In Awe

So, I've given birth three times now. Without delving into "TMI" land, I will say that I had all basic birth scenarios. First birth was a long, 18 hour, pitocin dripped nightmare that ended with a c-section. My second birth was a "marathon labor" that started 3 weeks before I actually went into hard labor, and it still took 12 hours of that before I was able to give birth with the help of an epidural. The third and final labor came close to being a "blurb" about a woman giving birth in the McDonalds drive thru. Once my water broke, I had little Brody 47 minutes later. No drugs!!! A real, natural birth. The doctor almost didn't make it in the room.
Now, I dealt with labor the way that most women on those reality birth shows do....lots of moaning, crying, rocking, walking, screaming. I remember certain points where I was hearing myself making noises that I didn't know was me. I was a vocal one for sure. But after finding this on Youtube, I feel quite inept. No warnings needed. There's no anatomy on the video. No worries.



I sing. I sing all the time. I sing to relieve my stress. I sing while I clean, while I cook, while I drive. I sing to my kids. I sing to my pets. I just sing. But I never, ever would have thought to sing during labor. And this lady's beautiful voice and the song choice just gets me all weepy. And now I almost ALMOST wish that I could experience birth once more just to try her theory. Singing through the contractions. It's a concept that I would love to try. But I'm not going to. My birthin' babies days are done.

A New Frontier

So, I've always been somewhat notorious for my...er....lack of concern about diet and exercise. I have a good friend who used to love to hassle me about my eating choices. "Rach, you gonna put butter on that burger and fry it or just go for the straight lard? What about the fries? Should I grab the cream cheese for a dip?" It just amazed her that I could eat complete crap and never gain an ounce. I am a much more rounded cook these days. We eat salad on a regular basis and I rarely fry anything anymore. But at that time, I rarely ate veggies at all..unless they were smothered in butter and boiled with bacon to a point that they would melt when the fork touched them. I started off our marriage as a "kill it, skin it, fry it, eat it" cook. We ate fried foods almost constantly and never even thought about doing anything more active than walking around the grocery, shopping for dessert. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed a good game of volleyball or a nice walk. I enjoyed being active...dancing around the house with the kids....or back in the day, at a dance club or party with my friends. (I don't care if you snicker, the way I danced completely counted as exercise!) But I've never been the type to worry about how many calories I've burned or what my heart rate was. I've been known to utter the words, "I don't jog. I only run if someone is chasing me with a blunt object." But I've never been one to worry about weight, unless it was to feel self-conscious about being too skinny. I know, people hate girls who say that, but it's true. Being too skinny is actually something that girls can be worried about as well.
Of course, that was all pre-baby # 3. I don't know if it was the HUGE amount of weight gained...I told them not to tell me how much once I hit 60 pounds, "Don't ask, Don't tell" is a popular policy where my weight is concerned ...but the last 15 pounds of it has hung on waaaaaaaay past the time that it took me to lose the baby weight with #1 and #2. Maybe it's because I'm no longer in the "18-32 demographic". Once again, don't ask don't tell. So, I did a a 2 month period last summer when I worked out daily at home. Stability ball, light weights, cardio. It was not my favorite way to spend my time. After all, when you have 3 kids plus extra kid friends and kid family always around, it's hard to really concentrate on whether or not you're working the right muscle group. And to add insult to injury, after working out DAILY for an HOUR for 2 MONTHS, I actually GAINED weight. I know, I know. Don't say it. I gained muscle tone. But by golly, when a girl works out that dadburned much, she ought to at least lost a few freakin' pounds!! Grrrr.... So with that ultimate let down, I stopped working out. Plus the holidays were coming on and life was way to busy to take that time away from the kids.
Then a friend of mine asked me to join her at the local all women's gym. I really didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. I had visions of me spending money that would go to waste because I would be too busy to go. But I am proud to say that I have been going and have loved it! It's a great outlet for my stress and even though I am still not losing weight (am I forever stuck??), I don't mind as much because I am enjoying it. Michael Jon has been wonderful about handling the home front as I slip away for an hour or two every few days. So I don't have the kids toddling around as I try to balance on a stability ball, that's a huge plus! And I get some wonderful "girl" time with my friends, something that I have been missing the last few years.
And here's the kicker! I've started a running program! I actually LIKE running! Who knew? In elementary and middle school field days, I was always a sprinter. Quick and fast. But never long distance. And I never entertained the thought of track in high school. So to find myself running on the treadmill, listening to my "workout playlist" on the iPod and loving it, is surreal to say the least. I doubt seriously if you'll ever catch me running down the road in a headband, sports bra, and Lycra, but still, I am RUNNING! What a scream!