On getting back to exercising after an injury, baby or sickness

Anyone will tell you that getting back in shape after taking a break is always hard.

First tri last year one month before we got pregnant. 

I don't know if it's been the hot temps at night - 88-plus, or the humidity, or the fact that I haven't run under 10:30 pace for 10 months, but running is hard!

First-time runners - I applaud you. I give serious props for anyone getting outside and doing something new because those first couple of months are hard work, without a lot of payoff.

Your still breathing heavy and it just doesn't come as naturally as it once did. I still feel a little bit of pain when I run longer so I am running very short distances. And my legs feel really fresh for some odd reason.

This is my week of "2s." Every week I am upping the mileage I run by one mile. So next week, depending on how I feel, I may run three. I had a great run last night even though it was very hot. I kept it nice and loose and didn't kill myself. Just worked on form and trying to breath and enjoy the run.

I warmed up with a 9:48 mile and then finished the second mile at 9:18 or an overall pace of 9:32. Why keep track of paces? Well, for me it just makes me not go too hard or too easy. And it's a great indicator of your fitness level. Last summer I would time my miles ever month or so to gauge my fitness level. I was happy if it was sub 7:10/20. Next year I would love to get down to see a "6" on my garmin.

And I had a great walk after the run with LaRonda. It was really nice to have some time with a friend walking and just relaxing. Modern Family's Julie Bowen talks about her postpartum need to run here.

Tri next year
I am probably not going to do any triathlons this year. Mentally, I would like to just work on running and swimming and then maybe get a road bike next year.

Racing on Brandon's bike wasn't bad, but for a sprint tri, I would need his bike more to train and he is pretty attached to it on the weekends. And training on a hybrid is just not as fun and takes a ton more work to pedal.

On having a lemonade stand

We had a lemonade stand the other Saturday and it was so much fun. I was just really impressed at the many people who stopped and bought a drink from the girls.

With that, I told Brandon I will always stop now that the girls were so supported!

Other ideas are selling gatorade by a running trail. Or hot chocolate or cider in the fall. The whole experience from making signs, counting money, and interacting with people was a really great lesson for them. The biggest thing that was hard for their little 3, 5-year old antsy selves was sitting at the table for around an hour. I would probably recommend only having it for an hour or less.

We also put the ice in a cooler and just put it in the cups as people purchased them.

Did you ever sell lemonade? My sisters and brother used to sell lemonade to the cyclists who biked from Cbus to the Dutch Kitchen.

Awkward and awesome Tuesday

There are some blogs that have Awkward and Awesome Tuesday, like the Daybook, so here it goes since hello, living with a newborn, 3 and 5-year old supplies many experiences.

Awkward

• That moment when your 3-year old strips totally naked and goes to the restroom on the back lawn. And then has problems getting her swimming suit back on.

• That moment when you think your comeback running is going great, your running at least under 10 minutes (hey, you just had a baby) and you get passed. At first by one person, then another and then a whole high school cross country team. Because, that just makes you feel awesome. 

• Or when you run like one, or all of these "awkward runners." Guilty. 
• When your pooped on, spit up on or peed on. Or all three. In the same sitting. 

Awesome

• All of the amazing support we have received from family and friends during baby's birth and first month. 
• The girls loved going to the pool with Momma and our cousin Nick yesterday. They had a great time and slept until 7:45 am. Awesome. 
• Spending nights with Brandon (and sometimes a sip or two of his craft beers) relaxing on the porch.  
• Morning sun and the beautiful weather that doesn't have a "9" or "100" anywhere in it. 

Running again...

I am still in love with running. I was worried perhaps having a baby would somehow horribly affect either my running ability or desire. Hmm. Not.a.chance.

My cardio is still low on endurance, either that or the 90 degree day sapped it out of me. I ran 2 miles around a 9:28 pace/10:11 pace on our trail. Since I am supposed to still take it easy, I didn't bust it all out, but kept a pretty manageable pace. Can't wait for the next weeks as I can completely start running.

Since you are also not supposed to amp up mileage beyond 10 percent per week. I am doing one extra mile each week depending on how I feel. So, this week is 1-2 and next week is either 1-2 or 2-3 based on how I feel.

I am still not allowed to swim until week 6. Boo. It's going to be 95 this week.

