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!