Author Archives: Jen Thompson

Week 1/52- Progress Begins

We are officially one week into the new year, and I am happy to report I am making good progress on my resolutions. I have run all but 1 day this week, and for I sat that day out for good reason. I played 3 volleyball matches on Sunday night, and my knees were so sore from diving that I could barely walk, let alone run.

My starting weight last week was 143.5 lbs. That is 8.5 lbs. above my pre-baby weight. My goal is to lose about 20 lbs. I would like to be close to 125 by Cub’s first birthday. I think this is doable in 6 months, and I am already making good progress. At the end of week 1, I am down 1.5 lbs. I honestly think I could have dropped more, as I know I could have worked harder than I did. The problem is that as soon as I start something, I quite often get interrupted. I try to walk while Chas is having practice, and Cub will start screaming, so we have to stop and move on to something else. The same happens with the blog actually. I have started 3 different posts this week, none of which I have finished. I lose my train of thought in the interruption and just can’t get back to what I was doing.

I am so missing Marathon Weekend this year. I need to be there. I miss the friends, the magic, the competition and the running. Next year I will be back, and I absolutely cannot wait.

 

Looking Back, Moving Forward

It’s been the best of years. It’s been the worst of years. My baby was born and has made our life full and sent us in a new direction. I haven’t slept in 6 months. Life is so vastly different when you become a parent. “I” have taken a back seat, which means running, health and fitness have all fallen to the bottom of the priority list and shear survival remains at the top of it.

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Yesterday was Cub’s half birthday. He is doing so well, with 2 teeth, eating (what seems like) gallons of baby food a day, and can play by himself with not much help from mom for a few minutes at a time. I finally feel like I am in a good place where I can move up the list just a few notches. And what a perfect time of year. January 1st always gives you hope for a new start and a refresh.

I am ready for a refresh. Being a new mom is so full of joy, but at the same time, it can make you feel completely deflated. I find myself trying to make it from nap to nap (Cub’s naps, not mine), and have to adjust my thinking as to cherish all my moments with him, not just when he is happy and cooing, but when he is crying and crabby too.

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With that being said, I have been pondering my New Year Challenges, which I post every year. I started this blog a few years back to hold myself accountable for my running challenges. It has since turned into a Jen’s life blog, which is fine, but has strayed from its original purpose, sort of like my life.

With just a few pounds of baby weight left to lose, I have upped my weight loss challenge. People only know what they are taught. I, fortunately, had parents that made sports and fitness a priority in their lives, as well as ours. Cub deserves the same. He deserves fresh, healthy meals, opportunities to run, jump and play, and a mom and dad that do everything in their power to stay healthy so that they can live a long, happy life with him.

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So… Here it goes! My 2016 New Year’s Challenges:

  1. Lose 20 lbs.
  2. Eat a cleaner, more simple diet
  3. Keep better track of the good things that occur in my life
  4. Judge less, listen more
  5. Attempt to run at least 1 mile everyday in 2016
  6. Document my strength and struggles here for you all to read

I know there are some lofty goals in there, but I am going to attempt to be a better person than I was this year. I think that all these challenges will make me a better mom as well. Cub deserves the best me, and I am going to do everything in my power to give that to him.

So here’s to being better, stronger, healthier and smarter in the new year.

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New day, new challenge

Parenthood is fairly simple when you think about it. It is basically just a never-ending, continuous string of problems that you must solve. How do I get this kid to stop crying? Where is your binky? Are you hungry? What is in your hair? You get the picture. Since my last post, oh so long ago, we have done pretty well. Cub is just over 4 month old now, and in general he is a happy, loving kid who LOVES his mama and poops every single time you set him in his Bumbo seat. We are currently fighting teething, as well as the “lets see how many times I can wake my mom up in the middle of the night” battle. He is really good at that one- Cub is definitely winning that war.

