Residency support group

There should be a support group for the families of resident physicians. I am so glad to be able to say we are on the home stretch...one year left. Last night we attended the somewhat anti-climactic good-bye dinner and roast of the graduating 4th year residents in hubby's program. After all it takes to survive these four years it seems like they should do something more formal than a buffet dinner at a cheesy athletic club...but I digress.

I am grateful for all the personal growth we are gaining here in Iowa. I am thankful for a great program, great insurance, and great people....but there are a lot of things I will not miss. I will not miss putting nearly all of my interests on hold because this is the season to support hubby and be there every second for our kiddos because he can't be. I listened to the musical "Kiss Me Kate" the other day and was singing along....I thought, "Wow, I'm not bad." I miss performing so much. It is like I have had to become a new person for this season of our lives...and I miss those other parts of me.

I will not miss the humidity or the -35 degree winters. I will not miss the feeling of being in a temporary place. I will also not miss living somewhere that, generally speaking, doesn't observe Sunday as the sacred day I do. Everything happens on Sunday here! It drives me crazy.

Now I know that life after residency won't be always rosy and perfect, but I have it on good authority that it improves dramatically.

I won't miss month long rotations when hubby works at night. I won't miss wiping tears from my 4 year olds face when I tell him Daddy is on call again this weekend and won't be home until tomorrow. I won't miss feeling like a single parent.

So if you ask me if I'm glad we are almost done with residency...Don't be surprised if I tear up...we are almost there. Let the 4th year begin!!!!

swimming lessons

Everyone needs to learn how to swim. I took lessons briefly in 3rd grade, but I didn't learn all the cool stuff like all the different strokes. Someday I would like to learn more...For now it is their turn. Pooka-Shell is so much braver this year, and she is a great example to Bubba-Do.Can she pose or what?! And you've gotta love the froggy goggles. I also love all the Mommy chat time with some friends who also sit and watch their kids swim. It's a good summer so far.

Run Forrest Run!!

I can't believe it. I ran. Not for 5 minutes....or 10. I ran for 16 minutes straight!!!! More importantly... I didn't feel any pain, or the least bit like I was going to die.

This progress is unbelievable to me. I have been working at running regularly for about 4 weeks. When I started running, 3 minutes was a huge battle. Every joint was sore and weak. My hips and ankles and even my toes felt like they were just flopping around with every step. I am super encouraged. So much so that I have decided to do my first 5K...I have about one month to prepare. My goal is to run the entire time...that, and sign up early enough to get the t-shirt :0)

4th Fest 5K Run / Walk
2011 Race Information
Kick off your 4th Fest with our annual 5K Run / Walk! The 2011 4th Fest 5K will be held Saturday, July 2. Same-day registration will be from 7:00-7:45 am, with the race starting at 8:00 am. Registration forms will be available online, at Running Wild in Coralville, and at the Coralville Recreation Center one month prior to the event. Registration for the 5K is $15 if postmarked or returned to the Recreation Center by June 24, and $20 on the day of the race. The first 75 entries are guaranteed a t-shirt.

It gets better

So, my last post sounded like I was going to pretty much explode from how hard things have been with our 3rd baby....it really did feel like that. Then the last three days...heaven!

Savvy seems to have figured out an actual schedule. She has slept 6-7 hours on the first stretch, wakes to eat, then goes back to sleep for another 3-4 hours. She will then be awake for the day at about 8am, eat, be awake and so cute for a couple hours, and then take an actual morning nap (2 hours) She will repeat this and take an afternoon nap 2-3 hours.

It had been a pleasure to finally feel like I am getting to know her...rather than tolerating her craziness. I have the cutest kids.

