WIAW- We Are A Lot Like Babies

 

Last week I was waking up so hungry that I felt as though my stomach may choose to eat itself if I didn’t grab a piece of a banana or something while I made my cup of coffee and got breakfast ready in a flash.

Yet this week, I am waking up but my appetite is still sleeping for another 45 minutes.

Sometimes I think we try to assume we can eat the same foods and amounts of food day in and day out and expect to have the same satiated result.

Just not the case. We aren’t machines.

In fact, I like to think that us grown-ups (am I really a grown up? I still haven’t accepted that) are more like babies than we realize.

I always use this example when this topic comes up in discussion:

Nursing moms produce milk for their babies. The nutrients and level of each nutrient in the milk supply naturally changes and adapts every so often to accommodate the needs of the baby at different stages of development.

Too bad we can’t figure out how to naturally regulate this on our own as adults because like babies, our requirements vary from day-to-day too.

Or can we?

Like, if we stop saying we must involve a salad at lunch and eat what we planned because that plan worked last week, realize that we cannot expect to be satisfied each and every day on the same amounts of food, and just remember to keep eating more when we run more, maybe we can adapt our meals to meet our needs.

We go through phases and growth spurts like babies, just in different ways, which may require adaptations in our diet.

Early morning (unpretty) pre-run breakfast – oatmeal with mashed banana, blueberries, cinnamon and drop of peanut butter.

Like, one day I am hungry every twenty minutes, the next day I am good for at least three hours.

So similar to those baby growth spurts where they go from barely being awake for a feeding to eating ALL OF THE TIME, especially at those dreaded three-week, six-week, three-month and six-month growth spurt markers.

What worked yesterday in terms of your choices and amounts of food may not work for you today.

I do not track calories or even know what I burn when I run but I do know that the more miles I run, the more food I need.

Not just because I am hungry, but because my muscles need fuel to rebuild, recover and get stronger.

My body also requires more food (and sometimes more food more often), in order to keep the rest of me functioning beyond just being able to run.

Like hello, organs and hormones need to function too, not just your leg muscles.

I am super diligent when it comes to refueling within thirty minutes following my run and make sure to throw in more of every ingredient when I up my mileage or feel extra hungry.

The usual post-run oatmeal in a jar with plain greek yogurt, berries and peanut butter with a side of clementine.

Over time I have noticed that long runs and hard runs (like races or speedwork) create a stronger craving in me for sweet, simple and easy to digest meals, specifically oatmeal and peanut butter.

When lunch rolls around and I am in one of those moods, as was the case over the weekend, I don’t care at all that I am missing vegetables or that I already had oatmeal and peanut butter before and after my run.

I just see no point in forcing down a salad or chick pea concoction if my body and mind are asking for something else.

I took a portion of cold (precooked and stored in the refrigerator) oatmeal and mixed it together with lots of berries, one organic egg plus two whites and then heated it all up in the microwave for two minutes.

It turns out like a baked oatmeal but more on the mushier side since the oats are cooked and not baked in an oven.

I topped it off with every kind of peanut butter I had in the pantry and the Off The Farm Superfood Energy Cereal for some more texture, crunch and nutrients.

I was so satisfied and happy, I can’t begin to tell you. Had I made myself a salad or something silly savory, I know I wouldn’t have felt so satisfied at that particular moment.

That’s not to say that yesterday I didn’t want my plant-based power bowl for lunch because I did.

My mom always says that I am a lot like I was as a baby in terms of my appetite – needing to eat every two hours, cranky if I am hungry yet it always seemed as though she just finished feeding me when I was ready to eat again.

But that’s okay. They say that a good metabolism will leave you hungry and looking for food every few hours.

I get hungry often and need to eat often and I don’t care what time it is or when I last ate, if I am hungry just feed me.

I never kept my son on a nursing schedule. If he was fussy and nothing else settled him down, I fed him. Who was I decide he had enough or that he was full? How was I to know how much milk he really got and even if I did know—who was I to assume that  the “six ounces” was sufficient to meet his needs at the time?

