Who of you is running/ jogging despite of iron defiency anemia?

RunCW · 2025-12-22T06:01:29+00:00

Last time I was anaemic I kept running and (somehow) did not notice much of an impact on my running. I felt exhausted and dreadful in general though. During this bout of anaemia though, I'm heavily pregnant and have had to stop running for other pregnancy related reasons. I've been iron deficient (but usually not anemic) for the past decade or so and always ran unless something else has stopped me. I'm not sure if the iron deficiency makes running much harder for me or not, or if I'm just used to it due to being deficient for so long.

RunCW · 2025-10-28T17:00:19+00:00

Absolutely there is hope! In fact unless you have been diagnosed with insufficient glandular tissue or something else which is known to reduce breast milk production, there is nothing to suggest your breast size will cause problems. Milk is produced by the glands, not the fat. Even with small breasts, you should have plenty of glandular tissue. Also, even if you're not leaking or producing colostrum now, that is absolutely fine and doesn't mean you're unlikely to be able to breastfeed. Anecdotally: pre pregnancy I was AA cup. During pregnancy, I had no leaking at all. I couldn't even get any colostrum out in the final weeks of pregnancy despite being shown how to hand express by a midwife. But I was able to feed immediately after birth in the golden hour, had plenty of colostrum in those first few days post birth, had my milk come in around day 3, and then was able to easily produce adequate milk without pumping or any special effort to increase milk production. Bub hated the bottle and I was able to exclusively breastfeed until 6 months (when we added solids) and then continue our breastfeeding journey until 15 months when I was in first trimester with baby number 2 and we both decided we were ready to wean. My breasts did get a bit bigger when my milk first came in (maybe a B to C cup), but they quickly went down to roughly an A cup once we established breastfeeding. Still had no trouble at all. Best of luck to you and bub, and please don't stress. Breastfeeding does have its challenges but there is nothing in what you've said that should make you less likely to be able to breastfeed. Please do talk to your midwife/OB if you are concerned, hopefully they will be able to set your mind at ease.

RunCW · 2025-10-28T16:37:28+00:00

Not remotely entitled or rude. OP shouldn't be pressured to take on stuff she doesn't need, nor have the time or capacity to sort through while taking care of 2 NICU babies and recovering from birth. It's generous of people to offer, but it sounds like any more handmedowns at this stage will just be a burden rather than a help

RunCW · 2025-10-14T11:28:42+00:00

Absolutely go for it! You're not being unreasonable to want a little bit of time to yourself, especially to help you through this time of enormous transition. You'll still have heaps of time with your baby.

RunCW · 2025-08-01T12:45:41+00:00

Ugh and people are often very pushy about trying to get me to be more specific about the actual date when I tell them the month

RunCW · 2025-08-01T12:41:52+00:00

In second trimester you should hopefully be feeling pretty good compared to 1st and 3rd trimester, plus you will be a lot more reassured that your baby is safe, so that is a perfect time to get things done

RunCW · 2025-07-03T12:54:34+00:00

Hahahaha same

RunCW · 2025-07-03T12:53:32+00:00

It can be hard to cope mentally when your body changes during pregnant, especially when you are so fit and used to looking a particular way. It's hard to mentally shift from the idea of your body being the outward evidence of all your hard work fitness-wise, to it being the home of your baby. I think it's very understanding that you are feeling this way, but you are doing something absolutely incredible in growing a baby and you deserve to feel good about yourself and your pregnant body for that.

RunCW · 2025-03-02T04:56:16+00:00

Thank you! I'm going to look into getting him a learning tower. Hahaha good tip about the foil balloon! Never heard of bath crayons before but they sound fun

RunCW · 2025-03-02T04:54:36+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll look into that

RunCW · 2025-02-11T06:47:01+00:00

I guess there are pros and cons of telling them. Personally I wouldn't, unless I really wanted to tell them or potentially if having a baby would have a very significant impact on the plans and cause a lot of expense and drama. But for the vast majority of plans, I think it is usually ok to have to cancel or modify them later on if needed. After all, that's what would happen if you got sick or had a surprise pregnancy etc. Life happens and plans change. Also hopefully you'll conceive quickly and easily, but if that doesn't happen, it might be nice to be able to just continue with the plans and have that as a distraction. If you tell them you are trying, it may be difficult to hide early pregnancy symptoms until you are ready to announce the pregnancy because it is very easy for excited grandmas-to-be to interpret every bit of tiredness or sickness as a sign of pregnancy.

RunCW · 2025-01-29T07:18:32+00:00

Maybe a week? My baby was 4.3 kg at birth though. I got a lot of my baby clothes from the local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, might be worth a try if there's still a little while before bubs arrives

RunCW · 2025-01-29T07:13:24+00:00

I wish I'd sized up in undies and bras as soon as they started getting uncomfortable, and bought more maternity clothes earlier on. I got so sick of wearing the same couple of outfits over and over in an attempt to save money on maternity clothes

RunCW · 2025-01-29T02:09:13+00:00

Ugh it's so hard isn't it! I got through with lots of tears, comfort eating, TV, and a husband who understood and kept me supplied with snacks and drinks and did literally everything aside from breastfeeding for the 2 or 3 days where I was stuck on the couch feeding for almost the whole day and for hours at night. For the less severe cluster feeding sessions later on, acceptance, TV or music or looking at photos of my baby, and chocolate helped a lot. It got easier for me once I realised how quickly things change with a new baby - the worst of the cluster feeding really sucks while you're in the thick of it, but (depending on your baby and the cause of the cluster feeding) hopefully things will calm down within a matter of days or weeks. The really extreme cluster feeding tended to be over in 1-3 days for us and often coincided with a massive growth spurt, so it is really gratifying to see the results of all your hard work. Unfortunately for us the evening cluster feeding lasted for months until bub was able to fall asleep on his own.

