Running Low On Energy?

I love this quote from Legally Blond. But sometimes I really think, does exercise give me more energy? Currently, when I exercise or exert myself I am exhausted and have to rest to get some of my energy back, but I am also pregnant. And being pregnant makes you more tired cause you are making a whole other human being and such, the body is already maxed out per say.

Per the science, exercise should/does give you more energy. You produce those little energy producing organs in your cells called mitochondria and the more you use energy the more mitochondria you make.

Currently, my lack of energy comes from 2 areas, being pregnant and having a 2 year old that refuses to let me sleep. (waking up in the middle of the night or waking up WAYYYY too early in the morning.) I don't drink coffee or heavily caffeinated drinks so I have to rely on outside sources for my little pick me ups. (I drink the occasional soda pop but not that often.) Here are some steps to help us though, regardless where our lack of energy comes from, to help us keep up our energy stores.

~Walking- Yes just walking, even just around the house will give you energy. Pick up some toys, or yours hubs clothing that he left on the bathroom floor, again. You will get a little burst of energy.

~Deep Breathing- Sitting down and just breathing in and out in a steady pattern will give you more oxygen to your body. You body likes oxygen. Sometimes we don't just sit down and just sit and do nothing. But it is a good detox for your mind and body to just sit and breath for a little bit. A Mommy time out is just fine.

~Make goals- Everyday I make little goals of things I want to accomplish. Even if I just get 2 out of the 3 things accomplished I still have made an effort that day and didn't waste away in front of the tv or my computer all day doing who knows what.

~Make an effort- try to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air right now. It is beautiful in my area right now and could possibly be in your area too. Make an effort to do something active every day. Even if it is just 10-15 minutes of walking in your neighborhood. Or making it to the gym. Most of the time I don't want to go to the gym, but when I get there I am so glad that I did. I feel better about myself and my actions. And I warrant a nap later in the day if I need it because I did do what I needed to do for myself.

~Listen to your body- If you body is telling you, stop and rest, stop and rest. You might need to replenish your energy by just resting or napping. If your body is saying MOVE then go out and move. During training, if I missed a Tuesday run my legs would be tingling and throbbing on Wednesday morning because they missed the run I always did on Tuesday. I often did not miss my Tuesday runs but I remember the ache of my legs when I did.

So let's get out there and get some endorphins to make us happy! Hope this helps some of us that need a little extra natural pick me up.

Summer Activities For Mom's and Babies

(source)

We are so lucky, momma's! Because we are having our babies at the beginning of the summer, meaning we aren't pregnant during the hottest part of the year. Be thankful. Been there done that. Sucks! We aren't having our babies in winter either which means we aren't stuck in the house for months at a time. We have the beautiful heat of the summer to enjoy. So here are a couple of ideas to help us get out of the house with baby
and have fun.

~Early morning walks. Before the heat of the day picks up, and you will probably be up anyways, go take you new little one for a little walk in the stroller. It is good for you, helps with weightless. Good for baby because it gets them some Vitamin D, (don't forget sunblock and a hat for baby) And it gets you out of the house! It doesn't have to be a 5 mile stretch. But a 30 minute walk will do you and baby some good. Also you burn extra calories when you are pushing the stroller. Don't forget to take you 4 legged buddy with you as they probably need the fresh air too. (Make sure that your pet is properly trained and never, ever attach the leash to the stroller for safety reason!)

~Go to the park. You have a 6 week old and you are at the park sitting on the bench? Huh? Yes it is ok to go to the park and just sit there. Again, fresh air for you and baby, and out of the house. It gets you used to how to leave the house too without taking everything in the house with you. But it is a great place to meet other mother's. And who knows there might be another new mom with a little one there too.

Also if you have other kids, they need to get out. Trust me. They don't like being cooped up as much as you don't. So let them run wild at the park. Take a carrier or sling for new baby and go have some fun.

~Find a pool or splash park. Again sun is good, sunblock and hat for baby! But get your baby used to water. Check the pools rules on age of child and check with your baby's doc to see if it is ok or not. But if you have an older child they will love the pool and splash park. I plan on visiting the splash park a ton with Mason and sitting on the side with new baby.

~Reading classes at the library. Babies can read? Get an early start on loving to read. Your local public library more than likely has child reading classes, that are free! It teaches your baby how to act when someone else is taking. It engages them in reading, and gets them used other children around them.

