Where did the month go????

I can not believe that may is almost over!!! This year is flying by which is scary and exciting. Each day Charlie is doing something new and I love seeing her grow and develop....but at the same time she will be one before I know it and I will be back at work! She will be 6 months in a week and a half. She is trying so hard to roll....lifts her feet right up to her face and rolls to the side- but does not quite get there yet. I love watching her try....so determined! I am relishing the "pre-mobile" moments! I know that the new born stage is hard mainly because you have no idea whats going on- but it is not going to be long before I am chasing her around the house! She has started teething and has one that has cut through on the bottom. She is being a champion with her teeth and only complaining minimally. She has turned into a drool machine though!!! She loves her food and is a pudding...I put her on our scales this morning and it was 8.2kg- she was 7kg not that long ago! I love all the little rolls- so beautiful and healthy! The hair is finally growing and it looks quite blonde with a auburn tinge.....so not red like her cousins!!!

We went to the Striders dinner on Friday night and it was the first time I had left her with anyone other than Ray in 6 months. Now this was partly because of the reflux....she was so hard to settle I could not actually leave her. But also I have had no real desire to be apart from her too often. So lets just say I was slightly nervous about the whole thing. Thankfully Charlie is in a great routine, which she loves....so all grandma had to do was follow the routine and it went like clock work! Both Charlie and Grandma had a ball! It was so nice to see Rays mum and dad so excited to look after her. Ray and I had a ball and I felt relaxed and did not call once!!!

On the running front I took a bit of a rest. I still felt really pooped after that awful virus thing and my pelvis was also starting to ache after long runs. I am in such a happy place at the moment I just did not feel the need to obsessively run/exercise. I feel totally ok to run when I actually feel like it and not do it because " I might get fat". This has taken a long time to get to this point and I feel great. Not sure what has changed but I feel really peaceful and content. I think Charlie has a lot to do with it...but I just feel happy with who I am. So I have enjoyed being at home with Ray and Charlie and not feeling guilty for not running or going to the gym. I have run 3 times a week on average and going for walks on the other days. In actual fact I have lost 2 kgs in the last 3 weeks doing less- so there you go?? I am now back to pre baby weight and feel good. I am even not to bothered about the mummy tummy :-) Hahaha I worked hard for that :-)

We are biting the bullet and getting a second car. We share the car at the moment and when Ray needs it it leaves Charlie and I without transport. So we are going to get a Wagon and we really liked the Astra wagon- it is heaps bigger than I thought. We are going to trade the viva in and get Ray a little Barina. It actually worked out the same cost to trade in the viva and get the two as it would to just buy the Astra. So Ray can have a tiny fuel economic car to get to work and training.

Well this has been a bit of a rave. I have put heaps of photos of Charlie on face book....easier than here. So I am going to try and keep it updated.

5 months young.....

Well Charlie is 5 months old today! She is so much fun at the moment and each day she does something new and exciting. Her little personality is starting to shine through. She loves to smile and laugh and is a real happy baby. She loves her sleep and lets you know in no uncertain terms when she wants to go to bed. She is loving her solids...we have tried apple, pear, carrot and sweet potato and rice cereal. She loves it all and if I am not getting it in quick enough she yells at me! She has a huge appetite and eats like a horse! All good!

Well I had a bit of a slack week last week....too much chocolate and not enough running! Oh well...new week. We did the relay for life on the weekend which was a great and uplifting experience. It makes me appreciate my life, friends and family!!! There are some amazing people out there coping with terrible stuff without complaint....makes my whinging about eating too many m&m's a bit petty!

I ran 16km on the track at the relay....which was a killer! I find running on the track really hard work....it kills the legs and the mind! I did not get to the striders 10km as it was too hard to fit it in and the relay was the priority! Then yesterday I met Bec and Keiran and we did a 17.5km run. It was so nice to run with the girls and we bored each other with chatting about our little ones....we loved it :-)

So this week will be more of the same....a bit of running, lots of baby and fun :-)

Am I seeing double???

The end of another weekend! They just fly by!! We had such a nice weekend with family and friends :-) It was my sisters birthday and we spent the day with the family....Charlie just loves her cousin Alex and is bewitched by her when she is around. Ali is growing so fast and is a real chatterbox...she is also very funny with a great sense of humor. Charlie has started on solids- which she is loving. She is 5 months next week and the paediatrician suggested starting her to help with the reflux. I held off but she has started waking a few times at night really hungry so I thought it was worth seeing if she was interested. Well it only took one little taste and she was into it! Haha she takes after me and will enjoy her food. She has tolerated it perfectly and her reflux has also improved- woo hoo!!! It is a bit scary watching her eat and think that it was not that long ago that she was so tiny!!

Saturday I went for a run with the pram- it was really hilly and a killer!!! I managed 8km and felt like I had worked really hard! We headed out to Smithfield on Sunday and I ran with the girls and we did the half marathon at an easy long run pace. Ray pushed Charlie in the 5km and did 4:50/km pace....she will get to go way faster with daddy!!!
I could feel the hilly run from the day before- my bum felt tired! We cruised along and chatted crap the whole way. I was really happy to finish....I have very little endurance and once I get to 17km I feel really tired. I finished in just on 2hrs so I was happy with that. My big goal for this year is the sydney marathon but I think I will aim to race the hunter half in July as well. I am also looking forward to the 10kms on Saturday....fingers crossed for a sub 50!

We are also doing the relay for life on the weekend which will be a really sad weekend this year....but will be great to do with some very special people!!!

feeling better.....

Thankfully we are all feeling much better in the Rowell household!!! What a yuck virus and almost everyone I know has been sick. Charlie is eating again and back to her smiley self :-)

I was going to go for a run on Tuesday but by the time I got around to it it was pitch black and pouring with rain....so I piked. I went to the gym instead and did a spin class. I love this class and I always leave feeling like I have worked really hard. I went for a 7km run yesterday with Charlie in the pram. It has gotten a lot easier and no longer feels really awkward to run. The hills are a killer though!!! I hovered around the 6min/km pace. I will go for a run again this afternoon with the pram....it gets too dark now to run at night and Ray runs in the morning, so I am going to replace my 4:30pm walk with running and do as much as I can with the pram. This will mean trying to do my hills and speed work with the pram...so it will be ugly, but better than no running at all. I am sure pushing a combined baby/pram weight of almost 17kg will help as well....how easy will it feel when I run on my own!

The first of many.....

....colds that is. Our little unit should be quarantined as we have all had a virus this past two weeks. It started with me and then Charlie and then Ray. So Charlie has her first of many colds. She started with a clogged nose and then she got this awful cough and the last few days has been vomiting and diarrohea. Despite all this she has been in good spirits and still smiles and chatters away....haha obviously takes after me and not her dad ;-) She is 4 and half months old and has grown heaps! I can not believe how big she seems. She has burst out of her three zeros and is now into the two zeros. I decided it was time to move into the next size when she had a muffin top when I put her jeans on- so cute!! She is now sleeping unwrapped and I am able to put her into the cot to sleep without all the patting and rocking! Woo Hoo! She usually protests for about 10mins and goes off to sleep. It is so much easier than all the patting and actually takes less time for her to go to sleep. She sleeps right through most nights but with this cold she is waking a few times after lots of coughing wakes her up.

