drcarolynee - finding the answers to health and happiness
Star was a prolific traveller as a baby. By the time she was two she had been on some nineteen (return) flights. Once she hit two we got her a Frequent Flyer card! Here’s where she went during her first twelve months: (flying out of …
It’s been hot so I’ve been doing treadmill runs, and Owl has been unsettled so I hop on the treadmill for 20 minutes, run like mad and then rush back home. Five 2.5-3km runs in a week and I started getting a bit of back …
I have a confession to make. I didn’t run much in my second pregnancy. The first time around, I prided myself on being able to run right up til 28 weeks. Not so this time! I was heavier and showed much earlier (at nine weeks). I ran about 6 times, perhaps 8. Fatigue followed me right up til 20 weeks. I just didn’t feel right when I ran.
Amazingly, my energy levels are so much higher now even though my sleep is broken. But because I had another Caesarian section, I’ve got to wait until around 12 weeks for my first run.
I started doing Kegels and abdominal exercises a few days after Owl was born. On day 6 I took my daughter to her daycare centre – about 400m away. It was a somewhat ginger and slow experience, but since then, short walks around the block have been easy, and today (3 weeks) I went for a longer walk.
I was delighted to find that I’m doing exactly what’s recommended in this Runner’s World Guide to getting back to running after pregnancy. This week, I’m to keep walking and add some strength training (planks). Next week, cross-training and more strength training. Hopefully Owl will keep sleeping at night and allow me to focus on getting back to running. My goal: a Half marathon by July 2014.
Well if I didn’t do pregnancy very well the second time, I certainly did motherhood well – the first two weeks anyway. Owl (number 2) slept all day and mostly all night for the first week and a half. I don’t remember Star (number 1) …
I am thankfully writing this in retrospect. I didn’t realise how difficult the second pregnancy would be. Looking after a toddler, juggling home and work, and generally being a few years older took its toll. I had few symptoms in my first pregnancy (apart from …
We don’t have any babysitters unless Mum comes to stay with us. So if we want to have a meal outside, Star needs to come with! We’ve developed a kind of radar for the places that are kid-friendly, but, you know, the ones that aren’t overrun by prams. Chinese restaurants aren’t bad because the noise drowns out the sound of your toddler banging on the table with the chopsticks. I’ve started a list of my favourite places, check it out at Thatwelike.com
While idly surfing the web on my iPhone during a Graduate Research orientation day I came across some great blogs including this wonderful blog by a fellow PhD Mum. In it she talks about blogging while her child sleeps in the car, doing the “baby …
I am in a position where I can compare the experience of being a graduate research student pre and post children. Star was born three weeks after I submitted my Masters thesis. She was eight months when I returned to research. Undoubtedly, the experience is …
I’m starting to really enjoy maternity leave. Three-month-old babies are sociable, cuddly, delightful, and mostly over the crying stage. I’ve gained some confidence and experience and am now able to go with the flow a lot more. My baby brings me so much pleasure every day and even though being a mum can be very hard work and the nights are still challenging, I’m beginning to enjoy so much more of it.
I finished working on a thesis just before I went on maternity leave. I was thirty-four weeks pregnant when I submitted it for examination. The examiner’s comments have come back and as expected I will have to trawl through my thesis and make the changes that they want done. As I contemplated this daunting task, a huge part of me just didn’t want to give up my time with my baby. Am I getting into the mummy groove finally, or am I stuck in a mummy rut? What do you think?
Before I had a baby, I had things under control. I went to work at a certain time and returned home (mostly) within a certain time. I cooked dinner several nights a week. I paid my bills, did my taxes, caught up with friends, wrote …