Monday pep talk

Do you ever feel like you need a pep talk on Monday mornings getting ready for the office? I used to work and drive in to Cbus with Brandon and every Monday was very hard to get going. By the time I was deep into my first cup of coffee, I was doing good. So...here's your pep talk -- only one more week until a four day work week. :)

Ryder has been having a growth spurt. He's getting a little pudge on his cheeks and his lips are so cute. We got to take him to church for the first time yesterday and see all of our friends again. He is also our sleeping champ!

Ava has been begging us to have a lemonade stand since it was winter. And she wanted to earn some money so Saturday Sophie and Ava had a little stand. They sold lemonade to about 10 or 12 people and had a really great time. I will always stop for lemonade now after Saturday. We really appreciated everyone who supported them. :)

Ryder in his little swing. 

Lemonade for .25! Sophie and Ava really wanted to drink more than one cup. 

Brandon doing a diaper change 

He slept from 9:45 pm to 2 am! And then until 4:30 am. I'll take it.:) By 10 pm I am usually so tired I am hitting the sack with Ryder.

I have been trying to keep on top of eating before I am ravenous and planning snacks out for the kids in case I am nursing or short on time.

Here are some great ideas for your lunch/snacks like Real Simple's article on snacking.

Real Simple 

Brandon really likes to have healthy lunches or leftovers. We use leftover veggies or grill extras like eggplant, corn, peppers, onions, etc and put them in our salads.

1. Make salads on Sundays for at least 2-3 days.
2. Keep dressing separate in plastic bags inside tupperware.
3. Fill salads with protein like beans, tofu, nuts, etc.
4. Salads will keep nicely and easy to grab on the way to the pool or office.

Weekly lunches

Baggie of dressing inside tupperware already prepared  

Use a bottled dressing or make your own

Dressing baggies
Equal parts canola and olive oil + salt + maple syrup + acid (lemon or red wine vin)

Salad 
Spring salad + spinach + cilantro (or you can do parsley or a thai salad with mint)

I ran last night...

My first mile. And it was...glorious!

I took the first mile very easy and it did help that Brandon texted me and let me know that Ryder was crying. But, it felt really good and I def. didn't bust it out (10:30 pace). I was running maybe 8-9 min/pace pre-baby.

The only thing that was sensitive was my knees, probably from the relaxin hormones, and nursing. Ouch.

The OB nurse practitioner gave me the go ahead to run fartleks or run/walk (I knew I loved that practice) 7-10 days after my appointment that was two weeks ago. I waited a little longer and it's been almost 3.5 weeks since Ryder was born. My plan is to go easy (2 miles or so) for the next two weeks and add walking and weights since they help improve muscular recovery into the equation depending on how I feel. I will say that running up until 39 weeks made running again very manageable. I didn't feel like I was at a zero base level.

Roly polies and body image

Hi!
Welcome to the land of newborn land. Where one day you will get a great 6 hour stretch of sleep (are you kidding me?!!) and a sleeping newborn all day/night followed by another day of a little party animal who sleeps in 2.5 hour stretches and doesn't go to sleep until 10 pm.

You will feel like a firefighter who is on call as you go on a quick walk after feeding only to get a text from hubby:

Brandon: "He's crying...again." 
Me: "Be there in 3 minutes."

And then when you think he will be awake, he sleeps for two hours. What to do? Hmm. Live in the moment and enjoy the little things. Like your girls who are able to entertain themselves with their "zoo" and who don't mind staying home for a little while.

Also, I found this great blog post on Healthy Tipping Post about post-mommy bodies.

I mean. Hello, 40-plus weeks later your still wearing maternity clothes, your boobs are huge and your still not "yourself."

I really haven't had serious struggles with how I look after baby. Maybe because I knew after two kids that you will still look at least 20 (on average) weeks pregnant. Or that I really couldn't hardcore exercise or diet with nursing.

However, I could see how someone could be somewhat overwhelmed or sensitive when their kids ask why the baby is still in their belly (true story). And pat their belly. Repeatedly. 

At the hospital it was a little disconcerting as I thought I would be down a little less since I exercised up until the last day. However, the nurse said that the uterus has shrink from a watermelon to its normal size. And that takes a little while.

I remember stepping out of my hospital room on the second day to get my nurse and seeing the mom in the room next to me. She was really cute, had this cute robe and we both looked at each other and then our still somewhat larger bellies and I felt this weird kinship.

It happens to every mom. It was our badge of honor for delivering this amazing life into the world. And just that recognition made me feel a lot better. Brandon thinks it makes me feel bad when Ava is quick to interject to Charlotte, our niece, without prompting, "My mommy's belly is still shrinking! She had a baby."