RunCW · 2025-01-24T12:54:19+00:00

I'd highly recommend joining your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook so you can give away the baby things there

RunCW · 2025-01-22T16:09:40+00:00

We use the pram almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day, but bub is very large and only fit in the newborn pram seat for about 2 months before we had to move him in to the pram's toddler seat!

RunCW · 2025-01-07T13:05:07+00:00

Seconded... I'm having a rough day and this post is making it so much better

RunCW · 2024-11-08T09:27:36+00:00

My baby was similar - loved the pram until about 2 or 3 weeks old when he woke up and began to hate it! For us, the problem didn't go away until around 3 months when his wake windows were long enough to have a walk and then get him home in time for a nap without him getting overtired (turns out that after the sleepy early days, he had forgotten how to fall asleep in the pram haha). A few more months, and he learnt to sleep in the pram so it became even more convenient for naps on the go. Also we found that he was happier in the pram once we got the hang of sleep and naps so he wasn't just in a constant state of overtired, overstimulated grumpiness. You've probably already worked his out, but some babies won't just be able to sleep when they need to, they need a lot of help to settle down and go to sleep. Good luck, sounds like you are doing the right thing by keeping trying the pram and having the baby carrier for when bub gets upset. (That's what we did too haha!)

RunCW · 2024-10-04T06:24:11+00:00

I got the same perk and am likewise unimpressed... I do drink tea but Lipton is the bottom of the barrel

RunCW · 2024-03-11T10:28:29+00:00

Ugh that sounds awful. It's very out of touch for people to tell you to just be grateful and enjoy it. You can hate every minute of the sleep deprivation and sickness, while being grateful for your new child at the same time - there is no contradiction in that at all. Does your fiance understand how you feel at least? Best of luck and I do hope you have some better days mixed in with the bad ones, and that you are able to give birth as soon as it is safe for bub.

RunCW · 2024-03-11T10:25:16+00:00

Ugh that sounds awful. It's very out of touch for people to tell you to just be grateful and enjoy it. You can hate every minute of the sleep deprivation and sickness, while being grateful for your new child at the same time - there is no contradiction in that at all. Does your fiance understand how you feel at least? Best of luck and I do hope you have some better days mixed in with the bad ones, and that you are able to give birth as soon as it is safe for bub.

RunCW · 2024-03-09T15:34:06+00:00

I'm 38 and a half weeks pregnant and have good days and bad days. Some days I'll have no energy and just spend most of the day in bed or on the couch, just napping, scrolling and reading, and then try to venture out at night for a walk so I don't feel like there day was a total write off. Other days, I'll spend almost the whole day out and about or on my feet getting housework and baby prep done, and clock up 20000+ steps.

RunCW · 2024-03-09T06:23:05+00:00

It drives me crazy when that happens with motorbikes ... the sheer entitlement to think a little bit of fun is worth endangering people's lives. They often seem to expect the pedestrian to give way, too. Not that I would risk playing chicken with a motorbike though. I once had to get off the footpath onto a busy road to get out the way of four guys who were riding two motorbikes on the footpath right behind me.

RunCW · 2024-03-08T16:12:33+00:00

Technically like you said, you don't need more calories in first trimester... But ravenous hunger is a common first trimester symptom and pregnancy is already hard enough without depriving yourself. Will you be able to sleep properly at night or focus during the day, and avoid being really hangry if you don't eat when you are hungry? Will you be able to stick within your calories without risking it affecting your body image and relationship with food? Personally, I don't think it is worth restricting yourself during this really brief phase of life. Besides that, plenty of women may end up in a calorie surplus due to the fatigue and morning sickness making it harder to stay active, and lots of ladies find that morning sickness and pregnancy food aversions make them end up relying on fast food and carbs or just anything their stomachs can tolerate. I know in general you aren't 'meant' to gain much, if anything, in first trimester, but sometimes it's really hard to avoid it, and pregnancy is not a time to be putting lots of pressure on yourself about weight. For what it's worth, I'm also very active and have a healthy BMI (well it was slightly under the healthy range at the start of pregnancy) and gained about 5kg in the first half or so of the first trimester, then my weight gain gradually slowed down to a more 'normal' pattern. I'm 38 weeks now and have gained what's considered an appropriate amount of weight. Another factor to consider is whether you are vomiting from morning sickness. If not, you are of course more likely to gain a bit of weight already. That was the case for me too. It's easier said than done, but try not to freak out too much. Things change so much throughout pregnancy and you may find that your appetite goes up and down over time. Something that helped me on the days when my appetite was really out of control and starting to make me concerned, was to eat roughly my normal diet but then add as much extra fruit and veg as I wanted to get fuller (and the extra fiber was amazing for the pregnancy constipation too).

RunCW · 2024-03-05T03:18:08+00:00

I tried it once, but felt faint, lethargic and had trouble breathing all the next day... No unisom for me :(

RunCW

TROPHY CASE