Midnight blogger!

Well I got an iPhone for my birthday and there really is an app for everything, so here I am blogging during my baby's night feeding. After all, I'll be up half an hour and what else is there to do?

Last I blogged, I was apparently still at work. That means it's been about sox months! In the meantime, I had a baby (for anyone who didn't gather that from the nursing discussion above). She is four months old now, adorable, and a lot of work. She does sleep pretty well, for which I am thankful. But for a baby, getting up only once per night is very good, so I usually have one bleary-eyed session or maybe two.

My neglect of blogging spared you graphic description of the labor and ensuing stitches; suffice it to say that I got back on my bike just a few weeks ago and I don't think I waited too long at all. Bit I did start walking right away and at six weeks post partum became an official, not long-distance Mermaid!

So now my life goes something like this: nurse 8+ times per day, try to eat healthy and have enough to keep up the milk supply but not so much that I keep holding onto the last ten lbs of baby weight, and try to get some exercise. Maybe a shower once in a while. ;) Mermaids is twice a week, there is a mom & baby fitness class I try to get to once a week, and I found a yoga class I can afford with a teacher I love.* The mom class is a lot harder than you might think! And I met some great new mom friends through it so it is the winner of surprise activity I actually like. Swimming and biking are still tough, and I'm really not sure what I will be able to do when I go back to work, but I'm taking it one day at a time.

Mermaid workouts are extra awesome because my friends are there and Coach H (and everyone else) has welcomed baby to attend. Not that C wouldn't take her, but on Tuesday evening its faster to bring her since baby plus me equals carpool! I am running more comfortably than before and actually doing core work for a change.

Oops, time to go! Adios blogging buddies.

* if you live near Mountain View and can make a noon workout on Wednesdays, I'll let you in on the secret!

Already off the plan

I love to make lists and plans, but sometimes I forget to go back and read them to make sure I am following. :)

Last night I thought I should do the elliptical, so I did, but now I am looking at my last post and seeing that I was supposed to do yoga. Oh well! Part of the problem is that my prenatal yoga dvd is BORING. Not that slogging my way through 35 minutes of walking in place is a thrill, but I look at magazines (no real reading) and it's familiar. The yoga dvd is somehow simultaneously hard and very boring. I think it's because I am used to a particular style (Anusara, often with an emphasis on flow) and this is a much more limited range of poses without any real flow from one pose to the next. And I miss arm balances and inversions. Maybe I don't like yoga so much as Anusara's inclusion of many back bends, arm balances, and inversions satisfies my inner aspiring gymnast.

In any case, it's not like I skipped a day of exercise, I just skipped yoga in favor of the elliptical. And M and I made it out for a ~2 mile walk this morning despite the drizzle. (Yes, I am made of sugar Molly! And walking in the rain isn't as badass as running.) So we're 2 for 2 on exercise so far this week!

Tonight is the team meeting/info night for Team Mermaid! I am excited that I will be on leave during the majority of the season, because that means I will not have to be a Distance Mermaid this year. Last year I was technically on the team (Coach H gave me a calendar of workouts and I came to all the weekend clinics etc.) but my work schedule made attending workouts in San Jose unrealistic. I already talked to C about making time for me to go to workouts once the baby arrives, and he is on board to make sure he covers childcare so I can make the 30 min. drive each way. I'm hoping I will feel much more integrated into the team, as well as getting more help on things like my running, which has never been comfortable and probably needs a lot of adjustment. I loved having a coach and being on a team last year, so it can only get better if I can be part of the team workouts, right?

If anyone is interested, come to Sports Basement in Sunnyvale at 6:30 for Coach H's spiel and discounts on purchases tonight!

Swim Time!

I swam! Finally! I've been meaning to hit the pool regularly since I found out I was pregnant, and I could probably count on one hand how many times since then I've been swimming.

But today, despite the chilly weather, I made it to the pool. 40 minutes and 1200 s.l.o.w. yards later, my arms are a little tired and I feel much better. I usually use a workout off of swimplan.com, but today I wasn't sure how I would feel so I made it up as I went along. I got new pool toys for Christmas so I played with those.

100 free
100 kick with fins
100 free with paddles
100 breast
100 kick
100 free
100 kick
100 breast
100 free with paddles
100 kick
100 free
100 breast

That's a long list for only 1200 yards, but I kept pausing after every 50 and thinking "why am I so out of breath?" and "what should I do next?" I may bring a workout next time just to avoid the latter thoughts.

