Starting Over - C25K Week 1 Days 1 & 2

It's been close to a year since I last ran.  Last Thursday I decided to start up C25K again.  I did day 2 of Focus T25 that morning, and then ran day 1 of C25K that evening.  It was hard, but I didn't stop!  I kept going!  I was so excited! I had done it!  Baby Z is 8 weeks, and I'm getting my body back!  

I weighed myself that morning.  I always weigh myself undressed, before eating, but after going to the bathroom.  148.4 pounds!  I am under 150!  I'm so thrilled!

This morning (Saturday) I got up, got dressed, and did my run.  It was harder than day 1.  My abs hurt.  My calves hurt.  I wanted to stop several times.  I couldn't stop.  I WOULDN'T stop!   I kept pushing.  I did all 8 runs!  I thought I was going to die, but I smiled and persevered!

Yay me!

Here is my starting picture. 

Weight - 148.4

Chest - 39.5

Waist - 36.75

Hips - 39.5

Arms - 12

Thighs - 24

 

Chocolate Placenta Truffles

I found a basic truffle recipe online.  I changed it up a little and added my placenta powder to it.  A definite way to go with this. 

Chocolate Placenta Truffles

8 ounces semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate morsels 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp good vanilla extract

1/2 tsp dried or fresh mint leaves (if fresh, mince very small) *optional*

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 Tbsp dried placenta powder

1/4 cup powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and chopped walnuts

1. Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.

2. In a separate bowl, pour in your chocolate, 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, mint leaves, placenta powder, and vanilla extract.

3. Once the cream has come to a boil, pour it over the chocolate, and stir vigorously until the chocolate has melted.  Do not use a whisk.  

4. Put the chocolate in the refrigerator for several hours until it sets.  When you bring it back out, you will want to let it come to room temperature to form it into 1/2 to 1 inch balls.

5. Roll it lightly in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or chopped nuts.  Eat one daily. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

**Be sure to mark what these are so stray hands don't eat all your special mom chocolate.  It may be the only time you won't have others asking for your truffles.**

Placenta Encapsulation

I had Zechariah on 4/25 at home. My dd put the placenta in the freezer for me before I even got out of the shower. LOL!

Anyway, have you ever seen your placenta? I think it's the most awesome thing! It's beautiful. It sustains life. It is fascinating. 

This is the third of my own placentas that I've encapsulated. It can help with baby blues/ppd, increase milk, replenish lost vitamins and minerals, increase energy, decrease postpartum bleeding, and more. These are my happy pills. They boost my mood when feeling depressed. They also help my milk supply. 

Some will say ick (which I understand), but I would rather take a pill from my and my baby's own placenta than a pharmaceutical drug made from... I'm not sure what, but it's loaded with side effects. :(

Soooo....

I finally got it thawed out and 'processed' it today. Basically, I say a prayer of thanks and health over it, cut off the cord, slice the placenta thin, and put it on the dehydrator to dry completely.  Then it's ground into a fine powder form and put in capsules. 

I also have a piece in alcohol (drinking alcohol) for a tincture. I also like to make the cord into a heart and dry it. :)

My last I made jerky, but I am skipping that this time. 

After 24-48 hours on the dehydrator the strips are ready.  You want them to be completely dry.  They should snap when bent.  

Then I break them into small pieces and grind them in small batches in my dedicated placenta grinder (cheap coffee grinder). 

My pile after making 100 capsules. 

Once ground into a fine powder I fill my capsules in the capsule maker (0 size or 00 size). 

After encapsulated, put them in an airtight container (bag or jar) and keep in a cool place or freezer. 

(My first 100 capsules from this batch)

I'm also doing something special with some powder.  Here's the link to the recipe.  

http://ourbirthjourneys.blogspot.com/2014/05/placenta-chocolate-truffles.html

Abigail is 10 today

I decided to post her birth story from 10 years ago.  

Abigail is our third baby. I waited patiently with her birth. I was due on April 30. Well, April 30 came and went, and I continued to wait for her. On May 7, I knew I was in labor all day but didn't say anything to Brent until I was getting somewhat uncomfortable. Her labour was the very best of all of them thus far. We were staying with a group in Independence Missouri. I was in the kitchen area with Brent and some of the women there. I remember how we were all talking and laughing. One of them (who had just had her baby a week earlier) asked me how far apart my contractions were. I casually looked at the clock and when I timed it, I said they were 2 minutes apart. She then got somewhat frantic and said Brent and I needed to leave for the hospital (it was about 30 minutes away). One of the other women (who was a nurse) laughed and said we knew when we should leave, and that we would be fine. Shortly after that, Brent and I got in the car and went to the hospital. Our friends there said they would watch Sadie and Hannah, since it was the middle of the night, and they were sound asleep.