My life is a Sitcom

Here is how my Mother's day went. It will sound funny to someone who did not experience it first hand, but I wasn't laughing this morning....
First off, our 2 month old slept for 6 hours! I thought, "Wow, this is going to be a pretty great day." When she woke up at 3am I fed her and put her back to bed assuming she would sleep another 3 hours or so. An hour later she was awake again. I changed her poopy diaper while she cried then....it began....the comedy of errors. She peed on the new diaper that she was sitting on while I was throwing away the dirty diaper. It didn't all make it onto the diaper so at 5am I was changing a soaked infants clothes while she screams...now she is too worked up to fall back to sleep.
(Side note: she got vaccinations a couple days ago and one was for the rotavirus...they said to be very good about washing hands after changing dirty diapers for the next two weeks because the live virus can be in the poop!)
Ok, so to calm her enough to sleep again I nurse her once more. All I wanted was to sleep until my alarm went off at 6:30 am (we have 9 am church) Soon after I laid back down our almost 5 year old opens my bedroom door to inform me he has wet the bed....welcome to Motherhood! I had him change his clothes and go back to sleep on the floor, vowing to wash his sheets in the "morning." By this time it is 6:15 am and baby is crying again. I get up to check on her and she spits up on her sheets...more bedding to wash.
Well, so much for waking to the alarm. Did I mention that hubby is on call today so he is already at work? Baby is very fussy and nothing I do is working to calm her....so I make sure she is safe etc. and turn on the baby monitor full volume so I can listen to her cry while I take the worlds fastest shower. While in the shower, the alarm I neglected to turn off comes on blaring the song "Dirty laundry", as if I needed a reminder that there is pee an puke on my kids sheets!....I couldn't make this stuff up.
I get sort of half dressed and then I get baby all dressed for church (she looked super cute) I now make my first attempt to wake up the "big kids". They assure me they are awake and I make sure they are sitting up so they don't fall back to sleep. As I am blowing dry my hair I am simultaniously putting a binky back into baby's mouth about 25 times (so she can go back to sleep) and re-awaking my two oldest who have decided to complicate the morning by falling back to sleep about 7 times. Multi-tasking is over rated.
I don't have time to use the curling iron I turned on for myself earlier so hair goes back in a pony. I have a horrible time trying to find something flattering to wear that I don't look still pregnant in. Not feeling the hoped for relaxation on Mother's day. Luckily the big kids finish breakfast without incident.
8 am I have to wake the sleepy baby to feed her one more time before church so she doesn't need to eat in the middle of the meeting where I am the one who has to lead the music.....I don't feel like breast feeding in front of hundreds of people...not today :0). By 8:30 am we are out the door..amazing, we are on time. When we get to church I get everyone settled and then I go up to put the Hymn numbers on the board for the congregation to see. When I get back to our seats baby is fussing. I pick her up to calm her and notice, a split second before cuddling her against me, she has had a BLOW OUT poopy diaper. For you who are not familiar with these parenting terms...that means the diaper did not contain the mess....hence you see me hurrying out of the chapel with our infant held at arms length.
I now have to change her out of the cute little church outfit into her standby change of clothes from the diaper bag. She is cold and screaming....I am rushing to finish before the meeting officially begins (because I have to lead the opening song)....and there is the matter of the viral poop...must keep it away from everything and wash thoroughly. We made it back to the chapel just in time.
Let's hope the other half of this Mother's day is a little less "eventful."

Running

I have started running. I have always hated running...but now it feels like I must.

Our baby is now 2 months old and for the past 4 weeks I have not lost one pound. I am nursing, which is supposed to facilitate weight loss (that is a bunch of baloney if you ask me). I am readying myself to teach Zumba again, but...There are 30 pounds here that I am not accustomed to!!

I have always been a "smallish" person and even after having my first two kids I eventually got back to a weight I could live with...but I don't want it to take a year and a half this time!!!

Getting dressed in the morning was getting pretty depressing so I bought a few things in a size large and XL....first time for that one.

So, I have made it my goal to become a runner. Here in Iowa you will see people running for exercise no matter the weather....that long lean danceresque body.....it will be mine again I tell you! I have joined the ranks of those who have survived natural childbirth so I should be able to accomplish anything right?

