·:[ The Healthy Mom ]:·
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Okay, my weight is now 135.6, which is 2 lbs less than Monday’s menstrual water retention.  I had a full day yesterday, my personal best in the 5K, Breakfast with Tiffany  (get it?  Oh I crack myself up), birthday party at Little Biggtown at Mr. Biggs, nap with the boys, the SpringSpree for an hour, followed by dinner at Il Vicino.  We watched the first episode of Meerkat Manor with the boys last night, too.  After all that food, I’m glad I still lost some weight, even if it was just from my cycle.

Today my body is sore.  My right heel started hurting while we were at Mr. Biggs.  From my internet self-diagnosis, its plantar fasciitis.  Yowch.  My calves are very sore, and for some weird reason, my left shoulder really hurts.  I should have trained better for the run.  My body wasn’t in the best shape for the run.  I need to get in with my chiropractor tomorrow ASAP!

Now, I’m off to help the boys make blueberry pancakes for dad!

Tiffany, Lanel and I ran it today.

Tiffany ran the first mile with me    Thanks Tiffany!

They had someone at each mile marker giving splits: 10:04, 19:40…  And then as I approached the finish line, I saw on the clock that I could possibly finish under 30 minutes, so I started booking! 

My unofficial finish time is 29:45 !!!  They won’t post official results for another week yet.  But I’m psyched that I finished under 30 minutes.   

Tiffany and I had a nice breakfast at Olive Branch afterwards. They were setting up for SpringSpree all along Tejon.  I’m bummed we’re going to miss it this year. 

Added Aug 1: Official Results!
So, I’m not sure why, but I just now, 6 weeks later, found the official race times from this race. And they misspelled both my and Tiffany’s names. Weird.

 95    9/41   Tiffany Hauver    37   Colo Spgs   CO   0:27:40
132   13/41   Maido Scott       37   Colo Spgs   CO   0:29:42
201   27/45   Lanel Welsby      47   Colo Spgs   CO   0:33:29

Here’s the link to the government website about it:

http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/index.cfm?page=home

And here’s a quote from the Infant Formula page

For each woman, the decision to breastfeed or bottle-feed infant formula is a very personal decision based on many things, including personal or family experiences, whether or not you are going back to work, and whether your baby has special needs. After you weigh all the factors in your life that will affect your decision, remember that breastfeeding, for even a short amount of time, can benefit your baby, you, and your family. Although infant formula can provide babies with necessary nutrients, it can never duplicate the exact chemical makeup of human milk, especially human milk’s cells, hormones, and antibodies to fight disease.

However, there are women who have problems breastfeeding due to health conditions or other personal circumstances and need to feed their babies or supplement with infant formula. Infant formula is also the only safe way to provide nutrition to your baby after you have weaned, if your baby is under the age of one.

If you are going to use infant formula, you can ensure that you use a reputable brand that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). You can check the FDA web site for current information on infant formula in the United States, as well as any recalls due to health and safety problems.

I think that is well said.  It should be the fineprint/disclaimer on the campaign ads.

This was written in response to a West Side Moms discussion regarding this NYT article about the Department of Health and Human Services’ new campaign about breastfeeding. (link requires free registration)  Here’s a (well-written, IMO) analysis of the problems with the campaign and article.
I’m going to give another perspective… 

My mom’s generation was guilted into formula.  “It’s convenient.  It’s good for baby.”  I was a formula fed baby.  My uncle was a pediatrician so my parents were able to get their formula for nearly free when we were infants.  People raised an eyebrow when they saw a mother breastfeeding.  THEY STILL DO TODAY!

There is a black box label on every cigarette pack in America.  Do people still smoke?  In DROVES. 

Let’s face it, Americans, as a whole, don’t care about their health.  We smoke.  We overeat.  We don’t exercise.  Even though we know what *is* healthy, we still won’t actually do it.

We are SELFISH pigs.  And we don’t even just harm ourselves.

Pregnant women all over America drink alcohol excessively.  Smoke.  Do drugs.  Despite all the warnings and campaigns, they still do it! 

The recommendation for breastfeeding for at least 6 months and preferably for the first year has long been around. 

Okay, yes, Zander nursed like a champ from day one.  Zevan was a different story.  There were a few visits with the lactation consultant right after his birth in the hospital and a couple more in the weeks after we got home before we got things right.  Sure, I supplemented with formula sometimes, and was glad I had access to it.  But for 13 months and 16 months, my boys had breastmilk. 