I didn't have any pains until I got into the car. Sitting still, and knowing I was going to the hospital, stressed my body and cause the contractions to become almost unbearable. I had Brent keep the radio on, and I sang the entire way to the hospital, except when I couldn't due to a contraction.

When we got to the hospital, Brent parked the car and helped me into the emergency room area. I was in so much pain that I was cramped into a doubled over position, and couldn't stand upright. The nurses led me into an observation room, put me in bed and hooked up monitors to see where I was at. I'm not exactly sure how long I was in there. It felt like hours, but was probably closer to 20-30 minutes. The nurses came in and took me to one of their birthing rooms. The staff was very friendly, but the on calldoctor was a little 'strange'. She just seemed kind of out of it, like she was asleep. I think she was just an odd person, but very friendly.

Shortly after getting to the birthing room, they broke my water. At that point, the pain got very hard to handle. I asked the staff for an epidural. As we were waiting, I found something out that I shared with Brent and the nurse. I told them that it felt so much better during the contractions when I pushed. It took so much of the pain off the contraction and substituted it withmanageable pressure. The nurse did not say anything to me about it, and left. About an hour after requesting the epidural, the anesthesiologistcame in with his assistant. I was in pain, and do not remember anything about this time of the labour. I am completely blank and do not even remember the epidural being administered. Brent said that the anesthesiologist had trouble with the previous woman (that is why it took so long for them to get to me) and he had blood spattered on him, and he had his assistant performing the epidural. While she was trying to put it in, he was yelling at her. That is not an ideal situation, in my opinion.

Shortly after the epidural, I gave birth to my little Abigail Marie. She was born with dark hair, almost black.

The doctors wanted to keep an eye on her. Herbilirubin level was high. They said she wasjaundiced and put her on a bililight. I was still kind of 'out of it' and the doctor said something about liver failure and a blood transfusion. I lost it and started crying. I know that they were trying to explain the worst case scenario, but I didn't understand what they were saying at that time. We took her home, and she spent the first week with a biliblanket. I somewhat joked that I had to plug my baby in, but I was actually battling depression at that time. I had a hard time bonding and I was frightened for her. She did great, though. She ate like a champ, and gained all her birth weight, plus some, back within two days of being home. We had a home nurse come and prick her little heal every day to check her bili level. It was sad, and hard to do, but she did great. After a week, the nurse said she was fine and didn't need the biliblanket anymore.

It's Gone

Baby Z is 6 days old.  This afternoon his little belly button fell off.  Ok, it wasn't his bell button exactly, but his cord stump.  

Either way, it's both sad and a relief to see it go.  It's like a piece of his newborn stage is gone.  However, now I don't have to worry about it getting pulled, or getting damp from the cloth diapers. 

Bye bye belly button plug. 

Post baby belly

So, it's early, but I'm thinking about when I start getting back in shape.  I won't start running until probably September.  I can't fathom starting my running during the Missouri summer.  Not unless I plan to run around 6am.  I'm not a morning person, but it's always a possibility. 

Anyway, I've been eating a lot since Zechariah was born.  Like, a lot.  I can't seem to get full.  I'm ok with that. I'll eat to get my body ready to feed him.  However, I need to watch my foods.  I did have a cookie and ice cream binge the last few days.  Thankfully I've also been eating a lot of salad, veggie soup, homemade whole wheat bread, water, etc...  

I need to stay healthy for me, but also for Zeke.  I want to be healthy, but also get in shape eventually, when my body is ready.  

So, here I am.  Today's 4th Trimester tummy picture. 

Adjusting to the change

You would think there wouldn't be much to adjust to.  I'm used to this, right?  Never.  There's always the adjustment period.  

I'm finally able to breath again.  After every baby I tend to have trouble breathing.  Right after birth it's like my lungs need to adjust and it takes a day or so to breathe properly.  I'm still sore and can't do much more than eat, sleep, use the bathroom, and feed baby. I'm also rather irritable from after birth pains.  Those really suck. 

As for Zeck, he's doing great.  He cried most of the first night.  Last night he did great. He slept a lot of the night, allowing me to sleep some.  

He is finally learning how to nurse, and my milk is coming in, so that helps.  He still likes to try to bite off my nipples, and I'm scared to nurse him.  It's getting better though. 

He is just the favorite person in the house. The kids (even Joy) keep petting his head and kissing him.  I love holding him, and he loves to sleep on my chest.  He's so strong too.  I put him in his tummy and he lifts his head and looks back and forth.  

He's just an an amazing little guy.