I hurt my back carrying Angie. She’s growing faster than I can handle. I was doing sit ups everyday until my back pain made it impossible to continue. Kevin gave me back rubs with Tiger Balm, which help a little but not enough to make the pain completely go away.

This happened with the first two kids too, though not as bad, and Kevin reminded me why: Ana didn’t grow as fast as Angie, and Alex was born 8 years ago, when I was 20-something and in the best shape of my life.

Welcome to my 30s. Sigh.

Another indicator that I’m not a young’un anymore is how stubbornly the postpartum weight has stayed put. In the past month I managed to lose 2 pounds and gain it back. I believe the gain is all muscle because despite still being 10 pounds up, my clothes are starting to fit better. That’s a huge relief because I don’t want to have to buy new work clothes.

While re-reading What to Expect the First Year for reality checks on Angie’s development, I was reminded that I should be eating better because I’m breastfeeding. Here’s what the authors recommend in their “Best-Odds Daily Dozen” diet:

• 3 servings of protein (FAIL: I eat very little protein, usually 1-1.5 servings a day)
• 2 servings of vitamin C (FAIL, except when we have cantaloupe in the house)
• 5 servings of calcium (FAIL: I usually get 2 servings, 2.5 if you count my calcium supplement)
• 3 servings of green leafy vegetables and yellow vegetables/fruits (FAIL: I usually get 1 serving except when we have cantaloupe in the house)
• 2 or more servings other fruits and vegetables (WIN: I eat my weight in watermelon EVERY SINGLE DAY)
• 6 or more servings whole grain/complex carbohydrates (WIN: I think)
• 1 or more iron-rich foods (WIN: I think)

The requirements can be fulfilled with combo foods, e.g. cantaloupe is both vitamin C and yellow fruit, and cottage cheese is both protein and calcium. Ack, I guess I need to eat half a cantaloupe topped with a big scoop of cottage cheese

Tags: ouchy
Categories: pregnancy
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I’m having a rough week. Somehow I managed to mess up my back. Yesterday I was in so much pain I had to take the afternoon off. After an hour of sitting on the massage chair and a good night’s sleep, I’ve almost recovered, but there’s still a huge tender spot on my back. Kevin thinks it’s a pulled muscle.

Tuesday was Alex’s 8th birthday. The party with family and friends isn’t for another week, but we did have a cake for him to make a wish on and a present for him to open. I had to work late, so I didn’t get to have dinner with the birthday boy, but I did get home in time to hear all about his day, eat cake with him, and watch his eyes light up when he opened the present.

Wednesday was Alex’s first piano lesson. Kevin reported that there are four other kids in his group lessons. Also, the teacher seems to be really good at keeping the kids interested.

I’m thrilled. Music isn’t supposed to be punishment, and if Alex told me tomorrow that he’d really rather not take piano lessons, I’d say fine, let’s stop and find something better to do. But so far he likes it.

I asked if he’d want to play a band instrument when he hits 4th grade, and he said yes, he’d like to play the drums. (Yay for my wallet! Drumsticks and drum pads are cheap, haha!)

In other news, I’m a Second Life tard. A couple of friends and I got interviewed for an article about SL for a campus magazine, and the photographer wanted to take a picture of us with our avatars. Before we could get shooting, someone asked why my avatar had sticks for arms. I swear, I have no idea how they got that skinny. After much effort I found the setting for fattening up my arms, and in the process I managed to enlarge my hands until they looked like “man hands.” By then we had to get going, so I ended up taking pictures with my avatar as is. I must be the only person in SL with an avatar that’s uglier than I am in real life. How brilliant is that?

Tags: musical,ouchy,silly
Categories: kids and parenting, music
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