In my personal experience, for every mom that has struggled and done everything she could to breastfeed, before turning to formula, there are exponentially more that turn to formula out of convenience after either no attempt or a half hearted one at breastfeeding.  They don’t want to read Nursing Mother’s Companion.  They don’t want to try fenugreek.  They want the “easy” way out.  So what if it costs so much? 

You won’t find these women on Mothering.com, of course.  But you’ll find them in mom’s groups all over the place.  Even right here in Colorado Springs. 

If you’ve tried to nurse and you can’t, then you can’t.  You can take pride in knowing that you did everything you could and it didn’t work out.  There is no shame or guilt in that.   

But more women don’t even try.  They don’t want to try.  And that’s a shame. 

Yes, the campaign is heavy handed and alarmist and over the top.  Guidelines and recommendations don’t work for the general public.  Threats and warning might.  To be honest, a reality show would be even more effective.  “A Breastfeeding Story”  “Lactation Nation”   

“Honey, we’re killing the kids” has raised more awareness than any public service announcement. 

Of course I don’t think they should label formula as risky or dangerous.  But I wouldn’t mind seeing the breastfeeding recommendations on cans of formula. 

In fact, isn’t there a brand of formula that actually has a “Breast is best, but if you can’t breastfeed, Brand X is the closest to breast milk” type slogan?

My hope is that this campaign can help make breastfeeding the norm, not the anomaly.  That it could help push forth legislation for employers to provide a non-bathroom area for lactating employees to pump and/or nurse their children.  Insurance coverage for lactation consultants and breast pumps. 

My point is, even with this campaign being so over the top, people are going to do what they want anyway.  Even if you had to get a prescription for formula, doctors would write them if you asked for it.  They schedule unwarranted C-sections, don’t they?   

It’s interesting to me that this issue comes up around the same time that Ferber is re-clarifying his getting your child to sleep method and adjusting his stand on co-sleeping.  Is the natural parenting grassroots movement taking hold?  Or is it something more

Hot topic?  For me, obviously.   I don’t see this as something to fight with each other about.  It’s just an attitude we need to change.

I hope you can read this as passionate, not preachy…   

I *am* running the Sailing Shoes 5K on Saturday morning, even though I haven’t been training. Even if I am slow, I am still running it. It’s a fairly flat course, and if I have to walk a bit, I’ll walk a bit. I’m going to try and run 5K tomorrow around here so I can see if I can even run for that long before I take my 2 day rest for the race.

I’m working on my diet…started BalanceLog yesterday.

I dunno, it’s got to be menstrual bloat. I weigh 137.6 today.

Hopefully, I will lose at least 2-3 lbs of menstrual weight by next week. I’m trying to keep busy today…dropped off the boys and trying to clean house and do laundry to keep my mind off of food.

I was doing so well, why should one comment bring me down so low?

One day last week, my mom and I went to Ross and I found 2 super cute dresses, one to wear out for drinks and another one to wear to the wedding. They were cute and I felt good in them. This was a day or so after the mall debacle.

On Saturday, I went to 7-11 to get a money order for an auction I won, and I was annoyed that this guy didn’t take PayPal and I had to go get this. While there, I randomly picked a scratch lotto card (out of like 40 different kinds, I just blindly said, give me #17 (my lucky number). So I took it home, and forgot about it for a few hours, then I found it in the hall from the garage. I picked it up and started scratching.

I won $100 !!! So we went out to Red Robin that night, my treat…I had a margarita AND we all shared a mile high mud pie.

I have learned how to dress to conceal the now 2 year post partum belly squish - as Zevan likes to call it. I just need to pay more attention during the bloaty menstrual times apparently.

95% of the time, I am actually okay with my body now. Which is why I’m more shocked at how devastating what she said to me was. It still smarts. But I am trying hard to just let it go. I think it’s the accompanying menstrual hormones that are making this such a big hurtful deal right now. I’ve had a good cry about it , and I need to let it go.

The comment from Nurse Holly yesterday totally knocked me flat. Hopefully this is just the rock bottom I needed to get my ass back in gear and DRIVING the wagon that I have fallen so far off of.

To be honest, I did actually look like I had baby belly.