I am struggling with a couple things at the moment. First of all, the season has come, and I am now a “Wrestling Widow” until the middle of March. NOT FUN! Not only do I miss my husband, but I miss getting to hand Cub off for a few minutes.

Secondly, I still have a few more pounds to lose, although I am not calling it Baby Weight. I think that is effectively gone. This is just, “I’m pregnant and want one more cookie, so I am going to have it” weight. I’m sort of doing an Advocare 24 day challenge right now, but there are parts that I just can’t do because I am still nursing.

Finally, we are attempting to get on a schedule of some sort. Cub needs more structure, and so do we. I think it will help all of us, so we are working on writing down a definitive timeline of our day. It’s really hard to make sure that I am balancing what is best for Cub and what is best for me, working over 40 hrs per week and being a full-time mom.

I have been running a little bit, 2-3 miles at a time, for 30-40 minutes at a time. I am hoping to run a big race in May-ish, but it may be hard to keep on my schedule with Chas gone so much over the next few months… again, my schedule is going to be key!

The road is long and winding

Well motherhood has certainly had its ups and downs. Baby Cub will be 3 months old tomorrow, and he is more than I could have ever hoped for. He is so fun when he is happy, cooing, kicking and learning new things. When he is not happy, he lets you know quickly and LOUDLY. Cub had found his voice in the past month, and he is not afraid to use it. In fact, one of his favorite past times is howling on command with his dad… yeah I stay out of that one.

When I say he is growing quickly, I am not exaggerating. He is already teething people! 3 month and we have teeth cutting through and making our little guy miserable. We have been on a constant stream of Tylenol and Orajel to keep him happy, and I have spent many more hours nursing than sleeping over the past 2 weeks. I just feel terrible for him. It’s really trying when you have a baby in pain because you want nothing more than to sooth them, but it just isn’t that easy. We are making it through, but wow, it is exhausting.

Cub is already in 6 month sleepers now. He is getting long and is close to 13 lbs. already. My little narcissist loves watching himself in my phone and really enjoys going to watch Chas’ wrestlers workout. He loves the movement and noise. This kid is going to be an athlete!

As for dad, Chas is finding it harder to carry him for long periods of time as he is getting heavier, but loves playing with him and getting him to talk back. Cub spends a few hours a week up at Chas’ office while mom has conference calls or appointments to attend. He had made friends with many of the volleyball players, and it seems that he hasn’t met a human he doesn’t like.

Mom, well I am doing better. The post-delivery issues I was having seem to be dulling with time, and I have started walking more with Cub in the stroller. I even finally hit my 10,000 steps a day goal this past week. I haven’t done that in almost 6 months. Running again is the next thing on my list, and I am planning on that happening sometime in the coming week. I continue to drop the baby weight, which I am working hard to get off. I still have about 10-12 lbs to go, but we are getting there, and I feel like I look better with each passing day.

Motherhood is hard. Like my mom told me, it never really gets easier. It just gets different. When we have gotten one thing figured out (sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time), something else arises (teething). We are taking it all in stride, and learning a lot along the way.

The New Adventures of Old Jen

Well, I have some good news, if you didn’t know already. The day after my last post (Pregnancy is a marathon), I delivered a healthy baby boy. Cub William Thompson is my new normal. At 8 lbs. 3oz. and 19 inches long, he made his appearance just as his mother wanted, very quickly. After having what I thought were just Braxton-Hicks contractions for about 12 hours, we knew that it was close to time for him to arrive. Sunday morning, June 28th, we headed to the hospital about 9:15 am, as my contractions were about 3:30 mins apart. After being checked at 10:30 am and measuring in at 3 cm dilated, the doctor broke my water, boldly predicting that I would be holding a baby by supper time. Cub had other plans.

