18 WEEKS PP

ME

We’ve just passed the 4-month mark. I’m still feeling mildly squishy but I feeling more like a complete return to pre-preggie is possible. It will take time, but it feels attainable. I’ve been reading “It Starts with Food” from Whole9 and I’m LOVING it! I want to buy many copies and give them away to people. It presents such a great version of the whole paleo/primal protocol. I feel my best and look better when I’ve been following the Whole30 protocol for even just a few days! I highly recommend!

It Starts With Food, from Whole9

THE BABE

She had her four-month doctor’s “well-visit” this week. She grew an inch and a pound in the last four weeks! Whoo-hoo! She’s now 26.3 inches (98%) and 14 lbs 10 oz (59%). She’s reaching all the developmental milestones on time (some a little early!).

And did I mention that she’s sleeping through the night? Love. Her.

MY WORKOUTS

It was difficult to get my workouts in this week. My in-laws are in town.

P.S. My head is fine from last week. 🙂

Monday, August 6 – 100 KB Swings 15#

Saturday, August 11

Here’s the WOD:

• For Time: 100 Double Unders (5 Minute Cap)
• Stone Shouldering- 1/1/1/1/1/1/1 (Max Effort/15 Minute Cap)
• For time: Half Tabata- Stone 2 Shoulder / 800M Run / Half Tabata- Stone 2 Shoulder / 800M Run
• EMOM (every min on the min) For 10 Minutes: 10 SuperMan/10 Hollow Rock

I got about 30 double unders. I would have gotten more if I weren’t dealing with plantar fasciitis.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have even attempted them today, because of the foot. But the Versa Climber tuckered me out last week and I didn’t want to face it again today.

I got the 75# stone shouldered a few times. Tried the 95# but no go.

I sub’d 1000m rowing for the running because of the pf and other ligament issues. 13:48 was my time…? I think. I got 16 total stone shoulders in the tabata. And my time on the rower was about 4 minutes each time. A little more than 4 the second time.

Finally, today I did super-mans for the first time since delivering the babe. I couldn’t do the hollow-rocks because of something going on with my hips. Possibly inflammation? Possibly persistent pelvic tilt? Or perhaps just simple physics. 😉

My shoulders are bruised.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo of Ryan with Olivia!

Ryan with Olivia (18 weeks!).

 

17 WEEKS PP

ME

So I’ve got plantar fasciitis. I think it’s because of impact and weight during pregnancy and limited walking during early pregnancy recovery and continued pregnancy hormones making my ligaments wonky. My groin area ligaments are almost better so I’ll be able to start running again soon, once the plantar fasciitis dies down.

I still have the dark line.

The placenta is still in my freezer.

Regarding my emotions… It’s amazing the difference regular sleep makes. I feel so much more like myself than I did in the first two months. I feel like I’ve crawled out of the hole and I’m reacquainting myself with myself again. Except now, I’m a mother. And that’s no small thing.

I’m also beginning to feel more confident about mothering. Part of it is that Olivia is just a delight as a baby, but I’m getting to know her better too. I’m learning how she needs to be comforted and what makes her happy and what makes her feel safe. I’ll feel more confident the second time around. Yes, I’m already thinking about baby #2!

THE BABE

She is nearing the 4-month mark. So crazy! She’s started falling asleep on her own more often now. She’ll nurse to almost asleep and I’ll put her in her crib and she’ll fall asleep on her own! Yay! Usually she falls asleep between 8:30 and 9:00 pm at night. We tried moving that back to 7:30, but she wasn’t having it. She would just wake up. So, 8:30 it is for now. We’ll keep an eye on her dozeyness and see if it changes or gets earlier over the next couple of weeks. I think she’s growth spurting now too (nursing way more often!), so that will affect her sleep.

I’ve discovered that I don’t need to stress. She will sleep. She will eat. I will sleep and I will eat. Otherwise I just have to keep us both clean (and the apartment) and we’ll both be happy!

MY WORKOUTS

Monday, August 6 – 100 KB Swings 15#

Tuesday, August 7 – 21/15/9 of KB Swings + Good Mornings w/ 15#

Wednesday, August 8 – 100 KB High Pulls 25#

Thursday, August 9 – rest

Friday, August 10 – rest (I wasn’t supposed to, but I ended up “resting.”)

