The Very Last First Time (To Race)

           I've only been training for the last 3 years. Today marked my very first 5K, and it was awesome.  I never really wanted to run alone, so I was stoked when Mary (our 11 year old) decided to train for the 5K starting a couple of months ago.  A new friend I made tipped me off to the Queen's Romp race just in time for us to get a discounted entrance fee and for Mary to train. One of the fun parts of the race was custom making tutus to wear during the race and seeing all the crazy get-ups people were wearing (my personal favorite was the woman who was wearing a stuffed flamingo hat).The weather was perfect,  even though it was supposed to rain. Thank you, God, for hearing our prayers!
           I thought I'd have the upper hand since I've been training longer; but a little after the halfway point, Mary took off down a hill (Charles informed me that the correct terminology for this is that she went into "beast mode"). I was happy for her to beat me soundly. Her time was 28:49, putting her in 4th for the 15 and under age category (and 40th out of 977 runners). My time was 29:17, putting me in 8th place for my age group ( 44th out of 977 runners).
         I didn't win any medals, but I met my goal of running it in less than 30 minutes and running the entire time. My mom came to watch and Charles kept the other 4 kiddos in line while I raced. It was so sweet to see Mr. Blue Eyes in his daddy's arms stretching out his little arms to me at the finish line.
           Most of all, I'm grateful to have the company of my sweet first baby, Mary, to run with (and at the end of it all, to try to catch)! I've had people try to say that I'm a runner (since I regularly run), but it didn't feel right somehow. Now that I've done a real race, I actually feel like a runner. It may have been my very last first time, but it won't be my last race.
        

Five New Things I Learned the Fifth Time Around

             I've been in the baby stage of mothering since 2002, but I still keep learning more about myself and children. Here's a few things a that even I didn't know until the last year.
           1) You can run during pregnancy safely. With a little research and encouragement from fellow runners, I ran up until the day before I went into labor. I had to slow down. (I ran at 5.3 mph at the beginning of my pregnancy; and in my third trimester, I had to slow down to 4.5 mph). I hate running,  but I loved the energy I had during my pregnancy.  I felt fantastic!  I had barely any swelling, and I had cravings for more proteins than carbs...which meant a more balanced diet for my little one. In the previous two pregnancies, I had gained around 35-37 lbs. This time around I gained 24 lbs. I wondered if this would effect the baby's size, but my fifth weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. (making him my biggest baby so far)
           2) Homebirth's are awesome and much safer than is generally believed.  I was surprised to find out how many precautions they take with homebirths...all the way from having IV fluids and emergency drugs available to the intensive history and listening for any signs of distress. I would have a homebirth again in a heartbeat...if there were a sixth time around.
           3) Olive oil is great for newborn bottoms. Every time I had bought some thick gunky diaper rash cream because the first poo (meuconium) stuck to the skin and caused horrible irritation. I was told by my midwife to simply apply olive oil after each diaper change with a cotton ball, and viola, the poo doesn't stick...which means it's easily wiped off...which means zero diaper rash. Super natural and effective!
             4) Washclothes are essential for baby boy diaper changes. Instead of getting peed on, the washcloth will take the brunt and save your shirt. It didn't seem to matter how recently he'd peed, he always was ready to fire. After the first couple of months, he stopped being so dangerous.
              5) Babies don't need constant bathing. I had no idea that the white coating (vernix caseosa) would actually be helpful. We never washed it off but rubbed it into his skin as our midwife suggested. Instead of having the nasty peeling skin (that all my other babies went through at a week out), his skin was all soft and sweet-smelling. Our midwife explained that it is like awesome baby lotion that protects the skin while in utero and also will protect them after birth. I swear his spit up just wiped off so much better...like natural Rain-X. (Ok, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point.) I also found that sponge baths were completely sufficient for most days. Once a week after the cord healed, I gave him a complete bath making sure to scrub his head with a gentle brush to keep the cradle cap at bay. I did miss brushing a part of his forehead with a small patch of hair...when it started turning yellow like a week old bruise, I gave it a good brushing too. Although he needed his neck area washed a lot due to all his spitting up, he didn't need a full bath every other day (which was the regiment I had imposed on all of the previous four babies from the day they had come home from the hospital).