I have been very strong in my opinion not to have drugs while I was in labor. I did not want an epidural, and knew that I had the strength to skip it. At approximately 11:30 am I looked at my husband and finally said, “if this is a 3, I need an epidural.” After discussing it with him and the nurse, she went to order the epidural and then came back to check my progress again. To everyone’s surprise, the extremely pain I was in was not 3 cm pain, but 8 cm pain. Before the anesthesiologist could even make it to the room (approx. 10 mins.) I was dilated to 10, pushing, and praying the doctor would get there in time to catch the newest member of my family.

At 12:21 pm, four pushes later, Cub came into this world with a perfectly round little head, and the cutest little cry you have ever heard. He was (and is) perfect.

I don’t remember a lot about the delivery. I remember my legs shaking like crazy, getting really hot, and keeping my eyes closed almost the entire time. It was an unbelievable experience, and the parts I do remember will never be forgotten.

Then there is this guy. Cub is the best and most challenging thing I have ever had to deal with in my life. Motherhood is constant problem solving, and I am getting better at it. I could spend all my time just looking at him. He is such a special and loved little boy.

Now that we have reached the 6 week mark, and I am almost feeling back to my normal self, I am excited to get into some sort of a routine, particularly with regards to my fitness. The healing process after birth is no joke, and I am still working on it.

The new life I am living is definitely the complete opposite of where I was just a year ago. It is still the old me, but I know I will continue to evolve, so really, it is a new me. And I like the new me.

Pregnancy is a marathon

IMG_3592We made it to week 40! The big 4-0. It is a comforting feeling, because I know that the growth of Baby T is complete. On the other hand, I have been pregnant for forty week people. And not with just any baby: Chas Thompson’s baby. Those of you that know my husband know him as a noise maker, a wiggler, a wrestler (obviously), but a very sweet guy. Well I may not have met him yet, but I can tell you my son is just like his father, besides the fact that I am fairly certain he will wrestle at 197 or heavyweight based on his and my size at this point! At 34 weeks he was almost 7 lbs already… Yeah.

I am so in love with my husband, but he paces around the house when he is thinking hard or talking on the phone. He is constantly making noise like water dripping, or randomly singing out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of me (he has even made the baby jump before). Like his father, my unborn son does not stop moving. I have actually asked the nurse at my prenatal appointments if there is a point when you worry about your baby moving too much. I swear he will come out and be like Dash from The Incredibles, his little legs never slowing down. It’s like hyperactivity disorder in the womb! But in the end, I think he is just a happy boy that likes hanging out with him mom everyday.

When you first get pregnant, you know that week 40 is your goal. If you can cook that baby to week 40, you can relax a little bit, because growth should be done by that point. But for all women who have ever had a baby, you realize how much a marathon this process is. Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

At the beginning of the race, you are excited! You have you number on and are waiting in your corral, and if you are at Disney, you get to see fireworks as you cross the start line. Pregnancy… well I will just leave it at that.

The first few weeks, like the first few miles, you are getting your groove, getting used to the idea that you will be running for hours on end or carrying this baby for months. You feel fairly good as you get your stride, and are excited that you have something to look forward to: the finish line.

After about mile 4-5 (week 6-7 of pregnancy), you start wondering why you are doing this. You have so far to go. At Disney, you aren’t even to the Magic Kingdom yet! You need food and fuel, but you sort of feel like you might spew at any minute, but you force down that gel anyway. Really you just kinda wanna lay down. This is called the first trimester, and it lasts until about mile 8 or so.

From mile 8 to mile 18 (week 13-27), things start to go numb. Things hurt occasionally, but you are sort of in your groove, and the crowd of excited fans has finally thinned out a little bit. You realize that there is no turning back now, so you are basically just going through the motions attempting to make it to the next mile (or milestone). With every gel, your energy level increases for a bit, and you feel like you can actually accomplish something here.

Once you hit mile 20 (week 30ish), you know that you have only a few more to go before you get to see that finish line. You are once again excited and rejuvenated, but at the same time, your body hurts so bad that it is hard to concentrate on finishing. You know you will and can, but sometimes you just want to stop and cry, asking yourself why in God’s name did you sign up to do this in the first place!