Saturday, August 11

Here’s the WOD:

• Warm Up- For Time- 50 Jumping Jacks/200M Run/30 Steps OH Lunge(45/25)/25 Ab Mat Sit Ups
• Snatch- 3@60/70/80/90% 1RM (20 Minute Cap)
• 15 Minute AMRAP of: 3 Snatch @60% 1RM/200M S.B. Run (45/20)/6 Box Jumps (30/24″)/9 Air Squat

Here’s what I did…

• Warm Up: 50 Jumping Jacks/60 sec on the Versa Climber/20 Steps OH Lunge (10#)/25 Abmat Sit Ups => 4:10
• Snatch => 5×15, 3×40, 3×50, 3×55, 3×60
• 15 Minute AMRAP of: 3 Snatch @ 45#/60 sec Versa Climber/6 Box Jumps (12″)/9 Air Squat => 5 rounds + 3 Snatch

I did the versa climber instead of the run in the warm up and amrap due to persistent ligament issues.

I was intent in getting deep in the squat for the snatches today. Not going too heavy on the weight. I felt successful there.

I did 5 rounds of the AMRAP and three squat snatches with the bar before I accidentally dropped the bar on my head! There was 2:42 left on the clock. Ouch.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo!

Olivia at 16.5 weeks!

 

16 WEEKS PP

ME

Ligaments still achy. Still have the dark line.

But emotionally, feeling more like myself!

THE BABE

She is sleeping better and sleeping more! Hurrah! She is picking up and releasing toys on her own! She is talk, talk, talking to anything and everything. She talks to the wall, to the lights, to the toys, to me, to her crib, to everything. She loves to practices her noises. It’s delightful.

Cradle cap is 90% contained.

MY WORKOUTS

Monday, July 30 – 50 Russian KB Swings 25# / 50 American KB Swings 15#

Tuesday, July 31 – Walked about 2 miles, baby wearing.

Wednesday, August 1 – Rest

Thursday, August 2 – 80 American KB Swings 15#

Friday, August 3 – 60 KB High Pull 25#

Saturday, August 4

Here’s the WOD:

• Warm Up: 3 Rounds of: 30 seconds each: Squat Jumps/Mountain Climbers/Flutter Kicks
• Power Snatch- 5@50 SN 1RM + 3@60/70% + 1/1/1 Max Effort (15 Minute Cap)
• Isabel= For Time: 30 Power Snatches(135/95) (18 Minute Cap)

Here’s what I did…

• Warm-up => modified.
• Power Snatch => 5×15, 3×35, 5×40, 3×50, 3×55, 1×65, F@70, 1×70
• Isabel @ 55# => 5:07
• Cash-out => 10 push-up / 10 abmat s.u. / 10 DUs / 10 p.u. / 10 s.u. in 5:00 min

Due to persisting ligament issues (from labour) jumps and flutter kicks are out. So I did plain air squats and some sort of crunch instead of flutter kicks.

My pre-preggie 1RM for the Power Snatch was 80. I think I could have gotten 75 today, at least if we hadn’t run out of time.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo!

Olivia at 15.5 weeks!

 

15 WEEKS PP

ME

The pubic symphysis achy-ness is getting better but still not quite better. Also, I briefly tried sprinting this week, but I could tell my ligaments still need a bit more time. However, the GOOD news is that while they are still sore, they ARE much better than before. Yay!

I’m still a little squishy and just barely fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans. But I’m reluctant to cut carbs because I’m still breastfeeding. Cognitively, I know it shouldn’t make much of a difference to my milk supply, but I’m still a little nervous about it. That said, I know I can lose the extra weight. I’ve done it before. I know how I did it. And I feel confident that once my little babe weans I will be able to do it again. So for now, I’m enjoying being a new mommy. I’ll pull out the pride card later and go for the postpartum weight loss gold after I’m done nourishing a child.

THE BABE

She. Is. Amazing. It seems like she’s learning and growing Every. Single. Day.

