Getting Back to My Blog

These last 3 1/2 years have been a blog blur to me. I can say that I've been busy just raising the kids as well as going through an identity crisis, a midlife crisis, a soul searching, a "what am I doing with my life?" phase and a "what am I going to do when I grow up?" phase. It's so much more than this though. And are we not all discovering more about ourselves everyday? I know I am a strong analytical. That could be good or bad. Perspective. And I have talked endlessly to women about the challenges of motherhood, let alone the challenges of becoming the ultimate....a Stay-at-Home-Mom. SAHM they say. We have our own experiences. One person's life experiences cannot be described as more fulfilling than the next person's. If I can say that my choices and my life are solely for me, and I have grown, then this is what is important.

I have enjoyed it all and have no regrets. I have lived and learned to the best of my ability and experiences. I am far from perfect. That's what makes me perfect. I have no right or wrong solutions to being a parent. Don't we give what we've experienced anyhow?

Anyway, Fit After Five was to be my journey of getting physically back into shape after having five children. And although this IS MY journey, I know that this is also similarly a journey for so many other women. Women who have one, two, three, four, or five children. Women who have six and more. Women who have NO children! This is simply a journey that I call Fit After Five which started as my physically fit self, but now I have come to embrace the notion of my mentally and emotionally fit self, too.

Journey with me. This is a re-start for me and I'll do my best to continue blogging.

Back to My Blogging...with Fit After Five

It has been a very long time since my last post. I am in such a different place now then I was at that time. MUCH different place. My number five is now 3 years old. WOW! The time flies.

As it gives me a chance to reflect and a chance to share, I vow to continue on with my Fit After Five Blog on a regular basis. Why now? Well, I have found a new love once again. My addiction to running is probably the best thing I have that is all for me right now. It feels good and the rewards are many. Just want to say hello again to Fit After Five and you'll be getting more from me soon and often.

Great to be back and to share with anyone who is reading this...the ways in which I keep my sanity, my physical self, and my well-being together after having five children.

A Weighted Iron for Mommy's Exercise

The truth is that it is, simply put, difficult to get back on the exercise bandwagon after not being on it for so long. I have no excuse. I have a spouse who is more than willing to accommodate me and my time. I have a stroller that is not really the Range Rover of strollers, but it works very well. Just very bulky. I have sunny desert Las Vegas days with a bit of chill, just enough to keep me cool and not sweating too much. But maybe it's the dreaded illness of LAZY. I admit it. I'd rather do laundry right now than get my ass out of bed for a jog. Laundry has the ability to be therapeutic for me. Matching up socks until they have all found their partner. Folding t-shirts the Gap way but without using a folding board. Hanging up the button up shirts, ironing them if needed.

Maybe I should invent a weighted, multi-purpose iron and do some arm curls. Whatever the case, my baby is now four months old and I have no excuse. Mommy bulge good-bye. Gotta fit into a bathing suit decently for summertime!

Could It Be Tendonitis or Carpal Tunnel?

Be aware, new nursing mothers, that this may happen to you! This happened to me with my fourth child mostly and now with my fifth one. After holding my baby in the same position for an extended amount of time, the result is a stiff left hand and fingers. For me, this is from holding my baby in a nursing position for a long time and also from holding my baby firmly while I sleep, as she slept on my chest. It was my paranoia about making sure she would not fall would make me hold her so tight...or firmly so that she wouldn't fall off of me.

Yesterday morning, the condition was an excrutiating and throbbing pain that I realize, may have something to do with what I ate that day. I totally chomped down just under a half a can of Macadamia Nuts which are high in uric acid. I think that's what did it. I've been having this pain off and on for the past couple of weeks but yesterday was THEEEE worst! I also am guilty of not driking enough water. Doing that is important as it helps cleanse the body. Anyway, today it's just stiffness in the joints of my hands without the throbbing. Thank goodness! Everything in moderation and drink lots of water!

Eight Weeks Post Delivery

Well, I have no excuse. All I can say that motherhood with five children, one being a small infant, is a challenge when it comes to time management. When I finally get some down time, it's mostly to just veg and sit in front of the television, surfing on Netflix and getting caught up in one of the many series available at my fingertips. Lately, it's Weeds. I pretty much killed Nip Tuck. All 6 seasons in 2 months. Anyway...

If I could get myself off the couch during those TV times and commit the same amount of time to exercise and getting back into shape, what miracles could happen? I think it has been okay to not expect myself to exercise at all in these 8 weeks. I have a 2 month post delivery appointment tomorrow. Basic. Pap smear. I think it's time to commit myself to an exercise regiment. I feel like I am looking better. I'm surely not fitting into my Abercrombie & Fitch jeans, but that's fine. I would like to have my weight loss be gradual. And it will be.

