Wednesday 28 January 2009

Cairn's race memorabila

The best baby gift EVER deserves a blog entry of its own. Here's the fabulous gift Cairn received from Tim and Muriel Downie.

I think a 10-week embryo will hold the record for the youngest WHW finisher for a while. Dario has threatened to introduce pregnancy tests at race registration.


Tuesday 27 January 2009

Baby contest and some pix

Here are the final scores on the door. Well done to my Gran and George Reid. Prizes to follow..once I've thought of a suitable prize for each recipient.

Double-click on document below for full list of guesses.

And more importantly, here are some pictures of my boy(s)


Cairn - just minutes old


Sonic being super-helpful :-)







Saturday 24 January 2009

The arrival of little Sonic

You may prefer to be spared the gory details. But it's my blog, so here goes.

On Tuesday I decided that going for long walk might get things going. So after eight miles, my body felt suitably battered. By Wednesday morning I felt a bit achy and grumpy (nothing out of the ordinary) and sent Sonic off to work. Following his epic 1.5 hour journey to work - after numerous traffic dramas - I assured him that he was safe to go out for his lunchtime run. I may have even suggested that he feck-off-and-leave-me-in-peace. So in true karma-style, he must have stepped his foot on the pavement as I stood up and got my first contraction. Ouch. No problem, I thought. Loads of time between each in the first stage, right? Enough time to tidy up and finally sort out my hospital bag, right? Wrong. Bang! Three minutes later along came the next. And they were coming fast and furious. By the time I got hold off Sonic (who chosen that day to do a long run!) I was in the midst of deep breathing and gasped "Home! Now!" down the phone. When he came in they were two minutes apart and lasting at least one minute.

After a chat with the midwifes, I was told to go into the maternity unit as things were progressing quite rapidly. Too fast for my liking. There was no rest bite and I felt drained. It was like running your first marathon at 5K pace!! I had three contractions from the carpark to the maternity ward, as they were one minute apart by then. After a brief examination - just heart rate and pressure stuff - I was in the birthing pool.

As the endorphins set in I was completely within myself and practically unaware of what was going around about me. I had no idea how far along I was, as I declined an internal examination, but it wasn't long before I had an uncontrollable urge to push. Lesley the midwife gave me gas and air to try and stop me from pushing. Gawd, that stuff it magic :-) Sonic was keen to give it a go, but decided against it when he saw that I'd vomited down the tube %-) It gave relief, but didn't stop me wanting to push. My membranes hadn't ruptured, so that came first. It was like passing a balloon. Lesley pierced the sack and told me the head was on it's way. After what seemed like eternity of burning and stinging, out it popped. I distinctly remember making a noise that I'm convinced only labouring woman can make. It was like a long, throaty grunt. Then with the next contraction, my beautiful son was passed up to the water's surface.

It was a truly amazing experience. Not something I'd want to repeat anytime soon, but it's so not as bad as it's made out to be. I think having a positive and fearless frame of mind, made it for me. I really wanted a natural bith and will always cherish my proud moment of achieving this. Especially when I can say twos-up to the people who said I couldn't or shouldn't.

I keep relaying the experience over and over in my head, from the first contraction at 12.35 to Cairn's arrival at 7.17pm. I never thought it would be over in 6hrs 42. That could be a hard PB to beat.

Sonic was amazing throughout. Really calm and comforting. Although I do recall him mentioning the dog bite on his ass to everyone of the midwives on duty :-)

All niceties and songbirds aside, I did tear quite badly. Weighing it at 8lb 2.5 Cairn wasn't exactly tiny. It took two nurses 45 minutes to stitch me back together. I presume it was a bit of car crash, as the needle was working like they were whipping up a patchwork quilt. I suppose I can take comfort in the fact that they both stood back and admired their handy work by saying they'd done a "lovely job". I am too scared to look, as I harbour fears that it may resemble a hedgehog that unsuccessfully crossed the M8! :-)

More photos (of Cairn - not the aforementioned) and updates to follow.

Wednesday 21 January 2009

Its a Boy!

Go to www.consani.co.uk for movies and photos

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Health and safety gone mad

Here's a picture of my lovely new Baby Jogger



Here's the manufacturer's description

When we set out to design the most advanced, high performance jogging strollers on the market, we did it with the serious runner's training regimen in mind – the marathon runner, the tri-athlete, and even the weekend 5k warrior. We know how it is getting up at 6am for a training run with a child or children - you want to make sure you’ve got them buckled into one of the safest strollers on the market, and one that can take the miles and miles of wear & tear that you put on it.

