I’m continuously amazed at the human body. God designed our bodies for carrying, birthing and nourishing a child. How weird is it that 3 months ago, there was a tiny human inside of me?!

I feel good. I’ve fully healed “down there” (no more stitches!), and my 6 week postpartum checkup (FOREVER AGO) was A-OK! Since my 6 week checkup, I’ve started Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy. My doc referred me to The Center for Pelvic Floor and Core Rehabilitation here in Cincinnati. I’ve only been a handful of times (scheduling is proving to be difficult), but I’m really glad that I decided to go. I put a sample of my exercises at the bottom of this post (skip it if you don’t want to read about female anatomy)

Exercise

Anyways, my pelvic floor is getting stronger, which is exciting because I’m starting Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp next week! I still have to be mindful of jumping exercises, but I’m excited to have a routine to follow! We’ve still been taking walks, though not as much since it got COLD outside. I’m making it a point to actually USE my gym membership now that it’s chilly.

Weight and Body

Here are a few comparison pictures (I’m also using the 3 month photos as my “beginning” place for Bootcamp“):

And here are the differences in measurements:

I’m definitely not complaining about any of those stats. Like I mentioned in Adeline’s 3 month post, she’s getting heavier (yippee!) but I need to build up some serious shoulder strength if I’m going to do lots of baby shoulder presses during playtime! Even though my stomach is flat, I still have trouble with core exercises such as side planks. I’m working on challenging the muscles, but I’m still being cautious enough to stop if something doesn’t feel right.

Thoughts and Emotions

I wrote about my feelings of losing my “old self” in my birthday post. I also wrote about our struggle with Adeline’s 12 week growth spurt. Aside from feeling stressed when I’m pulled in too many directions, I am feeling good. If you are expecting, or if you are a new mom, FIND MOM FRIENDS! Even if you are just a part of a forum on a baby website- it helps to have shared experiences with other women. It’s pretty fun to “talk” to some of my internet mom friends in the middle of the night via Twitter. It juts makes you feel good knowing that there are other women in the same boat as you

Okay, so that’s the end of the post- if you want to read about specific pelvic floor exercises, read on…

Continue reading →

If you missed it, here is Adeline’s one month update!
During my pregnancy, I loved reading various bloggers’ post-partum updates. I figured I would chronicle my own journey post-partum! I don’t know how many installments I’ll do in this “series”, probably a 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month update!

Breastfeeding
Babies eat, sleep and poop. Sounds simple, right? We chose to breastfeed for multiple reasons: cost, nutrition and accessibility. Our first month of breastfeeding has gone REALLY well. My milk came in fast (within 24hrs of delivery), and Adeline started eating like a pro. The first 2 weeks, I did have some pain (when a part of your body goes from NEVER being “used” to being used 10+ times per day, you should probably expect some discomfort), but as Adeline and I learned to work together, the pain lessened and feeding her became MUCH easier. Our nursing sessions are currently 10-15 minutes long. She usually eats from one side per feeding (recommendation for fast-letdown/oversupply issues that were contributing to her green poops). Seeing little leg rolls forming makes me very proud that my body is able to provide her with great nutrition! Leaking (especially at night) has been an issue, but I loved the Tommee Tippee Nursing Pads (shower gift from Target), and I restocked with some NUK Washable Nursing Pads (also at Target) which are working REALLY well at night!

Weight and Body
I know everyone has a different experience with post-pregnancy weight loss, but I left the hospital at my pre-pregnancy weight (however at my 40 week appointment, I had only gained 11lbs, 16lbs if you include the weight I lost in pregnancy). One month later, I’m actually under my pre-pregnancy weight. I am not super happy about that because I I have to be pretty diligent about eating enough to support breastfeeding my sweet baby for as long as possible without completely depleting my body of precious nutrients!

Although my clothes fit (I still wore some of my “normal” clothes at the end of pregnancy), my body is still recovering. I had a tear, and my stitches are still healing. I can feel that my pelvic floor is weak. And although my tummy is flat, I have lost a lot of abdominal strength. I just feel “thin” and I’m really looking forward to putting some more muscle back on when I’m cleared to work out. I’m eating more than I did during pregnancy, and it’s quite the chore sometimes (especially when caring for a babe!)

I will admit, I love the way my body looks right now. I’m pretty shocked that my recovery and return to “normal” has been so quick, and I’m definitely not complaining! I really do think that staying active throughout my pregnancy helped me to have a fast recovery.

  
1 Day vs. 3 Days

1 Week


1 Month Post Partum

I took some measurements when I was 40 weeks pregnant, and here are the differences one month later.