Really. I am proud of the whole experience and try to keep focused on long term goals like running my first marathon with Brandon next year. :)

What are your long term goals?

The House that Brandon built 
Hey, we also have been doing some house chores since we are home. Things like waterproofing the mailbox and our swing set, painting our outside lights, fertilizing the lawn, planting a garden and changing out the door handles from gold to silver. We also got new chairs and are looking at a rug for the living room and a pendant lamp for the kitchen table.

Here's how we did the light project outside. It turned out amazing and was $7.99 for the Rustoleum spray paint in true Young House Love style.

Since the light was hardwired, Brandon put cardboard around the lamp and took the lightbulb and glass panes out before spraying. He also washed the area and unscrewed the top of the lamp. 

Homemade monkey bread from Cooking Light. This recipe uses half whole wheat flour  and orange juice. It also uses half the butter. I really loved this recipe. However, it does take one hour for the dough to rise. 

Our first little french breakfast radish from the garden. 

Little man sleeping. 

Sophia giving her doll a hair cut. 

Roly poly mob. Soph was trying to kill a roly poly with her bat, while Ava was trying to make habitats for them. 

Ryder's first little outfit! 

Little toes. 

Ava and her roly poly, Wilbur. She lost him while trying to push him on the swings #truestory. 

Shopping with little ones

Previously, I had done an entry about shopping with your little ones and what makes a great store or eatery in this post.

When gathering my unofficial results, I looked at ease of shopping, helpfulness of staff, and product placement, among other things.

Here are some more of the best stores and stores that may make it harder to shop with little ones.

Worst:
Children's Place Tuttle Mall
Offense: Checkout line is very long

I really like shopping at the Children's Place at Polaris, but the Tuttle Mall CP is totally a time drainer. It's filled with too small aisles for your strollers, usually out of several sizes in the girls department and the line to checkout is at least 15 minutes long every time even if there is only one person in front of you. The boys section is really cute though so maybe try online shopping?

Wal-Mart Marysville
Offense: Essentials are far away, checkout line is very long
Wal-Mart is like this maze of aisles that are wide for strollers and you will find good deals. But, those deals add up and it can be hard for little kids to walk around the whole store if you are in a hurry. Let's say you need diapers (seriously, back aisle of store!) and milk (back aisle as well), you will spend at least 10 minutes just walking to get your things. Honestly, if they put the milk and diapers at the front, I know a lot more parents would appreciate it.

The sales clerks are usually pleasant and friendly, which is super nice. But, those long lines will have you waiting sometimes for 15-20 minutes.

Best:
Farmhouse Ice Cream Parlor in Marysville - This mom and pop ice cream store has a train that circles the store by it's ceiling, a huge chalkboard for kids to write on and is super easy going. They have the girls' favorite flavor, superman, and are budget friendly. Just check out their Yelp reviews! Favorite flavors include the flavor of the month favorite, banana pudding, and red velvet ice cream.

Chipotle-You knew this was a sure bet. Aside from their seating, which can be filled at times, the girls love their menu which features a make-your-own-taco plate (two soft tacos (#4)). This is one of the only meals the girls will totally finish from start to finish. The servers are always super friendly and their food is organic and locally sourced. Love.

Week 3 of baby Ryder

Swinging on the patio 

Relaxing with daddy

diaper changes + baby 

Cupcakes from our neighbors from Ribbon Box Cakery. So yum! Best ever 

Sophia picked a chocolate cupcake with blue sprinkles. 

Chocolate and strawberry cupcake

Here's Ava's drawing of an alligator with two dolphins jumping out of an ocean.

We have been having a very relaxing third week. Since our doctor told us to keep little guy out of grocery stores or restaurants and since I can't do much in terms of exercise or swimming yet, we have been relaxing, playing outside and having family time. We also visited my mom and dad last night. 

Ryder is three weeks today. He is up and alert for longer periods of time, he smiles!, and is sleeping for about a 4 hour/3 hour chunk at night. He loves nursing and cluster feeds right before bed. And he goes through a lot of diapers! I would say his temperament is pretty chill, and he is a little lover. 

The girls are doing well. They are really into imaginative play. They have little friends, Colin and Ethan, that eat with us sometimes. Ava really enjoys craft time and we made little puppets this week. Sophia is a little mommy and likes to take out all of the baby blankets and her baby crib on the porch to play. They loved going to the pool with Momma Kuhns and seeing Poppa Shmidt last Friday.

