last night I was sweating all night - I swore it was the new microfiber pillows we purchased - however, Tim was simply fine.
Signs? Signs?
Today thankfully the stomachache was gone and my parents were coming down for the afternoon and to hit 50West for my Dad’s birthday. I’d eaten some meatless crumbles around 2pm to fill up a bit… We got to 50West around 4:30 and ate a lot of appetizers and ordered drinks. I filled up on appetizers and about halfway through my beer, did not want it anymore.
By the time we got home, my G.I. system was embarrassingly outraged which I attributed to the meatless crumbles. My body is a hot mess!!
My cycle is supposed to start on Tuesday. I’m very regular and probably should have started by now. So I went upstairs with the ol’ pee stick this evening...
Po-si-tive.
Well, that explains a lot!
Here we go agaaaaiiinn!
I’ll be forthright: Tim and I do want a sibling for Nora. Tim would like to extend the family before he is 40. Assuming things proceed, I’ll be pretty nervous about getting back into that rodeo.
Well, everyone - saddle up.
This past week has been uncomfortable for me, specifically terrible sleep. Thursday night’s sleep was so bad I felt like a zombie at work on Friday. Tim went to hang with friends Friday night, so I went to bed around 10pm, had an okay night sleep and thankfully Nora slept until about 7:30am so I felt pretty refreshed.
Saturday morning we woke up and I had my usual weekend coffee, and by about 10am on Saturday, my stomach was fighting back. My stomachache/nausea didn’t go away until about 5am Sunday morning. Additionally, last night I was sweating all night - I swore it was the new microfiber pillows we purchased - however, Tim was simply fine.
Signs? Signs?
Today thankfully the stomachache was gone and my parents were coming down for the afternoon and to hit 50West for my Dad’s birthday. I’d eaten some meatless crumbles around 2pm to fill up a bit… We got to 50West around 4:30 and ate a lot of appetizers and ordered drinks. I filled up on appetizers and about halfway through my beer, did not want it anymore.
By the time we got home, my G.I. system was embarrassingly outraged which I attributed to the meatless crumbles. My body is a hot mess!!
My cycle is supposed to start on Tuesday. I’m very regular and probably should have started by now. So I went upstairs with the ol’ pee stick this evening...
Po-si-tive.
Well, that explains a lot!
Here we go agaaaaiiinn!
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Tick Tock Tick Tock
I put my winter coats away. I don’t care if it jinxes me. These past teaser days are torture. Even Nora can’t take it! Just kidding, she was having a 2-year old meltdown. Recently, the crying has been because we don’t put juice or milk in the right cups. Today she asked for peanut butter on her english muffin. Then when we handed to her, “I don’t like peanut butter!” No reason. Surrender.
Nora has busted out an old hand-me-down toy that plays a LOT of music. She now like to sing “Oh Susannah” constantly. We also played robot this morning with our grocery bag.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Big Girl Bed Transi… ZZzzzz
So for the past two-ish weeks, bedtimes have NOT been going well… Nora does not want us to leave the room. We’re in there for at least 1/2 an hour reading books and singing songs. We go to leave and she gets extremely upset. It tears me up to shut the door on her and she screams and tries to open the door, but I will not stay in there until she falls asleep… it’s our sleep training all over again. We’re trying to teach her she’s safe and secure in her new bed. The battles erupt and it ended up frustrating me to a point this past week that I started crying! I haven’t had an “I’m a bad Mommy” moment in a long time.
I think she misses the security of her crib, frankly. She isn’t too young for this and she was climbing out of the crib. We try to be as soothing as we can, but a lot of nights, she just jumps around and plays. I’ve reduced the amount of book and animals in her room to reduce the stimulation.
On top of this, she’s realized she can LEAVE her room now. We have not slept past 5:45am for a week straight. I have ordered a special alarm clock that glows when the time is “okay” to come into Mommy & Daddy’s room. I have 3 friends who have used this clock with success. I’m hoping it works with our little wildcard.
Any additional suggestions are welcome, however I may or may not use it ; )
I think she misses the security of her crib, frankly. She isn’t too young for this and she was climbing out of the crib. We try to be as soothing as we can, but a lot of nights, she just jumps around and plays. I’ve reduced the amount of book and animals in her room to reduce the stimulation.
On top of this, she’s realized she can LEAVE her room now. We have not slept past 5:45am for a week straight. I have ordered a special alarm clock that glows when the time is “okay” to come into Mommy & Daddy’s room. I have 3 friends who have used this clock with success. I’m hoping it works with our little wildcard.
Any additional suggestions are welcome, however I may or may not use it ; )
Holding On To Thoughts of Spring...
Our weekend started off strong - accomplished a lot, exercise and family walk on a near-50˚ Saturday. Today [Sunday] has pulled a 180˚ with sleet, ice and snow. I hope everyone’s sanity is holding on like mine…
Sunday started very early. While most people braved Kroger on Saturday I presume, I decided to go early Sunday morning before the crud hit the fan. It worked - Nora and I walked in and she said “Where IS everyone, Mom?” Love me an empty grocery store!
We were back by 8:30am [yeah]. So being inside ALLLLL day today has been long. I hate to admit, we ran out of ideas for Nora and ended up putting on old concerts of Phish and Grateful Dead. She danced and loved it!
Sunday started very early. While most people braved Kroger on Saturday I presume, I decided to go early Sunday morning before the crud hit the fan. It worked - Nora and I walked in and she said “Where IS everyone, Mom?” Love me an empty grocery store!
We were back by 8:30am [yeah]. So being inside ALLLLL day today has been long. I hate to admit, we ran out of ideas for Nora and ended up putting on old concerts of Phish and Grateful Dead. She danced and loved it!
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| Bowling! |
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| Running like Mommy & Daddy |
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