2 Months old and 2 "Races" in!
A typical day:
My days are fairly routine. Cade usually goes to bed for the night around 10:30 after nursing. He usually wakes up around 1:00am or 2:00am looking for more food. If I am lucky he sleeps until 5, but it can vary between 4 and 5am. After the 5am nursing, I cross my fingers that he will sleep until 8/9am, but again, you never know and it’s usually 7:30am. He sleeps the best and for the longest stretches if we are holding him. Some mornings I will just stay in his room and hold him in the recliner to get some extra sleep.
Once he is awake at 8/9 is when he is ready for his daily routine and is a bit more awake. After he nurses we have “awake time”. He will go on his bouncer, or his swing, or we play on his mat and do some tummy time.
He has grown up a lot and it is amazing seeing his development. He coos and talks to us a lot more during this time and has the ability to be content on his own, checking out the world, which also allows me do some much needed tasks (as quickly as possible because I nurse him every 2.5-3 hours...)- eating, cleaning my pumping supplies, laundry, getting dressed etc.
The day continues in this same process. Usually after lunch I put him in his car seat to do something in the afternoon. He sleeps well in his car seat, so we either take a drive to do errands or I put him in the stroller for a walk or a jog. The day he turned 2 months we went for his first jog in the jogger.
I am super glad I have the freedom to run with him during the day, if I can’t get any other workout in. One day I walked him to the Huntley park district where they have a “workout park” and was able to do some strength.
The walk there put him to sleep and I was able to get in a small workout before walking home.
If I don’t go out with Cade in the afternoon, he typically needs a solid nap by then. As I posted in my previous blog if he doesn’t sleep/nap he becomes over tired and a monster. I read that when babies don’t get the right sleep, their hormones go wacky and adrenaline is released. I believe it was the adrenaline that caused him to be inconsolable in those first few weeks. When we are putting him to sleep or down for a nap, we typically have to rock him until he goes to sleep. He will still fight the idea of taking a nap and will typically cry a little. Once he is asleep, we try to put him in his rock and play and cross our fingers he stays sleeping. Most of the time, he will only sleep for 30 minutes on his own, especially in the mornings. There are some days when he hasn’t slept well at all in the morning that I will hold him through his whole nap in the afternoon so that he is actually getting the sleep he needs. If I don’t hold him, then I would pay the price for a super crabby baby later. I am hoping that as he continues to grow up and get used to this routine it will become less and less that we have to hold him to sleep, but if that is the only way to get him his much needed sleep at this point, that is what we will do.
It is always super nice once Matt comes home to help with Cade. At night we try so hard to eat dinner together while he is napping, but it doesn’t always work out. Even though our new routine has been helping a lot in making Cade a happier baby, he still has his moments… So if Cade is crying, one of us has to hold him while the other eats and then we switch off. I’m sure this is typical for many couples, but it is annoying. We take that simple peace of eating with each other for granted. Matt and I continue to try and keep us first as much as we can. We always kiss each other first and last when saying hi and bye. We are always talking at night as much as we can. So often we start a TV show and then pause it minutes in to tend to Cade, then end up just having our own conversation with each other instead. We make a conscious effort to keep our relationship first which I think is crucial for our life, for an example to Cade, and for our own sanity. I do miss going to bed together at night though. Either I nurse Cade while Matt tries to go to sleep, or Matt will rock Cade until he falls asleep, but ends up falling asleep with him too. And then the process begins all over again.
My life isn’t glamorous but I am getting the hang of it all. Each day seems to be the same thing and yet completely different at the same time. You never know what you are going to get with him, and yet the idea of the routine is always the same. My mom and Matt’s mom have been generous with their time to come watch Cade. They will come and be with him to allow me to go and do a workout during the day. It has been fantastic to have a little break and feel a bit like me again. Plus, if I don't get it done earlier in the day, it is harder once Matt comes home to squeeze things in. So huge thanks and shout outs to the grandmas for that!
