Running Mama Yogi

Lately, I've been finding myself to start rushing around, doing everything when I get home more and more. I carry Z around with me, but it is not the same as spending quality time with her. I know some of these things can wait, but some, like my growling stomach, cannot. I'm also becoming slightly concerned by how clingy Z is getting with me. I know babies go through a separation anxiety phase around now, but she does need to play by herself sometimes and be okay with seeing me doing something in the same room or next room over from her. I am starting to wonder if I have done something irreparable such that she will have massive separation anxiety. Then, another part of me thinks everything is just fine and that this is normal for now. This parenting thing is so much second guessing oneself!! On a good note, the other night, I made myself spend, what ended up being 30 minutes, with my yoga practice. It was well past my bedtime, but my body and soul needed it so badly. It was ...

It was a Wednesday afternoon at work, in my 36th week of pregnancy, and I was getting more (what I thought were) Braxton-hicks contractions which I had been getting in my back for a couple of weeks at that point. I didn't think too much of it, but sure was in a lot of pain. Back contractions aren't a joke. Think of having a really tight lower back that spasms and you can't do anything to loosen up or alleviate. It's wonderful! I would never wish it on my worst enemy (unless the right worst enemy comes along...). I think what kickstarted labor off was a little intimate time with hubby that Tuesday night (I'd gotten BH previously afterwards within the past month). Anywho, that night, I kept waking up every two hours due to the (what I thought were) BH contractions and to pee. The pee thing was not new. What was new was being woken up with my back essentially feeling like I imagine having lock jaw would but on your lower back multiple times. My hips had really been kil...

There were many phases for my maternity leave prep, and I know hubby thought I was a bit nutso about the things I did to "nest" (my choice word and the word Dan came to loathe). The biggest buckets of things I did to prep were: 1. Work Prep 2. Nesting around the house 3. Stockpiling food 4. Making a list of maternity leave to-do's 5. Medical Directive / Will 6. Physical Fitness When it came to work, I was fully intending to take advantage of the awesome policy offered in which expecting mothers could take off two weeks prior to their due date as paid time off which does not count against their maternity leave paid time off. I also had a week of carry-over vacation I was going to use, so I had three full weeks!  of time ahead of Z's due date to get things done around the house, and try to catch up on sleep and whatnot. I was somewhat wondering, after I had this planned, what I was going to do with myself for three full weeks. Well...Z decided to come three ...

I wasn't the type of girl who grew up dreaming of her wedding dress or how her wedding would be. I was a reader. An avid reader at that, and so I did have the imagination for dreaming something like a wedding up, but the details of a wedding weren't something that important to me growing up. For me, I loved dreaming up stories for different characters, and loved keeping a list of intriguing names that I liked as I went through my reading adventures. When we started thinking about getting pregnant, I dusted off that list of names (yes, I had saved it...) and hubby and I started adding to it. Every now and then we would toss out an idea. For the longest time, neither of us cared for the names the other one would think up, so our list didn't grow very quickly at all. One name I knew for certain I wanted, which was my great-grandmother's name - Margaret. She was such a loving influence on my life, and I lost her when I was a teenager. I wanted to memorialize her by usi...

So I've been back to work for a full month, and boy! It sure feels like a year of this routine already. Not only did I return to work, but my husband started on a second shift position. Enter our crazy work week schedule and a total of 50 minutes during the week where we get to actually see one another (there's a 10 minute gap between when I get home and he leaves for work; longer if I can get home earlier). I work an adjusted schedule, going into work at 6:30am and leaving by 2:30pm. Hubby gets home at midnight, and depending on Z's feeding wake time, sometimes I see him then. I do usually get a kiss or pat when he gets into bed, which is sweet and I enjoy. I miss watching Z's milestones, particularly the little changes in her day in and day out. I also admit, I was slightly jealous at first, of her newfound attachment to my hubby when I would arrive home. I quickly got over this, and I'm so happy that they get this special connection and all of this great time to...