One Week // Postpartum

I'm just about one week out from when I delivered Eloise Joy, and I'm feeling . . . great? I'll backtrack for a moment to explain the question mark. After I delivered Ada, we stayed in the hospital 24 hours and the day we got home, this gloom set over me. I cried, a lot. Over seemingly insignificant things. I felt anxious and angry.

I wanted everyone to go away and to stop holding my baby. I sat on the couch for several weeks, not wanting to get up. I would go to my room and cry sometimes when family was over. Definitely a case of the baby blues that lasted a good three weeks.

Mood

This time? We were in the hospital 72 hours total. When we got home, I was bursting with energy. Not in an unnatural way. I was ready to see Ada and hug her tighter than I had in nine long months. I was ready to do things. I was ready (and still am!) to go places. I was just ready to resume everyday life.

I was bracing myself for some conflicted emotions after the whole journey it took to get us to this point. I am still on watch and have asked my family to please tell me ASAP if I show warning signs of PPD to encourage me to get help. I'm not going to make any grand proclamations right now -- but I'm wondering if I'll continue on this up-swing?

Physical Recovery

Maybe some of this difference has to do with my physical recovery. It, too, has been much better than the first time around. Now, I won't kid you. I tore just as severely with a quick two-push delivery as I did with Ada's grueling 2 hours. Perhaps even a bit worse. That surprised me. But I think less time overall spent pushing treated the rest of my body well. Plus, I knew more of what to expect with all the bleeding, soreness, and other issues, so it wasn't as demoralizing.

That being said, it's summer. I am looking forward to the Mega-Period ending and for everything else to return to normal.

Night Sweats

I don't think I wrote about the crazy night sweats I had after delivering Ada. They were downright awful. I'd wake for weeks just drenched. Trying to navigate breastfeeding for the first time while waking in the winter nights completely damp and chilled was terrible. I had one night of some sweating in the hospital but haven't had any sense. I do wonder how my body is ridding itself of the excess fluids from pregnancy, though. Maybe I'm not out of the woods yet.

Sleep Paralysis

You guys. I had a mild episode of sleep paralysis the other night. I am really, really, really hoping it won't happen as severely as it did with Ada. Basically, I woke up unable to move with tremendous pressure on my chest feeling like someone was pressing down. I was trying to scream out Stephen's name but nothing would come out of my mouth. And then I woke up gasping.

I have told my midwife about it, but she isn't familiar. I know it has something to do with my body not getting out of REM sleep as I wake up. Not fun. Have any of you experienced this? Thankfully I've had it before so it isn't as frightening this time around . . . but I am trying to get good blocks of sleep to keep it at bay.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is going well. Eloise has a strong latch and is nursing from each side pretty much every feed. I think an average feed is taking around 20 minutes right now. She does like to comfort-suck. And we're right on with the newborn 10-12 feeds per day right now. She'll nurse about every two hours during the day and maybe space things out to 3 hours on occasion.

Another difference with nursing so far is that my let-down reflex isn't as strong, but my milk production seems to be plentiful. With Ada, I used to get this wave of sadness when my milk would let down . . . and so far, I haven't had that. I am also far less overwhelmed with having to feed Eloise all.the.time because I know it doesn't last forever.

Weight + Exercise

I started pregnancy at 138 pounds and I think I topped off around 162 (the week before she was born). I am down to around 146 right now, but I don't have any major weight goals for anytime soon. Ultimately, I just want to be back around 135, which seems to be my happy weight when I am eating well and running.

This is annoying, though: I am ravenously hungry and trying to limit sugar, which I'll get to in a minute (it isn't dieting, I promise you!). As far as exercise goes, I have started walking a bit. Unlike with Ada, I don't feel like my organs are going to fall out of my body -- but I'm not going to test my luck. I may do a little bit of Barre sometime soon. Mostly stretching. One of the 10-minute videos.

Oh, and funny thing -- Eloise TOTALLY calms down when I do Barre squats.

Misc.

There's the not-so wonderful news in all this goodness. My urine test before delivery showed both Group B and Group D strep strains. I flipped out momentarily because, I mean, STREP D? WTF?  I don't get sick very often. I've never had all these sorts of infections. I am really starting to wonder what is going on with me. My midwife says it is probably just being immunocompromised from pregnancy. It's definitely a source of anxiety for me, so I am hoping we can clear whatever is going on up soon.

