3 Weeks, Yoga, and the Cat Thief

Today Alfie is three weeks old.  Three weeks ago right now, we were at the hospital.  The midwife had broken my water, the contractions were very strong and close together, and we were less than two hours from meeting our daughter.  Three weeks is a lightning-fast blink and a lifetime, all at the same time.  I cannot remember life without her, just as I cannot imagine life without The Bambino.

Alfie and I went to Mom and Baby Yoga today, run by the kind but demanding Cheryl.  Alfie slept through most of the 75-minute session, waking to eat at the end.  Mom and Baby yoga is not a meditative, zen-like yoga experience; there are babies crying, crawling, laughing, nursing, and getting diaper changes.  The poses, however, are serious.  My body has recovered well from birth, but this kicked my butt!  I was able to do everything, but my shoulders, hips, and core all noticed the hard work.  I fear how my muscles will feel in the morning.  We will definitely go back to yoga next week, and every Wednesday that we're in town between now and August.  I only wish that there was more than one class per week.

I plan to run either tomorrow or Friday, depending on how sore my legs are.  Running even a mile or two will feel amazing.  Alfie is too little to run with me, even in her infant seat, and The Bambino is way too much trouble to push right now, so I'll head out solo after Jenn gets home.

In completely unrelated news, we got a strange call yesterday from the microchip company for our cat.  Apparently, she had been taken to the vet by someone in the neighborhood who wanted to adopt her.  Thankfully the vet checked for a microchip and we were alerted.

This on its own is not that strange.  I know that outdoor cats, especially friendly ones, will  eat whatever food is offered to them and act like they've never had a real meal.  I know that if a cat came to our door, we would pet it and offer it food and water.  When I posted that someone tried to steal our cat on Facebook, a lot of my friends admitted that they had accidentally done the same thing.  The difference is that this person did not really let up!  When Jenn went to get Ella from her house (which is one the same block as ours), she continued to talk about feeding her, letting her into the garage when it rained, etc.  Ella comes into our house whenever she wants.  She eats dinner every night, is up to date on shots, and loves to play outside.  She's half bobcat, for Pete's sake!  Ella is back at home, but I have serious doubts that this woman understands that the cat is ours.

We are nervous that this person will really poach our cat, so she is strictly inside for the foreseeable future.  She's not going to like it, but how else do you counteract wet cat food several times a day in a neighboring yard?

2 Weeks Already

Yesterday as of 5:17 pm, Alfie has been out in the world for two weeks.  She's thriving, and it turns out that she's a pretty easy baby.

We had her two week appointment yesterday, where we learned that baby girl gained 20 ounces in 8 days.  In case you were curious, that's a lot; the average is about 1 ounce per day.  This just means that she's a good nurser (and that her mom makes some pretty awesome milk- just sayin').  She has an adorable double chin and some good leg and neck strength. I now hope that she will be a runner AND play rugby (probably scrumhalf or flank, since she will not be tall).

So civic-minded at such a young age!  Note the pudgy cheeks and double chin.

I feel pretty much back to normal, although my core is very weak.  Having muscles stretched out that far for that long does not make for a six-pack once the baby arrives.  Tuesday I started doing daily yoga and I can already tell a difference.  Here are some typical poses right now:

• sun salutations- at least 4 total, 2 per side
• cat/cow with leg extensions and leg and arm extensions
• downward dog
• seated spine twists- this feels amazing after several months of having to turn my entire body to see what was happening over my shoulder
• tree pose
• chair pose
• bridge
• seated and reclining leg stretches
• plank
• low lunge

Yesterday I also did a few lunges and some sumo squats.  They felt hard at the time, but today my legs are not sore.  The trickiest thing right now with lunges, squats, and a lot of the yoga poses is keeping my spine and hips in alignment.  Because it's hard to do, I know that I need to be doing it.  Next week Alfie and I will go to mom and baby yoga, brought to you by the same wonderfully demanding woman who teaches prenatal yoga in town.  I went to mom and baby with our son as well, and it was not easy.  Not in the least.  

On the running front, I think I might try a few very slow miles next week.  I feel great, and any concerns I might have had about my milk supply went away at the pediatrician's office yesterday- Alfie is a champion eater, and I know logically that moderate exercise will not harm supply.  Until then, I need to walk at least every other day to remind my body what forward motion feels like.  

Alfie's Here!

Alfie (actually Eden) arrived Wednesday, April 25 at 5:17 p.m.  She weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces and has a head of strawberry hair.  She's amazing!  We came home Thursday evening and have been enjoying family time ever since.

