It’s really hard to believe, but it’s been a little over 12 months since Liam’s birth last May. Wrapping my head around the fact that he is one has been a challenge, he’s not really a baby anymore and is so eager to keep up with his older siblings that he is hitting milestones far sooner than the two older ones ever did.
When it comes to my return to running postpartum, I finally feel that my body is back to “normal.” Here’s a look at where I’m at now that it’s been a year since giving birth:
Nursing: I’m still nursing Liam once or twice a day. I consistently nurse him before bed, although lately he’s seemed less and less interested in it. And sometimes I nurse him in the morning, if he wakes up before 5am I’ll nurse him and put him back to bed. But that only happens a handful of times. I’m not sure how much longer we will continue because I’m not producing much and think that he mostly nurses out of comfort.
Sleep: Liam is finally sleeping through the night. We (I say we, because I was complicit) kicked a very bad habit of waking in the middle of the night, sometimes twice a night to nurse. Fo the first 4-5 months I chalked it up to him being tired. He was pretty much waking up twice nightly since around 3 months. And I was nursing him to put him back to sleep. I thought the habit would bite the dust when we started solids. But it persisted until April (when he was 11 months old), when I finally nearly lost my mind due to lack of sleep (this was after the Boston Marathon). WhenI get tired, I don’t walk around in a sleepy stupor, I walked around pissed off at the world and so angry the slightest thing sets me off. Like some people are silly-drunk and others get angry-drunk, well I’m angry-tired. Like, really angry. It was bad. And I needed to sleep. So my hubby committed to getting up with Liam when he woke up in the middle of the night. It took about four days for Liam to get the idea that he wasn’t going to get mama in the middle of the night and then he was done waking up. He’s been sleeping through the night for a little over a month and I feel like a new woman! I’m happy, optimistic and have so much energy! I wake up before my alarm (that was last week…this week not so much. ha!) and have far more patience with the kids. Sleep is so key and so precious.
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Training: Now that I’m sleeping I feel like my body is responding really well to the training. I’m running slightly more mileage than I did during my marathon training over the winter and I’m able to give more intensity to some of my harder efforts: at track and on our weekly mountain runs. I think more sleep has made a significant difference in how I feel and how I’m running.
The Liam welcoming committee.
Injuries: So far I’ve remained injury free. I credit that to a conservative return to running postpartum, frequent check in’s with my physical therapist and regular massages. When I ran a marathon 18 months postpartum after my second I suffered tendonitis in my calf that sidelined me for the entire summer. I didn’t want that to happen this time around so I was more conservative in returning to running after the marathon. I have to stay diligent with foam rolling and stretching since my left hip tends to be tight, but so far all has been good.
Weight: Typically this is a topic I don’t talk about because the specifics are rather un-inportant in the grand scheme of things. But I wanted to mention the fact that I’m NOT back to my pre-pregnancy weight. There are and handful of pounds that just are there, I think to stay. And that’s OK. I think what’s significant is that I am MORE physically fit than I was after my second pregnancy despite a few extra pounds.
-Sarah
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Amanda says
I love to read your posts about pp running…I had twins in October (my first) and honestly had no idea what to expect as far as recovery goes. My body is finally starting to feel “normal” again! It’s amazing what the uninterrupted sleep will do! Thank you for the encouragement!
Glad you found the post encouraging! It can take a while to feel “normal” again.
Can’t believe he is one (mine either!)…he looks so much like you!! We also had the bad habit of nursing in the middle of the night to get back to sleep but husband duty for a week or so kicked it. So easy to get into those habits.
From your training updates and recent races it does seem you’re in fantastic shape…I’m sure you’ll kick some butt in your upcoming races!
time goes by so quick! it’s insane.
I’m also camp angry tired, I just can’t monitor my patience meter - add cooking #3 while #2 thinks 5 or sometime 4:45 is an adequate time to wake up and nothing we do makes her sleep longer, and I can’t fall asleep or sleep straight through too… times are tough. But they go so fast and I really appreciate your perspective on the post partum it really helps keep myself in check!
It can be sooooo hard! Hang in there mama, this too shall pass;)
My son is same age and just turned 1 and also still wakes in the nigjt and I nurse him back to sleep. can you share what your husband did? I just hate the thought of making him cry it out but I want to sleep too!
So when Liam cried, my hubby would get up with him and either walk around holding him or rock him in the chair. We had a bottle ready, but Liam wasn’t interested. He fussed for a while the first night maybe 30 min or so. Less the second night and then finally on the 4th or 5th night he didn’t wake up at all. He still wakes early around 4:45 or 5…but that’s when I get up anyway so it’s not a big deal. But a huge difference from waking at 11pm and then 1am and then sometimes 3am.
Emily says
thank you so much for sharing. this post has really helped me realize that it takes time to get back to where I was before having my daughter and that it is important not to rush it.
also thank you for sharing that you are not at your prebaby weight but that you feel more physical fit.
Emily
Emily, I’m so glad you found this helpful! I think one of the most important things is not rushing it, so I’m so glad that you’ve found that to be true for yourself as well!