I am on antibiotics -- for the 1,000,000th time this year -- to try to kick out the D from my system. They are 4 times a day for 10 days. After just being on hefty IV meds during delivery. Ugh. I am really hoping I can kick these UTIs. I've never, ever had them in my life. I will say that I am worried about developing yeast, thrush, or major digestive issues like C. diff. I am taking probiotics and don't know what else to do. I am trying to limit sugar, but I am SO HUNGRY FOR ALL THE CARBS and can't seem to.

Overall

I do think the time of year has something to do with things being better this time around, too. Not only is Stephen off from school basically tomorrow, so I have lots of help transitioning. We are extremely close to the longest day of the year. Seeing the sun start to rise before 5 AM and set after 9 PM makes me dread the long nights far less. It's warm outside, so we're able to get sun and fresh air. I guess I am going to try to stop questioning why I feel so well and, instead, be thankful.

It's been a long stretch of sadness and anxiety and uncertainty, and I'd like to think that maybe -- just maybe -- the clouds are lifting. I'll be back soon with some answers to questions I've received about how we're adjusting to family life. What it's like having an older kid and a newborn (she is so tiny!!!). If Eloise reminds us of Ada. And etc.

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Race Recovery

Yeah. I got sucked into watching two straight hours of Boilermaker 2012 footage on TV tonight.

My 5K this weekend didn't quell my racing hunger quite as much as I hoped it would. Not that I've run much since. Usually after a hard race (at least 5K to 15K distance), I take a day or two off and return to running with an easy day.

This time around, it meant a Monday afternoon stroller jog. 3 miles.


Who am I kidding? I don't think there's anything "easy" about stroller jogs. My whole body aches, and I'm feeling muscles (especially in the abdominal region) I haven't felt since before I got pregnant.

In a way, the aches and pains feel good. Like I'm officially BACK with my running. Officially in racing shape again. Or something like that.


Stephen's "recovery" from anything under the half marathon distance, on the other hand, usually involves running a shake-out.

After his 3rd place finish (16:32) this weekend, he headed out on a 10-mile long run. Loved every minute of it, too. He laid off and ran about 20-30 seconds slower per mile than his typical long run pace.

Definitely different styles. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to resume training after a race. I find when I run longer distances, however, I don't race quite as hard . . . so I can usually run the next day and it actually helps me stretch and recover. And when Stephen races distance, he -- again -- does the opposite of what I do and takes a day or two off.

Weird, right?

How do YOU do to recover from races? Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.


Today on Writing Chapter Three you can read all about my new gig. I am in the transition from being a stay-at-home mom to a work-at-home mom. Definitely interesting. Definitely exciting.

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Run. Eat, Rest, Sleep. Repeat.

This post may not be terribly interesting to many of you, but we've received several emails asking us what our Sunday long run days look like. So, I drafted up a schedule that most closely resembles what we do after our runs longer than 18 miles. It isn't 100% what we do every single time, but it's pretty darn close.

(And, yes -- we really watch that much TV!)

Run. Eat, Rest, Sleep. Repeat.

6:30 AM: Wake up. Wow. It definitely doesn't feel great waking up this early on a Sunday. Especially since I never (ever, ever) get to sleep in. But I always thank myself later.


6:45 AM: Drink a glass (about 8 ounces, not too terribly much) of water and toast an English muffin -- spread one side with peanut butter, the other side with jam. Add sliced banana. Instant breakfast. NOM.


Our other favorite light breakfast is a serving of oatmeal with banana.


7:00 AM: Get dressed (sleeveless shirt and 3/4 length warm weather tights -- to prevent chafing), find watch and hat. Pour a large (OK, gigantic) glass of water and grab a ClifSHOT (raspberry, no-caffeine variety). Set these things out on the back porch for later.

7:15 AM: Swig one last sip of water. Out the door and start running.

(There are many, many, MANY days that I hate the idea of running long so much that I almost give up. It's not like I jump for joy every time I need to run for three hours. It's hard work. So, this time of the day is the most difficult. Just getting out there.)


8:15 AM: Water break at park. Quick stretch. (All in less than 15-20 seconds.) One hour down. Wonderful!

9:15 AM: Water/ClifSHOT break at house. Quick stretch. (All in less than 20-30 seconds.) Two hours down. Only 1/3 of the run to go!


