My life is all about strategy right now. From the moment I wake up I am moving and taking a million steps toward getting us ready to head out the door for school, whether to just bring Abby to Kindergarten (5 mornings a week) or to take her there plus Will to preschool (3 mornings a week). No matter who is getting dropped off though all 4 of us have to be ready to head out the door by 8:25. I have to feed them, dress them, give them their medications (asthma, allergies and right now antibiotics for ear infections), clean up after them, be the peacemaker during their inevitable arguments, have backpacks with lunch and snacks ready and because I am anal I do all this without letting my house turn into a disaster zone (no dirty dishes left in the sink, beds must be made, etc). Oh and I also have to get myself dressed and somehow presentable for the day. I’m working on getting it down to a science, but the truth is when you’re dealing with three kids under the age of five sometimes things are just NOT so totally predictable. Like today when I thought we were all set to go and making great time Mr. Gus blows a poop out the backside of his clothes and spits up all over himself as I am buckling him into his car seat and needs a wardrobe change. Oops! Somehow though we were still on time for school.
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| all three… |
It is a balancing act and a crazy circus – there is truly never a dull moment. Every morning after I give my two big kids hugs and kisses and send them off to school I get back in my car and there is silence (unless the baby is crying!)…and I feel a sense of relief. I have two hours…what am I going to do with it? Since Gus was born I usually just head home and feed him then maybe shower. Maybe do some laundry. Maybe rest a little or catch up on email. But this past week I have been using some of this treasured time to get on my treadmill and try running. Gus is just over 4 weeks old and he does not sleep with any real predictability and pretty much only wants to sleep when he is being held or worn by me. So this does not give me much time on the treadmill. On Friday morning I came home from taking the kids to school and put him in the swing thinking this might be something he would like. I put him in and hopped on the treadmill. Three minutes later he was crying so I picked him up and soothed him back to sleep then put him back in the swing and jumped back on the mill. I was able to run for a total of 18 minutes – 2 miles. Yay! That is the most I have run on my treadmill since he was born. I broke a sweat and it felt SO GOOD. It wasn’t much but it was just what I needed and I am so grateful.
Today during my “free time” I went to the doctor for my postpartum check up. My doctor and all the nurses could not have been sweeter to or more encouraging of me. He gave me the green light to run and exercise – no restrictions whatsoever. At 4 1/2 weeks after delivery I am happy. I still have 10-15 pounds to lose (ARGH!!) and my hip joints feel a little weird (hormones!?!) … but I am feeling good about easing back into my running and getting some sort of routine established. I’m excited about the 10 miler on my birthday (April 10) and I also signed up for a 10k on May 28. I’m also considering a local 5k in mid-May but we’ll see.
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| baby Gus is one month old!! |
It’s cold outside and I have a newborn baby. His erratic sleep schedule means I don’t get on the treadmill for very big chunks of time. But that’s ok – it will force me to ease back into my running and not do too much too soon. Maybe help ensure I don’t get injured as I regain my fitness and strength. Once the weather warms up though I plan to pop him into the running stroller and bring him along for the ride. I can’t wait. In the meantime though I’m thankful for my little spurts of time on the treadmill and for the green light to do more as I feel ready.