And, like babies, sometimes things upset our tummies. Sometimes food makes us, dare I say, gassy, uncomfortable and bloated.

Sometimes what sat just fine in our belly yesterday just isn’t going to work today.

Like fresh produce lately.

I need a break. Roasting fresh broccoli or even a combo of fresh vegetables have been bothering my stomach and leaving me uncomfortable.

Fresh vegetables are tough to digest, require a lot of energy to break down. The digestion process has been leaving me uncomfortable and slowing me down after dinner.

I have switched to cooking with frozen vegetables this week and it makes a huge difference on my digestion. Frozen vegetables are softer and easier to digest. They may not taste the same as fresh roasted but they can be good in their own way.

Stiry-fry with brown rice, chick peas and avocado.

My first word as a baby was “yum yum” after having a cookie.

I will always want dessert and will forever emotionally eat my holidays and celebrations in the form of something sweet.

Sometimes I go days without deviating from my favorite peanut butter cup apples  at night but then there’s that craving for a sundae.

Like babies, we like to assume our last meal for the night will suffice until morning. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it doesn’t.

Each day is different.

Be sure to check out what everyone else is eating today!

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Do you always wake up super hungry?

If you are/were a nursing mom, did you keep your baby on a schedule or did you feed on demand?

What have you been eating for lunch lately?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Never Sleep Again

Shh. Don’t make any noise because we can’t have the birthday boy wake up before I have made his birthday cake pancakes.

Do I even want to discuss that my baby is eleven?

Two more years and we have a Bar Mitzvah on our hands? How did that happen?

I will forever say that I didn’t sign up to be single mom but you know what? It’s all okay.

This little boy and I are the best of buddies and have been since day one.

Our bond was probably made even stronger after the divorce which technically made us our own little family yet I will never rely on him as the man in my life.

I make it a point to raise him to be independent of me and really, me of him.

Although he has made for a terrific dining partner ever since he was two weeks old and the doctor said it was okay if  I exposed him to restaurants and ice cream parlors, I do make it a point to encourage him to go out with his friends and spend as much time with his dad as possible whenever he wants even if it means I am home without plans of my own.

And I must be doing something right because recently he even told me that should I never remarry, I don’t have to worry about living alone when I am older because I can come live with him and his family.

His future wife is going to be so thrilled about that arrangement.

I considered doing one of those posts like “11 Things I Have Learned As A Mom” or “11 Things My Son Has Taught Me” when in reality, there is only one major thing I have learned since October 6, 2003….

You never sleep the same again after having a baby.

At first it is because babies are up all night looking to nurse and torture you with that insatiable screaming sound while all you want is to sleep for one hour straight.

DO NOT let this sleeping face fool you. The kid was a monster, especially during those first few weeks. His eyes were closed in that Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Bouncy Seat completely by accident.

As they get out of the infant stage, you are one part asleep one part awake because you live by the sounds of the baby monitor analyzing each and every breath, sigh, cry, hiccup, half happy sound/half about freak out and scream along with the noise which is made when they are trying to climb out.

You do get to a point where they are sleeping through the night but it’s so quiet that you are up wondering if someone has stolen them out of their crib even though the house alarm is set and the baby’s room is on the second floor.

You can’t rid yourself of the image of a bad guy somehow bypassing the alarm and climbing a ladder up the front of your house and through the window so you must get up to check that all is okay.

Please tell me you had these thoughts too.

 

And when you see that no one has broken into your house and that your baby is really asleep, you then check to ensure they are breathing.

As they get older you sleep with one eye open because at any moment someone will be coming in to tell you they are just up to go to the bathroom, up because their ear hurts or you are on alert to hear someone about to vomit on the carpet and you need to go running with the bucket.

And the one time you by accident fall into a good sleep?  It’s like they have radar because they come marching in a minute after you hit the  REM cycle which is so much worse than having not slept at all.

