Sunday, June 26, 2011

39 Weeks - The Finish Line!!!

Workouts this week: 0
Total walk mileage/time: 0
Weight: 223 lbs
Total weight gained: 39 lbs

Here we are! This is my last pre-baby blog post! I have survived what should be my final pregnancy, and now my next big physical challenge will be surviving my final c-section and recovery! I am hoping for minimal pain and no complications, so I can get back to feeling "normal" as quickly as possible.

My initial recovery phase will be pretty basic. The goal is to get up and moving as soon as I can, and to keep moving as pain and energy level permit. For the first two weeks that will involve just short walks on flat surfaces. From two weeks to six weeks post partum I can walk much more, while listening to my body to know how far is okay is push myself. The heavy duty exercise will have to wait until after my 6-week post-partum checkup. If all goes well, I will see the doctor on August 8th, and start running again on August 9th!

It might only be interesting to me, but I do plan to continue weekly updates on my activity level and weight at least for those first six weeks. Once I'm back to regular exercise, I will get this blog back to normal too, with more frequent posts about anything and everything fitness-related that crosses my mind. I'm sure I will have lots to say, because I will be setting new goals and adjusting to an even more hectic life with a new schedule. When my last baby was born, I had great difficulty finding the time and energy to exercise for many many months. This time I am much more focused and determined, but that does not guarantee that my results will be any different. I may need your encouragement more than ever!!

Stay tuned for a baby update sometime this week (c-section is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28th, at 9:15am)! Wish me luck! Thanks for bearing with me throughout the past nine months! :)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

38 Weeks - Stick a Fork in Me

Workouts this week: 0
Total walk mileage/time: 0
Weight: 220 lbs
Total weight gained: 36 lbs

Oh my goodness, I am so done. I am ready to get this kid out of me and start to get my body back!! I know from much experience that c-section recovery is no picnic, but the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends, and the sooner I can feel like a human being again.

In the past few weeks, I had started daydreaming about someday running again, but now I'm back to just wishing I could walk without discomfort. The pregnancy waddle gets old after a while, as does the weight of a small person resting right on your bladder.

It's funny to me now that I once thought weighing less and being more fit would make this pregnancy more enjoyable. It was definitely more tolerable for a longer time this go 'round, but I didn't enjoy it any more than I ever have before. I'm just not one of the women who like being pregnant, and my physical fitness level does not make one bit of difference.

So I'm ready to be done, and ready to bid pregnancy farewell and good riddance. I am incredibly thankful to have been blessed enough to carry 4 healthy babies to term and to (knock on wood that this will prove true next week) bring them into the world with minimal complications. They have made all the misery worth it, absolutely.

Now come on, kid....get out ASAP so Mama can feel human again soon!!!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

37 Weeks - Trying Not to Move At All

Workouts this week: 0
Total walk mileage/time: 0
Weight: 220 lbs
Total weight gained: 36 lbs

I have now reached the complete opposite of my goal earlier in the pregnancy. Whereas once upon a time I wanted to be as active as possible, I now want to move as little as humanly possible!! I spent a good chunk of this weekend dealing with cramps, aches, lower back pain, and some mild contractions. The fear that I might be going into labor early was enough to scare me into grounding myself to either the recliner or the bed whenever I don't absolutely HAVE to be up and around for some reason. We still have a ton to do to get our home ready for the baby, so I do not want to risk him coming early if I can possibly help it. I've never gone into labor on my own before, and I don't want this to be the first time!!

I'll admit I'm not thrilled at my current weight, but I didn't care enough about it to keep it from creeping up. Such is life. I have no plans to put a stop to my ice cream habit either, so I'm guessing I'll gain another couple of pounds before all is said and done. At least this time I should not be doing much in the way of emotional/grief eating AFTER the baby is born, so I'll be able to return to healthy eating more easily. I refuse to worry about my weight unless/until the pounds don't start dropping off post partum.

One last thing - I want to give a quick shout-out to my 10-year-old niece, Kateri, who completed her first 5K race yesterday! I'm incredibly proud of her!! I will write more about her soon...I've been wanting to write about how my own family members inspire me ever since my older brother Russell finished his first Boston Marathon back in April! So be on the lookout for that post soon. :)

Monday, June 6, 2011

36 Weeks - Embracing REST More Than Ever

Workouts this week: 0
Total walk mileage/time: 0
Weight: 218 lbs
Total weight gained: 34 lbs

I am finally learning how to listen to my body when it whispers, rather than waiting until it screams. Carefully timed periods of rest can be a potent pre-emptive strike against dehydration, discomfort, and exhaustion. Who knew?

It helps that my life has slowed down through circumstances beyond my control. My son finished kindergarten last week, and the t-ball season ended as well, thus reducing my number of evening and weekend activities by A LOT. Being on the go so much less allows me to take short breaks whenever I need them, so that in between those breaks I can actually get some necessary tasks done! And boy do I have a lot of "necessary tasks"; I'm working from a lengthy list of things to be done before the baby arrives, and also planning my middle son's 4th birthday, which happens to be 3 days before my c-section is scheduled. So I'm still very busy, but scheduled time is much rougher than time I can schedule myself!

Embracing my need for rest should have been sort of obvious for me, considering I've been through pregnancy three times before! I'm almost embarrassed that it took me this long to give in to the whispers. On the bright side, I think I can blame it on something good, which is that my new active lifestyle has seemed to alter my brain to believe that I can and should have tons of energy and be able to go go GO from morning until late at night. Even though I have joked a lot about being lazy the past few months, I don't think my brain has really slipped back into that mentality. I know I still have a rough road ahead of me (post-partum sleep deprivation, anyone???), but I look forward to eventually getting all my energy back so I can be active again!

For now, though...I think I might slip out of work a little early today so I can go home and put my feet up before chowing a bunch of tacos for dinner. ;-)