           This may be my fifth child, but it is my first boy. My mother-in-law used to talk about how good of a baby my hubby was. My newest child is a real chip off the old block. He is the most easy-going, low maintenance baby ever. I can't imagine any girl ever finding him less than that...but I'm sure she'll be tempted to once she's married.  When I pray for his future spouse, I ask that God will give him a woman that will love him and truly appreciate him, who will encourage him and enjoy his adventures along side him. This makes me reflective about how I respond to my adventuring partner. Am I enjoying the journey that we are on together? When I look into my sons eyes, I can see his father, and it makes my love and appreciation for both of them grow even more. The gift of a fresh perspective has been the greatest blessing the fifth time around.

What have you learned in the past year?

Eye On It

            This morning while I ran, I listened to one of my favorite CD's: Toby Mac's "Eye On It".  All the songs on the CD are awesome to run to except for one track, but I can rant about that in another post. The lyrics from the title song encourage me a lot because it talks about the importance of keeping your eye on your goal. It says," I got my eye on it, and I will not quit. I got a new passenger to help me navigate the way, So when my heart hits the floor I can recalibrate. I feel the deeper callin' me, all else is fadin' in the past, So let me run in the race that I know is built to last. 'Cause I can feel the wind at my back. Chest is pumpin' like a heart attack. Feet are moving and my mind is locked. Pressing on I gotta take my shot. I got my eye on it."           

          This morning, I reflected on this past week, and all that we accomplished. We prepared the house for six showings. The only minor hitch was that my one daughter's bowels invariably need to empty whenever we are at the park during a showing, but my potty stashed under the back bench of our van has been quite handy...we've just had to endure the smell on the trip home. Yesterday, we found that our favorite park just got a port-a-potty. Hooray!  That won't even be a problem anymore. I was tempted yesterday to feel whiny about one couple that delayed us from going home. I needed to drop off the pooch, so we could do some grocery shopping. I felt irritated that they were taking so long looking at the house; but when I stopped to think that maybe they were there so long because they really liked it, I felt hopeful instead of annoyed. Our goal is to sell our house as quickly as possible,  so being flexible is important.                   

          This past week, I completed another goal. My continuing education is all done for the next two years. I will give you one pearl of wisdom that I gleaned concerning cirrhosis of the liver. If you're  drinking more than seven drinks a week, ladies, you had best be drinking some espresso as well.

           Although we haven't successfully negotiated a house contract in Kansas in the past week, we have made progress in ruling out more homes. Hopefully,  we will have news to share concerning that within a couple of days. It has been a long time without being together as a family,  but I can see the finish line ahead in that regard as well. I'm grateful to my hubby for driving to see us every weekend since May 20th (except for one). That has been a huge sacrifice on his part, but we need his presence. Our three year old counts down the days on the calendar every week. You should hear all the girls holler when they see him pulling down our drive. It's one of my high points for the whole week.

          This leg of our race feels like it's coming to a close. My hubby's assistance with temporary housing is up on August 20th. With the finish line looming ahead, there is a new surge of energy within me. We're so close.  I can't help but want to sprint to the finish!

Back In The Saddle

       Two weeks ago, I started running again. When my youngest saw me, I had expected her to cry and whine about how hungry she was. Instead, her face broke out into a huge smile. It was as if that piece of normalcy reassured her that life would indeed go on just like it did before we had a baby. Our baby wouldn't always be in my arms, trumping her needs. Mommy was still the same mommy despite the bloodshot eyes and slightly shorter fuse.
            I'd be lying if I said that transitioning from four kids to five is easy. Adding a new child is always challenging, and it takes a while to find your new rhythm. Eventually, some of the familiarity returns. Thursday night was the first night in more than two weeks that I've been in bed before 10:00pm. I feel rested this morning for the first time in a long time. Perhaps the bags under my eyes will be going away soon? Other things never go back to "normal"...there are no longer any extra seats in our vehicles when we all ride as one family. Yikes!
          We have celebrated two birthdays this week, back to back  (Tuesday and Wednesday). I now have a three year old and a five year old. Our five year enjoyed a large birthday party complete with aunts and uncles, grandparents, and twenty plus friends last Saturday. It went well considering the circumstances, although present time was a little crazy. Several presents were opened before the cards, and a couple times I had to ask the gift giver to identify themselves. I confess that I found a couple of cards yesterday when I was vacuuming. Oops!
         The one present I had managed to purchase for our five year old to unwrap at her party was wrapped in tissue paper because I had zero birthday wrapping paper (and I didn't have a gift bag large enough for a scooter). I almost copied my ingenious friend who uses newspaper as wrapping paper, but unfortunately the newspaper was downstairs. I was was holed up in my closet upstairs with guests actually arriving on-time while I was still wrapping...so I used tissue paper. Our five year old was thrilled with the scooter.  She didn't care about the lack of real wrapping paper. Then, I felt badly when I realized Monday night that each of the girls only had one present to unwrap for their birthday (they only had that one because my hubby had gone shopping). The lack of presents was easily remedied though by a trip to Target on our five year old's birthday where she picked out the present she really wanted...a bubble machine. Our three year old was equally thrilled to pick out a couple of presents a day early, helping her accept all the attention her sister was getting. I was concerned their birthday wouldn't feel special to them, but they seemed to enjoy this unexpected twist on our normal celebration.
          Thursday, the doctor's office felt crowded with five children in a tiny room...and following the appointment, we had three different prescriptions to pick up for three different conditions--diaper rash, pink eye, and strep throat. I just kept thinking over and over how glad I was that the two highly contagious ones hadn't made their rounds through all five children. We had to make several trips around Walgreens, going through the McDonald's drive-thru and getting gas, in order to keep the baby asleep and still allow them enough time to fill all the prescriptions.
        Also instead of bemoaning the fact that I was late to our appointment, I celebrated that I was ONLY seven minutes late. I know exactly how much effort it took to get everyone fed, dressed, and out the door at 9am with a newborn. If I'm under ten minutes late, I will take it as a little victory. If I am actually on time somewhere, I will expect to see pigs flying by my car.
       Some things have changed, but some things remain the same. It's been 24 hours since we started the antibiotics, so please pass me the "Basic G". It's time to shoot some germs. Mama's back in the saddle again...although I may fall out from time to time.
        