I mean, you can’t even sit down to rest at all until the countdown to bedtime is complete and you know that you have tucked them in for the evening.

We have now reached the point however in his tween life where I tell him I am the one done for the night and march myself into my bed which allows him to put himself in his bed when he is ready.

This was a lovely concept until the night when I heard that darn basketball bouncing around the den while I was trying to watch Kardashians from under my covers even though I said no ball playing the house.

This makes me insane in case you are wondering.

And if I manage to fall asleep without anyone interrupting me or worrying that someone stole him from his bed?

I wake up because I am the one who has to use the bathroom and then I decide it’s time to start to worry about the days which are fast approaching where he will be out with his friends actually driving cars themselves and I will have to wait up. holding my breath until the second he walks back in the door.

Don’t even get me started on the fact that ten years from this very morning, my baby will be 21, most likely not home for birthday pancakes and oh my goodness, probably first arriving to wherever he calls home (or OMG some girl’s dorm room or something) after a night of birthday drinking.

I think I need to stop this thought process and switch over to happy thoughts….like cake.

The first ever cake in honor of the birth of my baby boy which I barely remember eating because I was that sleep deprived.

You can be sure I will enjoy tonight’s custom-ordered birthday cake which I can’t wait to show you once I pick it up later this afternoon.

Fingers crossed that all of my crazy cake details and requests are understood by the cake maker.

The best thing about all this birthday reminiscing is that I have a ton of cute pictures all ready for the Bar Mitzvah party montage.

Time to go make the pancakes…Have a great Monday!

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If you have children, were your kids up all night as babies?

Can you guess where I ordered the birthday cake from?

Best dessert you had all weekend?

How Pregnancy and Motherhood Affected My Running Routine

 

 

Today let’s talk a little bit about how pregnancy and motherhood affected my running routine.

Even if you don’t have kids or are past this point in your life, it’s worth reading along anyway.

I didn’t run while I was pregnant.

As you know from last week’s post, running did not become my fitness first love or priority until a few years ago.

I did however go to the gym five days a week for years and then attempted to keep up that fitness routine while I was pregnant.

They say you can maintain your activity level while pregnant as your body is already used to your fitness routine so long as you go by how you feel and make adjustments as your baby continues to grow in your belly.

Once I found out I was pregnant, I quickly stopped doing sit ups.  I stuck to thirty minutes on the elliptical machine or treadmill as my main form of exercise.

One morning at the gym before work (maybe I was eight weeks along?) the smell inside the locker room nearly killed me. Pregnancy hormones will do this to you.

I got myself out of that gym as fast as possible in order to take a shower at home. I was late for work (I am never late!)  but staying alive was more important than being on time that day. The stop at the bagel store for an egg sandwich was pretty important too.

I didn’t step foot inside a gym again for a good three years.

I always thought I would maintain my fitness routine while pregnant but my body told me otherwise.

I had a fairly easy pregnancy (aside from a bout with bed rest at 28 weeks) but I was nauseous a whole bunch in the beginning. I was exhausted by the end of the work day and as my belly got bigger, my back hurt too. Trying to function just to complete daily tasks was not easy.

When I felt well, which was really most of the time, I kept up my usual morning exercise routine by going for a walk before work. I also went for daily walks during my lunch break. Those lunch break walks often included a stop at TCBY for a shake on the walk back to work but hey, I was pregnant and hungry.

I still don’t know what I weighed or gained during my pregnancy since I never looked at the scale but I absolutely enjoyed myself. From what I now understand,  I gained at least the recommended 35 pounds (I asked the doctor afterwards if I met that amount) which all came off within the first year and then some.

My father only wanted to get me a treadmill right before my son was born so that I would be able to get back into my fitness routine without leaving the house.

But I didn’t want it.

I didn’t want a treadmill in my house because I didn’t need it staring at me each day as a reminder that I couldn’t find thirty minutes to walk or run on it.

