In the first few weeks of Isla's life, my mantra was "it will get easier." Neither Ryan nor I had ever babysat nor spent extended periods with newborns, so we had a crash course in infant care with our tiny little girl. Each week presented what felt like a new challenge, especially as we navigated through ultrasounds to check for hip dysplasia (which fortunately came back clear), the newborn fussy phase, growth spurts, and an ear infection. Somewhere around the 6-8 week mark, it did, in ...
Mile Markers
Weekly Workouts: Eight Weeks Postpartum
I am being conservative with my return to running. This was my third week of running after recovering from a C-section. I still kept in run/walk interval - progressively lengthening the run interval - and increased to four days of running. It's amazing how fewer miles feels like more work now than when I was eight months pregnant. Monday: 3.2 miles run/walk & ReCore For this run, I increased my run intervals to 3 x 8 minutes run with 1 minute walk. After finishing the run intervals, ...
Weekly Workouts: Seven Weeks Postpartum
After carefully easing into exercise last week, I slightly ramped up the volume of runs and intensity of strength workouts last week. I am still sticking to a conservative plan, especially with running. Even though I'm past the acute recovery phase, I still feel some lingering effects of the C-section and general postpartum changes such as core weakness and healing muscle tissue. I'll probably complete another week of run-walk intervals before resuming short, continuous runs. Monday: 3 ...
Weekly Workouts: Six Weeks Postpartum
Last week I was cleared to start exercising again. I mentally and physically felt ready to exercise, also. Six week old babies are needy and fussy and I need that time for myself. On nights she sleeps well, it's easy to fit in exercise. On days she fights sleep, it's a bit trickier (especially since I don't cope with sleep deprivation well), but worth it. I feel better when I move, whether it's a walk or a run/walk. I don't know my weight, but I can feel my body snapping back to normal. I'm a ...
C-Section Recovery: The First Six Weeks
Six weeks ago, I headed out for my final run of pregnancy on Monday morning - three miles at a 9:49/mile pace. After my run, I worked and then called my OB to schedule a version (a procedure to flip a breech baby) followed by either an induction or C-section for the following day. They had found out that Isla was breech just a few days ago and wanted to attempt the procedure before my due date. Within two hours of scheduling this, I went into labor - but not just regular labor. My mom and I ...