Morfin & Bricanyl

MO:

1 year ago I had just been knocked out at the hospital.

I was given a strong cocktail of Morfin and Bricanyl to help my body recover after 12h of food poisoning AND contractions...

After months of waiting the big day had finally arrived. The BIRTH.

I remember the heat wave we had in Gothenburg that week.

I had already been plunging into the Swedish sea on more occasions than I could recall - and I´m normally one of those people who don´t bathe unless it´s +25 degrees - in the water.

I looked very much like a stranded whale in the end. +24kg on my small frame. I hated it.

This photograph is taken 1 week(!) before delivery, can you believe it???

On the day of the delivery, just hours before the big occasion, I looked like this:

Varberg 2009-07-01

Ohhh, the face of a fed up woman!

Tomorrow I´m the mother of a 1-year old son. Where did time go???

Time flies and the love just gets stronger. Amazing.

11 months after the birth of Robin

MO:

One of the reasons why I really wanted to put my name down for the RKC was to find a strong incentive to help me fulfill my goal to:

Be stronger and in better shape than I was before I got pregnant,

within 1 year of giving birth.

Tomorrow Robin is 11 months old.

End of May, beginning of June 2009. 36 weeks + 5 days.

June 2009. Look very closely at this photograph. And no, it hasn´t been through photoshop.

38 weeks. 2 weeks to go (!!!) before touch down.

I grew even larger in the last 14 days.

+24kg in total.

10 months and 3 weeks after giving birth.

It´s possible.

It´s do-able.

I´m STRONGER and fitter than I was before I got pregnant.

Coolio.

BUTT freezing COLD

MO:

It was freezing today.
I´m still coughing, so no running...

Instead a long, cold walk through the city...

...Wearing my fav denims, almost exactly 4 1/2months after giving birth...
Who cares that the weather is butt freezing cold?

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Shallow, but oh so much fun!

YES!

MO:

"I have nothing to wear!" Normally, I NEVER need to say those words, but since delivering Robin, I´ve not been able to wear hardly any of my trousers, let alone my denims, and believe me, I have MANY pairs of jeans-(even after selling second hand/giving away countless of pairs).
"Heck, let´s check how far it is to go, I´m soooo fed up with black leggings", was my thought this morning as I grabbed the first pair in the pile.
A pair of Blue Cult. American designer denim with quite a lot of stretch in them, but hey, a size 25 (about 27 in European sizing)?
Did I really wear these once???
I laugh and pull them over my kneecaps, prepared to find myself struggling as I get to the upper thigh part.
WHAT?
Ihhhhhhhh!
Not only am I inside them, but I´m also able to do the button up!
Robin´s face is perplexed as he watches his mother dance around in the bedroom, singing and hollering.

Tomorrow is an Acne day.

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4 months after delivery

36 weeks+ 5days pregnant...

Almost 4 months after delivery...

MO:

Almost 4 months after delivery, I´m happy with what my body has achieved so far. Make no mistakes though, I´ve been working seriously HARD to get back in shape-and I´m not there yet. Anyone who says that they "...bounced back in shape, just through breast feeding!..Amazing, isn´t it?" is either a lier or wasn´t in that good shape before they got pregnant. I´m calculating another 3-4 months or so to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy. And I´m still not sure I´ll get into my favourite Acne jeans even then.

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Vanity Fair

Picture taken after tonight´s spinning/kettlebell-class,
11 weeks after delivery

MO:

Two questions asked completely out of vanity:

1. Will one´s midriff EVER be the same??? (read: as it was before giving birth...)
2. WHEN will I be able to wear my old jeans again???

Please, you are welcome to share your own experiences in this matter, good or bad, happy or sad.... :)

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Where´s your CORE at?

MO:

I´m back in the gym, on the bike, out running and throwing the kettlebell around. I feel quite good and not at all like I just had a baby. Until this morning.
I joined S & M (oh, that was a fun abbreviation!) in their acro-yoga session this morning, where we spent almost an hour doing inversions (meaning being upside down in yogi-talk).

Mein Gott. Suddenly it was more than obvious that Robin was born 2 months ago. I had NO contact almost whatsoever with my midriff...it was like, hello?, space calling CORE?! WAKE UP! Also, my arms were weak and my shoulders & hamstrings were incredibly stiff.

