Pregnancy/Delivery Recovery

[limewave]

That's a great article. Thanks for the link! I see my doctor next week and I"ll be sure to ask her opinion about postpartum exercise. She's a marathon runner herself and very serious about her training. I'm so fortunate to have her as an OBGYN who understands my need to stay fit and exercise. The first two doctor's I saw told me to do nothing more strenuous than long walks during my pregnancy--I was really disappointed. But then I found my current doctor. She told me to keep riding my bike until I go into labor. I was thrilled! Plus, I had just got a new road bike (my husband bought me to cheer me up when we first found out we were pregnant) and I didn't like the idea of having to park it for the summer. Our pregnancy was a big surprise. We're thrilled, but when we first found out I was depressed because I knew I wouldn't be able to race this summer. So far, being pregnant hasn't been nearly as horrible as I thought. I can still do most of my group rides and even fit in a run here and there. I've only got six more weeks to go! Riding has been a great way to stay in shape the last few months. I can't wait to start towing a burley around with my little biker chic on board :-)

[Crankin]

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I feel strongly about making time for yourself. Jody, my second son was also born early, 4 weeks. He cried constantly. The first one had colic so badly that we had to put him on medication. I couldn't have lived without exercising. Yes, I put my kids on a schedule. I didn't breast feed. I tried with #1, but I hated it and he was really small and was getting nothing. I didn't want to do it to begin with, but I felt peer pressure. Once I made the decision to stop, I felt like a weight had been lifted. He ate every 3-4 hours and my husband was able to do the 1 AM feeding so I could sleep between 9 PM and 5 AM. When I went back to work with the first one my husband sold his business, was finishing his last semester at ASU and he stayed home. It was great. The second was planned to arrive in May, but came in the middle of April (I'm a teacher, so this was very well planned). I went to back to work for the last week of school, but basically was home for about 5 months, as I was on "house arrest" for 6 weeks before the delivery because I went into early labor. I know that most people disagree with what was right for me, but my kids were both planned and very wanted. But, i knew that totally giving up everything that was me wouldn't have been possible. I did have a lot of support from different child care providers and friends and I did need it when my kids became toddlers because my husband travelled a lot. I know that not everyone has a husband who really is an equal parent, but I was married to a real a****** before, and I swore that when I remarried, it would have to be to someone who was going to be an equal partner, or I would not have remarried. Everyone is different. But I feel good that both of my boys saw an example of an equal partnership and they see the contributions that we both made to their upbringing. Probably the best compliment that I have received was from my oldest son who told me that we were very good role models for a marriage.