Brandon is busy busy at work catching up after being out for two weeks for baby. And I am getting some sleep as this little guy is a champ. Thank you Lord! :) 

I will say it's a little hard to be patient for my body to return to normal. I have to still take it easy and can't swim, run or bike yet. I def. thought I would be more okay with taking a break from working out than I am. Since I stay at home, this is my outlet and it's been hard to forgo the rush of endorphins you get from a good sweat workout. I am starting to walk again at night though (2 miles Sunday and Monday). But, I want to enjoy this special time with little guy. I know now after two girls that this time just speeds by and it's gone. 

In other non-sappy news, Downtown Abbey is back...in 2013! Hello, that's like forever for Lady Mary and Mathew to be married. Except someone to die and a birth in this series on PBS, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 

Are you looking forward to DA?

Pull up a chair

Eames chairs and kids
We finally did it. We finally found or hopefully found some kitchen chairs that we both agreed on.

We had these qualifiers

• Easy to clean with toddlers
• Able to be wiped down 
• Clean, non-fussy lines

I looked at a lot of places and found these steals on overstock.com for 129.00 for 2 chairs! And shipping was only $2.95! 

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On raising and taking care of a baby...and a 3, 5 year old

This third time of having a newborn and raising two little kids have been mixed with tears (some mine), love, hugs and relaxed playtimes outside. Surprisingly, this time around nursing and sleeping is a little easier and I am not freaking out every time he spits up or chokes while nursing. 

Brandon and I have noticed that the third time is infinitely more easy than the transition from one to two kids. Maybe because we have learned more tricks of parenting or maybe because the girls are great little buddies who can play together most of the time.

I enjoyed this article about the common concerns after bringing your little one home. I mean, we can all relate with trying to eat relatively healthy, staying regular (yep, I went there) and trying to keep up your milk quality. 

We have been really blessed to have friends and family making awesome meals so we are lucky to not have to worry about meals! So nice. 

If you are a new mom, the best thing I have found is drinking a ton (TON!) of water through the day, eating before you are ravenously shaking hungry (so hard if your nursing and burning those calories) and making sure your getting lots of fiber and fruits and veggies. 

The girls and I love our smoothies. We have smoothie time about everyday and usually have somewhat of this recipe: 

Shmidt Smoothie time 

1 banana 

1 cup plain yogurt 

1/2 cup of oats/or nuts 

1/2 cup of ice

honey to taste 

1-2 cups of strawberries 

Any other fruit you like

1 cup of juice or milk 

1/2 cup of fresh spinach 

This is an awesome smoothie and makes me laugh because the girls don't even know they are eating spinach. Mwa Mwa Ha (insert somewhat sinister laugh). 

First weeks at home

Lots of sleeping... 

Lots of hugging...

Lots of playing outside...

Some crying...

Sleeping...

First pediatrician appointment. Ryder gained 10 oz gained! 

Some awake times...

Daddy time...

Sister love...

Ryder is here! 41 weeks "early"

Our sweet little man Ryder is here! After 41 weeks of waiting and him needing a little "jump start" he entered the world full steam ahead. Doctor Mini was rushing to the hospital to make his birth after my water burst during my induction and I went from a 5-10 in one hour!

It's Sunday and we are home while Brandon is at church with the girls. I am finally pulling out of the haze of childbirth and believe me, it was a haze.

We had a great experience and almost a party-like atmosphere in our delivery room my family said. And it's true because it was his birthday party.

I think all of my friends have related how hard saying goodbye to your girls are the time before you go to the hospital. Well, Tuesday night before our scheduled induction, there may have been some tears as Brandon strapped them in their carseats and I hugged and kissed them. We enjoyed our night on Tuesday watching totally senseless TV that I love. And then we tried to go to bed for our induction that was set at 6 am in the morning.

We probably got 4.5 hours of sleep that Tuesday night before our induction. I was up at 4 am and never went back to sleep. We had some breakfast and coffee and then we traveled to the hospital.

Once we got there we were directed to our room, registered and got hooked up to the IV to get some fluids as well as pitocin around 9 am. I was checked at the hospital again and the nurse said I was only 1 cm dilated and somewhat "soft." Layman's terms? He was pretty comfy.

So, I had a small dose of pitocin that they increased after about 2 hours. At first the contractions were manageable and I actually finished half of a book while rolling on the exercise ball, while Brandon did some reading.