10:15 AM: DONE RUNNING! WOOOHOOO! Celebrate. Ouch. Wait. Everything hurts like crazy. Drink some homemade Gatorade (we buy the powder and water ours down considerably) and head for a shower/stretch session.

10:45 AM: Yes. That was a lonnng shower. But it's the one time per week that I spend more than 7 minutes in there. Take an ibuprofen and use a bit of BioFreeze, if necessary. Dress in some compression tights (to help ease the pain/facilitate healing in legs) and make something to eat. We both ice (or take ice baths) our legs on occasion, too. I spend most of this time moaning and complaining that my legs hurt. But I'm really pumped that I finished!


OK. About the food situation: Usually I don't feel like eating a ton after a super long run. But eating aids in recovery. It's super important. If I'm not terribly hungry (or just feeling kind of sick -- which definitely happens more often than not), I make myself a smoothie. Then I eat when I am hungry, usually after an hour or so.


This past Sunday, however, I had an appetite and chose to eat crispy kale and sweet potato with chocolate almond milk. Stephen rarely has the queasy stomach problem, so he most typically replenishes himself with some eggs, toast, fish, etc. No food is off-limits for him.


11:00 AM: Spend the next couple hours on the couch or in bed. Watching TV or a movie. Legs elevated. Head to pillow. Nibbling on additional foods as necessary/desired.


1:00 PM: Grocery shop. Get out of the house for just a bit to move legs. Pick up additional supplies. Treat ourselves to tasty treats from Wegmans -- my current favorites? Half moon cookies and veggie sushi!

3:00 PM: Back in bed (or on couch . . . or outside on couch, depending on weather). Watch a movie. Read. Write blog posts. Nap, if the mood strikes.

Really, resting doesn't get old. In fact, it's one of my favorite parts of the week. So much of the time, I'm busy either at work, running errands, or just plain running that a little horizontal time is what I need to recharge for the upcoming week.


5:00 PM: Make and eat dinner. This meal is typically large. Very large. This meal is typically packed with as much health as we can stuff into it. What we made this past week was our all-time favorite sandwich: The Lover. Followed by a great dessert, of course.


6:30 PM: Gentle, short walk or some yoga. It's good to stretch things out a bit. Check in with pain levels. But when my body told me to go on a bike ride this past Sunday, I told it -- NO! Sometimes I get this I-can-do-anything attitude on long run days. I remind myself, though, that my body is in recovery. There are millions of micro-tears in my muscles . . . and that bike ride could do more harm than good.

7:30 PM: One last couch-fest. And lately a weekly gchat date with Ashley. :)


9:30 PM: BED. Going to bed early is key to waking up on time Monday morning. Usually falling asleep at this hour isn't much of a struggle for me -- but when it is, I like to wind down by reading. Current books on my shelf include Born to Run and Operation Beautiful.


We hope this helps take some of the mystery out of our long run days. Of course, now we're wondering if our day looks like yours! What do you do after a particularly hard/long workout? Let us know! Even if you aren't in training for a marathon, you may have special rituals or activities you do after a key sweat session. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Healthy Living Week: Laura's Story

Laura writes:

Hi (never home)makers! I wanted to share my healthy living story with your readers because I recently finished a half marathon (full recap here)!

I started training about 3 years ago. I was in recovery from an eating disorder which had controlled my life completely for 7 years, and I needed a healthy focus. I wasn't training for anything in particular back then. I mainly used workouts from Ross Enamait's books and trained with my partner, Mike. We did lots of different strength and conditioning routines, and I believe finding exercise helped my recovery a great deal. I slowly started to focus my attentions on gaining strength and slowly became less worried about the number on the scale and the food I was eating.


I'm not saying exercise cured me -- I had to see a psychotherapist weekly for CBT and other treatment. I also attended two self help groups organized by Seed (a local eating disorder charity and had a huge amount of support from Mike) . . . That boy put up with a lot! But the exercise gave me another reason to eat enough because when I didn't eat enough, I couldn't work out properly.

I've been in recovery for 2-3 years now, and I'm happy to report that I'm OK most of the time. Though I still have some problems, they are manageable and they aren't on a level where they are unhealthy. I'm very careful to maintain a healthy weight and fuel my workouts well both before and after!


I joined a boxing gym with Mike last year in August, initially just for fitness but I soon realized I wanted to compete. My competitive streak is just too strong! After I'd been boxing a few months, I discovered how useful running was for fitness and begun running once or twice a week. I started to really love it, especially when I could beat my old times and really see improvement.