Exercise
The most I’ve done “exercise” wise is walking and some light abdominal strengthening (and some pelvic floor strengthening exercises). I made a trip to the gym last week to start doing some lower back exercises (and to walk on the treadmill since it was FREEZING and I just needed to get out of the house for a little bit). For the next little while, I’m planning on walking and easing myself back into some strength training.

I’m hoping that Daniel and I can work out a schedule where I can go to the gym a couple times per week while he gets some snuggle time with Adeline. Eventually, I hope to make a return to running and racing, and I may try to do Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer again OR I may sign up for Tina Reale’s Best Body Bootcamp (round 3 is starting up in January). Even though I was active during pregnancy, I definitely lost a lot of muscle, and I’m looking forward to getting back to a stronger shape once my body is ready! And I’m definitely ready to get back into running when my body is good and ready!

Emotions and Thoughts
Being a mom is definitely challenging. Trying to balance being both a mom and a wife and me, myself and I? Pretty darn tough. I’ve had my moments of feeling really discouraged (can I do this?) and I’ve had a few moments of pure doubt (do I WANT to do this?). In the end, after prayers and words of wisdom from Daniel and from others, this first month has stretched me a lot as a person and I know that God has given us this special child to love for the rest of our lives. In the end, my doubts and fears come directly from my lack of faith in God giving me the strength that I need. To me, those thoughts are clearly the Devil trying to destroy my efforts. 

I’ve also found myself being caught in the trap of trying to be “supermom”. I feel like I HAVE to keep the house clean, that I HAVE to cook dinner, that I HAVE to shower all while taking good care of Adeline. This pressure to be “perfect” totally comes from me (meaning that I definitely don’t feel pressure from Daniel or anyone else to reach those high standards). I’m trying to relax- so what if there is dog hair floating everywhere (#1 pet peeve right now…)? SO WHAT if there are dishes in the sink (Daniel is fully capable of putting the into the dishwasher, they’ll get clean eventually and I don’t have to to EVERYTHING)? Who cares if I haven’t showered (someone might care when you have sour spit-up all over you…)?

Instead of focusing on all of the things that need to be done, this first month has taught me to ask for help, and to accept help. I have learned that napping with my baby is so much sweeter than sweeping the floor. I have learned that a few precious minutes with my husband is better than putting on makeup. I’m excited to see what the coming months have in store!

Hey everyone! I posted about my experience with Jamie Eason’s 12 Week LiveFit Trainer on Friday, but I wanted to come and do a quick video recap of my experience so far! Please ignore the awkward blurry hand gestures and overuse of “ums”! Enjoy!

Thanks for watching! Seriously, if you have any comments or questions, leave them in the comments section on this page or just ask me if you see me!

Love you all!

Holly

Hope that everyone had a WONDERFUL Christmas celebration! We sure did! Family, friends, good food and the Holidays. What more does one need?

I have a slight addiction to Brooks Adrenaline running shoes. Ever since I started running, Brooks have been my shoe of choice. I started out as a SUPER pronator (ankles rolling inward), so my running store in Louisville fitted me into Brooks Ariels. They sort of look like grandma shoes with brighter colors, no?

(source)

After strengthening my knees and ankles after my first season of cross country in High School, I graduated to the Brooks Adrenaline line. Actually, almost our entire high school girls XC team wore Brooks! I just realized that I’ve been wearing Brooks (both racing and training shoes) since 2004!! Wow!

Here is my current “collection”, one of these pairs does not belong…

My knees and back and hips and ankles are SO happy to have received a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11’s for Christmas.

Running friends, it’s time to cringe. I haven’t had a new pair of running shoes since the summer of 2009. Daniel bought me a new pair of Brooks before I went to Kenya for 3 months in 2009. Granted, I didn’t run a whole lot in 2009 or 2010, BUT, that was the last time that any new running shoes were on my feet… YIKES

Top to Bottom: Brooks 11’s (Christmas 2011), Brooks 8’s (2008 XC season), Brooks 9’s (2009 Track Season), Brooks 8’s (Summer 2009).

The 9’s gave me a TERRIBLE blister on the inside of my arch this past summer (I think I wore the wrong socks), so they’ve been retired for a while even though the tread isn’t too bad…

Then I wore the Brooks 8’s from my 2008 XC season for a while, but I just don’t really like the way that they feel. Weird.

The shoes I’ve been wearing the most often are the shoes that Daniel got me right before I left for Kenya in 2009. I wore them for the Bourbon Chase, and they’re the shoes I’ve been training in for most of the summer and fall. As I mentioned before, not a whole lot of running happened in 2009 and 2010, but I used these shoes for lots of everyday activities as well.