Since he was still high up, I wanted to try some exercises to use gravity on my side. I did knee to chest, resting on my knees, exercise ball, bending over bed, etc. And I probably went about 1 cm per 1.5 hours. Around 2 pm, the contractions were becoming so painful I had to stop talking and use breathing to get through them. The nurse would ask me what my pain level was, but since I had never gone to 10 cm, I had no idea what the next level of pain would entail. Through laboring I was probably around a 7 on a pain level. It hurt, but it wasn't the hurt I felt toward the end in the epidural hot spot.

The nurse checked me at 2 pm and I thought for sure I would be at least a 6. But, she said I was probably near a 5. Okay. I know this seems so minor, but that darn cervical check hurt. And I was in pain since contractions were around every 1-2 min. And I was getting confused and not able to do anything but concentrate on making the next contraction.

Brandon and the nurse, Connie, told me to try the epidural at this point since the contractions were coming close together and I was going to have my water break at some point. I was in a haze and didn't even realize the difference between my water breaking and getting an epidural. I was just focusing on the next contraction that hurt like a mother.

We got ready for the epidural and I was nervous. The epi scared me more than anything. I mean, I was sweating a lot and just in this panic. I had a great experience with Ava, but with Sophia they had brushed against my nerves removing the needle (sometimes happens) and it had sent this extreme nerve shock down my left leg. It felt like I was struck by lightening down my left leg.

Since I love running, I concentrated hard and squeezed and hugged Brandon as they were inserting the needle and just imagined myself running toward the finish line of a race. You know, that feeling of being completely spent, but giving it everything you have. Well, I told Brandon after conquering my fear of that darn needle I was going to run a marathon. I felt like I could literally conquer anything after that was over. And I didn't have the shock and our nurse was amazing.

After getting the "juice," the tone of the room changed from intense to party-like. We had nurse Jane that had helped deliver Ava, along with Kristen, and Brandon in the room. We talked about lobster, shrimp, food (I was starving), and personality tests (literally five minutes before I pushed Rdyer out).

Brandon and I had a great time too together since it was just him and I. I jokingly told him he needed a whistle. While the whole experience was intense, the room was very relaxed and had such a peace about it. It was a very bonding moment in our marriage.

After epidural. Life is good. :)

My water broke in a gush around 4:45 pm, just as I woke up from a nap. I texted B who was downstairs and called the nurse. I told her I went really quick with Ava and Sophia after my water broke and was already shaking a little bit since I was transitioning. Then I felt a lot of pressure and I knew that baby Ryder was on his way. I told the nurse that it would be quick and she checked me and said I was almost there and hurried to call Dr. Mini from St. Anne's where she was delivering another baby. She made sure the resident was able to deliver if Dr. Mini didn't make it and then came back in the room.

They also capped off my epidural since I had a big hotspot in my right leg/thigh where the pain was radiating. OK. This pain? This was that "10" pain level that they had talked about. It hurt. So they came and capped off the epidural maybe 15 minutes before I delivered. After that I started shaking and thinking I might throw up so Brandon helped me hold a bucket just in case. This shaking continued for probably two hours after baby and the nurse said its a result of the adrenaline that your body produces to get you ready for baby.

We could hear Dr. Mini's heels clicking down the hall and she came in all smiles and said, "Do I have 5 minutes to change?" So she got scrubbed up and got ready to deliver.

I just remember her saying, "Are you ready to push this baby out?" And all I could think was this is such a surreal experience. I am sitting here with my husband and nurse holding my legs and I am about to meet this little person that has been my buddy for the past 41 weeks. It's just this happy, scary, surreal episode.

After maybe 4 contractions and pushes, little Ryder made his big debut with a big spray of water halfway across the room! He got our nurse, but missed the doctor. Brandon cut the cord and we both marveled at how much he looked like Ava and his piercing eyes. They got him ready and put him on my chest for a moment and then the nurse got him cleaned up and Brandon held him since I was still shaking so much. He was such a sweet little boy. He nursed for 30 minutes right away and had no problems.

Brandon and I were just so excited to meet him. The girls and my parents came in after I was cleaned up and we all cuddled him. The girls told my mom, "He's out!" Brandon's parents were able to come and visit the next day and they enjoyed cuddling him as well.

We are just very blessed and thankful for a smooth delivery, great nurses and awesome family and friends.