I am really loving being a mum. I love watching her grow and develop and discover new things. I am not going to like having to go back to work....it seems so far removed from what we get up to now. I would love to be at home with her....but unfortunately the mortgage dictates other things. So I am just enjoying every day at the moment and cherishing everything she does.

On the running front I have not done a lot in the past two weeks thanks to the cold! I rested the week leading into Canberra hoping the cold would go away...but it hung around. I probably should not have run at Canberra but decided I had looked forward to this run for months so I would run and just take it easy if I felt bad. I was actually surprised that I was able to do the time I did. I was on track for a 49min run until I hit the 8km mark and then the cold caught up with me and I felt heavy and could do nothing but slow down. I forgot how much I hated this 10km course. You go past the start line 4 times and it feels like you are just going around and around. The great thing was having my sister and little neice on the sidelines cheering- so I got to high five Ali each time I went past :-) So I finished in 51:05 and I felt really happy considering how crap I was feeling. So hopefully I can get back under the 50min mark soon. Ray ran the marathon on the Sunday and had a shocker! He woke up with my cold and felt crap. He probably also should not have run....but are we ever sensible?? He said he felt ok until the 30km mark and then things fell apart. He said he could feel 6ft for the next 12 km. He was so relieved to finish and swore he will never do the two races again! haha I joked that he will have a great marathon PB next time he runs! I had a great time in Canberra with my family and friends and Charlie was great. My sister and cousin came to cheer ray on but the weather was so awful on the Sunday that they very sensibly went home! I went for a run on the Monday and felt so awful! I have spent the rest of the week resting and sleeping when Charlie sleeps. I am finally feeling a better and will start back into things tomorrow.

Not much else is happening....all is bliss at the moment!

Catch up.....

Well a lot has happened since my last post!!! I finally crossed to the dark side and turned 30 :-) I am actually really excited about being 30- life is good! I had a lovely birthday weekend. I caught up with the family on the Good Friday and had lunch with friends on the Monday.

Charlie is 4 months old this week and she is so lovely! She has started to laugh and is such a happy baby. She is still sleeping through the night which is bliss! I have weaned her off being wrapped to go to sleep and the next challenge is to try and wean her off needing to be patted and rocked to go to sleep. With the reflux we have gotten into a routine of patting to go to sleep. It is not such a drama except it makes it near impossible to leave her with others as she will not go to sleep. Any way I was suprised at how easily she adapted to not being wrapped so fingers crossed! She is trying really hard to roll from her back to her tummy and is not reaching and picking up toys. I love watching all the changes- it is so exciting and amazing to watch her grow. She makes Ray and I so happy!

I have been running and going to the gym. I am very excited to report that my long run has increased and yesterday I managed 21km! I ran with Bernie, Kerry, Deanne and Bec and I had a ball! I have not run with the girls in over 12 months! I have missed them so much and it felt so good to be running along talking crap :-) We ran the Vaucluse Star and it was a typical Striders run....hilly! It felt like each time we turned a corner there was another hill to run up! My hamstrings were feeling it!! I felt pooped at the end but felt like I coped with the distance really well! I felt great for the rest of the day and had no sore bits to report. I met a friend this morning and we did a 6km run with the prams. I was surprised how good the legs felt. I was expecting to feel like crap, but they felt great. I have increased my mid week runs to 9km and will start my program via email from Sean this week. Sydney Marathon here we come. I managed a 8km run with Charlie in the pram last week at 6 min pace and it felt a lot easier than the first two attempts....but we had a hedgehog fatality!!! Charlie managed to throw her beautiful hedgehog out of the pram while we were running along!! I ran up and down the street looking for him....but he is gone! Well I did learn a valuable lesson- do not run with toys that are not securely attached to the pram or have a back up :-)

New friends...

This week has flown by! I caught up with a friend on Monday who has just had a baby and Charlie looks soooo huge in comparison! They were the same weight born, but I can not remember her being so small. They played together on the play mat....well Charlie stared at her with lots of curiosity.

I went for a run on Tuesday and my legs still felt heavy from the gym on Friday. It started out feeling like hard work but after a few kms I started to just enjoy the run. I plodded along with my music on and felt really relaxed. I managed 9km- average pace 5:45/km. I was going to run with the pram today, but I left it in the car which went to work with Ray...ooops! We went out for a walk and just used the carrier instead. I went to pump last night and worked really hard. I will go for a run today but I will go when Ray gets home when it is cooler.

Nothing much else to report.

The big fish tank in the sky.....

Well I went to the gym on Friday afternoon and did the cross trainer class. I love this one....she makes you work really hard and it gets the heart rate up as well as working all the muscles. Well she must have had a bad day because she made us pay!!! I was so sore by the time we finished I could not tell which bit hurt the most....but it was great! We did this very long and intense abdominal work out which is just what my mummy tummy ordered! The other killer were the many many many dead lifts she had us doing....needless to say my hamstrings are still feeling the sting today. As a result of this my legs were dead on saturday so I did nothing. Well I went and spent the day with my lovely family but no exercise :-)

This morning we were going to Smithfield but somehow the alarm was turned off and we went back to sleep *ooops* After a much needed sleep in (7am) Ray went for his run while Charlie and I played and then at 9am I headed out the door. It was cloudy so it did not feel too hot until the last 15mins. I ran 12km, average pace 5:55/km. This is the longest I have run in a while and the legs felt tired by the end!!! I ran a really hilly loop and some of those hills almost killed me....haha I have a bit of work to do on hills thats for sure! But I did find some long steep hills that I can start trying to do some hill work on. I am aiming to get my long run up to 15km in the next few weeks....God that seems like a long way!!!

Not a lot else to report. Charlie is great....growing every day! We have not had any more rolls so I am glad I got it on camera....I might have thought I imagined it :-) She is eating a lot and getting really chubby.....so cute!

Oh on a very sad note our beloved Fish Merry died this morning and was flushed to the big fish tank in the sky! We have had Merry for the past 6 years~ which is a good innings for a fish. So we will be off to get a new addition to the Rowell household this afternoon. Poor Merry!

Almost 30.....

Not too much to report...I went to the gym on Wednesday and did a pump class and then yesterday I had a do nothing day. Well we actually did a lot during the day so I was pooped by last night so I opted to have a bath with Charlie instead of my run :-) I am hoping to go for a run tonight or to the fatburner class at the gym.

We might head to Smithfield this weekend and Ray will push Charlie for the 5km and I might run the 10km. I emailed Sean and I have asked him to do me a program to do at home. It is too hard to get to training so I am going to do it via email. So Ray will go to sweat and I will have my email program and then we will go head to head for 6ft to see who will be King or Queen of the house hold ;-) This will take a bit of discipline to make sure I stick to it but I have some goals so hopefully that will motivate me.