I knew that having a treadmill in my house would make me feel guilty for collapsing into my bed at night, for choosing to shower for more than twenty seconds when I could or sitting down to eat when possible rather than use that time to squeeze in a treadmill run.

Some people can use their exercise equipment as a clothing rack but I knew that I couldn’t.

I would have viewed that treadmill as a responsibility and when you have a baby, the last thing you need is another responsibility.

Taking care of an infant is grueling. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you.

The first six weeks after pregnancy you aren’t even allowed to exercise because your body needs to recover. Your hormones need to stabilize, wounds need to heal and all that recovery requires some rest too. I never got around to that rest part.

My form of exercise was to simply survive taking care of a baby.

Just carrying that car seat, taking the stroller in and out of the car multiple times a day and getting through a 24 hour period was a daily marathon.

At the six-week mark, I did try to return to a fitness routine at home where I did sit ups and free weights but honestly, I was petrified about the lactic acid getting into my milk which was known to make a nursing baby fussy.

Trust me, I didn’t need another variable thrown into the mix as to why my baby was crying, screaming, fussing and up all night long.

Aside from driving, nursing was the only time I was able to sit down. Luckily, those rest moments were actually burning calories and tightening my stomach muscles. You know, you burn on average 500 calories a day just from nursing.

I didn’t belong to the gym anymore or schedule daily workout sessions but I sure did a lot of walking. We were always somewhere, always on a walk in the neighborhood or through a mall.

I did have a jogging stroller but I think I bought it for the entertaining steering wheel thing rather than for its ability to help me run.

I honestly thought that the friendly dashboard would keep the kid humored and quiet <—new mother who knew nothing.

Nowadays they have fitness programs for moms called Stroller Strides.

I totally recommend this program and would have signed up for those sessions but really, I did those strides on my own everyday.

Key point here: You do not need to pay to attend a structured stroller fitness group to get moving.

Simply strapping your baby in safely and heading outside for a walk (or run) or even just walking the malls endlessly like I did is all you need.

Setting out for thirty minutes a day of stroller walking is enough to get the endorphins flowing, blood pumping, muscles working and hopefully, a baby sleeping.

Stroller walking is exercise. If you can run with the stroller, even better.

I learned rather quickly that the journey of motherhood means your life isn’t all that your own anymore.

You even have to share your ice cream.

I was a stay-at-home mom and wouldn’t trade it for the world but it wasn’t easy.

My husband worked beyond full-time so it was all on me, especially as a nursing mother. Let’s not get into my son not taking a bottle.

Those infant and toddler stages, the moments where your children need you every second are so short-lived and part of me knew that.

I chose to use the short breaks of time that I had to myself to get my nails done or go food shopping alone rather than head to a gym or out for a run.

I always figured that once I sent my son to preschool, I would rejoin the gym and have some regularly scheduled time to devote to my fitness routine again.

I also knew that I had to balance that return to the gym with knowing there would be days I couldn’t get there.

Days on end where my son would be sick which would keep us homebound.

Days where it would snow and driving us both to the gym just so I could take a kick boxing class or use the elliptical machine was not worth it.

Days where he would be off from school and sending him to the gym babysitting room wouldn’t fit into our schedule.

I may not have been as fit as I am now but I was able to carry a baby in one hand, groceries in the other and somehow unlock the front door.

I could change a messy diaper on the fly and had the strength to somehow get my son who refused to bend when it was time to get into a stroller all buckled in.

I could give him a bath and wash his hair all while he insisted on standing yet unable to stand on his own which meant I had to hold him steady.

If you want to know the truth, the strength I had back then far surpasses my running endurance now.

I swear I don’t know how I did it all, all day long and then into the night to only start over again in the morning.

I would like to have another baby one day. I don’t know that I will but I do often think about it and wonder how I would handle things this time.

Running is my thing. I look forward to it each day (well, not every day since one needs a break but I hate those breaks because then I miss my run) but if I were pregnant, would I be able to keep it up this time?