~Play dates. With all the new mom's you are meeting what a great chance to start setting up play dates. Where the kids will play or be held by you and you and the other moms can swap stories of birth, and crazy nights you have had, share advice and just be someone who you can talk to and have listen to you. You need to get out of the house, you need adult contact, you need friends and we are all learning together how to be moms.

April Week 1 Workout Recap

April Already! That means 6 weeks left until my due date. Again the week flew by but I am glad. I spent a day sick as a dog. I actually threw up for the first time this pregnancy. But it was from either food poisoning or a virus that was very mean to attack me while pregnant. I had a night full of contractions and stomach cramps that were pretty bad. Totally different feeling than actually in labor. Mason was a good sport too, bringing me my water when I asked for it and making sure that I drank plenty of water. He also took a little bit longer of a nap so I could sleep longer too. 

Pregnancy Changes: I'm just getting bigger week by week. Baby is the size of a pineapple and weighs about 4.9 lbs per my what to expect app. I am up 8 lbs now (this was after my sickness by the way which I was on a liquid diet of water and power aid for a whole day) But that is pretty cool knowing that the baby weighs that much and I have only gained 8 lbs. Plus the blood volume increase and the weight of the all the baby stuff. I am super proud of myself and the weight gain/lack there of.

Prepping For Baby: Didn't do anything this week again. I did decide that for Mother's Day I want to hire Molly Maids to come and clean my house just before baby arrives and again in June just after baby arrives so I don't have to feel like I have to clean the house. 

Prepping Mason For Baby: Just getting all the snuggle time as possible with Mason as I can. Also teaching him more words and speaking in full sentences. I am trying to get him to be able to communicate with me as much as possible so that it will be easier to understand what he needs and wants when the baby arrives. Also talking about the baby arriving and introducing him to babies whenever we are around them. He seems to like babies, but this is before one invades his space and takes away all him mommy and him time. Not looking forward to that transition.

Workout Recap: 

Monday: rest (went to a friends house for a playdate) 

Tuesday: 3.5 mile walk

Wednesday: rest (did vacuum the whole house and cleaned. These days it is either clean or exercise. Can't do both without completely exhausting myself.)

Thursday: rest (sick as a dog with a virus or food poisoning.) 

Friday: 2 mile walk outside (super slow getting my strength back from yesterdays sickness)

Saturday: 2 mile walk outside

Total Mileage: 7.5 miles

34 weeks pregnant

~Me pregnant now vs 34 weeks pregnant with Mason~

Exercise During 3rd Trimester

I know I am doing a lot of pregnancy posts. And haven't done too many exercise posts as of late but that is because I am very pregnant and haven't been exercising as much as I did a few months ago, but I am still doing my walking as much as I can and I know that after I am cleared to run again that I will, and I plan on adding in more strength training, yoga and I would love to try that Barre class that everyone has been talking about.

For today I was going to write a 3rd trimester exercise post but found this super cute website with a great post on 3rd trimester exercise. Check it out here! Knocked Up Fitness

Mommas! Go out in the beautiful weather and take a walk! Walking is the best thing for us, and we might as well get used to it now because it is a great way to induce labor too!  And you know when you hit 40 weeks you will be taking all the walks you can, not to mention how much walking you might be doing at the hospital to get that baby out!

If you can find a prenatal yoga class, it is never too late to join. It will feel awkward but it is a slower style than normal yoga meant to work with your ever-growing belly. 

If all else fails, find some stairs and go up and down a few times in a row. Go slow and remember that this can bring on more contractions so if you are in the 39-41 week range and you want the baby out, try this out!

Mom's with older siblings, chase your kid around the park as much as you can. Great bonding with your children and good exercise for you!

QOTD: How many miles are you walking/planning on walking at a time from here on out? I have found my body is done at about 3 miles. 3.5 is really pushing it, unless there is a really great episode on Food Network at the gym I generally only do 3 miles at a time now! Every body is different. 

***DISCLAIMER***Be sure to consult your doc before you do this to make sure it is ok, as I am in no way a medical professional. I am just me giving helpful advice! 

