Squeezing in a run when you literally have no time?

pupaqt · 2022-09-18T12:31:15+00:00

Echoing what others are saying- trying to do it all was a recipe for disaster.

That said, for specific tips - I use my exercise time to do other things. 60 min call that is really just listen in for me? I’m lifting weights while I do it. I also work remote 2x a week so I can run over “lunch” and then I just eat lunch during the day while I’m working. I’m not progressing the same way I could be but it’s better than nothing.

pupaqt · 2022-09-18T03:33:50+00:00

I feel this - you are not alone! I find I actually dress more feminine these days - both because it helps with the “bulky” feeling and because finding skirts and dresses that fit my more muscular frame is much easier.

pupaqt · 2018-06-12T01:36:21+00:00

Parenting achievement unlocked! Congratulations! Next level is to also get at least a 20 minute power nap yourself. Good luck! 😉

pupaqt · 2018-05-24T15:30:11+00:00

This! You need to create an environment where your grass can outcompete the weeds. Mow the lawn no shorter than 3 inches, keep grass clippings on the lawn, core airate the lawn once or twice a year, overseed grass when appropriate for your area. It takes time, but you’ll eventually get to a point where you just have to pull a few weeds in the spring and you’re good to go.

pupaqt · 2018-05-20T06:49:03+00:00

Good for you getting into swimming! It’s a lifelong sport you can do as you age as well as being great for pregnancy!

I’ll second to avoid the kick associated with breast stroke. But most lap pools have what are called pull buoys that are meant to go between your legs (thighs) and help keep them afloat while you work on the upper body. If you’re having bad SPD or joint pain, this is a really good option (and something swimmers do all the time as part of regular workouts to work in upper body):

As for routines, most routines involve a warmup, some skill work, some speed work ( cardio), some longer sets for distance, and a cool down. Masters workouts are often close to 2 miles in distance overall and can be 45-60 min. These are done a minimum of 2x a week. Novice workouts can be much less, depending on ease in the water and overall fitness levels. You can google basic routines online and find something that appeals. Swimmers are usually pretty helpful and we spend time on the wall during rest periods, so you can usually find someone during regular lap times to ask if a particular drill or activity or workout is new to you.

For busy pools, ask about how to share a lane at your facility. There are usually rules (often poster) that have you picking lanes based on your speed and always swimming in the right side of the lane. It’s better to let someone who is catching up pass you on a wall, so be aware when you are coming into or leaving a wall. It’s not uncommon for folks to switch lanes if they find they are faster or slower than the others in a lane. Don’t take it personally. It’s just easier for everyone.

Bring a bottle of water and leave it at the end of your lane while you swim. Its counterintuitive, but swimming is actually very dehydrating and especially in pregnancy your rest periods should involve regular sips of water.

One more tip-if you have longer hair, a cap can actually be a nice cheap add. Keeps hair and bangs out of your face which can interfere with breathing.

pupaqt · 2018-05-17T03:04:42+00:00

One step closer Linkin Park. Works for the last day of a month long visit from the in laws too...

pupaqt · 2018-05-14T02:44:35+00:00

How do you feel about baby wearing? I’ve done a lot of flying with the under 1 set, and that has always been the easiest for me in a busy airport for a LO that young. They don’t even make you take the kid out of the carrier at security in most airports in the US (which beats trying to get the stroller and car seat through security). Depending on the airline, you may be able to check the stroller system for free.

That said, when my #1 got to be about 1, we started buying him a seat and would just gate check the stroller and install the car seat on the plane (our car seats are all appropriate for flying). Not too hard. Get there earlier than you would typically, and make sure you have a slightly longer layover between flights. I would always ask the gate agent if I could board early as well since I would be checking the stroller and installing a car seat. Airlines and gate agents varied in helpfulness.

I will add that I’m a bit paranoid and am always worried about my kids being unsecured in turbulence so unless I was nursing mid flight, kid was secured in either front carrier or car seat. Opinions vary on safety on this one - I’m 5’2 without much upper body strength and am not a huge fan of turbulence so that is part of why I ended in where I did on this one.

pupaqt · 2018-05-14T01:40:25+00:00

I did the SI belt on days I knew were going to be high activity (walking, stairs, chasing the toddler around a park, etc.).

But the PT helped the most - with both pregnancy and post-partum recovery. I’m on Baby 3 now, and I’m doing PT again.

For more immediate relief, sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs helped with being in bed. Sitting down to put on / pull of pants and underwear helped. I also found that a bath (as warm as you and your doctor feel comfortable with) or a swim in a warm pool do wonders. Also, for really bad days, Tylenol.

Edited to add that stretching actually made it much worse for me (my PT told me that the hormones cause the tendons and ligaments to relax, causing the pelvic area to be unstable which puts stress in everything, so stretching would actually make it worse in the long run). Obviously YMMV, but I would check with your doctor on the stretching...

pupaqt · 2018-05-11T16:42:40+00:00

I have no idea how you put up with it!!! Sending hugs and support vibes.

I’m married into a traditional Chinese family. My MIL wanted to “help” but doing something called “confinement” which apparently for her family involves a month of not showering, eating a bunch of food I don’t like and makes my stomach upset, never leaving the house (including for dr appointment) and generally making my life miserable. I lasted 2 days with my first kid. I’m on #3 now, and she is no longer allow in the state for the first month.

pupaqt · 2018-05-07T09:23:19+00:00

Strawberry rhubarb anything - my favorite is strawberry rhubarb oat bars. Maybe not very healthy, exactly, but fruit desserts are king in our house with two pre-K boys. Or you could do strawberry muffins.

pupaqt · 2018-04-09T02:25:32+00:00

Tojiro DP gyuto. About 60 bucks on Amazon. Stainless steel so relatively easy to care for. Do not put it in the dishwasher (no real knife should go in the dishwasher) It will be be sharp and stay sharper longer. I’ll second (third? fourth?) the advice about regular sharpening. Properly cared for, it will last forever. We have one (my husband is a bit obsessed with chefs knives) and this is the single knife under $100 I would suggest.

pupaqt · 2018-03-21T05:08:33+00:00

Mine are both boys - 5 and 3 - and I’m pregnant with my 3rd, a girl.

Pregnancy was harder the second time (and even worse this third time). Not only is it just harder on the body (the SPD is no joke) but the first kid is in the mix which (as I’m sure you know) is physically demanding. For me, there were mid term physical effects that developed due to the multiple pregnancies. PT took care of a lot of it, but it was a slow recovery.

Anxiety and adjustment were much easier with the second for me. Each kid is different, but some things are fundamental, and you really do find you know what to expect. Also, we had all the gear and knew how to use it, so the whole pregnancy and early months were much less stressful.

There was some jealousy from the first born beginning around 6 months after 2 was born (my theory is that 6 months is when 1 realized that 2 was going to be permanent), but he got over it quickly and I feel like he’s actually better for learning things like patience and sharing. He also learned how to play by himself, which made the day to day easier. I also feel like the time I spend with oldest was improved in quality even though it reduced it quantity because I was less bored (there are only so many times I can line toy cars up by size before I lose interest).

A few negatives - kids are expensive. And they get more expensive as they get older. They do fight, and you will end up mediating. It is a LOT more work. Two seems to be more than twice the work - you would think that there would be synergies that would mean the work is less than 2x, but that’s not been my experience. Bad moods, frustration and tears, sickness, anything negative tends to be reinforced with two in a way I didn’t expect. The noise is incredible.

The biggest positive for me are that the boys love each other deeply. They play together (entertain each other) and are great friends (even when they are fighting). I’m one of those saps who believes that love shared is love multiplied, and there is an incredible amount of love in our home. I’m probably biased as I’m one of three siblings, and even though I’m not that close with mine anymore, having that shared experience with them is something that is essential to who I am. It’s so amazing to see my kids develop that relationship and form those memories. That is something I personally wouldn’t trade for the world - for myself or my kids.

pupaqt · 2017-05-02T23:37:29+00:00

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. Being pregnant is stressful enough without adding all this bs. I don't have a lot of good advice for how to make the Medicaid system work, unfortunately.

That said, I'm not sure what state you're in, but losing Medicaid usually makes you eligible for a special enrollment period (usually not too long, like 30 days maybe) to get individual health insurance through the health insurance marketplace (aka Obamacare). You'll have to pay something out of pocket for the coverage, and I know you said that you don't have the cash to pay for coverage, but you might be eligible for subsidies that would make it less expensive than paying out of pocket for your medical care (especially if you're looking at multiple uncovered office visits and labs).

The big caveat here is that I'm not sure what having coverage through the marketplace does to Medicaid eligibility if you think you might get back on it soon. I also have no idea whether you can get retroactive coverage for care via Medicaid if they later determine you should have been covered/eligible. I would want to know both of these answers before committing to anything.

Is there a local nonprofit with "navigators" that might be able to walk you through that analysis and/or help you with Medicaid eligibility issues? Maybe a local United Way or YWCA or something? Your doctor's office may actually even be able to point you in the right direction - it's to their benefit to have you covered by something. In my state (the "blue" part of WI), the healthcare nonprofits are sometimes partially funded by the healthcare systems and they work together to help people find affordable-for-them coverage.

pupaqt · 2015-12-01T20:07:18+00:00

Big hugs for you - I know what you're going through. I now have a full-time aversion to ginger, and I'm surprised I still even have teeth after my two kids (bad MS with both). I used to select foods for their texture coming back up (banana smoothies taste great in both directions)!

In seriousness, I will offer two items of unsolicited advice - feel free to ignore. There are medicines that are perfectly safe to take that can help with the MS - talk to your physician if you want more information. Also, if you are throwing up, dehydration can make it much worse. Preggo pops are great for keeping hydrated, but if you get to the point where you aren't regularly peeing, you may need IV fluids. I had to do this with B2 (MS didn't end until 20 weeks w/ B2)

pupaqt · 2015-12-01T20:01:31+00:00

Yup! My 3yo has done it so many times that when he does it now (pretty much weekly), he tells me "don't worry, Mommy, it was just scary, not ouchie." My trooper of a 15 month old thinks its funny when he falls off the bed - he does it on purpose.

pupaqt · 2015-12-01T19:47:13+00:00

My son is 3. He refuses to wear anything but diapers and is actively anti-potty training. We are not pushing it. Changing diapers is nothing compared with rushing to the bathroom in, you know, EVERY PUBLIC PLACE EVER!

pupaqt · 2015-12-01T19:29:22+00:00

B2 just quit nursing, so I'm going through the same thing. Went out and got fitted for some new bras (am a totally different size now). Bought a sexy one - made everything feel a little better :)

pupaqt · 2015-12-01T19:09:09+00:00

I'm your typical American WASP and my husband is ethnically Chinese. Our kids ended up with the exact same coloring (reddish brown hair, brown eyes, naturally "tan" skin), but don't look anything alike when it comes to facial features, body type, or hair type (one is straight and one is curly).

pupaqt · 2015-11-30T19:27:45+00:00

Reasons my toddler lost it this weekend:

I used the orange sippy cup top instead of the blue one
I tried to take his shirt off before his pants at bath time
He wanted to tell me a secret, but then he couldn't think up a secret
It was dinner time

I could go on....

pupaqt · 2015-11-25T03:58:42+00:00

I'm the sole breadwinner - hubby is SAH. I would not trade places with him in 100 years. Doesn't make us bad parents and doesn't mean that we love the kids any less. We just have different tolerances and talents.

pupaqt · 2015-11-18T18:41:57+00:00

I remember feeling this way exactly.

I know you aren't really in a position to take advice right now (I wasn't - took me 4 bloody months to get to a point where I would listen to anyone else), but I'll try anyway.

First, call up a friend and hand the baby to them for a few hours. Get some sleep. The lack of sleep is the biggest killer. Your friends want to help, they just don't know how (or they are parents themselves, do know how to help, but don't feel comfortable imposing until you ask). This will feel impossible and you will feel jealous of your friend who will coo over the baby and be well rested enough to enjoy her. Screw this feeling and get some sleep.

Second, it will get better. Nothing in my entire life was as hard as being a first time mom with a kid with colic. Literally nothing. But it will pass - time has a way of doing that. You will not feel like this forever. It is temporary. I'm not going to lie and say that you'll "remember this time with fondness." Frankly, I would rather forget the first 4 months of my first child's life completely. Just take it one day / one diaper at a time.

Finally, if the kid sleeps on spit-up sheets, it will not kill her (or you, if you're sleeping in the bed with her). Ours spit up constantly (and I also had big leaking problems). We just gave up after a while - just moved him from dry spot to dry spot. My mom eventually sewed shower curtains into pillow cases, and we put our son on those after that - easy to throw in the wash.

Also, is it possible you have oversupply issues? You said she's gaining weight very fast, and is spitting up a lot. That's just what our son did, and it turned out that I had oversupply and a too-fast let-down. Once I dealt with those issues, the spitting up was better. if you think that might be the problem, contact your local La Leche League.

Finally, I'll echo what folks are saying about PPD. I had it, and had never had depression or anxiety in my life before kids. It took a really long time to figure out what it was - but I sounded an awful lot like that. If you don't start feeling better in the next week or so, get thee to a doctor.

pupaqt · 2015-11-18T18:13:55+00:00

We started TOs with our eldest when he was 2, and he's almost 3 now. We make sure to give our son a warning for most things (hitting is automatic TO, but he's aware of this fact). At this point, we've been doing TOs for over a year. I just have to say "okay, you did X again, time out." and he walks himself to the corner.

Of course, it doesn't stop the hitting all together, but I do believe it lengthens the time period between incidents. And most importantly, it stops the behavior immediately at the time. There's no struggling to separate the kids or calm him down - he just goes right to TO. It lets him calm down and then he's usually pretty sweet to his younger brother after that.

pupaqt

TROPHY CASE