The girls were wonderful and supportive (we had so much fun!), reminding me to be patient and that the baby thing will affect you for quite a while, but I have to admit: I was a bit upset I had lost THAT much strength, contact and power! (yes, yes, I know it´s ridiculous, but it will also be the fact that pushes me to become better)...



Tomorrow & Sunday I do my first "real" work, teaching a Cycling Basic Training course here in Gothenburg. It will be hectic but fun. I´m looking forward to having my new team members Magnus & Linda there, getting ready and prepared to start teaching courses on their own for InCycle later this autumn.

Time for bed now,

Have a great weekend!

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Life with pain

MO:

Anyone who has lived with a child suffering from colic knows what I´m talking about...

At night you want to jump from a bridge, slash your wrists, or shoot yourself, because you feel so worthless,small and pitiful when you cannot ease the pain from the most precious thing in your life.
In the morning it´s a new day and you enter it full of hope and wishes that today is the day when the tears have dried up and the excruciating waves of pain shooting through the little body has finally decided to ease off. The day when you can start fresh and find the baby bubble without the worry or the trips to the hospital.

Maybe today is that day.

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No worries

MO:

Check out picture no 1. Closely. Yes, that is my belly sticking out at the front. Impressive, eh? The photograph is taken on June 20. Pregnant in week 38 - 11 days before delivery.

Picture no 2 is taken today after my run. 27 days after the birth of Robin:

Picture no 3 is taken from the package of my new best friend: The Nike Revolutionary Control Bra. Sizes start with a D cup(!) and goes on to E... Wearing it makes me feel like I´m an extra in Matrix (in a sort of comical way), but I swear it works wonders for my "milk-machines" (even for more vigorous workouts).

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At war

The chaos that is our apartment right now...

MO:

I´m fighting an incredibly uneven fight. It goes on during most of my waking hours.
I´ve declared war against milk & puke-stains, masses of laundry, unwashed dishes, things thrown all over the apartment, not to mention unpainted toe nails and bushy eyebrows.

Having a little one means that there is a 2h (if you´re lucky 2 1/2h) window, when he is asleep and you have some time to see to your surroundings (and yourself). This time is for eating, showering, answering and/or returning phone calls, checking your email plus all the other things mentioned above.

I´m not trying to be a perfect Super-Mum or a glam "Latte-Mum", but I know that if I feel good (about myself and my living space), Robin will feel good too. Wearing stained clothing or seeing mountains of laundry on the bathroom floor certainly won´t bring a smile to my face.

It´s hard to know where to draw the line. Being content vs. Being Anal.
I´m still working on it. In the meantime I´m dreaming about wearing my favourite shoes again...

Favourite shoes...

Ps. Felt faboulous yesterday! Went out for a run in the forrest and my body felt great!

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Being grateful

MO:

It took 2 weeks and 3 days to get back to the gym.
Jeeez, it felt incredible!

I did a full body strength workout at about 70% capacity...at least that´s something good that age brings - experience... No need to kill yourself when you try to come back from injury, illness or pregnancy. Better to start slow and be able to do it more often and then progress over time.

Next on the list: Go for a run.

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Mum´s the word

MO:

What is life with a baby like after 2 weeks and 3 days? The best way to sum it up: sleep deprivation and unconditional love...

Yesterday I got 40min to myself in the early evening, grabbing a powerwalk in the woods. The feeling was bliss, although I did miss my little family whilst out.

With just over 2 weeks until we are moving apartments there are some "busy" weeks ahead. A quite different challenge moving house with a 1 month old baby in the house.

It´s still amusing/unbelievable/wonderful/unimaginable/fantastic to be able to say that I am somebody´s mum. I wonder how long it will take until it has sunk in properly?

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A Strong Comeback

MO:

I made a second comeback today.
Day 2 fever free. Feeling stronger.
Bring on the high heels and one of the 3 cardigans(!), with boob warmers (looking like satellite dishes!) from Apoteket underneath (which meant I could finally ditch the down vest).

Robin had his first appointment at BVC-he has put on quite some weight-great!- and now sports 4.2kg.

Comeback mum out on the town...

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