Wednesday morning, contractions started but they were not very close together or impressive.  We went to the midwife's office at 1:30 because they weren't stopping, and she informed us that I was already 6 cm dilated.  It was hospital time!

We got to the hospital, got checked in, and the midwife broke my water at 3:17.  Exactly two hours later Eden arrived.  To say it was a fast labor is a bit of an understatement.  It was exactly what I had hoped for: no drugs and quick.

6 pounds, 7 ounces of adorable love

Baby Alfie arrived ready to nurse and very alert. We thought that she was going to be at least as big as her brother, who was 6 pounds 11 ounces at 3 weeks early, but she was a small peanut (but long!  21 inches!).

Mama and baby resting together- it was a big day!

A family friend (who is the mother of James' best friend) took the toddler home after school Wednesday and brought him to the hospital to see baby sis .  Then my parents arrived, cuddled with the new addition, and took James to our house.  He is still going through grandparent withdrawal, after several days of favorite foods, exciting toys, and new people to read stories.

Since baby and I were both doing well, and since I do not voluntarily stay in a hospital longer than necessary, we came home as soon as we could, which was 24 hours after her birth.  It has been busy here since Alfie's arrival, but it's also pretty amazing.

love!

The Bambino and Baby Alfie together- he is so proud of being a big brother!

37 Weeks- I Ran!

So, I stopped running at 34 weeks because running caused contractions for me.  At 34 weeks, who wants contractions?  It still felt good to run during the run, but afterwards made me nervous.  I backed down to walking, and I tried to enjoy it.

Fast forward to this week, and guess who's full term?  Baby Alfie is!  The Bambino, my 3.5 year old, was born at 37 weeks, a little early but totally healthy.  This prompted me to get myself out the door for a run because, at this point, so what if I have contractions?

Thursday afternoon I took the non-gimpy dog for a trail run and we had a blast.  He successfully passed not one but two dogs without barking.  He also managed to not chase the feral turkey who lives in our neighborhood, although I could tell he really wanted to.  The weather has been unexpectedly cool for North Carolina in April, so both of us enjoyed getting out in the fresh air.


I did get an unexpected and rather messy nose bleed near the end of the run, but I think that just makes me seem tougher than I already am.  Some people think running while pregnant is fairly hard core, so running home very pregnant with blood smeared on my sleeve must have seemed extra tough.  Honestly, I doubt anyone noticed.

Note the blood on both the sleeve and bottom edge of my shirt.

There's also some on my leg, but you get the idea.

This morning I went for my longest run in months.  A whopping 3.6 miles, I ran for 43 minutes in and around the hood.  Aside from a little ankle soreness, it was amazing.  I brought music instead of a dog this time and just felt free.  I didn't even have to stop for a potty break, which is a pretty big deal.  We spent the rest of the morning doing fun family things like the Farmer's Market, toy store (aka thrift store), and Science Center.



After this week's two runs, I know that my body and the baby it's growing both still have a lot of run in them.  I will run as often as I want until Alfie's arrival!

It had to end sometime...

Alfie

Monday marked 34 weeks.  We had an appointment today with the midwife, and things are going well.  Baby Alfie was very uncooperative with the ultrasound tech- we did not get a single good picture of her face.  She weighs around 5 pounds now, and we could even see her practicing her breathing.

Like the title of this post suggests, as of this week I am done with running.  It still feels good while I'm going, but the contractions afterwards are just not worth it.  I will walk and do yoga up until her arrival, but that's it.  I hope to maintain base fitness.  With the bambino, I quit running at 30 weeks and was able to come back to it quickly, so I hope that happens this time, too.

Race Weekend

Last weekend, my dad ran his first solo half-marathon; prior to Rock n' Roll DC, we had run several together, but this was his first chance running alone for 13.1 miles.  Even for a hot day, a crowded course (28,000 runners!!!), and some hills, he did awesome.  We hopped on the Metro to see him around mile 10, making friends with another group of fans on the train who told us what stop to use, etc.  I had forgotten the map at home, and it's pretty darn difficult to pull up a map on an iphone when you're underground.  Thankfully, this group had large posters, so it was a safe bet to ask them for help.  They even helped get my dad's attention when we finally saw him.  We all yelled "Pop-Pop!" (the bambino's name for his grandfather) until he saw us.

In the huge crowd, it was a bit like playing Where's Waldo to find your runner.  He was wearing a white hat, yellow shirt, and shorts, so as people came out from the underpass we'd look from the top down.