My first event back: Sprint Triathlon Relay with my Dad ON Father’s Day!
My dad’s 60th Birthday was in March. I decided I would sign us up for a sprint triathlon to do together as a relay to celebrate. He is always there to support me in all my competitions and I could tell deep down he’s always thought it would be cool to get in on the action. He doesn’t like to swim, so I knew dipping his toes gently with a part of the race that he feels comfortable with would be a good idea… I kind of forgot how hilly the bike course was at the time (sorry, Dad :)
I was excited to know that I would be just 2 months post-partum and that it would be a fun, light way to get back in to things- no pressure, all fun. My dad decided to come up a few days early to try out the course. We were both glad he did to get an idea of what to expect the day of the race.
Matt and my 5 year wedding anniversary was on the Friday of race weekend (and Cade also happened to be 2 months old that day- he is still a little nugget and wearing his newborn clothes in the 4th percentile for weight, 9 lbs 13 ounces. Super healthy though! Growing like a champ!).
I don’t know what it was but Cade decided to give us a 5 hour stretch that night! It was amazing. I woke up in the morning to nurse him and put him back to bed. When I crawled back in bed, I looked at Matthew and said, I feel like I got more sleep last night than I do before a triathlon and that I was too excited to sleep! :D He quickly advised that I take advantage of the time to sleep that we could and I went right back to bed for another couple hours.
The next night was the night before the race- which I in deed got a lot less sleep. I was looking forward to the evening because I had told Matt that he would have to take care of Cade and feed him with the bottles I had stored in the fridge. I would get up when I needed to pump. I thought I would have a great night sleep… wrong. I was getting my bag ready for the next day and nursed Cade at 10:30/11. I quickly regretted my decision because that put me getting into bed closer to 11:30. Then I had to get up and pump at 2:00am which meant I only would get about 1.5-2 hours left of sleep before I had to wake up to get ready. In total I probably got about 4 hours of disrupted sleep. I had to wake up earlier than I would have to pump again before leaving so that I hopefully wouldn’t be too full at the end of the race.
Matt got Cade ready in the morning and we were off. Matt didn’t want to miss the start of the race so as soon as we parked, he started to walk down to T1 with Cade in the stroller. I didn’t have to stop at T2 because of our relay situation, so my dad and I rode our bikes to T1 and got settled. It was a new experience doing a relay, so I felt like a first timer myself. Once Matt got to T1, he fed Cade while I waited for the swim start.
SWIM-
Because my dad and I were a relay, we were towards the back of the start. I wasn’t happy about having to be behind a bunch of other swimmers, but Matt told me to use it as practice and try and get more aggressive in the water. I wasn’t able to find someone to swim off of, and I really wasn’t aggressive like he wanted me to be, but it felt great to be back in the water in a race setting.
Heading out into the water you were going straight into the sun. I had a heck of a time sighting and just followed the splashing in front of me. Once we got to the first turn buoy my goggles had filled with water and I had to stop to empty them. The day before, they had also leaked, but I had tightened them and they seemed to be fine… guess not… Once I got ½ way on the back side of the course they leaked again and I stopped once more to empty my goggles. Once I made my way out of the water, I saw my watch read 11 minutes and change and I was pretty pleased with the time. The last turn buoy had drifted in a bit so the distance I had on my watch was .48 miles. As soon as I got out of the water I looked for my Dad waiting in transition. I took off my ankle chip and passed it along to him so that he could start his bike.
It was weird and yet awesome that once I gave him the chip I was able to just relax. My work for now was done. I took my time in transition; taking off my wetsuit, collecting my things, and going to change into dry clothes for the run portion. Longest, transition, EVER :)
Matt and I walked to T2 together because we knew we had time before my Dad would get back. As we walked we joked about how I would be able to see the Elite wave finish before I even started my run. The joke became real as we watched the winner of the race speed through the finish.