I started just walking for 30 minutes every week day to warn my body what was coming. I was even sore after that for the first weeks. What had childbirth done to me?! To top it all off, during pregnancy I developed plantar faciitis (probably because I was so much heavier than I am used to)...ouchie After walking for 3 weeks I went to Runnersworld.com and started reading. They say it is important that I eat enough calories so I continue to make milk for my baby....no crash diets allowed...darn it. I have however, started eating a lot more fruits and veggies. I just want to feel healthy, not win a beauty pageant.....although :0)

Running is hard. For someone who has never done it regularly, it is super hard. I take that back...running for one minute and walking for two minutes every other day was pretty doable....then the training schedule I have taped to my bathroom mirror said to run 3 minutes and walk for one minute...what happened to 2...they skipped 2! I did it yesterday, or rather I tried. The first three minute interval I purposely did downhill so as not to psyche myself out. By the time I got to interval #4 I was pretty pathetic. I pushed through, glancing at my watch way too often and was shaking like a leaf when I got home.

Runners...is this normal? I was in pretty good shape when I got preggo. I was even teaching Zumba classes until about 20 weeks. Why the heck is this so hard? I am determined...I will keep going and my size 4/6 jeans will no longer run in fear from me when I open my closet. I will NOT wear "mom-jeans"...ever.

So if you see me in my ill-fitting exercise attire and custom made orthotics "running" down 2nd street....please try not to laugh. I am going to be a runner.

Finally alive

This past month has been remarkable. I gave birth to our 3rd child...natural childbirth. The recovery and ensuing adjustments have been intense. Let me address these items one at a time

LACK OF SLEEP:

This makes normal people turn into crazy, grumpy, self doubting monsters. Waking up every hour or two as our baby's sole source of food has been harder this time around. It made me wonder if we could really ever do this again...have another baby. It made me wonder if I am any good at parenthood anyway.

LACK OF TIME:

Our first baby got my undivided attention. There was no one else to care for once hubby went to work. I could sleep when she slept because no one needed to be picked up at school, or fed lunch, or generally be paid attention to. This time two of the sweetest kids on the planet need me, even when baby is finally asleep. I feel neglectful. I want to spend more time having fun with them...let's face it...big kids are more fun than diapers and spit up. That is not to mention the fact that I have to neglect myself.

PHYSICAL RECOVERY:

Having a baby does a number on the human body. Bones actually move. Blood volume changes drastically. Hormones are off the charts. Fatigue...oh so tired. I knew I wouldn't look perfect after giving birth, but I feel ridiculous. Wearing maternity clothes when you aren't pregnant is depressing. I am normally a smallish person. I exercised regularly before baby, and right now I get sore muscles from walking...walking! I dread getting dressed in the morning. Nursing this time around started out very rocky. I was in soooooo much pain for the first 4 weeks. I never had this kind of pain with the other two. It has slowly gotten better, but I thought I was doomed to major pain 10-12 times a day for the next 15 months. Thank heavens it improved.

EMOTIONAL:

I have understandably been all over the place emotionally. I wouldn't want to be married to me this last month. I have felt like I give everything I have and my hubby and kiddos still need more. Oh, and my house is a mess. I wish I was like my friends who only gain 25 pounds when pregnant and lose it all within a month. They start jogging when baby is 2 weeks old like it is the most normal thing ever. I feel like I got run over and I still have 30 pounds to get back to normal.

HOPE:

This week I have pumped a bottle of milk every day so hubby can feed baby once during the night and I can sleep a little longer. The miracle is that baby took the bottle without a problem...our other babies hated the bottle with a passion. I have been taking baby to the mall every morning so I can walk for exercise. Some days she does better than others, and I am feeling a little stronger. Today was warm enough to walk outside and I felt amazing! It has been my goal to become a runner...and actually enjoy it, and I feel like I really can do it. I will walk for one more week and then officially start my running program. I need a jogging stroller....anyone (in Iowa) have one they are not using? I also tried doing a few of my Zumba songs the other day and it was fun...I will be ready to teach again soon. It is all worth it, and my sweet family

is the best thing ever....I will survive....wish me luck.