Our Performance Series Jogging Strollers feature the only one-piece frame in the industry, which means there are no hinges or joints to weaken during frequent, high intensity use. Their 20" wheels make it one of the easiest joggers to push on the market today - allowing you to run further with less effort. The sleek aerodynamic design and shock absorption system make it easy to maneuver whether going over rocky terrain or for a jog on the beach.


So here's what it says on the side of the box: Built to withstand frequent use by the avid runner.



So it might come as a bit of shock with the cautionary advice on the other side of the box states: NOT SUITABLE FOR RUNNING. WTF? Talk about covering your a*s.

Saturday 17 January 2009

Jack Crawford 10K

Well done to everyone who completed the blustery course.







Sonic finished 16th in 36:12. He was quite dissappointed as he got his PB (34:48) in this race last year...but I slapped him round the heid and told him to get over himself.

Friday 16 January 2009

Still here.

Wow! Check out the countdown clock for the on slot of mayhem. Two days! Holy sh*t. How did it come round so fast? It feels like only weeks ago that I nearly fainted when the blue cross appeared on the life-changing stick. I really expected to be in for the long haul. Everyone duly informed me (as part of the multitude of "advice") that the last few weeks really drag. Really I think the whole experience has flown in with limited drama.

I think I've still got a wee bit to go though. I've had a few twinges, a bit of backache and LOTS of Braxton Hicks, but nothing to write home about. Sonic was convinced he/she was coming yesterday, but I'm still sitting here like a beached whale.

I'm trying to keep as active as possible, although it's a bit of a struggle to stay motivated. I've been walking a few miles each day, even in the pouring rain. Anything to keep me away from daytime TV. I'm convinced it's a continuation of chat shows, house renovations programmes and repeats, broken-up with commercials for debt consolidation and fad diets. Riveting stuff.

I've got a confession to make. I parked in the Mother and baby space at Tesco - without a baby! I've got no excuse. It was pouring of rain and my ribs and back were aching. There were loads of spaces, so I just nipped in. My Sis (who works in said Tesco) said they're for expecting Mothers too, but I felt really guilty. I practically crawled from the car with shame. I know I'm nearly in the category, but nearly's not enough. Especially considering I make such of drama out of people parking in disabled spaces. It makes me soooo angry.

So please make the baby come soon. Although I'm still quite content being preggers, I'm getting a little bored. Plus, the longer it goes on the more stretched my skin is getting. JK - I've told Sonic that if I get stretch marks I'm blaming you :-) You and your spookily accurate predictions.

Tuesday 13 January 2009

Mat leave and Slumdogs

Well I finished work on Friday, before I was officially escorted from the building. The jovial comments about me given birth at my desk were starting to evoke slight panic. The guys were joking about bringing in hot water and towels. I wondered if they were going to turn the clocks back to 1942 as well :-)

So yesterday was my first day on maternity leave. By 8am I was already climbing the walls. Nobody warned me how bad daytime TV was. And who thought it was a good idea to bring back Mr Motivator? By 9am I'd logged on to my remote access and had my Blackberry in hand.

I was hoping the "nesting instinct" would kick in, but I had to force myself out of boredom and necessity. I even made a big pot of soup and spend an hour cleaning out the oven - which was long overdue. Sonic is lovin' it though. I made him breakfast before work, sent him on his way with a packed-lunch and had dinner waiting for him when he got in. Actually I was so bored and deprived from human contact that I practically pounced on him when he came in the door. Now before you think I've gone all Stepford Wives, I was wearing a stain splattered hoodie and joggy bottoms %-)

The major plus point in maternity leave, is not having to go through the drama of finding something to wear to work. Clothes and shopping are my biggest passions, but you only can only be so creative when you're nine months pregnant. At the end of last week, even with numerous wardrobes full of clothes, I only had two pairs of work trousers that fitted. Needless to say, they're now at the bottom of the wash basket. Never to to be seen again.

Today, the sun was shining and the temperatures were kinder so I went for a 4/5 mile walk and then met Sonic after work to go to the cinema. We went to see Slumdog Millionnaire, which I would highly recommend. It's the best film I've seen in ages.

