pregnancy

Cleared!

| cheriarmour

So, yesterday, I had my 6-week postpartum appointment.

First off, whoa, that means that Liam was born six weeks ago, which I really can’t imagine, and that means that I have six weeks to get my shit together (mostly emotionally) before I go back to work.

About a week-and-a-half to two weeks after I gave birth to baby Liam, the practice I delivered with called me to check in, and to schedule my six-week appointment.

So when you go for your six-week appointment, that means a few things.  For one, the receptionists and nurses really really hope that you brought your baby so they can see him and say hello.  Which I did.  And only seems fair because they are the kindest people, check you in for the better part of 8ish months, and when I was in labor and they saw me hunched over in the parking lot breathing heavily just over a month ago, the really nice women who always sits on the right pulled my chart and had them rush me back so I wouldn’t have to wait.  For two, they bring you in to sort of gauge where you are mentally, which I think is a newer thing since my mom said her and all her friends sort of just suffered with the blues with no one to check in on them.  And for three (for third?), they bring you in to physically look at your stuff, assess where you are as far as healing (for me, I had stitches), and with postpartum bleeding, and at that point, they can tell you if you’re good to go as far as sex and exercise, or whether you need medication, further evaluation, or if you need a little longer to heal.

Because this was an appointment for me and not for they baby, like pretty much all of my other appointments have been, I decided that I wasn’t sure if I could handle the appointment on my own.  Since there was a distinct possibility that I’d be laying on a table in the stirrups, I figured that unless Liam was fully cooperative (and newborns aren’t always, folks), that it could be a little hard to wrangle him without being really distracting to the doctor and that nurses, so Austin scooted over to the doctor’s office and fed him some expressed gold while they worked me up.  I was able to see a few of the nurses, Heather and Ashley especially, who hooked me up to the “seismograph” the day before and the day of my delivery, and they were really sweet, and really excited to see me.  After I was worked up, Dr. K, of my delivery-room fame came into check me out, and it was so cool to see her.  Last time I saw her was, to the day, the day she calmly delivered Liam, and then sort of disappeared until the next morning, when she was about to be off for the day.

So, Dr. K checked me out, asked questions, talked about family planning for our future (definitely more babies, but not anytime soon), and cleared me to work out and resume all activities!  Up to this point, I’ve been walking, doing yoga, and ran my first postpartum mile  once, but had not yet been to any classes, or done anything that would be considered “high-impact”.

What all that means for me personally, is that I’m kinda back in the game, but not trying to hurt myself.  I’m going to work a day at Fleet Feet, and see how I do without him, and make sure he’s okay without me.  I’m going to do some higher-impact workouts, but adjust as necessary, and really focus on core and glute strength, since I truly feel like for me to run any sort of distance uninjured, that these two things are the key.  And I’m going to ease into writing more, cleaning a little more around the house, and getting things ready for the holidays and for me to return to work at the beginning of December.

Okay, so now that I’ve blahed, what are you up to on this fallish Saturday? 

 

| cheriarmour

What a week what a week what a week!

So, some updatey-type things.  I am still pregnant lol.  Every day I walk into work, I see my boss’s eyes widen, and he’ll (in the nicest way) be like “Oh thank God, you’re here!”  It’s funny, like on Wednesday, I was feeling a little pukey, and I ended up lying around the house for a long time, and on Thursday when I came in, everyone was like, “Oh!  We thought you might have had your baby!”  Nope, still here!

The week’s been good.  Productive at work, and not so much at home, but hoping for that magical burst of fairy energy that will help me straighten up and get that last push to get things together.

First let’s talk about the funniest thing that happened last week – this spine thing.  So like a year ago, someone left this really really elaborate, doctor-grade spine in my office, and we could not figure out where it came from.

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Since I’m going to be out on maternity for a while starting sometime soon, I’ve been straightening out my office, and the spine had to go. So I put it up for free on one of those buy/sell/trade/free pages on Facebook, and within MOMENTS, I had requests left and right for this thing. And then I got these unbelievably weird comments. One suggesting that I send the spine to Obama, and another simply stating that there were plenty of spineless people in this country that could use it. Uhhh…ok weirdo, do you want this thing for your classroom that you’re decorating or not? Anyhoo, a guy ended up coming to get it, and I hope it works out for him. I had ZERO idea that I was in possession of such a hot ticket item, but glad this somewhat offbeat item could find a home.