When I started, I struggled to run 1 mile in 9 minutes. Now I can run 1 mile in under 7 minutes! Mike and I decided in January that we would like to do some fund-raising for Seed since they helped me so much in my recovery. Despite us both being novice runners, we decided we would like to run a half marathon and give our sponsors to Seed. As I mentioned above, we both completed the half marathon . . . and -- the best part -- Mike proposed at the finish line!

(Of course, I said yes!)


I'm still fully in recovery from the eating disorder and my blog documents all my boxing and running training (with the odd recipe thrown in for good measure)!

Thanks for reading my story,

Laura

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Ice Baths: A (Somewhat) Necessary Evil

I mentioned something the other day about how gorgeous the weather has been here in Upstate NY. Sunny. 50 degrees. Yet, we still have (or this weekend we had) a foot of snow in the backyard. I made good use of the stuff after my 11-miler on Sunday. That's right -- I made the snow my very own outdoor ice bath. (Minus the bath part.)

How is literally freezing your ass off helpful to your running? Well, for one thing -- it dramatically reduces muscle soreness. When you've finished a hard, long workout (like my 20-milers during marathon training), your muscles are screaming and inflamed. Icing soothes and protects them from further damage (jumping into a hot tub -- though insanely wonderful -- will just make the inflammation worse). It allows your blood vessels to constrict and ultimately return to their normal state much faster than if you just take a hot shower.

Bottom line: You feel better the next day.

HOW TO?

If you don't have a patch of the frosty stuff at your disposal, you can draw your own ice bath -- indoors. Just fill your bathtub with about half a foot of cold water (enough to submerge just your lower half), add some ice cubes (maybe a couple trays -- though, the cold water should work just fine -- you want the temperature to be between 50 and 60 degrees F). Then, if it's your first bath, sit in there for about 5 minutes. It's difficult at first -- painful, even. But if you find it's something that works for you, work your way up to 10 minutes.

Stephen's a champ with ice baths. I am not. So, though I write this post to share with you all, I assure you: Ice baths aren't for everyone. But when you're done, your legs feel like they've taken a week-long vacation in the Tropics. Not the heat part, just the restful, exotic-location part.


SOME TIPS:

So. Do you feel ready to try it? Seriously, it's COLD. And you won't really want to go inside those mean waters when you realize how cold it actually is. Here are some tips. Some things we do to make the whole process less agonizing (mentally and physically).

• We make a cup of tea or hot cocoa. Drinking something warm tends to help. Takes off the edge.
• We dress warmly on top -- usually a couple sweaters -- and also for some odd reason, I always wear socks. Makes my feet feel slightly less cold? Might all be in my mind. I also wear running tights. No romance, here. This is a fully-clothed bath, for sure.
• We set a timer. That way, we're not obsessively watching the clock. Hearing each frigid second tick by.
• We take turns. When you're done with the ice bath, it's exceedingly difficult to get out of the tub. Your legs are very cold. So, we help each other out, quite literally.
• We play 20 questions. Or another game of sorts. Something to keep our minds off the fact that our lower half is almost -- but by no means completely -- numb.

OK. It really isn't the most awful thing ever. But, it's not the most pleasant. I'm not going to lie. So, if you don't like it after the first try -- I encourage you to try again. Because you'll feel so much better the next day. Really. I'm a baby about it, but there are some runs that just require an ice bath. And it's so worth the temporary discomfort.

Also note: If your bottom half starts to go completely numb at any point during this process (likely not to happen), that's not a good thing. That means the bath is TOO cold, and it can damage your muscles. So get yourself a thermometer and check it out (keeping in mind your steamy body will cause the water temps to rise when you enter the bath).

Again, the temperature should be somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees F. You don't gain anything from a colder bath. And feel free to take a warm shower half and hour to an hour after your trip to the Arctic.

OTHER RUNNING-RELATED POSTS:

• How To Rest Easy
• Treadmill versus Outdoor Running: Which is Better?
• Should You Run While You're Sick?
• How to Run Long: LSD for Beginners
• How to Stay Motivated
• Running for Speed: How To
• Treadmill Survival Guide
• No Workout is Too Short or Slow 
• Ode to my 17-year-old Self: The Mile 
• How to Suit Up to Set Out (And Other FAQs) 
• How to Run

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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