She practices her sit-ups and her leg-raises on her own. Just like as if it were her natural instinct or something (which it is!). She’s getting more familiar and “okay with” tummy time. Her neck strength is even better than two weeks ago when the doc was impressed with it! Her hand-eye coordination seems like it improves daily. It’s so interesting to watch. How she plays with her “toys” changes based on her ability to control them. And yes, they each make their way to her mouth as she explores everything in that way.

And her sleep is getting better and better. Earlier in her life, she was flying way below average. Now she’s right about average. It makes her happier and it makes me happier – both because I’m getting more sleep and because she is!

MY WORKOUTS

This plan (one WOD per week plus a few short KB workouts) is working out better for me (schedule-wise and recovery-wise) than the previous plan of two WODs per week.

Tuesday, June 17 – 100 KB Swings 15#

Wednesday, June 18 – 60 KB 1-arm high pulls each arm 15#

Thursday, June 19 – rest

Friday, June 20 – rest (this was supposed to be a KB day, but oh well!)

Saturday, June 21 

Here’s what the WOD was…

• 3 Rounds of: 200M Sprint; 1 minute rest between efforts
• Push Press- 1/1/1/1/1 (Max Effort/15 Minute Cap)
• 3 RFT of: 500M Row/21 Push Press (115/75)/20 Jump Lunges each leg/500MRow/15 Push Press/20 Jump Lunges each leg/500M Row/9Push Press/20 Jump Lunges each leg

And here’s what I did…

• 3 rounds of 1 min rope undulation; 1 min rest between efforts

Because of pubic symphysis pain (which as I mentioned is getting better but is still nagging), I can’t run. So instead of the sprints (to which I had been looking forward!), I did rope undulation – 3 x 1 min (with 1 min rest between sets).

• Push Press => 5×15, 1×35, 1×45, 1×55, 1×65

My 1RM for this is 75#. I was hoping to attempt that but ran out of time.

Met Con… I did 35# and regular lunges instead of jumping lunges because of the previously mentioned pain. Yes, it makes a difference. I finished *at* the time cap, 25:00.

P.S. Olivia finally christened the gym. She spit-up on the med balls!

…

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo!

Olivia at 15 weeks! Happy baby.

14 WEEKS PP

ME

Still have the dark line which means I still have some relaxin hormone which means my ligaments ‘n’ stuff are still loosy-goosey. Consequently, I’ve actually had a little bit of a problem with plantar fasciitis. I’d developed it when hubby and I first moved to NYC. And it got better after rest. But it flared up again during pregnancy. Understandably.

Otherwise, I’m doing fine. I love being a mommy, despite the chronic sleep deprivation. I do look forward to more settled sleep for all of us. But her smiles and giggles and daily advancements more than make up for a little sleepiness!

THE BABE

Olivia is still trying to roll over from her back to her front. She favours the right side. It’s so cute. She also uses her feet to bring the toys that are hanging above her head to her hands. And she does sit-ups. I say to her, “Olivia and Mommy are working on their abs at the same time!” And she smiles and rocks out another one. She does more sit-ups each day than I do!

This week, her Nana and Poppy were here visiting! They had so much fun with her and she with them! Because they do *new* things and say new things and have different games!!

MY WORKOUTS

Tuesday, June 17 – 1.5 mile walk

Wednesday, June 18 – 80 KB high pulls 25#, 2 x 0.5 mile walks – babywearing

Thursday, June 19 – rest

Friday, June 20 – 100 KB swings 15#

Saturday, June 21 

Here’s what the WOD was…

• For Time: 100 Double Unders (3 Minute Cap)/50 Air Squats/40 Sit Ups/30 Ball Slams (20/15)/20 Knees To Elbows/10 Hand Stand Push Ups (10 Minute Cap)
• Low Bar Squat- 1/1/1/1/1/1/1 (Max Effort/20 Minute Cap)
• 21/15/9 RFT of: Pistols each leg/K.B. Snatches each hand

And here’s what I did…

• In 10 mins => 25 DUs / 50 Air Sq / 40 Abmat Situps / 30 Ball Slams / 20 Hanging Knee Raises
• Low Bar Squats => 5×15, 5×35, 2×45, 2×55, 2×65, 2×75
• 21-15-9 RFT of 18″ Box Pistols / KB Snatches 15# = 10:50
• 3:00 min Cat-Cows

I was so excited to be able to do Abmat Situps today! It’s my first sit-ups since giving birth! YAY!