• "White hat... shirt's too dark"
• "White hat... no wait- it's a visor"
• "White hat...bright yellow shirt... oh, it's a woman"
• "White hat...bright yellow shirt...blue shorts- no, Dad isn't African-American"

Looking for our runner near Gallaudet University

And then finally we saw him coming and Jenn got a lot of photographs. This whole time, the bambino did great- he had his snack and happily watched all of the runners.  Since it was Saint Patrick's Day, there were some spectacular outfits.  I love fun running clothes, but the women running in plastic wigs on a warm spring day made me feel vicariously overheated.  Yikes!

White hat, bright yellow shirt, blue shorts- that's him!

After the Dad-sighting at mile 10, we hustled to the finish, arriving almost 30 minutes late.  The Metro was packed, and there was construction, so there was no hope.  We reconnected with our runner and quickly decided it was a far, far better idea to walk a few miles in the beautiful spring weather to food than to squish ourselves like sardines into the Metro.

After lunch we went to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin.  The unseasonably warm weather had brought out the blooms a little early.

Isn't he cute?

with Mémé

Dad and I hung out under a tree while the rest of the family traipsed around looking at flowers and trees.  Dad had just run a race and had some good Salvadoran food; I am very pregnant and had likewise just eaten a lovely meal, so we were very happy to rest in the shade.

I Dream of Training

First, a disclaimer: I love being pregnant.  I love how my body has changed, and I love the purpose.  I already adore the tiny little girl growing in my (also growing) belly.  I cherish every head-butt, hiccup, and other movement that reminds me she's there.

I love being pregnant, but I fantasize about training and really running again: running more than three miles, getting progressively faster instead of slower, having different kinds of runs within a week.  Right now, the variety is indoor v. outdoor, music v. stroller.  I look forward to long runs, long race-pace runs, hill repeats (remind me that I'm looking forward to them, because when they happen, I will whine), speed work, tempo runs, stroller runs, and plain old runs.  It will be so nice to look at a month of training and see variety and progress toward a goal.

Perhaps this is the difference between runners and joggers: runners like goals and progress, whereas joggers just want a fitness routine.  Being pregnant has made my focus shift from goals to fitness, from progress to maintenance, and I'm itching to get back to normal.

30 Weeks!

This week, baby Alfie is 30 weeks along; 10 more weeks (or less!) until she makes her appearance.  We are, of course, very excited.  We also have a lot to do.  The nursery has most of its furniture, but there's no bed.  There are coverings on the windows, but we'd like to make curtains and reupholster the glider chair in the same fabric. We have plenty of cloth diapers, and we've begun to pick up some little girl clothes.  She will most certainly wear big brother's onesies and shirts around the house, no matter how blue they are, but it's hard to resist tiny dresses with bloomers.  Bloomers!  We have her car seats, one for each car, and we'll put them in the cars at some point in March, I guess.

The biggest thing we haven't done is figure out a name.  We have a few months left, but it feels funny to not even have it narrowed down.  We found out we were having a girl on November 28, and we then we moved.  Then it was Christmas, then New Year's, then school started back and the bambino transitioned to a new classroom, and now all of the sudden it's the second half of February and Alfie has no real name.

In running news, I'm still at it!  I ran Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, plus an extra walk Saturday with the bambino.  Last week's mileage was 12 miles (13 with the walk), and I am very proud of that.  30 weeks is when I stopped running with my son, and I don't feel like stopping at all.

Here's what I wrote at this point last time around:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2008

No More Running

So, it finally happened. At nearly thirty weeks, with 70 days left to go, it is no longer fun to run, and that's a word I use VERY loosely at this point. I went out for a nice, slow jog and discovered that twenty extra pounds make your legs feel awful. Also, my belly is large enough that there's definitely a little bounce. I now know what it's like to try to run with a spare tire. The plan now is to walk and maybe hike a little, both of which do not cause nearly as much trouble.

In fact,  I ran tonight after our church's Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner.  I did 3 miles in 33:45 and then walked to 40:00.  Sure, it's not fast, but it's a good workout at this point, and I was smiling almost the whole time.  And not just because I was watching the first half of the Downton Abbey finale.  What a great way to work off the pancakes!

Speaking of pancakes, my diet seems to be doing a great job of managing the gestational diabetes.  I have the nutrition class tomorrow after school, but just monitoring my blood sugar has made me feel a lot better.  Exercising at night seems to control my blood sugar first thing in the morning, which is important.

That's what it's like around here right now!  I've gotten used to GD, I'm still running, and we need to pick a name for baby Alfie.  I've also been thinking a lot about this summer and getting back into running running, as well as Fall and Spring racing plans.  More about that later...