Holy moly. I did not realize that I had worn through the rubber on the bottom of my shoe until after my 2011 Turkey Trot race. I think I posted that my right hamstring was acting a little bit funky during the race, and one of the Therapists at work said that I had a minor hamstring pull. How could I NOT have a minor injury with shoes that look like this! (I even wore a hole in the upper of my right shoe)

It was super fun to receive a new pair of running shoes for Christmas, partly because I forgot what the bottom of a shoe SHOULD look like!!!

One more comparison:

My joints are happy again, and I have a few pairs of shoes to donate! I’ll probably hang on to the pair that is the most worn through for my summer mowing shoes, but the other ones will go to a shoe drive!

One last “bad runner” item that I need to get off of my chest: I’ve been wearing the SAME shoe inserts since I started running. Back in 2004. I’ve never ever bought another pair. Exhibit A:

I think I’ll try running with the inserts that came with this new pair of shoes, but if I don’t like the way they feel, I’ll probably slip in my 6 year old inserts back into my brand new kicks. Maybe next year for Christmas I’ll get a new pair of inserts

To congratulate you for making it through this post, here is a picture of Silas:

Maybe I should stop pretending that Fitness Fridays won’t really happen every Friday. However, I do plan on continuing regularly posting our workout adventures for the week, with the awesome Fitness Friday logo, just because I want to

At some point, I’ll get Daniel’s activities on here- I know he went bouldering a couple of times, and the man bikes EVERYWHERE. He also stopped in at the gym that I work at once this week, and he did our Saturday workout as well! I love exercising with my husband! (No more shaggy hair!)

• Sunday: Pure Barre. The gym I work at, Body Structure, is teaming up with Pure Barre to offer packages on Pure Barre Classes and Personal Fitness Training at our gym. My friend Hannah and I decided it would be a good idea to see what Pure Barre is all about so that we would be well-informed to talk about the class with our members! We went on Sunday afternoon to a regular "Pure Barre" class, dressed in Capri pants and barefooted, we got out our equipment: 3lb and 8lb weights, a resistance band, a mat and a small rubber ball. The music was turned up and the instructor started with a quick, heart-pumping warm up. We wasted no time getting to work. (insert quote from Pure Barre website about what Barre is).
• 
• Since I had just run a 5k the night before, my legs were already pretty tired. We did many reps of each exercise. I’m really not sure how to describe what we did. But I can tell you that it made my legs shake. I can see how some people would really like Pure Barre- I didn’t sweat that much, and I felt like I got in a lot of work in those short 55 minutes.
• 
• However, I don’t think that Pure Barre fit my "exercise style". I like pounding on the pavement, I like being out of breath and moving fast (BodyRock.tv workouts). I like yoga and pilates, but Pure Barre just didn’t do it for me. Now, the women in the class had amazing bodies, but I think the whole thing was just a little too "fancy" and ‘choreographed" for me. I also had a difficult time understanding the postures and placement of my limbs (hello lack of self-awareness), and I know that with time, I would probably learn everything.
• So who would I recommend this class to? Someone with pretty good flexibility, someone looking for an intense yet manageable workout, and probably someone who had a dance background (as I think they would enjoy it more). I am really glad that I got to have an opportunity to experience what Pure Barre is, but I think I’ll just stick with my running and BodyRocking
• Monday: HOT and sweaty 3 mile run (super easy)
• Tuesday: REST!
• Wednesday: 5 Mile Run on my break (7:50 pace, say what!?)
• Thursday: REST! (Plus a walk with the puppers later that evening)
• Friday: Horrid 2 miles in the morning. My body dislikes the morning. Have you ever had your body NOT warm up? That was this run. Stiff lead legs I did have a nice walk with Silas though later on that day!
• Saturday: Workout inspired by BodyRock.tv’s 600 Rep Fat Burner Workout. Done at Lafayette Park in St. Louis, MO (<—more on the mysterious location in our next post!) with our friend Tyler- it was so fun to work out together Ty! We had fun using some of the playground equipment in our workout. It was great working out with the husband and a friend, I think we all got a pretty good workout because we were pushing one another!

Here’s the circuit (starting with a 5 minute jog to the park):

• Jump Lunge & Kick Up- 30 Reps
• Side Burpee Knee Tuck- 30 Reps (15 each leg)
• Squats- 30 reps
• Reverse Push Ups- 30 Reps (The guys did 30 Tricep Dips and Pull Ups as I completed my Reverse Push Ups)
• Jack Jump Tuck- 30 Reps
• 3D Push Ups- 30 Reps
• One Leg Jump Up- 15 Reps per leg
• Ab Chopper- 30 Reps
• Reverse Crunch- 30 Reps
• Tricep Pushup- 20 Reps per Side (The guys banged out another set of Triceps Dips and Pull Ups!)
• Planks- Side Plank Left, Side Plank Right, Center Plank- all 45 seconds each
• Jog back!

