I'm feeling mine come back full-force - my endurance, that is. I really feel like I'm getting closer and closer to my levels of pre-pregnancy fitness, and I'm very happy about it. Exhibit A - Yesterday I got in the pool and swam a mile without stopping. I wasn't fast - it took me just over 45 minutes - but I felt pretty darn good the whole time. I wasn't intending to swim a mile - the plan was to do some 400s - but the first 400 felt so good, I decided to just keep going. Then the second 400 felt great, too, and so on and so on. Before I knew it, I was approaching the mile-mark, so I just went for it. I was tired afterward, but it was a good tired.
And this morning, I set out for a run, not really planning any specific pace, and was delighted to see the first mile come in at 7:57! I kept at it, and the second mile was 7:46! The third mile was definitely harder, especially since there were a few small inclines, but I still kept it under 8 minutes - 7:56. In the end, I ran 3.1 miles in 24:23 - just a minute and 10 seconds off my 5K PR of 23:11. I was positively giddy, and still am : )
To tell you the truth, I think one of the reasons I'm feeling like things are coming together so nicely is the fact that I'm doing so much cross-training. I'm only running 3 days a week right now, but the other days are filled with swimming, biking, weight lifting, and interval workouts on the elliptical trainer. And I think mixing things up so much is really working, so I'm going to stick with that program for a while.
So anyway, things are really clicking in that department, and I'm so happy about it. It's nice to feel like an athlete again!
Dante has long been known for his unique food combinations, and last night he came up with a real doozy. They were having grilled shrimp, mashed potatoes, and salad, and he decided to take his mashed potatoes and mix them in with his salad - which, of course, had ranch dressing on it. And he ate every last bite of it. So gross.
He also told me yesterday that one of the other kids at school did something wrong and was going to have to sit in a time-out on the roof, on top of the gutter, for six days. I have no idea what on earth he heard that he could have misinterpreted to mean THAT, but I'm going to try to remember to ask his teacher about it.
Today he saw an empty egg carton on the counter and asked if we could make something with it, and I told him we could look up some instructions for how to make it into a caterpillar. Then I got distracted doing something else, until he reminded me that I needed to look up the "destructions" for the caterpillar.
They're still giving us all sorts of trouble about going to sleep at night, and we're fairly certain we're going to resort to putting a mattress on the floor of Carmine's room and having Dante sleep in there for a while. I don't know if that's the right solution, because eventually Carmine will start sleeping in his crib, at which point Dante will have to go back in with Gabe, but nothing else we've tried has worked, and nighttime is just becoming so unpleasant for all of us, we feel like this is the only thing we can do. We shall see...
Carmine had his 4-month checkup yesterday, and was pronounced perfectly healthy and adorable : ) He's 13lbs 12oz, and 25 inches tall. He's in the 24th percentile for weight, and 70th percentile for height, so he's long and lean! She's not the least bit concerned about his weight. She said it wouldn't be bad if he was gaining quicker, but given that he's happy and healthy and content and meeting/exceeding all his developmental milestones, he's absolutely fine at the weight he's at.
So I'm going to stop in at the breastfeeding support group next week or the following week, just to let her know what the pediatrician said, but I'm not going to go and have him weighed anymore, because all it does is make me unnecessarily anxious. I do want to check in one more time, though, because she has been so helpful and supportive, and in addition to giving her an update, I want to thank her for all her help. And after that, we'll just wait until his 6-month checkup to have him weighed again.
Yesterday was a record-breaking day, as the temperature reached well over 90 in Providence, and at least close to 90 down here by the beach. It was downright uncomfortable, and I was so glad it wasn't a day I was planning on running.
Before we went to the gym, I filled up the pool for the boys, and Dante spent a lot of time in there by himself while Gabe was at school, and then they both played in there for a while when Gabe got home. And I let Carmine lay around in just his diaper, so that he'd be a little more comfortable. We were all pretty hot and uncomfortable all day, but since it was only one day, and not a heatwave, we managed ok.
I'm so glad it was just a one-day thing, though - I'm all for warmer weather, but not THAT warm, especially not in May! I need a little more spring before we get into all-out summer heat and humidity.