I am turning 30 next week! I can not believe it. Ray and I have been together since I was 16 years old....so we often often can not believe where we are at! I am really excited to be 30...not sure why??? I am feeling really happy and content with who I am and my life. It is a nice place to be.

Back on track....

Well after a week of not much I am back on track- well so far any way :-) Monday I went for a 7km run at 5:30 pace. Tuesday I went to the gym and did a core strength class and then Ray and I went for a run with Charlie. I pushed the pram and we went for a 5km plod. I found that my heart rate was much higher pushing the pram...in other words it felt like bloody hard work! I also felt that my upper body and abs got a work out by then end of it. Charlie loved it and went off to sleep....although hunger called towards the end of the run. We were going to wait until she was 6 months before running in the pram, but she has got such good head control and can hold her head unsupported. She is really well supported and has a head support as well for good measure. We kept an eye on her and she actually did not move around much at all. So I am going to do a lot of my running with Charlie and it will be interesting to see if my fitness improves with the extra weight of pushing the pram.

Today Charlie also managed to roll from her tummy to her back without any help!!! I was very excited and managed to get a video of her doing it to show Daddy and the rest of the family. I am sure she was wondering why I kept cheering her and then putting her back on her tummy to do it again. She managed 4 rolls before getting too pooped. She is also lifting her bottom off the floor and is starting to roll from side to side while on her back. Once she can roll from her back to her tummy the fun will begin....then I will find her in all sorts of places and positions. It is so amazing to think that she has grown so much in just 14 weeks. She has gone from being so tiny and unable to do much at all to laughing and smiling and interacting with us. I am sure she is growing each time I put her to bed!!!

I will put some new photos up soon!

Back online.....

We are back after a short computer malfunction! I have felt lost without email access!! I keep in regular email contact with my nearest and dearest and I felt cut off from the world last week. We are all doing really well. Charlie is now 3 months old and almost 14 weeks. She has grown a lot and looks so big now. She is a really smiley happy baby and loves to play and laugh....but also gets tired very quickly and lets you know about it with a fair bit of yelling until I wrap her and pat her to sleep.

I have not done a single bit of exercise since the 10km striders last week! It is a combination of being busy and feeling flat and tired. I feel I am back on top of the feeling flat and so I am aiming to get back into a routine this week. So tonight I am going to go for a run or to the gym...I am undecided yet. It is amazing how a whole week just slipped by! It was nice though to have a break and no that the world does not end if you do not get a run in! But I am keen to get going again as I feel motivated after watching Ray finish the 6ft track marathon on the weekend. It was brilliant to watch Bernie, Wayne and Kerry and Tim have such great runs! They worked so hard and deserved such great times! Ray ran really well and managed 5:3o- smack bang on his goal! It was so exciting to see everyone finish and I had the urge to get out there again next year! I am going to aim for Sydney marathon to build back my base and then aim for 6ft next year.

Post baby PB

Well we have been busy the past 4 days catching up with friends, family and running! Charlie seems to have grown in the past few days and Ray and I think she is huge all of a sudden! She was brilliant on the weekend....we had her up really early to go to Manly for the 10km race, and apart from Ray and I forgetting the pram it went perfectly. I ran and Dad looked after bub.

I felt nervous for some reason about running on Saturday and almost stayed in bed. We arrived in enough time to get Charlie settled and bolt to the loo. I decided to make sure I did the first half sensibly and not go out too quick and die in the second lap. Of course we started a little quicker than planned but it felt ok so I just decided to slow a little and just try to be consistant. I felt really comfortable the whole way and did not run out of steam in the last lap. I was able to put in a good last km and finished feeling like I had worked hard but not dead....woo hoo! I wanted to run faster than Smithfield and managed to do 52:29- 2 mins quicker. I am really happy with my run and time. I felt good the whole way around and loved the feeling of being out running. I also felt excited that perhaps the sub 50 min goal is not too ridiculous to aim for at Canberra. I have about 6 weeks to go and each time I run it is feeling better and better. Haha my 47:09 PB is a long way off though :-)

5:12, 5:07, 5:24, 5:16, 5:14, 5:16, 5:16, 5:06, 5:13, 4:59, 21 sec (90m)
Average pace 5:12/km

Feeling flat....

I am still feeling really tired and a little flat. It took a lot of effort to get out of the door yesterday afternoon....thankfully Ray made me go and I felt much better after a run. I am not sure why I am feeling a bit flat and tired....maybe the last 12 weeks has just caught up. I amazingly felt pretty good running....I did 7.5km at 5:33/km pace. Haha the thunder and lightening might have made me run a little faster!

Charlie is 12 weeks today! I think she is having a growth spurt....she has been eating more and having longer sleeps. Yesterday I had to wake her up in the afternoon (5pm), who knows how long she would have slept. She was not too impressed either :-) She was determined to try and go back to sleep and it took a good 5mins to get her awake. I know that seems mean....but she then had a play, bath, a good feed and was back to bed by 7:30pm and slept all night.

It is the striders 10km on Saturday...I would love to better my Smithfeild time, but I I will see how I feel on the day. If I feel tired I will be happy to just run and finish :-) The run is at North Head and everyone says it is a good, fast course to run....the only time I have run this course I had a flu and felt so awful- so I do not have good memories if this one!

Needing a recharge.....

A few more photos!!! She will start posing soon I am sure....we take so many photos! The joys of digital cameras. I take a lot during the day when she is doing things...as she often is ready for bed when Ray gets home....that way he doesn't miss out on too much.


This past week I have been feeling sooo tired!! I skipped the gym on Friday and my run on saturday as I just felt like I had no ooomph! Charlie has been sleeping like a log at night- some nights she sleeps from 7pm until 6am the next morning!!! This has been happening for about 2 weeks now....woo hoo! The stupid thing is that from about 2:30am I am lying there snoozing, waiting for her to wake. The smallest noise jolts me awake and I am almost out of bed before I realise it was just Ray moving in bed. I am sure this will stop soon....but last week I needed quite a few cat naps to see me through the day!

I made myself get out the door last night and I felt great once I got going. I put my music on last night and just enjoyed the feeling of running. I threw a few hills into my run and covered about 8km. I averaged 5:39/km. Ray had run the equaliser in the morning and ran really well...he took 4 mins off his time from last year. He is really excited about 6ft. He is feeling fit and enjoying his running. He has done a great job at fitting in his training while spending lots of time with Charlie. This has meant that at times he runs at home on his own instead of at SWEAT....but it is all about balance. He is going into the run without any real expectations or goals. He wants to just run it, finish it and enjoy it....haha then next year when we both do it, we can get competitive. I am looking forward to cheering him home....but I am a bit green- I would love to be running it! I LOVED my run last year....I felt so fit and loved every minute of the run. I am definately aiming for this one next year!