…

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo with Nana and Poppy!

Olivia at 14 weeks with her Nana and Poppy!

Olivia at 14 weeks with her Poppy G!

 

13 WEEKS PP / 3 MONTHS

ME

So here we are! Three months!

Several mommy-friends said that at about 3 months I’d start to feel like myself again. A few said it would be sudden. Others said, it’s gradual. For me, I’ve had a few minor realizations that all add up to a gradual “feeling like myself.” I feel like I’m digging myself out of a hole. A hole made up of a mix of culture shock and sleep deprivation.

But BOY do I have the best hole-partner!

Olivia is an absolutely JOY! She’s is fun, spunky, giggly, and cute-as-all-get-out! She snatches my heart everyday. Even on the worse days when she’s overtired and crying and I’m at my wits end. She’ll surprise me with a smile or a giggle and my day is made.

I’m still dealing with my abs not being back to normal. I’ve still got my dark line; so my understanding is that I’ve still got the pregnancy hormone relaxin floating around in my body. And I’m blaming that for the mild aches and pains I’m still having in my pubis  symphysis. I haven’t tried running in a while so I’m not sure if those ligaments are still loose. We’ll see…

I found my placenta still frozen in my freezer. I’m thinking about having it encapsulated…

THE BABE

This week Olivia did so many new things! She grasped a rattle for the first time. She kicked both legs at the same time – coordination! She reached for a toy! She’s been batting at the toys for a while, but this time she REACHED for one of them! She’s been bringing her hands together to play with them and look at them and suck on them. It’s amazing how these seemingly little things are just so awesome to me!

Olivia is talking up a storm! It’s so fun. She loves to practice all her new sounds and it seems like daily she’s discovered a new sound.

Also, we had our 3 month doctor’s appointment today! We got lots of feedback and answers for our questions about sleep. Our paediatricians (Tribeca Pediatrics) recommend the “extinction method” of sleep training. We haven’t been bold enough yet to try it, and Olivia is sleeping pretty well from about 9 pm until 5 or 6 am. Sometimes in the morning, she goes back to sleep right away (after nursing); sometimes she stays awake and takes her morning nap (usually 1-2 hours) about 90 minutes after waking. Mommy naps then too. Whew!

Her three month stats: 25.3 inches (>97%) and 13 lb 11 oz (82%).

My looong baby is already wearing 6 mo clothes. The doc actually referred to her today as a 4-month-old when we were talking about sleep. She’s tall!

MY WORKOUTS

Monday, June 9 – 100 KB Swings 15#

Tuesday, June 10 – 1.5 mile walk

Wednesday, June 11 – 100 each arm KB high pull 15#

Thursday, June 12 – rest

Friday, June 13 – 50 KB high pulls 25#, 0.75 mile walk

Saturday, June 14 – 2000m row in 9:19 (8 seconds off my PR!), Grace @ 55# in 7:05

My previous Grace attempt was at 18 weeks preggie and I used the same weight; but I finished in 4:21. For this attempt, I think I was too gassed from the 2K row. That and lack of sleep. 😉

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo!

Olivia at 12.5 weeks and Guard Kitty.

12 WEEKS PP

ME

Nothing about me this week. I’m tired; but loving my baby. 🙂

Also, I’m looking forward to watching the CrossFit Games this weekend on the internets,  live-streamed from California!

THE BABE

We visited Grandma and Grandpa this week for the fourth of July. Olivia loved “talking” with Grandma. And she tried to roll over several times! She’s smiling at everyone and continued sleeping through the night even though we were in a different house! We were in the same time zone, but still…! Also, she sleeps in the Graco Pack n Play and we brought that with us – so that helped. Day time naps are still disorganized. Also, she’s started kicking both legs at the same time!