Thanks for the extra baby guesses. I'll post an updated version later this week. Davie - thanks for your comment about your son being three weeks late. Don't worry, my original estimated date was December 31 (according to nature's calculator) but the growth scan put it back to January 19.

Friday 9 January 2009

The guessing game

Here are the guesses so far. Anyone else want to have a go?

Tuesday 6 January 2009

A weighty issue

I really thought (or hoped) that I would be one of those gals who only put on a stone and sported a barely visible neat little bump. Unfortunately an evil combination of increased appetite, decreased activity and distinct lack of concern has meant I've topped the scales at 29lbs more than I did in April. Yes, Sharon, that's more the TWO WHOLE STONE. I started out at 8st 2 (114lbs) and I'm now weigh in at 10st 3 (143lbs). It's quite depressing to have reached double figures, but I'll worry about it at the end of the month. My only saving grace is that I've only put on a 1/4 to 1/2 pound every week over the last month. Something to do with minimum space for food and maximum chance of it it reappearing anyway.

After a bit of research (was there ever life before the internet?) I have discovered that the estimated pregnancy weight gain for my height (5'4") and pre-pregnancy weight is between 25lbs and 35lbs. Gaining the average of the weight range, here's where the weight has (or should have) gone.

Me
Uterus 2.4 lbs
Breasts 1 lbs
Blood 3.1 lbs
Water 4.2 lbs
Fat 8.3 lbs
Subtotal 18.9 lbs

Baby
Fetus 7.5 lbs
Placenta 1.6 lbs
Amniotic fluid 2.0 lbs
Subtotal 11.1 lbs

Total 30.0 lbs

Phew! This breakdown doesn't make the weight gain so scary after all. I still jump off the scales and switch them off before they start giving out the other stats. The last thing I want to know is my BMI or body fat percentage.

Monday 5 January 2009

Reflections on 2008

Please forgive my lack of blogging. A mixture of nothing exciting to write about and trying to curtail my Internet addiction has kept me away from my PC and laptop over the holidays.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and New Year. I'm usually a big fan of the end of year festivities, but this time around my heart wasn't it. My focus is more on the happenings of this month. I think I'm the only person in the world who's glad to be back at work today. Possibly because I finish up for maternity leave on Friday :-)

Here are the key highlights from 2008

1)I ran a total of 1360 miles. Not bad considering I was only not pregnant for 3.5 months of the year.
2) I got a PB in every race I ran (pre-June). Well apart from the women's 10K in May when thought I was fatigued from over-training, but was in fact blissfully unaware that I was four weeks pregnant. I did, however, manage to match my 10K PB to the second!
3) Taking five minutes of half-marathon PB to finish in 1:42 in the Balloch to Clydebank half-marathon.
4) Finishing my sixth marathon (London Marathon) in 3:31:00 - taking nearly 18 minutes off my previous best.
5) Completing the 95 miles of a West Highland Way Race in June. I was aiming for under 24 hours but for various (and obvious!) reasons, I had only managed 30:48. I'll be back in 2010 for another bash at it.
5) Running the Paisley 10K at five months pregnant (54 mins) and the Loch Ness 10K at six months pregnant (57mins). Actually my last 10K was the same time as my first 10K back in 2002. So I'm glad to say even as a novice and a chubber, I've always broken the one hour mark.
7) Holding off hanging up my running shoes until I was 36 weeks pregnant.

Goals for 2009

1) The small matter of, erm, having a baby over the next couple of weeks. And for this reason, I have tried to keep my goals simple and flexible.
2) I'm itching to get back out running, so I hope to back out by the end of February.
3) My first race (don't quote me on this) back will be the Glasgow Women's 10K in May. It was my first ever road race, so it's a bit of a tradition for me. 2009 will be race number eight.
4) For reasons which escape me, I have signed up for the 43 mile Devil o' The Highlands Race in August. My goals for this are - Bronze: actually make it to the start. Silver: complete in less that 8.5 hours and gold: finish in under eight hours. I ran the course as a training run in May this year in 8.5 hours, so hopefully I should achieve silver or gold.
5) Other races I would like to aim for are the Great Scottish Run (September) and the Loch Ness Marathon (October). I'm not going to set myself any time aims. See point one.
6) Support Sonic to a sub 18:30 hour finish in the WHWR. I firmly believe he can do it. I just need to make sure we get that angel child I ordered :-) Oh and to stop him racing off like a rat up a pipe.

Happy new year y'all. Hope 2009 brings lots of PBs and injury-free miles.