Charlie is heaps of fun at the moment! She is starting to discover lots of things and gets really excited. She squeals and kicks her legs around and has started to laugh...usually at us pulling stupid faces :-) She likes it when I sing to her and have conversations- she chats back to me.....haha you should hear the ridiculous things I talk about :-) She is spending a lot more time awake....but can get suddenly tired and then all hell breaks loose! Then we madly wrap her and put her to bed. She loves to be wrapped to sleep. I have tried to put her to bed unwrapped....but she seems to like being tightly wraped. Then she loves to strech and kick around when we get her up. She is a hudinni and some mornings I go in and she has her hands and feet out and just her tummy wrapped up.

A bit more of the same....

We continue to plod on....yesterday Charlie was 11 weeks. She is playing a lot more now and likes to roll around on her play mat. She likes to look at all the things hanging down and has started to reach for them and swing at them. She has also discovered her voice and is squealing and yelling and trying all different noises....very cute. She has been sleeping through the night this past week which has been lovely!!!! I am not sure if it will continue....other mums have said this can happen for a few weeks and then they go back to lots of waking. We can only cross our fingers!

I went out for a run on Tuesday night and felt really tired....but was suprised to see that my average pace was 5:38/km....it felt a lot slower than that! I added a few hills into my run....after the so called flat run at Smithfield felt like it had hills in it :-) I managed almost 8km. Last night I went to the pump class....a bit sore today- all good!

Our pram tires are flat- really flat, so I need Ray to pump them up so I can take Charlie for a few more walks. I tried but the bit to pump them up was in an awkward spot and it was too hard....mind you I had Charlie with me who started to cry and it was all a bit too hard! I think she will like being out and about now that she is more alert and looking around. I am going to take her to Roselands this afternoon to see the baby nurse, but I will walk up there with her in the baby carrier.

I met up with the running mums on Monday...lots of fun and great to see all the bubs together....haha they might run together when they are older ;-)

I have gotten a little more violin practice in this week....so I still stink, but not quite as bad :-)

Oh what a feeling.......

We went to Smithfield yesterday and I ran the 10km with Deanne. Deanne has been out injured and sick with a virus so she was happy to plod with me. Ray looked after Chalrie and walked with Bernie- they had completed a really long hard run at 6ft the day before!

I felt quite nervous...I was not sure if I would finish the distance but was happy to walk if I needed to. Deanne and I did not talk about a time but I was hopping to do about 5:40 pace for the 10km. We started and felt quite puffy....but settled into a comfortable pace quite quickly. I was suprised to see we were doing 5:30 pace and Deanne and I decided that we felt comfortable so we would keep it up as along as possible. Hahaha there was not a lot of chatting....both of us need to work on our fitness before are back to chatting level :-) I felt really comfortable and we got to the 5km mark and we were still just under 5:30/km pace...woo hoo! Deanne and I felt confident that we could keep this up for the rest of the run. We huffed back up what ued to be a slight incline but now felt like a huge hill :-) We got to the drink station which marked 7km and I told Deanne that this was now the longest I had run in a long time. I still felt comfortable and felt excited that I might be able to do around 55mins. It was also motivating knowing that Ray, Charlie and Bernie were waiting for us at then end :-)

We started to pick the pace up and when we got to a km to go we picked up the pace and aimed to do the last km pretty hard. The last 50m did hurt and I started to feel like stopping but I looked at the time and new I just had to hold it together and were under 55mins! So I just focused on the finish line and Deanne and I crossed together in 54:30. We averaged about 5:24/km and the last km was 4:55! I am so happy with the run....it felt really comfortable and I did not feel like I was killing myself at any point. The last two kms we worked hard....but there was still more in the tank! It has been a long time watching everyone run and race....and I loved the feeling you get when you work hard. It was so nice to be able to run with Deanne and cross the line together! So now we have a benchmark to improve on.....only only 7 mins off my PB :-) I have pulled up today feeling fine. I thought my lower back might feel sore....but I am feeling great.

I am looking forward to putting in some more running and seeing if I can improve on my time in Canberra in April :-)

Running Shoes.....

Thursday night I went for a 7km run and felt really great! I am not sure why, maby the smaller boobs- but I felt lighter and running felt easier. I covered the 7km in an average pace of 5:32/km. Last night I went to the gym and did the fatburner class....I am not sure what had gotten into Alex the instructor but she was manic from the minute the class started until we finished! She made us work the whole 60mins....lots of push ups, sit ups, lunges, running etc- loved it! I am loving the feeling that I am working hard again.....and Pappa bear is loving some alone time with Charlie.

Today we went up to Aunty Bec's and spent the day with Nan Nan and Cousin Alex. Alex has christened me Kiki as Kit was too hard to say. She is such a bundle of energy and LOVES to run! Last week we went shopping and bought "running shoes like Aunty Kiki" and today we took them for a test run. I am not kidding she loves to run and goes like a rocket...for two any way ;-) She runs for about 100m and then has a rest and is off again! We went for a zoom around the block and she finished with a huge grin. All morning she was walking around the house begging " running...pleeeeaaase Kiki"....so cute!!! So we will be all cheering Alex in a few years at Little Athletics I am guessing. Charlie had a ball, lazing on the floor having hugs with Alex, Aunty Bec and Nan Nan. It will be great when she is a bit older and they can play together. I have been nervous about driving to see them on my own....it is about a 50min drive. Ray went to 6ft today for training run and rather than another day just the two of us I decided to bite the bullet and drive up. She was great...went to sleep after about 15mins and slept the whole way. She was the same coming home....to the point of me driving around an extra 20 mins as she was so asleep I did not want to wake her up.

Tommorow I will go out to Smithfield and I think I will do the 10km run...I was umming about doing the 5 or 10....but I can always walk if I get too tired. So fingers crossedxx

Thumbs up!

A few more photos.....Charlie will have more photos than Brittney Spears!

I decided to update the blog....I was sick of looking at that sickly sweet pink!!! My little neice calls me Kiki and it has stuck- I actually quite like that she calls me that :-) I have been told I can be a bit mad....so I will be using the blog to crap on and document my mad adventures with Charlie- and hopefully brag about all the brilliant running I will be doing ;-) Haha I will have lots of post baby PB's to carry one about :-)

We went back to the doctors today and he took one look at her and knew things were better. I told him the great news that she was drinking well, sleeping really, her poos had no more blood and she seemed so much happier. He put her on the scales and she had put on just over 300gms in the week....so two thumbs up!!! He was happy with my decision and said that she will continue to thrive and do really well. So we will just keep going now with the medicine for the reflux and the special formula and he will see her in 3 months. I gave him a huge thank you....it is nice to find a doctor that A) is good at what he does and B) is interested and makes you feel comfortable and listens to what you say. So I feel great and really happy with the decision. It was also nice to not flash my boobs today when we were out and about :-) Another postive....I am feeling heaps better today- I think just seeing her so settled and content makes it all worth while. As great as breastfeeding is- a happy buba is SOOOO much better!!!! So woo hoo for Neocate :-)

Then we went and met the girls from work for lunch and Charlie slept through the whole thing...perfect. It was so nice to catch up with them all and hear all the gossip :-) We got home and Charlie crashed.