So far this week has looked like this:
Monday: 35 min on the elliptical
Tuesday: 40 min walk outside
Wednesday: 40 min yoga
Thursday: walk rained out, wandered around a mall for a while
Friday: NOTHING. I felt like a slug all day.
Saturday: Tried on many pairs of maternity jeans, wandered around Old Navy and a few more stores. Seriously, this was so exhausting that even though I had planned to either swim or do yoga afterward, I just couldn't drag myself off the couch.
Sunday: 40 min swimming

Next week how about this plan:
Monday: yoga
Tuesday: walk
Wednesday: elliptical
Thursday: walk
Friday: yoga & swim
Saturday: rest
Sunday: swim

Hmm. Looks good, but must execute! Honestly, after doing nothing for several weeks, four days this week felt great, and pretty much like enough.

Adventures in Baby Shopping, Part 1

Or, how to furnish a nursery for under $500. By request!

I have always loved a bargain. Thrift stores, clearance racks, and of course online sales (with free shipping!) are my bestest friends. I don't actually like shopping that much in the way that most of my girlfriends did growing up (trying things on, hanging at the mall), but give me an item to scout and a percentage off retail and I'm on it.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm bored, or waiting for something to happen at work, or trying to avoid doing some other thing that is less fun, is to surf Craigslist. I look for apartments and houses months before my lease is up, or anytime a friend is thinking about moving, or in cities that I might someday move to but have no current plans to even visit. I look for furniture that I think I might need 5 years from now. I look for sports equipment and accessories that I don't really need but are cool. Sometimes I'll really score something awesome on a whim, like the brand new bike trainer I got before I even had a nice road bike because it was half-off and I felt like taking a break from work to drive somewhere. Other times I'll search off and on for what seems like forever until it finally pays off, like the pair of Bombay Company lingerie chests I stumbled upon after 18 months of searching, for $150, made of real wood and matching our bedroom set!

So now that I'm pregnant, it's a Craigslist bonanza! So much stuff to buy, at bargain basement prices. It has taken me months, but I have amassed a pretty decent nursery for less than half what I would have paid new. I tell myself it's also environmentally responsible because I'm not adding to demand for plastics and new wood furniture. But mostly it's a hobby.

Here is what I've learned about looking for baby stuff, specifically, though a lot of this is also good advice for Craigslisting generally:

1. Make a list of things you want. Sometimes you know there is a particular brand or item you want that's awesome, so look for that. But generally you should try to be flexible about the brand/model because it may be too new or just not popular among parents in your area.
2. Search Craigslist for that category of items and get an idea of the general price range and specific brands/models that are out there. While there will be overlap, what's on Craigslist is not going to be the same as what's in the stores--certain items will be easy to find, and others impossible. This round of Craigslisting is not about buying things, it's just about soaking up the atmosphere.
3. Research the products that look nice to you to find out their retail price, read reviews, and check if there are any safety concerns that you should be aware of in narrowing it down. Things like what materials are safe, what features are essential, and whether any particular models have been recalled or are big no-nos for some other reason.
4. Once you're ready to buy a particular thing, search Craigslist obsessively. I won't say hourly, but certainly daily. If you have a long lead time till you'll need it, be patient and watch prices until you find one that is in like-new condition, in the color you want, and for a price you know is in the low- to mid-range for Craigslist. If it's already at a price you like, you won't have to haggle.
5. Don't wait to call or email. Being eager to buy on Craigslist makes you a good customer.
6. If you've seen an item you want listed several times over a few weeks or month and it's not selling because the price is too high, contact the seller and offer a lower price. Base your offer on comparable items on Craigslist and explain your reasoning to the seller. The worst that can happen is s/he says no.
7. Ask lots of questions. Are they the original owner? How old is it? How many kids was it used for? Any flaws or missing pieces? Do they have the owner's manual? Did they like it? Why are they getting rid of it?
8. Find out the model and year and check again to make sure the piece has not been recalled or otherwise rejected by the zillions of mom and dad bloggers who review baby gear.
9. Once you are meeting the seller, inspect carefully and be ready to walk away if it is not as described.
10. Buy! Give it a good cleaning and enjoy your new-to-you baby stuff.

I don't actually go through this whole rigamarole separately for every item I buy. I have a running mental list of stuff I'd like and after I have exhausted brand-specific searching (step 4 for items that I know I want), I just look at everything on sale in my immediate area for ideas (steps 1 and 2 for new items). I also get a lot of stuff in bulk. It's not worth my gas money to drive 30 miles for a $10 baby bathtub, but if the same person selling that bathtub has an exersaucer and Baby Bjorn that they are also selling dirt cheap, it's suddenly a bargain. Mostly we've bought the really big stuff on Craigslist: crib, strollers, bassinet, high-chair, glider, and even a breast pump (which I'm cleaning thoroughly and buying new tubing for, of course). The smaller things just don't tend to be worth the effort, or are better to buy new.