Would I jump out the door six weeks post-partum?

Would my stroller walks be more like stroller runs?

I really don’t know.

I read many a blog about pregnant runners and mothers of young children running pretty regularly and even running races.

I have a feeling that if I were a new mom, reading those blogs would make me feel guilty for all of those days where the last thing I thought about was being able to run.

I found this picture in a photo album last night – I clearly wore my running shoes but the only running they saw was through Chuck E. Cheese.

I don’t think I would trade any of those runs through Chuck E Cheese for the world.

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Did you keep up your fitness routine while pregnant?

Nursing moms- has exercised affected your milk supply?

Anyone ever try Stroller Strides?

Do blogs ever make you feel guilty or feel as though you need to run/workout more than you already are?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Head Out of the Sand

My run yesterday morning started out terrible. That first mile felt like forever.

My legs were screaming to stop. But I didn’t stop. NOPE.

You see, I know the difference in the kind of screams that come from my legs. Sometimes the screams are legitimate and need to be listened to immediately.

And then sometimes, my legs give out a cry simply because they need to get into their groove and would feel just fine after a few minutes.

Kinda like infants, toddlers and all children as they grow up: There is a difference in their cry.

I learned this when the little boy was a baby.

The kid was a monster I tell you. And I can comfortably announce this to the world because I openly tell him quite often that he was a true monster and oh so hard to deal with during those first few months of his life.

You see what I mean about the balls? He has been aiming for me since he learned to grasp.

He cried, screamed, made sounds I can’t even describe in words just because it was what he did the second I gave birth to him, even when nothing was wrong and there was nothing I could do for him.

As parents we cannot run to every sound our kids make. There is a difference in their sounds. Some cries are for hunger, some cries signify true attention is necessary and then there are those cries that are cried just because they feel like it and want attention.

We need to know the difference in these sounds otherwise our kids learn that if they cry, we shall come.

Same applies to our legs: if we cave in to every single little wimper they give, they will never learn to adapt to running.

I learned this  lesson the hard way with the little boy. I think I ran to him way too quickly just because I didn’t want him to cry-  I didn’t  like listening to it and didn’t realize that if you leave them for an extra minute (assuming they are in a safe place), nothing will happen.

It took me time to learn which sounds to ignore – especially the ones that came at night. All night long.

Ironically enough though, I always had a knack for ignoring things. Head in the sand if you will.

I don’t often discuss my divorce on this blog but it happened and it was very real and not pretty.

There are times in life where things go wrong and need to be dealt with, and for me, when my divorce was looming, my head stayed nicely in the sand where ignorance can be beautiful bliss.

I think for some the head in the sand approach is a coping mechanism. Which is fine for a bit I guess but eventually, and sooner rather than later, one must pull themselves out from the icky sand and deal.

I have learned since then that dealing with life’s unpleasantness, as hard as it is, can actually help you learn some wonderful lessons, growing stronger from the experiences which can only help shape your future in a positive manner.

Currently I have a close friend going through a bit of a health scare. I am one of the few people she will discuss it with in detail because I am easy to talk to and keep the convo light YET REAL.

We joke that our discussions about the health issue  are conducted with our heads OUT of the sand.

We use the “C’ word often in the conversation rather than avoid it like the plague. We discuss all of the scenarios rather than pretend it may be “nothing”.

Deep down I am pretty sure this is simply a scare and hopeful that it will turn out to be nothing, but, in the case that it isn’t “nothing” at least we didn’t turn a blind eye or keep our head in the sand regarding the real negative possibilities.

I guess my point today people is that life has many ups and downs, signs, signals and situations.

True strength comes from learning how to decipher what we can blissfully ignore and what we need to deal with standing upright.

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If you have kids, did you run to every sound they made?

Did you let them cry at night in an attempt to get them to learn to sleep?

Do you consider yourself a “head in the sand” type of person?