Run-
I waited in T2 for my Dad to wheel in. Once he arrived, I quickly got the timing chip and started my leisurely jog.
During my first jog with Cade, I had jogged my longest run in my “fastest” time to prepare for this run. Once I started the run I wanted to keep it in the 9’s for sure, but I wasn’t going to beat myself up over it either. I wanted to enjoy being there and the ability to move. As I got started I was surprised to see my paces. I felt really good. It felt easy. I wanted to keep it that way and I didn’t want to push anything because I don’t want to overdo it too soon. I enjoyed the run and each mile just ticked away.
As I ran into the finish I realized I surpassed my goal time, by a lot. I averaged 8:09 on my watch- 32:00 4 mile. I’ll take it!
After the race I was tight. My muscles kind of went into panic mode a little bit. I had been rolling a lot and stretching in hopes to alleviate my tight muscles and stay proactive, but I was still sore. I was so happy to have done this first race back just 9 weeks after having Cade and so grateful to share it with my Dad!! We stayed and chatted for a bit, but I realized I was quite full and desperately needed to get back home. We celebrated Father’s Day at our house and I made breakfast for my Dad and Matt.
My First Swim "Race"
The very next week I did the ALS 2.4 mile swim at Three Oaks. I have swam 2 miles before in training (pre baby), but I don’t believe I have ever officially done a 2.4 mile swim. I was looking forward to getting the time under my belt. I had no desire to “race it”, because again, I didn’t want to overdo it too soon. I wanted the experience in open water with people around me for practice.
The morning turned out to be cooler than we wanted, so Matt stayed home with Cade while I went. Matt has been awesome with these race weekends and training. He takes care of Cade at night and lets me get my sleep and pump as needed. The night before the swim was much better than before LITH. I was in bed by 10/10:30 and I woke up to pump around 1 and then again in the morning before I left. Super nice! And sooo grateful for Matthew allowing me to do this. He is truly a partner in all of this and I don’t know what I would do without him.
I left for the swim on my own and like the relay, didn’t really know what to expect as this was my first swim only event. I got there and it was chilly! I chatted with some of the other participants and got my wetsuit on. I had tightened my goggles even more in hopes they wouldn’t leak like they had at LITH (still a little leakage, but nothing too bad to stop and empty). The race director told everyone to head to the water for directions. The sand was even cold… I put my feet in the water for relief because the water was warmer than the air temperature. They gave us information about the course- 4 loops. As I looked out into the water the buoys were confusing. The far buoy that is there for open water swims on Thursdays was still out there and I was under the impression from the map we would be going all the way out there and thought it was a far course for 4 loops. I realized later I was wrong.
We swam out to the starting gate and it seemed like once we had all gotten there the blow horn went off to start us. I started my watch in a panic and got to swimming. I was surprised that I had so much space around me to start as I felt like I was toward the front of the pack and knew I didn’t belong there. As I breathed to my right I noticed a big pack and wondered if I should follow them. It seemed like their line was further out of from the straight path I had to the first orange buoy, so I trusted myself. I found feet for just a few strokes and then they were gone. I felt like I was in the middle of the speeds the whole time- I couldn’t keep up with the front pack, but I was faster than those behind me and there wasn’t anyone in the middle that I could stay with.
The first loop was a little confusing and I had to figure it out for the next 3 loops. Once I finished and ran across the mat I looked down at my watch and was shocked to see 3.05 miles as my distance. That couldn't be right... I talked to others who agreed that it was definitely longer than the 2.4, but I couldn't imagine it was 3. I finished 10th female and 22nd for the 2.4 mile swim. I kind of surprised myself with my time too.
My neck paid the price for a LOOONG swim that I wasn't used to. Lesson learned: use LOTS AND LOTS of body glide...
Getting my training in is hard, especially with the lack of sleep. But it is feeling so good seeing progress each time and continuing to challenge myself. I am looking forward to what's next!