WOW. Awesome workout, we were all pretty darn hungry and sweaty by the time we got home!

Hi Friends! I hope your week went as swimmingly as mine! This week, I had a lot of free time, but I had a wonderful time taking it easy because I know next week is going to be slightly crazy!

It’s that time of the week, time for Fitness Friday!

• Saturday: Pool with Matthew and Daniel!
• Sunday: Another Pool Day
• Monday: REST
• Tuesday: 1 mile run on Treadmill, played “Personal Trainer” to my little bro at the gym!
• Wednesday: 4.5 mile Interval Run on Treadmill at Body Structure

• Thursday: 90 Abs- using exercises from Tina’s recent abs post on Faith, Fitness Fun
• Friday: 5 mile Ladder Workout on the Treadmill at Body Structure

1 mile Warm Up
400 @ 7.5mph
400 @ 8.0mph
800 @ 8.0mph
1200 @ 8.0mph
800 @ 8.2mph
400 @ 8.5 mph
400 @ 8.5 mph
0.5 mile Cooldown

(rest was 0.13 miles- 1/2 walking, 1/2 jogging at 6.5)

• Miles for this week: 10.5
• Abs for this week (towards the 3,000 in 35 challenge): 90

I felt SO GOOD this week during my runs! I retired an old pair of running shoes, and pulled out another pair from the closet that weren’t as worn. Well… these “old but not too old shoes” did something:

I have a huge blister on the inside of my arch. It formed on Wednesday’s run, and on todays run, it busted open. Fortunately, I was at the gym and I had access to bandages. I put on 3 band aids before I started my run, but about half way through, my blister was pretty painful. Then, I put on a super bandage, and wrapped my foot with neoprene. The blister still hurt a lot, but at least I wasn’t getting blister goo and blood everywhere!

I also had another running “injury” this week- I lost a toenail. Gross, I know. So you may think I have all of my little piggies painted orange, but really I just painted a chunk of skin on one of my toesies.

Well folks, that’s all for this week’s edition of Fitness Fridays with the Coopers! Stay tuned for a Post about Squid-Ink Pasta!

This is the first post in the series “Fitness Friday”. Each Friday, I hope to recap all of the fun activities throughout the week! Remember when I posted about the 3,000 in 35 Abs Challenge? Well, Fitness Friday posts will track my progress in that challenge, as well as my other weekly exercise activities!

I posed a loose workout plan last Saturday, and here’s what actually went down this week:

• Sunday: 3 mile walk with Silas
• Monday: BodyRock.tv- Booty Shaping Workout; 3.6 mile Run; 158 ABS (as a part of the BodyRock.tv workout)
• Tuesday: (my mom’s birthday!); 5 mile Run on the Legacy Trail (with Daniel on rollerblades!); 100 ABS
• Wednesday: 100 ABS; 30 minute walk with SIlas (2.4 miles)
• Thursday: Daniel and I went to the GYM! Bodyrock.tv- Cardio, Legs & Core Workout; 100 ABS
• Friday: Rainy 4 mile Run; 100 ABS
• Saturday: TBA- Rest or walk with Silas

ABS Total Week 1: 558

Miles Run: 12.6 mi.

Not too shabby! I had a lot of extra time this week, and it felt really good to do something active every day. Daniel asked last night if we can aim to have one or two days per week where we do something active together, so I’m excited to see what we come up with each week!

Here’s the post for the 3,000 in 35 Abs Challenge: Week 2!

Weekend Schedule for the Coopers:

• ROONEY (Silas’ best friend) is staying with us over the weekend!
• Hopefully some yard work, dog park visits and warm summer walks!
• A recap of some this weeks recipes!
• Update and organize our Recipes page!
  

Since my schedule is going to be changing a bit, I thought it would be a good idea to write down some of my exercise routine goals!

• Monday: Bodyrock.tv workout
• Tuesday: Run (starting at 20-30 minutes)
• Wednesday: Bodyrock.tv workout
• Thursday: Run
• Friday: Run Make-up Day (in case Tues or Thurs doesn’t work) or Rest/Long Walk with Silas
• Saturday: BodyRock.tv workout or Run
• Sunday: Rest Day (I can never seem to muster up much energy after church on Sunday mornings!)