Treading Softly

                Tomorrow will mark the first day of my 37^th week of pregnancy, and I’m excited that I’m to the point where I can have a baby at home.  The last two weeks I have been acutely aware of the fact that if I were to go into labor no one would stop me.  I also would be unable to have a home birth, so I have been slightly more cautious than usual.  I have also noticed in the past two weeks that I have a ton more contractions.  I sometimes wake up from them in the middle of the night. This past week, I began drinking raspberry tea (for uterine toning).  I love it!  I also started drinking Shepherd’s purse tea.  I don’t love it, but it is supposed to help with hemorrhaging after the baby is born.  There are many days that I don’t feel like running too, and still I continue to do that because of how much easier my pregnancy has been so far.  I guess drinking this tea is similar to that.  My oldest smelled the tea a few days ago, and said, “It smells just like asparagus!”  I’m not a huge fan of asparagus, but I don’t mind having it fresh from the garden.  Now I think of asparagus while I drink the tea.  My next oldest smelled it yesterday and said, “It doesn’t smell like asparagus; it smells just like a squished caterpillar.”  I refuse to think about squashed bugs while I drink my tea.  Asparagus is as far as I will go.  If you are reading this blog and know any tricks to making the tea more palatable please leave me a comment.  I have found that adding lemon to it tastes really horrible (I love lemon with my asparagus, so I thought why not try adding it to my “asparagus tea”).  Trust me…don’t try it!

                I have continued running, but during week 35 of my pregnancy I became a little discouraged.  I usually run 30 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  On Wednesday of that week, I had back to back contractions after 20 minutes of running.  I chose to walk till I hit 30 minutes.  That was the first time I had that many contractions during running.  I wasn’t too worried though because all of the issues that have caused me to stop running during pregnancy (which has happened 3 or 4 times) resolve before the next time I run.  However, when I started running on Friday, it didn’t feel right.  I felt out of breath which is clearly not good for the baby, and I stopped after just five minutes.  I felt a little defeated.  My original midwife instructed me that instead of just looking at the heart rate I had during exercise that I should look at how I was feeling.  If I was able to easily talk during running, then it was fine to continue running.  That Friday, I wondered if I had just reached the point in my pregnanc y where I just wouldn’t be able to run anymore.  I pondered it all weekend, and this Monday I tried something a little different.  I tried slowing my pace down, and guess what?  It worked.  I can still run, and sing my heart out.  Small adjustments can make all the difference.

                I don’t love running.  However, this is what I’ve learned in this pregnancy.  I didn’t feel tired my first trimester at all--save one or two days. I’m not anywhere near as fatigued at the end of my pregnancy as I was with the other four pregnancies.  I can still make my weekly trip to Wal-mart without losing my breath or feeling like I have to sit down afterward.  I used to feel exhausted just going from side to side while putting clean sheets on my bed.  I can even still run up my stairs. I’ve also noticed the swelling that I sometimes have in my ankles completely disappears after I run.  This makes running totally worth it to me; so I will continue to run on my treadmill, just a little slower and softer than I started out.