Last tip: I usually bring a little extra cash because I've found that once I'm at someone's house, surveying their garage for the jogging stroller they are selling, they tend to pick up a box of BPA-free bottles and a Pack 'N Play and say "actually, I don't need these either. Would you take them off my hands for another $20?" Yes, ma'am, I will!

Pass it on to your pregnant friends, or those who like a good thrifting how-to. :) Part 2, which will come sometime later this week, will address the part I'm not so good at: The layette and registering for stuff!

back on the beat

It's not quite two weeks since my realization that I should maybe post here if I want people to read what I have to say, and here I am actually posting again!


Today I am committing to good, moderate exercise in my third trimester. In my first trimester exercise was erratic because I was exhausted all the time and the spikes in my heart rate sort of freaked me out. Then my second trimester was taken over by a busy time at work and so except for a very few prenatal yoga classes exercise sort of went out the window. But it became clear to me over the last month or so how much moving around for at least 30 minutes a day really helps my stress level and my energy, so I'm announcing here for all the world (or at least Melissa and Molly) to see that I will do something at least 5 days a week.

Tonight I hopped on the elliptical at work for 35 minutes. I put it on the weight loss program just because I like the way the intervals are set up in that one, on the lowest level, and tried to pace myself so my heart rate stayed under 150. It was harder than expected--I felt really slow--but at the end I was mildly sweaty and pleased with the experience.

Tomorrow I have a walking date with my running buddy M (seriously, are all my friends named M____ now?) at 8 a.m. It's getting late, but there are documents to review. My trouble with the exercise is this: between work and exercise and obsessing about baby gear, when do I sleep?

oh crap, I have a blog

How did I forget about that halfway through last year?

Well I'll catch you up quickly.

In July, I visited my hometown with the intention of doing an Olympic-distance triathlon, but totally freaked out and bailed at the starting line because the waves were huge and I had no team support (I did have my totally supportive dad!). I learned from that that I am a team player, even in individual sports, and I need to know I have company out on the course. I also turned 30, which I celebrated with a party at my house with family and friends.

In August, I did the Vineman Aquabike Half and then immediately after learned that I am pregnant. The Aquabike was the opposite of the Oxnard fail-fest: a huge Mermaid contingent was racing Barb's Half or Aquabike, and it was a great weekend of supporting each other. I also did the last Splash and Dash at Stevens Creek Reservoir.

In September, I spent the whole month feeling tired and queasy but not actually sick, which is better than my fellow pregnant Mermaids fared (there are three of us!). DH and I celebrated our third anniversary with a fondue feast and sparkling cider. I did the Santa Cruz Mermaid Sprint as a relay, and matched last year's bike time. That's pretty good since on the one hand I have a much better bike but on the other I walked most of the big hills because my heart rate and stomach were acting strangely. All part of a healthy pregnancy, apparently.

October flew by without me really even remembering anything significant. Hmm. I did go to a great Halloween party with Melissa, at which I was a pirate and she was a wench. I drank a lot of non-alcoholic champagne with one of our hosts who was also abstaining, and Melissa drank whatever we put in front of her, which was entertaining since she rarely drinks at all!

In November I ate a LOT and did the Mermaid San Francisco 5k. My walking partner G asked me what pace I was hoping for and, like a great teammate, pushed me to jog just enough at the end to make my 15:00/mi goal. Thanksgiving was delicious as always and delightfully uneventful. Mostly in November I worked a lot!

Last month continued the whirlwind pace at work and I was only too relieved to escape at 5:30 p.m. on December 24 and only return today. While I was not working I celebrated Christmas with my in-laws and my extended family, spent a few days with my parents and close friends in Oxnard, and did some serious furniture rearranging/reorganization at home.

So that brings us to January 2010!

These days my belly is an entity all to itself. It sticks out, it moves, it makes demands. For the most part it doesn't make me ache anywhere else and I'm still mostly unaffected except for my clothes not fitting anymore. (TMI for some, but totally essentially information [TEI?]: I have gained less than 10 lbs. but 3+ bra cup sizes!) Others tell me that the backaches, constant need to pee, and other fun stuff is imminent!

I am hoping to survive the busiest parts of two cases (the last few months pretrial) while in my last trimester. That may or may not be possible. There are childbirth prep classes to take, baby stuff to register for, and hopefully some swimming and some spending time with DH and friends and family to fit in before April.

Hopefully also some posting, if only for Molly who told me today that I should blog more. :)