MY WORKOUTS

None! I’ll be back in the saddle next week.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo from Grandma and Grandpa’s!

Olivia with Grandma & Grandpa! (12 weeks!)

11 WEEKS PP

ME

So more info about relaxin… I’ve learned that if you still have the “dark line” then you still have relaxin! Well my dark line is about 50% faded. It’s like a progress bar. I feel like a science experiment! Ah well. So I still have relaxin in my body! And I’m still having slight pains in that cartilage between my pubic bones. Also my ligaments are still sore. I’m hoping that once this “dark line” fades, then I’ll be better able to handle CrossFit etc.

I feel slightly more exhausted than before pregnancy. So still not up to par. I’m guessing that lack of sleep and possibly lack of calories has something to do with it? I’m still squishy (read: I haven’t lost all the baby weight yet) so I don’t know of lack of calories is really it. I’m still eating the same way I’ve eaten throughout my entire pregnancy (with slightly lower carbs); good animal fats and meats, good veggies, bone broth, fermented veggies, etc. I also just got some raw milk last week. Boy! was that a treat!

THE BABE

This week Olivia discovered her hands and her feet and she’s been totally delighted with them! She’s still not grasping things yet, but getting close! Her nighttime sleep has organized – she sleeps from about 10 pm until 5 am, wakes for a snack at 5 am and then sleeps more until about 8 am. I’m wondering when that 5 am wake will subside. We keep putting her to bed slightly early and slightly earlier and she keeps getting tired earlier and earlier. It seems that this dance is working! Day time naps show hints of organizing.

She is a super smiler! Very social! Loves to stare and smile at strangers! She’s also quite into any toy that has a face. She loves to talk and is constantly trying new noises.

What an amazing baby!!

MY WORKOUTS

Tuesday, June 26

Here’s the WOD:

• 3 Rounds of: 50 Double Unders (3 min Cap per round);1 min rest between rounds
• Jerk- 3/3/3  @65/75/85% 1rm
• 12/9/6/3 RFT of: Jerk(155/105)/Ring Dip

Here’s what I did:

• 3 rounds of 2mins of DUs: 24/21/20

These were the first DUs I’d done since stopping early in my pregnancy. In other words, it’s been 8 months since I’ve done them. I had a little trouble with my cartilage pain (sustained in labour) but I found that if I kept my feet together, then the cartilage didn’t hurt. The first round I did three singles then a double. The second two rounds I tried doing two singles and a double. It was much harder than I’d anticipated but I’m happy to have tried them again!

Also, holy boobs batman! I’d never done these with actual boobs, since mine were small to begin with. Now that they’re being used for their intended purpose, they’re a little bigger and they bounce!

• Push Jerks: 3×45, 3×60, 3×70
• 12/9/6/3 of push jerks & ring dips = 6:48

For the jerks I practiced push jerks since split jerks hurt because of my ligaments (from labour). My 1RM is 85 from March. I’m sure that I’ve gone down a little from being off for ten weeks, but it felt doable.

I did the first 12 with 55# but when I started the second set I felt like my arms were going to give out, so I removed the plates and just push jerked the 45# bar. I used the green band on the ring dips but I made sure to lock out at the top and get the full range of motion in.

Wednesday, June 27

Walked about half a mile, baby wearing.

Saturday, June 30

Here’s the WOD:

• Row 3 min @ 90% RPE
• 5 Minutes of: Snatch Practice
• Isabel= 30 RFT of: Snatch(135/95;scale as needed)
• 21/15/9 RFT of: HRPU/Pistols each leg

Here’s what I did…

• WU: Row 3min => 696 m

My 500m avg was 2:09. Felt proud of that. Ave 29 spm.

• Snatch Practice => 4×15, 4×35, 4×45, 3×55
• Isabel at 55# => 3:57
• 21-15-9 of HRPU / Pistols => DNF

I was finding the pushups hard on my knee (hurt it last Saturday). And the pistols were hard on my knee and my ligaments. Dang. I got thru 21 push-ups and 10 pistols each leg with the heavy band. Done. Sometimes it happens.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Here’s a photo from July 1st…

Dual Citizenship Baby says, “Happy Canada Day!”