I went to the gym last night and did a body pump class....I really loved it. I have not done one before, I usually do my own thing....but I can tend to fluff around and waste time, so I thought that the pump class is a good way to work my whole body on one hour. I was not sure about how much weight to put on so I took it easy for the first go....I am looking forward to next week and working hard. Ray was able to feed Charlie and she was in bed when I got home- very nice!

I will go for a run tonight and then head out to Smithfield on Sunday. I am going to have a go at the 5km and Ray will be on baby duties. He is going to 6ft on Saturday so he can have a relaxing walk and I will huff and puff my way around Smithfield :-)

Happy Valentines Day :-)

Double Digits....

This past week and a half has flown by!!!! Chalrie is 10 weeks old today...WOW! Time is flying by and each day she is growing and changing. I have had such an up and down 10 days.....we saw the peadiatrician who confirmed that Charlie has a milk protien intolerance/allergy as well as the reflux which was causing the blood in her poo and her general unhappiness. Basically she can not process the amino acids that the protien is made up of and her body was having an immune reaction as a result. This meant her tummy and bowel were inflamed and hence the blood etc. It is easy to fix....just eliminate the protiens from her diet. So the options were to go on a really strict diet and see if this worked or stop breast feeding and put her on a special formula. The doctor firstly wanted me to put her onto formula and express and see if she improved. He felt that the best option for Charlie was to stop breast feeding as in his experience the diet has not been very successful. I was so relieved it was something that was easily dealt with and not a major problem BUT I felt so awful that it was my milk making her sick. I also HATED the idea of not breast feeding. Pre baby I decided to breast feed mainly because it was so convienent, it was economical and it is the "best thing to do". Once she was born I loved breastfeeding and felt such a closeness to her that it is hard to describe. It was a truely amazing feeling and I am so thankful to have been able to experience it with Charlie. I was so upset when I gave her the first few bottles and she cried and cried.....so I gave in and breast fed her. Thankfully Ray is a wonderful support and had some time off work to help me get her from breast to bottle. I would just leave the room and he would persist with the bottle despite the tears. After two days she was fine and started to gulp them down! It was amazing to see the difference....she was settled, content and her poos cleared up! She has already put on some weight and looks great!! I am still feeling sad that I am not breast feeding, but I have made the decision to leave her on formula and not try the diet. I could not stand going through getting her on formula to then go back to the breast to then have to turn around and do it again if it did not work. Her health and happiness is much more important and already she seems so much better. I also realised that my supply was quite low....when I was expressing there was not a lot there, so she may have been not getting enough anyway. I am happy with our decision but I am still feeling really sad. People have pointed out all the postives to not breast feeding...like being able to get Ray to help etc but I feel sad when I give her the bottle. I think it is hard to understand the feelings...I am sure other mums know what I am talking about. On the flip side I feel really happy when she gulps down the bottle and gives a huge burp! Haha that is why I said up and down!

We went to mums group today and all the babies were rolling around on the mats looking at each other and trying to roll. Charlie and another baby were holding hands...it was so cute :-) We have been playing more this past week....although all hell breaks loose if I don't pick up on her tired signs. She plays for about 20-30mins and then is pooped...especially if she has been on her tummy trying to hold her head up!

I have been to the gym a few times and managed three runs.....I am up to 7km and am averaging about 5:40/km for the run. I have a sore lower back from poor posture while I hold Charlie....so I am being careful and if it feels too sore I have a rest. I am aiming to get to the gym twice a week to do a body pump class and a fat burner class. Both are fun and cover the whole body. Last friday I did the fatburner class and it was a killer!!! I was so sore the next day....but I loved it! I felt so good having worked really hard and sweated buckets! It is really hard to squeeze things in, but Ray is really good and I head out the door when he gets home. I think he likes getting some time with just he and Chalrie without me hovering around checking what he is doing :-)

I have been back to violin and I am so happy I decided to keep going.....I stink because I am not getting much practice done at all but I enjoy it and I figure as long as I pay my teacher she will be happy ;-) She is pretty understanding and is happy for me to do whatever I can. It was a bit easier this week as Charlie was happy to sit in her chair while I practised.

Not much else to report......I will put some more pictures up soon!

Monday, Monday.....

We had such a nice day yesterday! Ray decided that he needed some quality fmaily time so skipped his long run to stay home and spend a full day with Charlie. It is hard work fitting everything in and Ray sometimes feels that running means he has less "awake" time with Charlie. His long run means he is not home until after 10am and then Charlie is asleep....then she has an afternoon nap and is in bed hopefully by 7pm....so it doesn't leave a huge amount of time. Now I tell him to get out there and enjoy his running....that way we all stay happy, but he was adamant this weekend that he wanted a family day- so I was not complaining!!! I love having him around and so does Charlie! So he did the routine of bathing etc.

This morning we had an appointment at a local Day Care Centre.... I can not believe we are doing this already, but I will need to go back to work in Oct/Nov if we can manage the budget ok and there are waiting lists for most places so we wanted to get her name down. We really like this place this morning. It was clean, lots of staff, a good outdoor area and a really good philosphy and program for the kids. It goes from 0-3 and then they move into the pre-school until they are 5yrs old (gulp). The director was lovely and had lots of experience. So we paid our money to put her on the list (Yep said to be put on a wait list!!!) and now fingers crossed they will have a spot for her! I am going to hate leaving her anywhere but unfortunately the mortgage will make us. I at least felt happy with this place....other centre I could have cried at the thought of leaving her there!

I am not running again today....I feel really sore....not running related but all the rocking and walking the hall with Charlie has given me a sore lower back. I need to be more conscious of my posture! I caught a glimpse of my posture in the mirror....no wonder I have sore back! I have heard other mums comment that the 8 week mark is whnen you start to feel all the aches and pains. I would love a massage...I will need to look at the budget- or I have a great idea for the family for my Birthday in March.

I am hanging out to see the doctor tommorow, Charlie seems to be getting worse! Moe blood and a lot of regurgitation. Despite all the discomfort she is still smiling at us and is becoming more and more alert and playful! It is amazing to watch her grow and develop! She will be so different by the end of the year!!!

Where did the week go???

I can not believe a week has just flown by!!! Charlie is almost 2 months old....she is 8.5 weeks and will be 2 months on Wednesday. She is so cute and lovely and I could just eat her up! Last Sunday we had her Baptism- which was a beautiful day. The service was lovey and she was perfect! I have to say I was a little worried she might cry the whole time, but she slept the whole time- even when they poured water on her head! She wore the gown my sister and I were baptised in which made it even more special. I have heaps of photos and will post them soon. We had a nice lunch afterwards with family and friends. I was pooped by the end of the day!!! Then on Monday it was a friends baby shower....which I thought would go for about 1.5 hours and it ended up being about 4 hours long! It was a great day....her pregnancy has been stressful and difficult so it was an emotional day that she had reached this far! But again we were pooped when we got home!

