Exercise

This past week I made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight! That is very exciting, although, I must say that I did not expect those last few pounds to be so difficult to lose. I only gained about 20 pounds overall with Trafton and when I came home from the hospital, I had eight more to go. A few came off quickly, but then the last five or so just lingered forever. Everyone told me that breastfeeding would help the weight come off, but I have to disagree. My appetite has never been so strong as it is now that I am breastfeeding. Hmmm . . . maybe that'll start to change now that Trafton is working on some solid foods. Anyway, I wasn't even this hungry when I was pregnant!

At my 6 week check-up over the summer, the doctor cleared me to begin running again. I had stopped running about a year prior to getting pregnant, due to knee injuries, and began working out at a gym (nowhere near as good as running!). I saw a physical therapist last summer prior to getting pregnant and he told me three things: you're 30, not everyone is meant to run, and you should really just take up biking and forget about running. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed that this health professional had absolutely no faith in me getting back into my running routine. He did continue to treat me, though, but I never made it back to running before I found out we were expecting a baby.

I started running in July, six weeks after Trafton's birth, hoping that things would just work out and I would be able to run again. I began using the Galloway Method which is running for five minutes and walking for one. Daniel uses this and has had great success and no knee pain at all! This method is supposed to help with body mechanics and reduce soreness. I ran for ten minutes and it was horrible. I felt like I forgot how to run as crazy as that sounds. Honestly, I was just sad. I felt so out of sorts and heavy and jiggly, it was just awful. Then I came home to do a few exercises like I always used to after a run only to find that I couldn't even do one crunch. Whew - talk about wanting to give up! Thank goodness I stuck with it - much gratitude to my supportive husband:) I added about a half mile to my run every two weeks, using the Galloway Method, and here I am 18 weeks later running my target distance of four miles, doing multiple crunches afterward, and feeling great! I did feel a good deal of knee pain and sought the help of another physical therapist. She was WONDERFUL! She was extremely encouraging and fully confident that there was no reason I shouldn't be able to run four miles a few times a week. After six visits with her, my knees are doing very well. (If you need a PT in the Bloomsburg area, let me know to be sure you don't see the first guy I went to!)

Although I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I am still not fitting into many clothes that I wore just before I got pregnant. I guess things move around and all during childbirth, though, so I can't complain about that! I am also considerably more flabby, but I guess that happens, too :) Still, I feel really good and I feel strong again. I did gain about ten pounds in the year that I stopped running before getting pregnant - maybe that'll come off, too, now that I am running again?!

Here's what we look like when we head out on the town for our runs.

I got this covering for the infant seat for the colder runs, but Trafton doesn't really like it. Here he is with it all tucked in around his head (it should be up and around like a little wind protector) and trying to get some of it into his mouth to suck on. Luckily, he forgets to not like it once we get about five/ten minutes into the run and he falls asleep. He doesn't usually wake up until the cart stops moving and we're home.

Here we are about to head out one morning. Trafton is so bundled, you can't even see his little head. I don't think any of my running clothes actually match - so funny :)