The last month of pregnancy is pretty much identical to the last .2 miles of a marathon. It takes forever to get there, and you are sure that you were probably in such a daze you ran right past the finish, just continued to keep running and missed it, because there is no way in hell that .2 miles takes this long to run. Yep, that is pregnancy after week 36. You know what is coming. You are constantly in pain with a foot in your rib, nerve pain that cripples you at the drop of a hat, and peeing 14 times a night. You know this is what you have been working for these past nine months, but the ending is so unpredictable that you are still nervous. 

I know at some point I will make it to the finish line. We aren’t there quite yet. And like getting that nice shiny medal, my little baby will be the prize at the end of a long race. And oddly enough, I will probably be walking the same as if I had finished a marathon when he finally gets here. I am also fairly certain that when I see him, as when you finish a race, I will forget about how horrible the full experience really was and probably sign up for another. However, I am telling my husband that we are never doing this again…

The Long Arduous Journey

IMG_357438 weeks… That is how far along I will be tomorrow morning. Baby has decided to grow by leaps and bounds since my last post, and I am now measuring over 40 weeks, even though we have not reached that milestone week yet. Life has gotten significantly harder since week 30… ah those were the good ole days!

I can’t walk anymore, because I have so much nerve pain in my pelvic area and legs. Oh, and not to mention a nasty limp when I do walk. My hands and face are swollen. Not even my maternity clothes fit me anymore, and waistbands are out of the question. What does that leave for daily attire? Basically just muumuus. I pee about 3 times an hour, and go through a least 1 roll of toilet paper every 2 days. The baby is constantly moving, and burrowing his head into places that make my life a living hell.

But I still love the little guy, and I really can’t wait to meet him. Everything is pretty much ready for him to arrive. The nursery is done. We have an installed car seat. Hospital bags are packed. All attending parties are on call in case of something happening at any hour of the day. I am pretty much just counting down the days now.

My days seem very long as a person who works from home. Like I have said before on here, I am so lucky to be able to do that, but when you feel miserable often, the days tend to drag on a bit. So what did I do? I started a calendar of what I am going to do everyday until he is born. Here are a few great example:

June 14th- Clean out kitchen cabinets
June 18th- Vacuum and dust the baby’s room, Wash all the curtains in the house
June 23rd- Appointment with Dr. Fort, Clean the bathroom

Exciting, I know. Now, if I can actually get any of these accomplished, that is a totally different story, but I am sure as hell going to try!

The hardest part of all of this is that I have been having urges to run. Like CRAZY urges. Part of this running year, or most of this running year has been spent not running. That’s ok. I have to grow a little baby, and that is much more important right now. But wow, I can’t wait to get back out there. And best of all, I have a really great jogging stroller to try out too!

 

Three Fourths of the Way

The kitty already loving on his baby.

When you are running a marathon, you have a lot of time to compute things in your head, assuming you are still conscious enough to do it. I love math, so attempting to calculate what percentage of a race I have left is sort of a regular in my repetriore of things to think about while running.

Naturally, as my pregnancy has progressed, I tend to do the same thing. We hit the 3rd trimester about a week and a half ago, which was huge. The chance of baby surviving outside of the womb is about 90% now, which is so encouraging, especially since it takes 6 full months for him to even be viable in there.

As of Saturday, I will be able to say that we are 3/4th of the way done! And if you have seen any of my other posts throughout my pregnancy, you know that I am certainly looking forward to the end, not because I get to meet my little guy (although I am excited about that), but because I have been fairly miserable my entire pregnancy. Every day it is something else, and I tend to have more bad days that good. I literally couldn’t walk almost the entire weekend because I was having such bad muscle (stretching) pain in my groin. It feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife, NO JOKE!