P90X, Wii Fit, walks, playing with the kids. These are some things I can and should do. Okay...just commit. Say WILL. WILL DO.

It's time to get on a routine of exercise. For myself, for my family. Will create a plan and post an update.

Baby Is Almost 4 Weeks Old

Tomorrow my sweet little angel will be four weeks old. I've been adjusting well and so has she. I have a 4-week postpartum appointment tomorrow. My thinking is that this is the day that Dr. gives me the okay to slowly start exercising again. No marathon running or anything, but may be some light walking. I have some light weights at home, so maybe that. Anyway, my recovery thus far has been good. I can actually fit into some jeans that I got with my last pregnancy...I call them my inbetween jeans. Still have some good muffin top going on, but that's okay. I'm on the road to getting fit again.

One thing I wish the doctors and nurses should have told me was to DRINK LOTS OF WATER! I think that it aids in the recovery of the whole body. It's important to drink lots of water in general, but for a recovering mama, even MORE important. I say this because after about day 4 or 5 of being home, my bleeding stopped. I was amazed! I thought, "Wow, this is great! My healing and recovery is going swell!" Then I started to do just a tad more around the house...pick up a basket of laundry, pick up my 2 year old, wash dishes. Anyway, after about almost 2 weeks, my bleeding returned. Nothing painful. No cramping. No large clots. BUT I also realized I wasn't drinking as much water. Once I started drinking more water again, the bleeding continued for a few more days, then stopped. The lochia started to change to a darker brown, which is natural. Now it feels more normal. I attribute the "normal" feelings to drinking the water I was supposed to have been drinking.

So after four weeks, things are going well. The whole family has adjusted well so far. My body is beginning to get back to some sort of normal state. My nipples are getting a workout with the breastfeeding. Thank goodness for lanolin in that department. I'm not a perfect mother or wife STILL, but I think I'm doing alright so far.

I thank God everyday for these blessings. I thank God for giving me the strength and love for my family. I thank God for giving me the wisdom to know myself and to continue to know myself and to grow. I thank God for forgiving me for my shortcomings and still loving me as I am. Life is a blessing and I'm thankful everyday for it all.

About Baby Number Five

I thought my water broke on Thursday morning around 4:00 am. I was wrong. Sadly wrong. Two sets of grandparents came over to tend to three kids (school-aged) and my one toddler. Hubby brought me to the hospital triage to be monitored. The kids were brought to school, and the grandparents had a chance to hang out with their 11th grandchild.

At the hospital...at about 9:45am, the nurses released me back into the wild and to visit my doctor. I was only about 2 cm dilated and the found my water DID NOT break. So, off to the doctor's office to confirm what the nurses found. At 10:19 am, I signed in at doc's office. He checked on me, and yup! Only 2 cm dilated. BUT...in my mind, I knew I was having the baby because I did have a little bloody show. It's happening soon. My doctor even said that there was a good chance I would have the baby in the next 24 hours. However, he also said...but don't be surprised if the baby does not come either.

We got home by 11:00 AM and decided what to do for lunch. We met a friend at Del Taco, and by 1:00 PM, I was experiencing contractions approximately 6 minutes apart. I was still able to walk over to See's Candies to get a couple of gifts for the nurses station at the hospital. Then we got back home around 1:30 PM and I stayed at home laboring, letting my contractions get stronger, feeling them get closer together.

I posted my status on Facebook at 2:19 PM and we were soon off to the hospital. At the triage, the nurse finally checked my progress and found...yup! I was 4 cm dilated and my water was bulging. "YES! This is happening today!" I thought. I was so glad this day had come.

It was probably about 3:00 PM or 3:30 PM and we were admitted to the hospital. I pretty much was checked in, and stayed in the bed because my contractions were getting closer together and more intense. I didn't feel much like walking around. I think by 5:00 PM, my contractions were about every 4 minutes. Maybe soon after that, the nurse found I had progressed to 6 cm...then about 30-45 minutes after that, 8 cm. I knew it was almost time!!! Drug free, as I did with my first four deliveries, Baby Halina was delivered at 7:51 PM. I will say that my pushing this time around was more challenging, yet it still all happened fast. I am extremely happy that the delivery went well, I didn't tear, and so grateful that the day had come and gone.

Now is our time to enjoy this wonderful bundle of joy! She is so precious! I'm in love all over again!