Survey says...

I received this via e-mail from one of my best friends - a questionnaire about one's first pregnancy. Thought it might be interesting to share on my blog.

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's
all about you and your first baby.

1. Were you married at the time? Yes

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? shocked, surprised, scared, nervous BUT excited

3. How old were you? 30

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I ate breakfast and felt like I was going to throw up all day so I thought, hmmm, when was my last period?

5. Who did you tell first? the hub

6. Did you want to find out the sex? I did, but then my hubby and several friends who kept it a secret convinced me to wait until the delivery. It was amazing, although I thought for sure she was a he!

7. Due date? May 25

8. Did you deliver early or late? late by one day

9. Did you have morning sickness? I think I threw up only once, but I did feel quesy a lot that first trimester

10. What did you crave? spicy foods but what's new?

11. Who irritated you the most? no one in particular; just people who acted like I was MUCH farther along than I was

12. What was your first child's sex? girl

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregn ancy? 35

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I actually became preeclampsic either right before I went into labor or thereafter! Felt really weird the first few weeks after birth.

15. Where did you give birth? Overland Park Medical Regional Center

16. How many hours were you in labor? I started feeling the contractions at 8 a.m. at home, left for the hospital around 1 p.m. and delivered minutes after 9 p.m.

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Brady

18. Who watched? Brady, my midwife, a midwife in training and a cheerleader nurse.

19. Was it natural or c-section? natural

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? epidural - it's my new best friend

21. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs .01 oz

22. Did your child have any complications? no, thank GOD!

23. What did you name him/her? Brijin Joy

24. How old is your first born today? almost 10 weeks old so that's why I remember all this stuff

25. What was your baby's first word? can't wait to hear it!

Just feeding the ducks with Grandpa

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Seeing this outfit almost made me cry because it immediately brought to mind my many trips to the local duck pond with my Grandpa Caughlin. Not that I ever had an outfit as cute as this to wear to the pond; probably was wearing my big brother's hand-me-down clothes, which was probably smart considering how dirty I typically was as a kid. And I guess my brother was with us at the pond, but I remember really enjoying hanging out with my grandpa and feeding the ducks.

I can totally see my little girl Brijin Joy walking to the duck pond with her Grandpa Muehlig and God-willing, her great grandpa to feed the ducks. Now I will admit she is too teeny weeny to wear this outfit for a few years, but I can definitely see the memories that will be made while wearing it - just hanging out at the pond and feeding the ducks with Grandpa.

Yoga is a journey

I've been a little shocked with how weak my body feels in my postnatal yoga practice versus before I became pregnant. Heck, even compared to when I was pregnant! I swear I could do chatarunga up until my belly was too big and in the way to do it, which was up until six or seven months pregnant if I remember correctly.

Six weeks seems to be the magic number doctors and midwives give for returning to exercise post baby; ever since hitting this milestone three weeks ago, I've been trying to do more power yoga to get ready to go back to teaching at the YMCA, which I will return to in a week! I really wanted more time off to be more physically ready, but unfortunately my subs couldn't extend their coverage of my two and a half classes. So when I hit the six-week mark, I tried a 20-minute, power yoga routine of Baron Baptiste's I did all the time before having Brijin and even while I was pregnant. Well three weeks ago, I could barely make it through, let alone attempt chatarunga. I felt like crying because my body was so different from before and even during my pregnancy.

My frustration of not being able to do chatarunga and several other postures reminded me of something I've told my yoga students time and time again. Listen to your body. Yoga is a journey and not a destination. Every day is a unique day; no matter if you've just had a baby or not, your body is going to feel differently every day. Some days you can accomplish amazing feats and other days it's just enough to get your mat rolled out and do child's pose. Once I accepted my hypocrisy and stopped beating myself up, I let it go and enjoyed what I could do. Yesterday, nine weeks after having our baby, I was able to do chatarunga, and what a pleasure it was! Now I may only be able to do ONE chatarunga a practice, but I will celebrate that one posture like it's the first time I accomplished it. And if I can't even do one on another day, I need to accept it and thank my body for all the other asanas it could do. As Yoga Sutra 2:46 says, "The posture should be steady and comfortable."

If you're a new mom like me, make sure to give your body time to recooperate and enjoy your journey back into yoga. Check out this article: Postpartum Yoga for New Moms.