This past week I have notice Charlie was not as good as the week before. Her hiccoughs were back and she was again regurgitating and having a lot of difficulty sleeping. She is only happy being upright during the day and if I managed to get her to sleep she would wake after 10mins crying. So I waved the white flag and we spent a lot of time sleeping in the baby bjorn....at least she was getting some sleep during the day. I think most days she only got about 1.5 hours.....needless to say she then crashed at night and has slept from 7pm to 4am most nights- which is lovely! Then we noticed some blood in her poos and they were a funny colour- so we are back to see Dr Dunlop on tuesday. He reassured me on the phone that while it was a worry and not normal it was nothing to " freak " out about....I was glad he told me that and saved a few days worry. So we are just keeping her as upright as possible and keeping an eye on things. She still is really great though...all considerring. She is still so much more happier and settled. Now I can not get her to sleep during the day but she does not get too worked up which is good. It just means I do not get much else done other than hold and nurse her and try and keep her happy.....but that is my job :-)

This week I did get a little stir crazy and craved adult conversation! I even enjoyed my doctors visit to the obstetrician for my post bub follow up haha! On Friday my mum and sister came down and we went out to Burwood Westfields for some lunch and shopping. I had a brilliant day....just what I needed! It was great to just be out of the house and having fun with my family. Charlie just cruised around in the baby carrier :-) All good! Oh and she was spoilt by her Aunty Bec.....and so was I actually!

This morning we went to Striders 10km race. It was great to see all my favourite people. I did not run this morning....I am being sensible and all those hills did not take my fancy!! I did feel excited about having ago next month though! It is the week before 6ft so Ray can be on child minding duties and I will run at north head. So that should motivate me out the door in the next few weeks. This week I only managed to run once....6.5km at 5:39/km. I just felt pooped on the other days and enjoyed spending time on the lounge with Ray after Charlie had gone to bed.

Next week will be busy with an appointment to look at a local child care facility, doctors appointments and mothers group. I am also starting back at Violin after the Christmas break....cringe! I have not managed to fit in a lot of practice...so it will be ugly! Hahaha I should take Charlie with me....my get out of jail free card!

Flashing my boobs on Australia Day.....

I am so glad to be able to write that things are well and truely on the improve and we have a much happier and settled little baby!!! We have had a lovely week with trips out, mothers group and lots of cuddles! The most exciting thing is that Charlie has started to smile and even though it is not all the time it is worth the world! One day last week she was having a huge sleep but it was in the afternoon and it got to 5pm and she had slept way past a feed and I decided to wake her up so that she would still sleep later that night. So instead of her usually waking up crying because she wants some food....I got to unwrap her and let her wake naturally. She slowly woke up, stretching out her lovely long arms and legs and then look straight at me and gave me a big gummy grin! I could have cried but instead cheered and encouraged her for more....hahaha the grin was replaced with a look of " what is wrong with this woman???". And we have had a few smiles here and there....but I am not quick enough to get it on the camera! She has started to work out her hand are hers and not just random things at the ends of her arms....so she now quite likes to suck on her hand. She follows you around when you walk and has started to play and react to things like the play mat. She is making cute little cooing noises and lets you know if she wants something! You can tell I am so excited.....it is such a huge change from a week and a bit ago!

This morning we headed to the Australia Day run that the Canterbury council put on. I decided on this run as my " post baby race" for a few reasons......
1. It was free....yes I am of the fregan belief
2. It was put on by our local council and was only 15 mins from home
3. Last year was the first year and it is important to support new runs
4. It was meant to start at 10:30am.....perfect for me to get a 7 week old up and breast fed- it was then changed to 9:15am, still much more decent than the 7am start for the other runs.

It all went really well. My wonderful sister had agreed to come down to look after Charlie so I could run with Ray....read my sister agreed to have Charlie all on her own for lots of cuddles!! Ray and I are so grateful that she can do this for us....it means for some runs we can both race and Aunty Bec gets some quality time with Charlie :-) So she arrived at 8am and we were up, fed and dressed and ready to go. I had timed it so that we would arrive in time for me to feed Charlie again and then line up to run. There is nothing like having to breast feed to take your mind of a race and put it all into perspective :-) We found a bench near the start finish line and I politely asked a family if I could use some of the seat to feed on....they cleared off quickly~ they must not have seen a boob popped out at the start of a race before :-) so I was finished and had put on my super duper, my boobs are not going to move in this crop top on and was on the start line by 9:10....all good!

The gun went off and we started to run. I had told Ray I wanted to just do under 6mins pace and I would be happy. So we took off and then I spied a lady I have seen at other runs....I I changed my race goal to " I just want to finish in front of her"! We set off and it was a little fast but I felt ok and we decided to just keep running and if it all fell apart who cares I had a perfect little girl waiting at the end of the run. The run went along the Cooks river cycle way and back....it was actually a really lovely run. There are yucky parts of the cooks river, but this part was clean and there were lots of parks and trees along the way. So we slowly reeled this woman in and we passed her at the 3km mark....she had started too fast and was struggling so we made our move. Haha nice to see the competitiveness stays! Ray was great and just chatted the whole way, checking if I was doing ok and encouraged me to just keep going.

I loved it and was so excited to be running again. I was even more excited that I was feeling ok and not coughing up a lung and I was running faster than planned :-) I did get cranky at one point when some guy was yelling at me to sprint and I yelled " I just gave birth 7 weeks ago I am kind of happy to be just running"....Ray reminded me he was jut trying to be friendly....ooops! The finish line suddenly appeared and I picked up the pace and finished with a really good hard run at the line. Woo Hoo! first run back completed and I was still in one piece and Charlie had slept like a log the whole time! I wanted to do anything under 36mins and I finished in 30:21. I think the course was about 200m short so it was probably more like 31:30 mins. BUT my average pace was 5:18/km......quicker than I thought I could do :-) It also felt comfortable and I certainly did not feel like I was pushing it too hard at any time :-) I had a great time and loved every minute of it! I felt fantastic when I finished and it gave me spurt of excitement for my next goal which is the 10km in Canberra.

6km: 5:17, 5:25, 5:11, 5:16, 5:26, 3:43 (800m) (average 5:18)

Breath in.....

I went out for a run on Friday and again on sunday afternoon....both in the rain! I love running in the rain and really missed that while I was not running. I used to often sit at work looking at the rain outside and day dream of going for a run. I decided to go a different way to the usual 5km loop....boring! So I headed out and then relaised it was a bit longer than expected. So I cut out a few streets but it still ended up being 6kms. I felt fine and covered the distance in 5:40/km. So on sunday I decided to do the same loop....I felt tired initially but just enjoyed being out and about. The sun came out half way through the run and there were two huge double rainbows!!! That has to be good luck! I managed to do the run in the exact time as Friday and averaged 5:40/km. I was very excited to do one of my kms in 5:22....ha ha I am a long way off where I used to be but still I was excited!!! I am not sure if I will run again tonight or go to the gym and give my legs a rest.