*Also if you are new to the blog click on the Pregnancy tab at the top of the page to see other posts on pregnancy!*

Prepping For Labor: Recovery

*Please note that this is a descriptive post, if you don't want to know what happens after having a baby stop reading. Also if you are new to the blog click on the Pregnancy tab at the top of the page to see other posts on pregnancy!*

So this is the part I was not well informed on prior to experiencing it. At all! My birthing class I was in was discussing this topic 3 days after I had my son so yeah didn't do me any good at all. At least my doula had a great birth story to share with my classmates. So to say I was questioning everything is an understatement. I had no idea. I later told my doula about my recovery woes and she forgot that we hadn't discussed it at all. So these are the things that I remember just after I had Mason. And some things from books and other resources.

~Mommy, Daddy and Mason, first family photo~

Just After Baby: Once the baby comes out the doc will probably stitch you up pretty quickly, if you tore, and then the 3rd stage of labor happens. The placenta is birthed. Yes birthed. You will need to do slight pushing to get that thing out but it is not like having to push the baby out. My doula snapped a pix of me mid push of the placenta and I looked like I was still in labor, ( I was) but I just wasn't expecting it to be how it was. I had to push after I just pushed my baby out. It was weird.

I was shaking uncontrollably. My whole body. I thought only women who got an epidural would shake afterwards, cause that is what I had seen on TV and most other people I knew at the time had done medicated births. I was surprised and asked the nurse, "Are you sure I should be shaking this much?" It lasted for about 45 minutes. During this time the nurse will probably push on your tummy to check that it is shrinking down well enough. I told her that mine was doing fine and she didn't believe me and when she checked she said that I was right.

Within 2 hours after baby:  You will be encouraged to nurse your baby. Use this time to have your doula or the nurse help you. You will need help. Trust me. It is not some magical thing that just happens like it should. Nursing takes practice. And the wrong latch at first will hurt and you will have cracked nipples by the morning.

Pictures. The nurses will clean up all evidence of birth super quick, like scary quick and they will put a nice clean sheet over you. Invite family in that are waiting in the lobby, if you want to have the picture taken and meet the new baby. You will look like crap or possibly a little out of it and your smile will be funny and lopsided, unless you had full hair and makeup done prior. We call this the Kardashian look. Don't let them stay too long. You are on a little bit of a schedule. The hospital wants you out of your birthing/delivery room in about 2 hours.

Be ready to do something you never thought you would do! Another blogger calls this their moment of shame is lost! (-10 birth surprises first days delivery- there is strong language in this post) You will have to go to the bathroom and pee in front of your nurse. You have to go into the bathroom and go pee or at least push out some more "stuff". The nurse will squat in front of you and will use the oh so wonderful squirt bottle to clean you off. You can't wipe down there and you get to use warm water for awhile. I really like the bottle. It feels so nice. Anyhew. Just know that you will have to get over this fact and that you are going to get to know your nurse really, really, really well. Then the nurse is going to hand you some mesh undies and a pad. Put the pad in the mesh undies. They will catch the overflow from the pad. And go waddle in your diaper back to your bed and get ready to have to walk, yes walk, to your new room on the other side of the maternity wing!

~One proud Daddy!~

After 2 hours: You will walk to your new room. Past the nursery where your little one could be getting some vitals taken and them doing the foot stick and everything. Or they could be right in front of you being wheeled by the nurse. I think Mason was with us when we moved. (a little foggy on that one) I do remember getting to the room and had to nurse him though, or at least try it again. My nipples were already killing me and I was super tired.

~Mason at about 12 hours old.~

I will say the nurse will ask you if you want any pain meds or ibuprofen. I opted for the IB and she then handed me a frozen glove. She said to put it on top of the pad to help the swelling of my bits. Second favorite thing to the squirt bottle was this frozen glove. No joke! As I nursed Mason I used one. When I called the nurse to take him I asked for another. 3 hours later I asked for another and in the morning I asked for another but the nurse said, "normally we only give 1 or 2." I said it felt really nice and I just wanted 1 more. So I got it. BEST THING EVER! After that I was given this cold spray stuff for my hemorrhoids I got from pushing the kid out, and tucks pads that you line the pad with to help with the swelling.

The next morning, my nurse looked at my bits again to check that the hemorrhoids were going down and that the swelling was looking good, and my stitch. But at least she didn't push on my belly. That's really about all at this point. After that I just stayed in bed, nursed rested and then went home that night to get extra time with daddy at home.

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