AND I can make all sorts of excuses for myself: it was the shirt, it was the McDonald’s chicken strips, yogurt parfait and diet coke that  I had just eaten for lunch, it was the fact that I started my menstrual cycle the day before… 

Still, it made me feel bad. 

Bad enough to get my ass out of bed early and start my morning with a 30 minute basic Tae Bo workout.   On my climbing day.  Picturing Nurse Holly’s perky blonde face on my punching bag as I did my roundhouse kicks 

Hee-yah!

My new nephew, born today June 11, 2006

7 lb 13 oz
20 3/4″
black hair
brown eyes

Super cute!

I’ll try and post pics soon…

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 80% Wonder Woman 70% Supergirl 60% The Flash 60% Spider-Man 60% Catwoman 55% Batman 55% Hulk 50% Iron Man 50% Robin 47% Superman 45%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

So, I’m at the hospital, letting my new little nephew wrap his fingers around mine, trying to distract him from the fact that he’s getting a Hep B vaccine.  The nurse gives him the shot, Anderson cries a little, then she looks at me and cheerfully says, “Oh!”  followed by the 4 words no woman who is self conscious about her body EVER wants to hear

“when are you due?”   

“Oh, I’m not.”  I mutter, mortified, in front of my sister, her husband and my mom.   

My mom, later, privately says something to me about, are you sure you don’t have a hernia, this isn’t fat…I can’t even remember…I was so embarrassed even though I know she was trying to make me feel better.   

I mention it to Doug on the way home.  His response, “you know, your body hasn’t been the same since (you gave birth to) Zevan.  It just changed shape.” 

I spent a good portion of the rest of the ride home from Denver trying not to cry.

Guess who went on a 3 mile fast walk / run today when she got home from Denver. 

My emotions want ice cream, but my ego says no.  We’ll see who wins.

I’m so off the wagon with my diet that I can’t even find the wagon!

TRUE CONFESSION: I have eaten ice cream every day for WEEKS. I blame the heat! Well, at least it’s Breyers LIGHT ice cream.

Let’s tally the exercise then, shall we?

Sunday June 4: Run 2.6 miles
Monday June 5: Help mom unpack! Climbing in the evening
Tuesday June 6: Walk 2.6 miles with the family (and pushing a stroller uphill)
Wednesday June 7: Help mom unpack some more, move BIG tv…

I need to run tomorrow night. I can’t get up early enough to run when its cool, so I will have to wait until evening…EXCEPT that we are going to a barbecue at 5:30 PM, so unless I run after that (yeah right) it won’t be very cool.

Damn.

I did the work out! Yay for me!

I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, but it’s so hard.

I’m disappointed in myself for eating badly and not exercising, but I can’t seem to convert that into motivation 

I went shopping yesterday with my mom for a dress to wear to my cousin’s wedding in NJ June 22.  UGH.  Nothing fit right.   

But, we did go for a little hike last night after dinner at Garden of the Gods with the boys and my mom.  It was right at sunset, so it was nice and cool but still light enough to see.  Perfect hiking weather. 

I don’t like the heat. YUCK.  I need to get up early to run when its cool, but that would mean fighting my night owl nature.  If I wait until the end of the day to run, it’s easy for me to not do it.   

I *will* run on Sunday morning.  I will get my lazy ass out of bed by 8 AM and just go.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.
I *will* run on Sunday morning.

I’m so far off my training program by missing just one week.    I’m supposed to be up to 5 miles this Sunday.  I’m going to go for 3 miles instead - allowing myself to fastwalk if I need to. 

I need a workout routine to use with my exercise ball.  There was on All Star Workouts, but the flaming instructor just annoyed me.  I prefer the sensei/drill sergeant type.

Dangit.  I need to get my ass in gear.  I am going to do a Tae Bo work out right now.    I need to get out of this FUNK!

I am almost afraid to write this so I don’t jinx myself, but I believe Zander is potty trained!

We’ve been good with peeing in the potty for a while now, but for the past week, he’s even gone #2.  In the potty.  On his own.  I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have one of them out of diapers.

He still wears a night time diaper, although it is always dry when I change him in the morning.  We may need to at least put him in a lighter diaper at night.  Just in case.

Now I can concentrate on Zevan.  He actually will go if I pay attention to the signs.  He pooped on the floor today though.  So I cleaned the floor instead of a diaper. 

Yay for Zander!  Make sure you congratulate him for being a big boy and going on the potty the next time you see him…he thrives on positive reinforcement!