Charlie continues to improve which is sooooo good! We have had a really lovely weekend, with lots of sleeps, smiles and some play time! She is so much more alert now that she is not all consumd by a painful tummy! She has discovered her mobile above the cot which we had to take down so she would go to sleep...instead if being mesmerised by it! She is growing heaps and today we put on a 3 zero jumpsuit as the 4 zeros were looking like they were painted on :-) haha when you are asking her to breath in to do them up, it is time for the next size :-) We see the doctor again tommorow and I am so glad to be able to give him a good report! I have taken some more photos but I have not had time yet to laod them on the computer.....soon I promise!!

Happy Days.....

I have had a really good couple of days. I really feel like the medication has kicked in and Charlie seems so much more peaceful! She does not seem to have anywhere near as much discomfort or pain. Her face seems so much more relaxed and we have had a lots of 20min periods where she has been really alert and happy to sit with me and pull faces, sing and just be together. This is such a relief! To see her looking relaxed and not in pain is priceless! She is still getting the acid coming up into her throat/mouth after a feed but she is now not screaming in pain....woo hoo! I can cope with the waking through the night etc...just not the constant pain.

I had some friends come over on Wednesday and Thursday for lunch....they have babies too and it was so nice to chat to people who have been there and done that :-) Today we had our visit with the baby nurse and she got two thumbs up! She has put on weight and is now a nice plump 4.8kg. She is so cute and has multiple chins and rolls on her legs....all good!!! i put Charlie in the baby bjorn carrier and she loved it. She snoozed away while I did some shopping. It was so nice to be out and about and I found having her in the carrier so much easier than the pram. I had her baby bag on my back and apart from looking like a turtle it worked really well and I had my hands free to do things. We came home and had a feed and play and then she has had a really good sleep. Tonight we are out for dinner.....yeah!

Wednesday I got out for a run and it was so much cooler!!! I will have to think of a new way to run because I did the same 5km loop again....this will get boring sooner rather than later!! I averaged 5:44/km and did my last km in 5:38 :-) I am now wanting to focus on getting rid of the pesky 3kgs hanging around....time to stop saying " I can eat that I just had a baby" :-) I hope the cool weather hangs around for my Friday run!!!

Half a dozen.....

Well Miss Chalrie was 6 weeks today!!! It feels like she has always been apart of our life and it is hard to now imagine her not being here!! This past week has has some good days and not so good days. Tuesday was particularly stressful with a 3am wake up and lots of screaming. I called Dr Dunlop and he said to increase the dose of the losec and moved my appointment forward to Tuesday next week. I started to feel like I could not manage and I how could I cope with this for the next few days let alone weeks! She then settled and had a great sleep in the afternoon and I managed to get a good two and half hours sleep....it is amazing how much better everything seems when you get some sleep!!! I can see why sleep deprivation is a form of torture....everything seems too hard and too much when you are pooped! But once I had a sleep and a shower I gave myself a kick in the bum for being miserable and I felt much brighter! Charlie is such an amazing part of our life and worth every bit of lack of sleep and stress and I would not have it any other way! So after my kick in the pants I felt confident enough to go out for dinner with two of my favourite friends! She was great while we were out and I joked to Ray that you would not think there was anything wrong. The vommitting has definately decreased and today I can see that she is less agitated, more alert and I am pretty sure I got a few small smiles this morning :-). She still battles sleep but you can blame her stubborn streak on me :-)

Monday I headed out for another 5km run. I felt quite tired and drained when I started but perked up pretty quickly. I averaged 5:45 for the 5km. Yesterday I did nothing and I will head out for a run when Ray gets home tonight. I am looking forward to the Australia day run....I am going to do the 6km Canterbury run- mainly because it starts at 10:30am so it is much easier for me to get us all organised. I have no goals for this run, just to do it, finish it and have fun! I am excited to be able to do a "race" and be part of it all again :-) Then I will aim for the Striders run in March.....depending on how I feel, 1okm seems like a very long way at the moment!!!! Small steps.......

So I am feeling much more positive that Charlie is improving and hopefully in another week we will see a big difference!!!

All quiet on the western front....

Well yesterday was bliss......except for the ridiculous heat!!! Charlie had a much better day, which meant mum and dad had a much better day! I even managed to get the grocery shopping done :-) We closed all the blinds and put all the fans on to keep cool and relaxed yesterday. I think the three of us were all pooped from the day before so we were happy to spend the day relaxiung and watching seinfeld episodes. I was going to go for a run in the evening but even at 7:30pm it felt too hot and to be honest I really did not have it in me yesterday. Ray managed to get his 32km run done really early and missed the brunt of the heat but he still looked a melted blob when he got home. He ran from Brett Park, over to Centenial Park, through the city, over the bridge and back again. I must say I miss the long runs, especially ones like that one. I can not imagine running that far....seems sureal. My days feel like a blur at the moment....each day I have a list of things I want to get done....hahaha I usually just keep adding, rather than get much done. But I am not worrying about it too much....as long as I get the toilet cleaned ;-)

Chalrie is asleep at the moment so I am going to have a snooze :-)

Cross your fingers!

Friday was a pretty good day....Charlie seemed a little more settled with the Mylanta pre feeds and I managed to get the Zoton into her with out too much drama. She only battled a few times and had some good sleep! I went out for a run in the evening and managed 5kms at 5:45/km pace. I am now going to hover at 5kms for a while until it feels really easy. It has been really hot in the afternoons/eveings and I arrive home as red as a beetroot!

Yesterday was a day from HELL!!!! Charlie awoke screaming at 5am and did not stop until we managed to get her to sleep at 8:30pm last night!! She then thankfully crashed for 8.5 hours straight and awoke at 4am, but after a feed she went back for another 3hours. She is asleep again now and thank god it seems like it will be a better day! I have no idea how Ray and I susrvived yesterday and upsetting and stressful is an understatement of the year! I am amazed at how on such little sleep I have mabaged to cope with such a stressful day.....makes other things that I have worried about seem ridiculous! I just kept telling myself that she would have to exhaust herself soon or later and fall asleep....Hmmm I wonder what the world record for an awake baby is??? It also helps to have an extremely supportive sister and mum who reassure me and tell me exactly what I need to hear!

Nothing we did worked yesterday and all we could do is take turns in trying to comfort her and keep her as calm as possible. Watching your bub sob her heart out and not be able to do anything has to be up there with one of the worst experiences!! Without soundy corny it broke my heart! There were a few tears shed again yesterday.....all we could do was try and pep each other up and take turns at feeling like a wreck. Thankfully Ray and I work well as a team. So this is day three of the medication....Dr Dunlop said it would probably take 7 days....finger crossed we do not have more days like yesterday!

Every one cross your fingers......

Trust your instincts.....

