Monday, May 11, 2009

Overdue Update...

Sorry for the long absence, but I have been a busy bee over here. Lots has been going on. The big news is that I got married on May 2nd. Tony and I ended up having a very simple ceremony in the office of a retired judge in our city. When I say simple, I mean simple. It was just the two of us, the judge, and two supplied witnesses. That allowed us to truly keep things low key. It's almost impossible to invite one or two guests to a wedding...the whole marriage domino effect. This was nice, and more importantly, short. I was just about 32 weeks along on our wedding day, nauseous, and huge...lol. Not exactly the picture of a blushing bride, but very happy.

After the ceremony we had a very nice dinner at a restaurant on the water, and then ended up spending two days in Ocean Shores, WA...on the ocean of course. It was beautiful there, and we plan taking little Helen there next summer. It ended up that Mt. Rainier was a bit rustic for a preggy lady.

I've been in full nesting mode. As a first time mom I reserve the right to obsess a little about the furniture etc. that I buy for Helen. So, I did a lot of research and ended up ordering just about everything I need from Babies R Us. I placed all the orders in person, and then had to go through a huge rigmarole tracking the items down and getting them there all at once so that Tony and I could rent a Uhaul and pick it all up. It got accomplished though, and we picked all the big items up on Saturday...crib, mattress, dress/changer combo, travel system, pack and play, high chair, and glider with ottoman...phew! I can see how having a shower would be a huge advantage for first time parents...this stuff is expensive. Still, I've had fun gathering things.

My mind and days are pretty much occupied with the baby. I'll be going to my 5th prenatal class on Monday night. So far, it's all about the childbirth part...I was hoping for more of an emphasis on infant care, but our instructor is great...very enthusiastic and more than willing to answer questions. The best part is that I get a back rub at the end of each class during the breathing exercises. :0) Our classmates are all very nice, but the atmosphere is still a bit stiff. I think that's because the class runs from 7-9 pm on Monday nights, and everyone is exhausted...lots of yawning and uncomfortable looking pregnant women shifting around constantly, me included.

So, basically that's my life right now. My first trimester nausea came back in the third trimester, and I actually caught myself waddling the other day! It's getting really tough to do even basic things, like bending over, and when I try to reach for something on a shelf my tummy gets in the way. I huff and puff all the time, hiccup constantly, and have chronic heartburn and yes, constipation. Still, I can be feeling all icky and then the overwhelming realization that I'll have my baby soon washes over me and I experience intense joy. It's an interesting mix of emotions.

My only regret is that I've gained so much weight during this pregnancy. I will probably have to relose a good 50-60 pounds by the time all is said and done. No doubt that regaining old weight sucks to high hell...there's no use sugar coating it. I am just looking forward to being an active mom (once I get to sleep again from what I hear) and slowly taking the weight back off.


As exciting as rapid weight loss is, that's not an option for me anymore. No way I'll be working out 3+ hours a day, and I can't restrict my calories all that much if I'm breastfeeding. I've been wrapping my mind around this during my entire pregnancy. Only I can fully understand my own psychology, so I wouldn't be surprised if people don't understand why someone who can manage a seven pound loss week after week, can't stick to 2,000 calories per day. Success becomes it's own addiction. I didn't start my weight loss that way, but gained momentum beyond my own imagiination. Honestly, I loved it...feeling so powerful. Shedding all of that fat was like being reborn, or released from prison. Maybe similar to recovering from some debilitating disease that robs you of your mobility for years.

I look back and it all seems like a dream. At this point, I would love to eat a healthy amount of food on a daily basis...stopping the unnesecary weight gain would be a huge accomplishment right now. It has become very clear to me, once again, that there aren't any words that someone can say to make things click for a person who is struggling to gain control of their eating.

I remember when I was very involved in gut2cut...all sorts of people would write me desperate for answers. I spent a lot of time trying to help those people...writing out meal plans, exercise routines, little psychological tools that I would use etc. But, it has to be the right time for each individual person, and the determination has to come from within. All of the little tools are important, understanding nutrition is important, having a support system of some kind is important, but each person has to supply their own spark. I can't save anyone else except myself, and noone can save me.

Ok, a little more stream of consciousness there. I hope whoever reads this is doing well and feeling happy.

Angie

5 comments:

jinxxxygirl said...

My girl Angie! So good to hear from you !Your wedding and honeymoon sounded wonderful. My hubby and i too had a smally wedding. I mean small. Judge and witnesses, performed in a foreign language even.(Denmark)We celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary next month.So the size of the wedding doesn't matter its the size of the hearts involved that matter.
I LOVE your last paragraph. You are so completely right.Took me 20 years to find that spark. And sometimes i have trouble keeping it lit. But i refuse to go backward. I don't want to be that person anymore and that keeps me going. I walk out of the gym with my gym bag in hand and i'm sure people are wondering what i'm smiling about. I'm just so darn proud of myself and the new life i've created it makes me smile.
I've retreated to the tread mill for the summer. Which unfortunately is a LONG summer in TX. But i started putting my runs off until 7 - 8pm when it cooled off a little but thats an awful long time to put off exercise. And since i work really early in the morning by that time of night my energy is really lagging and i started sluffing off on the runs. But thankfully i could see what was happening and caught it before it got out of control. Now most days of the week i leave work at 2pm and automatically go to the gym to either lift weights or run. The weight has been hanging out at 170- 172. STILL about 20 pounds to go . Sure doesn't want to budge. I get a pretty intense work out on the treadmill though. They have this program on it called the weightloss program. It runs a cycle of you running your pace then the incline goes up to like 10 then back to your pace then a couple min later your running so fast your sprinting then back to your pace and so on. Kicks my butt and the sweat just pours. Well girl i better let you go. I could ramble on forever. Just so glad to hear from you. Take care of yourself. Talk to the belly and tell Helen hi for me.LOL!Jinx!

Heather said...

Great update! Thanks for posting it and congrats on the wedding! I love your attitude! You are going to do awesome at this baby stuff :)

Angie said...

Thanks Sparky and Jinx. Deb, you should be proud of yourself! I love that you head off to the gym with a smile on your face. :0)

Sparky, thanks for the vote of confidence on the baby stuff...I am so looking forward to being a mom.

zurplemoon said...

hello-
it's fabulous to see your smiling face. congrats on the wedding.

you'll make a good mommy. you have a huge loving soul the could fill anyones heart up.

weight comes and goes. you know the tools and the way. when it's time it will go. take it easy.

enjoy helen and all she has to offer to you.

take care,
zurp

Angie said...

Thanks Ms. Zurp, it's good to hear from you...Yep, I love my little Helen already...it's getting close now. :0)