It’s funny that my little guy is now on sort of a schedule, even pre-birth. He always kicks me a few times between 7-7:30 in the morning, before Chas’ alarm goes. He is the first to let me know that I am hungry. In the evening when Chas gets home, he always let’s me know that he is aware of it, and best of all, he likes music now. I have been playing a variety of things for him, but so far is favorite song is Crimson and Clover. It is pretty cool to go through, but all the while painful.

As we continue to get closer to delivery day, and I get larger and larger, the excitement and fear grows. He will be here soon, and there is still so many things to do, trips to take, and moments to remember. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Just a few more days

20150216134520546There are many milestones in a pregnancy, and again, I don’t think they are talked about enough. The first is just getting that positive test. For some people, this takes a lot of time, energy, money, and for some it never happens. We were extremely fortunate, and it happened with little effort.

The next milestone is the end of the first trimester, when the chance of miscarriage decreases to something like 7%. Again, while my first trimester was rough, we met and exceeded this milestone easily.

In my opinion, as seldom talked about mile stone is the 24 week mark. Once you hit 24 weeks, the pregnancy is finally viable, and the baby could technically survive outside the womb. We are four short days away from this mark.

You would logically think that it should be all down hill from here. If something happens, your baby can be born. You are only 3 short months away from the birth. But there problem here is that the baby is only about one pound right now. That means that over the course of the next 16 weeks, The baby could gain somewhere between 4-7 more pounds, making the mom’s job even harder!

My current experience is that I continue to get hungrier and hungrier, but I have less and less space to hold anything extra. That’s good, because my baby is growing big and strong, but it is getting more uncomfortable every day. Even though I am feeling less and less like myself, I am very excited that our last ultrasound showed that we are having a little boy.

We are getting closer and closer, but for an expectant mama, it seems like it is taking WAY TO LONG!

How a boa constrictor ruined my Saturday

The harsh realities of pregnancy got the best of me yesterday. I have been out in California for the past few days for work, which has been going very well so far. Yesterday morning, I woke up and prepared to drive to Sacramento to live stream a basketball tournament. While getting ready, I saw a piece on the Today Show about how a family’s 12 ft. pet boa constrictor got out and slithered into the baby’s crib, suffocating it.

Now, we don’t have any pet snakes, or plan to get one for that matter, but for some reason this got to me. I continued on and when I sat down to eat breakfast, I started crying thinking about all the potential things that I could unknowingly be doing that could harm the 18 week old fetus in my belly. I got myself settled down, and set off to Sacramento thinking of things that I could easily change to help make myself and my pregnancy just a little bit better.

I made it up there nice and early and decided to head to a store called Buy Buy Baby to start some baby shopping. As I walked around looking at pacifiers, booties, crib sheets and humidifiers, I immediately felt overwhelmed. Again, what if I pick the wrong thing and it hurts or harms this small human I am growing? Suddenly I came upon the stroller/car seat section. Near one corner, with a salesman, a very well dressed woman in a fedora, with her fancy husband and adorable pregnant belly. She was asking a million and one questions: What colors does this come in? Will they deliver to our house? What sort of attachments are available for the handle? Does the car seat snap into the stroller the same way it does the car?

Literally they have 400 strollers

OMG! Why don’t I have any questions to ask? Do these things have safety ratings? Can I sit in the stroller and hyperventilate while you go get me a paper bag? I managed to escape the store holding back tears and retreated to my car only to spend the next 3o minutes blubbering like an idiot. In hind sight, it is dumb, and certainly something to laugh about. But it still proves the point that I am unprepared, and being almost half way through this pregnancy, I/we have some major catching up to do.

Obviously lack of sleep, being away from my husband and hormones got the best of me yesterday, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that I still have to pick out a stroller!?! How in the world am I supposed to do that?!? I don’t know what I need in a stroller, because I have never really used one before. Do I take my dog to the store so I can try it out? Oh lord there is a lot to think about.

One day at a time Jen. One day at a time.