The past two and half weeks have been quite tough going for both Charlie and myself. She is now 5 weeks old and we have had lots of "unsettled" periods and lots of trouble sleeping. At first I was unsure about what was nornal for a 3 week old and what to expect. The nurses had told me it was just normal new born stuff and to ride it out. So I kept telling myself to just tough it out, that she would settle eventually. I kept saying to Ray that I thought something was not quite right, that it seemed more than just being unsttled. Everytime I would feed Charlie, she would spend the next few hours arching her back, grizzling, crying, coughing, sneezing, reguguating milk and looking generally unhappy. These signs were what the nurse had said was being overtired. The past week we have had days where I could not get her to sleep at all. Every time I would put her in the cot she would throw up and get hiccoughs and cry. I started to feel really frustrated with myself....how come I can not do this??? I was also getting very teary ans stressed because I thought Chralie looked in pain....and I was worried something was wrong. Charlie had her paediatrician appointment next week and I was hanging out for it so I could ask him if something was wrong. We had another bad day yesterday and my sister suggested call the doctor and see if there was an earlier appointment. Woo Hoo he had a cancellation for this morning. My sister and mum who are both nurses suggested she might have reflux.

We saw Dr Dunlop today and I had written down all the things I had noticed she has been doing and what my worries were. Well it turns out I am not imagining things, she has quite bad reflux. Dr Dunlop was suprised she has been putting on as much weight given the situation but I explained that that is because I have spent most days almost constantly feeding her. I explained that most days it would be about every 90mins she would cry her hungry cry and my theory was a 4 week old baby was not being piggy she was obviously hungry and even though the nurses told me to make her wait 3 hours, I felt if she was hungry she should eat.

Any way he said that it should be resolved with some medication, some mylanta pre feed and trying to keep her upright as much as possible. So we have raised the mattress at one end in the cot and she will start the medication tonight. fingers crossed that it helps her to feel better. It is the wost feeling in the world watching this precious little person cry and become incredibly distressed and in pain and not be able to help! There have been many tears shed by mum thats for sure. I am so releived that there is something we can do- hopefully it makes a difference quickly! At the moment she is happiest when I let her sleep on her tummy on my chest at an inclined position....this usually means I am stuck at a funny angle on the lounge! Hahaha not really a tennable situation! So my lesson learnt is trust your insticts!!!

I did manage to hand over to Papa Bear yesterday evening and get out for a run. Running has taken on a whole new enjoyment! It feels fantastic to get out and run when you have been up since 3am with a distressed baby who just wants to be on you. I felt like I had not been out of the unit in days...which was true :-) She had been so upset I had not managed to even get out for a walk on Monday or Tuesday. I ran 4 km and averaged about 5:45 pace. I felt great. Then I arrived home and showered and felt like I was ready to start again....batteries recharged!

So I am crossing my fingers that our little munchkin will feel better soon!

All is quiet....

I am excited to report that I have managed another two runs over the past week....both were 4km and I felt great! It is feeling easier and easier every time I run. Yesterday I managed to get organised and out the door at 5pm and it was as hot as the sun! Previously I would have said it was too hot to run, but time is precious and I just lapped up the chance to get out for a run. Needless to say I got home as red a s a beetroot and sweating buckets!!! My new shoes feel so fantastic! I can not believe how dead my old ones were. I averaged 5:45/km for the run. I am going to aim for a run on Australia Day.....if I can get the logistics of feeding Charlie right.

She continues to grow and I am just smitten! I love the smell of her and can not help but stare at her when she sleeps! This last week we have had a few hard days where she would not sleep at all during the day and was very restless. She got so overtired and beside herself and it was really hard not knowing what to do to help her to sleep! Thankfully she is sleeping well at night, so it is managable during the day. Mind you you still question your ability as a mum when you can not seem to do something simple like get her to sleep. We tried everything....rocking, patting, singing, walking in the pram, bathing etc. After about 7hrs she finally just crashed! Last night she slept heaps and today she is back to her usual peaceful self. Apparantly it is normal for them to have a really unsettled day once a week. Ray was great, we just tag teamed to give each other a break. This is hard work!! All worth it though :-)

I have invested in a baby sling thing, as quite a few people have said on days like that they sometimes just want to be close to someone and at least that way you can still do some things....otherwise your stuck to the lounge with bub in arms! Hopefully she likes it!

Feeding time.......

4 weeks

I can not believe that 4 weeks ago today little Charlie arrived! It is a bizzare feeling....on one hand I feel like it was just yesterday, but it also seems like forever ago that I was pregnant and waiting for the big arrival! Charlie is so beautiful and is growing at a rate of knots! I put her on the scale a few days ago and she was about 4.5kg so she has put on about 1.3kg since leaving hospital 3 weeks ago. She is a lot more alert now when she is awake and seems to definately know Ray and I by our smell and voice. She is holding her head up really well and is quite strong! She is very active and wriggles almost all the time....hahaha and grunts alot, she is like her mum not very lady like!

She is feeding about evry 3 hrs, give or take- sometimes she wants to eat every 2 hrs and sometimes it stretches out to 4hrs. She wakes evry 3hrs at night but thankfully goes back to sleep without too much hassel. I am feeling a lot more confident with the breast feeding so I can now keep the lights off and I am avoiding changing her nappy at night unless it is unavoidable. I figure that if I can keep her as unstimualted as possible it is easier to get her back to sleep. She then wakes at about 5-6am and is pretty wide eyed for a while. This seems to be the time that she is unsettled so I have been taking her for walks in the pram or putting her in the baby carrier, which seems to work. Haha then there are the times that you try everything and she is still unhappy and obviously tired but will not go to sleep. It is all a huge learning curve, but we feel like we are finally starting to get to know her a bit better.

Ray goes back to work tommorow and I am going to miss him heaps. I have gotten used to having him around this past month and loved evry minute of it. He is also not wanting to go back to work....but unless we win lotto there is not too much choice.

I went for a 3km run on Monday and this morning. I am so excited to be running again. It feels fantastic to doing something and is brilliant for my mental health! As much as I am loving being a mum, it is incredibly draining and demanding. I think if I was bottle feeding and could "hand over" to Dad or other family members it may not feel so overwhelming....but feeling like you are tied to this little person completely can feel very intense. BUT getting out for a run feels fantastic and then I am itching to get back home to Charlie. I have been doing a walk to warm up and cool down and making sure I stretch. I have been averaging between 6min/km- 6:45min/km and making sure I am feeling comfrtable and relaxed while I run. Today I felt great and wanted to keep going, but the sensible voice reminded me that it is only 4 weeks since giving birth and not to push my luck! I am also getting stuck into trying to stregnthen my abs....I can not believe how weak they feel and that is even with me exercising almost daily throughout my pregnancy! It is amazing how much strain it must have all been under. My abs have almost completely re joined again....it is about a half finger width gap now which I am happy about.

A few more photos..... I think she is spectacualr but I am slightly biased!!!!