I think I found a new occasional lunch spot?

I sort of mentioned this last update this place I found in downtown Raleigh, Raleigh Raw, which is this really crunchy kind of juice place with really interesting food combos.  I will caveat this place by saying it is pricey for lunch, okay?  I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but it costs more than snagging something quickly at like Wendy’s, but hear me out. IMG_9351.JPG

My friend Devin went and told me exactly what I needed to order, this bowl thingie with rice and sesame seeds, and mango and watermelon and some salmon…I don’t know, there was a lot going on, but it was delicious, super super filling, and I didn’t feel the least bit crappy when I finished it. Now, someone in my office complained about what that horrible smell was, but hey, can’t win ’em all.  If you’re local and and all into this sort of thing, check it out.  They also had kombucha on tap and some other interesting stuff in their grab-n-go, so it’s worth checking out.

I also swore I was retired from teaching as of last week I think, but that was not to be.

I had to fill in last minute for class two times this week, and I think I’m really retired now.  This Zumba class I did today, I did a lot more coaching than I am used to, but it was literally exactly what the baby wanted, and I couldn’t do more without feeling like I was overdoing it.  I am so grateful for the fact that I have remained active for so long, and I plan to keep walking and stretching, but my Pump/Cycle/Zumba days are on hold for now, and that’s what the baby wants 🙂

On that note, I am so excited for when the time is right and I’m able to run again.  I miss it.  More than missing running, I miss the social aspect and the efficiency of being able to go for a run and then pretty much being done with my cardio for the day. I’m not good at doing things slowly, and sometimes I’m too slow for my own liking these days.  But that’s okay.

What are your plans for the weekend?

37/38 Weeks

| cheriarmour

I know, I know.  I took some time off the past few days.  I’m getting to that point where I’m uncomfortable and not sleeping a ton, so instead of doing as much writing as I’d like to, I’ve kind of been sleeping where I can, and then I’m up and down to use the ladies room all night.  I promise, I will be a little better about it.  Not immediately, cause I’m about to give birth, and I’m not absolutely delusional about the division of my time.

Baby is the size of a:  Winter Melon?  Once again, I’m finding these fruit comparisons to be highly unrelateable.  This other app said romaine heart, and I totally know what that is, but I feel like it doesn’t give me a sense of how much he weighs, and all I can think about is cradling a romaine heart.  It’s weird.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I have not hopped on the scale in a while.  I think I’m holding it down around 30ish pounds of boobs and belly.  Seriously, these things are out of control.

Sleep:  Ha.  Sleeping is not really a thing, but I figured out a trick to help me sleep okay WHEN I’m actually sleeping.  I’ve been doing a short lavender bath before bed and that has helped with some comfort.  I’m up even more often using the bathroom and every time I wake up, Austin is like ::gasp:: “are you okay?”

Best moment this week:  It’s always nice to hear the baby’s heartbeat really strong, and since I’m up to my weekly appointments, I got to hear it again with the doctor I hadn’t met.  I have a little doppler machine at home, but the doctor’s thing is fancier so you really can hear what’s going on.

Food cravings:  I drank an entire case of seltzer in a really really obscenely short period of time.  Like, really obscene.  I can’t even say.  I also had this amazing raw food bowl thing at this juice bar place in Raleigh.  It was TOO expensive, like I can’t be there all the time, but it was SO delicious, and now I want another one.  But there is no way I can routinely spend that much on lunch.

Food aversions:  Hm.  I don’t think so, I mean I’m still not able to eat a ton, but nothing is making me want to just fall out when I smell it.

Symptoms:  There’s just a lot going on toward the end.  I am going to the bathroom like crazy, and moving slower.  I’m really sad because I think yesterday was the last class I’m going to teach, like I feel like it’s time, but it makes me sad, because even though I’m still moving, I feel like I’m moving underwater.

Looking forward to:  Shoot.  Now that I’ve talked about this damned raw food bowl, I’m kind of thinking of getting one.  And now, I want one.  Blah budgetary constraints!  But if I WAS getting one, I’d really be looking forward to that, later on today…

ICYMI…

35 Weeks, 34 Weeks, 32 Weeks, 31 Weeks, 29 Weeks, 27 Weeks, 26 Weeks, 25 Weeks, 24 Weeks, 22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks