Well, 2010 ended up being the year I didn’t really think about my physical health that much. The surgery was postponed and through a bit of doctor shuffling I didn’t actually go to a doctor at all for the entire year. (My old doctor quit his practice and I delayed going to a new one until January.)

Back in January (maybe December too) I saw some tweets from moms who were on the bandwagon to take care of themselves in more ways than just trips to the grocery store alone and the occasional soak in the tub. And it kind of inspired me to get back into the groove and start having my regular check ups and get that surgery scheduled.

I’m kind of proud of myself because I was actually very worried about going to the internist to see what kind of bad things would be found in my blood and pee. And when he ordered an EKG and chest xray as well, I didn’t see it as being thorough (after all, I am a New Patient for him and I hadn’t been to a doc for over a year now), I thought it was the sign of Bad Things. How happy was I that it was just him being thorough and getting the word that just my cholesterol and weight are high and I have a year to try things by myself to get them under control.

Which is where the surgery comes in… more on it later, but it is scheduled for April 7th and I have a sister team coming to help out for two weeks while I will not be able to lift anything over 10 pounds or drive.

Because this gal has to take care of herself too… I wanna be around to take more pictures like this:

[tags]mom, mom health, personal health[/tags]

Health- The 2010 picture of health will be the main focus for the first quarter of this year. This is because I’m having surgery sometime this month (more on it later, and it isn’t what you might think) and I hope this surgery will help me meet some other physical health goals I have for my life.

That surgery was supposed to happen today. But about two weeks ago we received some good news in another area of our family and after taking a quick look at our immediate future*, it was obvious my surgery** would need to be postponed.

Which is how I find myself sitting lakeside of Lake Martin in Alabama. Last week the boys and I traveled here to take refuge under the roof of my in-laws while Damon remained at home to begin the final stages of renovation of our home.

But this line haunts me a little:

The 2010 picture of health will be the main focus for the first quarter of this year.

I’m trying to figure out ways to keep health (specifically weight loss and lowering my cholesterol) at a premium. I can’t work out the exact way that I want, so I ordered some Earth Shoes to help while I walk (an exercise I can actually do). When we return to Chattanooga, I hope the Wii Fit will be part of my daily routine (I refuse to buy more Wii “workout” stuff until I do Wii Fit for 30 days), so at least I make myself move more.

So 18 days in, I have changed the path, but the goal is still the same.

[tags]New Years Resolutions, change, health, weight loss, Wii Fit, Earth Shoes, Exer-Walk[/tags]

*I know I’m being cryptic, but the internet doesn’t need to know everything, right? If you know us in real life, then we are fine sharing some details. The internet will find out in due time.

**Again with the vagueness. And because I’m talking weight loss, you might have an idea of what the surgery is. But I bet you are wrong. I’ll tell you right now, it isn’t gastric bypass. It isn’t lapband surgery. And no, it isn’t plastic surgery of any kind.

I’m still sick, but I can tell the medicine the physician’s assistant prescribed has helped. Let’s all say a little word of thanks for codeine. I got some good sleep. I still woke up several times, once because I heard this strange wheezing noise and when I woke up I realized it was me!

Last week I had planned on getting my flu shot yesterday, but I wasn’t allowed since I was sick. But since the flu test was negative, I can get one after I’m well. Which I’m happy to do because the flu test was so un-freaking-believably awful. A shot in the arm is better than a swab up both nostrils any day.

I hate being sick. I hate that I made excuses for a few days before actually saying, “I’m sick.”

I did go to the Minute Clinic this morning and verified I don’t have flu and don’t have bronchitis. Instead I have been coughing since Wednesday and tired of it. My chest is sore and my energy is sapped.

But hey, tomorrow is another day.

I see a profile of a face, looking to the left. I also see the reason why I will never ask Fuller to put sunscreen on my back.

[tags]sunscreen fail, skin protection, Wordless Wednesday[/tags]

Really, it wasn’t a surprise… I’m overweight and my cholesterol is up. But my doctor was kind and open to still using the polite “but you are still losing baby weight” conversation, knowing I was probably not going to stay this weight forever. And in my medical history, when I lose weight, my cholesterol goes down. In other areas, my blood pressure is amazing (his words) and I have the pulse of a runner (his words, again). He is very certain I am not pre-diabetic and excluding the weight and cholesterol, I’m pretty healthy.

And that’s where I pause. I know I have to lower my cholesterol, so I know I have to lose weight. Getting the cholesterol down is my current inspiration. But even if I accomplish lowering those numbers and am still overweight, I’m going to need to find other inspiration to keep going. Because, I think before I got pregnant, I was participating in the “fat acceptance” movement (which I didn’t know was a movement until I saw this segment on Today).

I kind of saw myself like Emme, healthy but overweight. No, I didn’t work out four times a week like her, but I was walking in the neighborhood and watching what I ate. I was pretty comfortable, not thinking I had to be a size 6 or even a size 10 to be happy… but. I don’t know. Right now, I’m studying for my test in January. Once I get those cholesterol numbers in a happy range, then I’ll see how happy I am with fat acceptance or if I’m ready to keep up the work to become a smaller size.

I guess because of the weekly topic, it really kept the concept of the kitchen and our family dining habits at the forefront of my mind.

As a stay at home mom, I think of feeding my family as one of the top “jobs” I have. And I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not very good at it. While we have food everyday, I know our diet isn’t as nutritionally sound as it could be. And at the same time, I struggle with using our food responsibly, so we don’t send money into the trash in the form of spoiled and uneaten food.

The best time I had at Moms Group this summer was when my friend Betsy drove from her city (about 2 hours away) to come and talk to us about freezer cooking. She gave us simple tips and advice from her own adventures in freezer cooking. I took two things away from the discussion:

1. Double Up. When cooking a meal, go ahead and make enough for two or more meals. You serve the meal and freeze the rest. It seems so simple when you think about it. What I have been trying to do it make at least double a recipe at a time. I can package the “second” meal as a whole meal for the family or package it in single servings for us to have for lunches. If I decide to serve it as a meal for everyone, I can open three (or more) packages.

By freezing second meals I cut down on prep and cooking time later in the month. Also, freezing them really cuts down on spoiled food, making us better stewards of our resources.

2. Make your freezer work for you. This advice has kind of revolutionized how I think about using the freezer for our family. Some people think of freezer cooking as dinner food, specifically the main dishes, and sometimes they get stuck on casseroles only. But really, the freezer can freeze anything. How about breakfast food? Or side dishes?

I love breakfast, but hate making it. So if I can take the time to make various breakfast items in bulk, I can freeze them and make them easy to access everyday. As an added bonus, Fuller can help himself too, so if he wakes up starving and I’m dealing with Tebow, Fuller doesn’t start his day with me asking him to wait.

When it comes to making dinner, I tend to get tripped up with side dishes. Damon loves mashed potatoes but I’m not keen on making them because of the work. However, if I make mashed potatoes in bulk, serve them once and freeze the rest, it is a lot easier to give him a dish he likes more often. So, I buy a 5 pound bag of potatoes and make them all at once into mashed potatoes. Again, this cuts down on waste, but I like how I can make Damon happy with more mashed potatoes on our menu. If only we could make everyone happier with mashed potatoes.

I once tried to do once-a-month cooking on my own and it was tiring. Then I went to a place that helped me do it for a fee. Then I tried meal planning and got flustered. These two things are simple enough that I can do often and feel like I’ve done something to better serve my family. I’ve already reduced my stress when it comes to meal planning, and I think the more I work on this, it will help our budget in some ways as well.

[tags]freezer cooking, bulk cooking[/tags]

Last week was an exhausting exercise in routine… we got up every morning and were out of the house by 8:30. By the end of the week I was thrilled to not have that pressure on me every morning. And for the last two days, I’ve managed to remain in my PJs until after noon. Yesterday I didn’t shower and dress until after quiet time.

I realize a lot of my posts lately (like since February) have been focused on being soooo tired and exhausted. Some days I feel so tired I cry. But I have to mention, I am surprised my exhaustion has claimed the title of “morning person” from my personal description.

I became a morning person when I was a teenager. I had an early morning paper route and for some reason I demanded to be the first person in the shower every morning- this meant I was up early. And I liked it. (There were a few days where I slept in, sometimes oversleeping, but in general I was a morning person.)

When I was in college, I was fine with early morning classes. It was the afternoon classes that were difficult. All nighters were impossible for me (I almost always had to be asleep by 9), but going to sleep and getting up at 5 to study was totally doable.

I always preferred to work early shifts when I was working. I could get so much done. Even at home, being an early riser meant my to-do list was mostly done by noon.

Now, with the way Tebow takes two hours to go to sleep for the night (and by “the night” I mean until 2 a.m.) I end up staying up later to Get Things Done. And when the 7 a.m. (or 6 or 5 a.m.) hour rolls around, I am a BEAR to be around. And it usually takes me a while to function, even with a cup or two of coffee in me.

I miss being a morning person and hope someday I get to be one again. Now, I just need to figure out how to squeeze more shut eye in during the day.

(Oh, and the picture above has nothing to do with me being tired. I just like it.)

[tags]morning person, sleep habits, exhaustion[/tags]

To be fair, the type of sleep deprivation I’m experiencing lately isn’t the kind where you find yourself seeing the hours of 2 a.m, 3 a.m., and 4 a.m., plus all the minutes in between. No, my recent bought of sleep deprivation comes in the form of teasing sleep. I lie down, I fall asleep, and then suddenly I’m awake to tend to a crying child. All of this is within 15 minutes. The time it takes to tend to the child is probably less than ten minutes. The child is back asleep and in his crib. So I lie down, I fall asleep, and then suddenly I’m awake again. This time 30 minutes has passed…

Rinse, repeat. Sometimes an hour passes, sometimes two… on a good night there is a chunk of five hours that passes, but it is bookended with refusal to go to sleep and stay asleep (this is usually a two hour struggle) and then fighting to stay asleep but yet wanting to start the day (usually starts around 4:30 a.m.).

So, in an effort to combat the exhaustion, I just keep moving, trying to focus on something other than sitting down. Because, if I sit down, I will fall asleep (I’m writing this while asleep. I promise. It’s an awesome trick I learned). This week we have VBS, so it helps with the keep moving philosophy. At home I sit and play with Fuller, trying to keep out of my chair and away from the computer (not always successful)… all in an effort to stay awake.

I’m exploring remedies to the sleep issues, but for now, I’m just moving and moving, trying to stay awake.

Three months ago, a little before 5 a.m. I met a woman who handed me a bunch of papers to sign, clipped a piece of plastic around my wrist and directed us to go back the way we came.

Three months ago, around 5:05 a.m. I was in a bed, answering questions to a nurse on my right and getting my left hand stabbed with an IV port by another nurse. I was checked and I was still at 3 centimeters (as I had been for over a week) and the monitors showed some small contractions but nothing I considered bothersome.

Three months ago, I was given some pitocin and fluids, via the aforementioned IV port. I tried to watch the local morning news, since it was around 6:30 a.m. but I opted for the rain instead. Damon was shown where to find the popsicles and ice chips.

Three months ago, my doctor was in another hospital room delivering a baby. When he was done, he showed up in my room and broke my water. Until then, I don’t really recall experiencing any painful contractions. But I could tell soon afterwards, things were progressing.

Three months ago, a nurse came into my room and told me if I was thinking about getting an epidural I needed to let them know because I needed to have had two liters of fluids before I could have the epidural. It was a good thing she told me because I was thinking about having the epidural, but I wasn’t at that point yet.

Three months ago, I looked at the I.V. stand and wondered how long it was going to take me to get those two liters, because I was really starting to think about having that epidural. And the fluids were going slower than the pain was coming.

Three months ago, around 10 a.m., Ellen was dancing on TV and I was asking the nurse about how long it would be until I had completed those two liters because I was really starting to think about the epidural now. She laughed and said they would turn it up to make it go faster. I said, “Yes, please.” It was no longer raining. In fact, it was very sunny and we had a beautiful view out the window.

Three months ago, a nice woman named Felicia stuck a needle in my back and dialed down the pain. Rachael Ray was on TV and we were talking about what she was cooking. I complained this wasn’t a good thing since I was actually very hungry. But I quit complaining when I learned I was about six centimeters. It was my personal goal to wait and get the epidural when I was more than four centimeters. Goal reached, score!

Three months ago, Damon photographed blue jays outside the hospital window while nurse Melanie (who was my third and final nurse of the delivery experience) gave me a catheter.

Three months ago, I spent about two hours feeling rather uncomfortable and just feeling a lot of pressure. I was surprised because when I was in labor with Fuller, after I had my epidural, I didn’t feel anything at all. This time was different. This time, I only had a partial block. This was definitely a different labor experience.

Three months ago, around 2:30, Melanie checked me and ten centimeters had been achieved. And suddenly people started appearing in the room and doing things like moving carts, piling baby blankets, and cracking jokes.

Three months ago, around 3 p.m. I started pushing. When I asked for a mirror, I shocked everyone because apparently people don’t usually ask for mirrors when they are pushing. They were very happy to get it for me, once they found it. I preferred the mirror because it helped give me a visual on my progress. Plus, I couldn’t wait to see what color hair the baby had.

Three months ago, around 3:15 p.m. I was still pushing with each contraction. Melanie was on my left and Damon was on my right, each helping hold my legs. And I kept thinking, “Why doesn’t he just give me the episiotomy already? It would make it a lot easier!”

Three months ago, probably around 3:25, Dr. I said he was going to have to give me an episiotomy. And I restrained from yelling, “Finally!” No, it didn’t hurt (probably because of the epidural), but I had already started to tear and this was my preferred method of delivery. As soon as it happened, with the next push, there was more progress and I was told to not push.

Three months ago, at 3:31 we had a new son.

Three months ago, my heart grew and I fell in love with Tebow.

Three months ago, this was Tebow’s birth story.

[tags]birth story, labor and delivery[/tags]