Starting over

Now that my baby boy is here I am able to get back to training and I look so forward to it! I have felt (and have been) pretty lazy the last few months. I still walked until the end of my pregnancy but other than that I was not doing a whole lot and I really could/should have been. Oh well, I'm just going to look toward the future. Instead of having a whole ton of goals for the next year I am going to work on little goals throughout the year so I don't get overwhelmed and discouraged. I also plan on focusing on a word for the year instead of a list of resolutions (props to my friend Candice for introducing this idea to me). So I'll run through my goals and then let you know what my word is.

Goals for the next month:

• Start Zumba again! I am STOKED about this!! I miss dancing and working out at the Zumba studio I used to go to. The owner and instructors are fabulous and all the ladies who work out there are super sweet so I can't wait to see them all again. If you live in the Buford, GA area I highly recommend Z Studio Fitness (check them out on Facebook!)
• Eat better. This mainly means including more fruits and veggies. I am pretty lazy in the kitchen and like easy foods so I usually don't cook with veggies a ton (too much chopping, yes I'm THAT lazy in the kitchen) so I'm going to work on this and make it a habit.
• Go for walks on non-Zumba days. I want to try and move everyday with the intention of getting out of my rut and getting my body used to being active again.

Overall goals for next 6 months:

• Run two 5k races before June 1. 
• Run the ENTIRE Peachtree Road Race. (For those of you who may not know my history with this race please read my previous posts about it.)
• Get within 15 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. The original goal was to attain my pre-pregnancy weight but in order to ensure my goals are attainable I gave myself some wiggle room with this one. In the spirit of full disclosure I gained about 55 pounds during my pregnancy. My pre-pregnancy weight was around 155 and as of right now I'm around 200. I lost about 15 right after my son was born and have another 45 to go. 

Word for the year: grace

I chose this word because I have been feeling really anxious since the birth about not working out. I really had to keep reminding myself that I needed time to heal before I am able to get back to training and that has been hard. Also, I need to basically start over which is going to be challenging. I wanted to pick a word that reminds me to give myself some forgiveness when I can't run a 5k right away and when Zumba feels as draining as it was when I first started it. My body has not been as active as it was so obviously I can't pick right up where I stopped like the last 9 months didn't happen. I have a constant reminder that it did whenever I look at my son. I am thrilled to have that be the reason I took my break but need to keep remembering that it took time to get where I was and that it'll take time again. Also, since I have a newborn, there will be a lot of adjustment in my attitude about certain things that were easy before, such as my schedule. There will be days when he needs me and I won't be able to just go out and run or days when I'll be late for Zumba class because I needed to finish feeding him (I HATE being late for anything). This will all take grace and constant forgiveness of myself. 

So there you have it, my goals and word of the year. If you chose a word for the year or made some resolutions I 'd be happy to hear them and encourage you in those if you want to share them. :) Thanks for reading! 

My first marathon

I'm sorry for the sabbatical I have taken from blogging. My pregnancy kind of overtook my life but I am happy to announce that it is over and we have a healthy and beautiful baby boy now! He was born on December 5 at 6:46pm. He weighed 9lbs and was 22.5 inches long. This is the story of his birth that have dubbed my first marathon.

For about two weeks before my due date I was having Braxton-Hicks contractions and hoping I was going to go early or at least on time (mostly for maternity leave purposes) but alas, my baby had other plans. I visited my midwife on the Monday before he was born (already past my due date) and she checked me. I was 3cm dilated and really hoping I didn't have another two weeks of Braxton-Hicks in front of me! I went about my week still experiencing the practice contractions on and off. On the night of December 4 something shifted in the way the contractions felt. They were more intense and regular. I tried to sleep but every time it felt like I had finally drifted off another one woke me so I decided to just stay up and watch 80's movies. My husband wanted to stay up with me but I told him at least one of us needed to be rested for tomorrow. Around 7 the next morning my husband's alarm went off so he could get ready for work but I let him know that he can go ahead and call in because we were going to have a baby by the end of the day!

I called my Mom so she could come over and pick up our two dogs then started getting in touch with my midwife and a friend who was going to come and be with us for the birth. Everyone made it over around 10am and labor was definitely progressing at that point. We spent all day listening to music, joking, and trying to keep labor progressing. About midway through labor the birth pool I was going to use was ready and I can't begin to describe how good it felt to sit in that warm water. My contractions felt much less intense and I was much more relaxed.

After a few hours (pretty much all time estimates are completely inaccurate as I am relying on my memory which is not very helpful given the circumstances) my water finally broke and I was almost fully dilated. My contractions after my water broke were much more intense and much longer but the water definitely helped me deal with them. Finally, I felt the urge to start pushing and begun to do so with some guidance from my midwife. After about 30 minutes of pushing in the water I didn't feel like I was pushing effectively and my midwife suggested pushing on the toilet. I did so and after about another hour my baby boy was finally born in our bathroom on a birthing stool!

I had taken my glasses off and couldn't see him at first really well so I started yelling at someone to get my glasses and the first sight of him took my breath away. I cannot begin to describe how good it felt to finally hold that little man in my arms. Afterwards we got cleaned up, checked out, and we got to snuggle. It was the best feeling in the world.

This whole experience has been described as a marathon in nearly all the birthing books I read and they were absolutely correct. It was the most physically draining experience of my life. I can't wait to start training again and running a marathon one day just to see how it really compares. My labor lasted 19.5 hours but I plan to run a marathon much faster than that! :) Thanks for reading this and allowing me to share the amazing experience of my first, most wonderful marathon.