Michael Ander

It's been a while, but I have been busy to say the least!!  Mike and I welcomed our baby boy about 5 weeks early!  Michael Ander made his appearance on 11-15-15 at 8:16 am!  He was 6 lbs of pure joy, and having him has been life changing to say the least!  I never knew what sleep deprived meant until he came along!

Mikey came on his own time, but I was induced to speed things along.  We got to the hospital at about 2:30 pm on Saturday the 14th, and delivered at 8:16 the next day.  Lesson learned:  eat on the way to the hospital!  I was starving by the time everything wrapped up.  Given that he was preemie, we were very fortunate that he had no breathing issues, and did not have to spend any time in the NICU.  He seemed to be breastfeeding successfully, but we later found out he was pretending😜.  

We had a fabulous experience with our hospital nurses and doctors.  The doctor who delivered Mikey worked 25 straight hours to make sure that she was there for his delivery.  I was so thankful for her dedication to his safe arrival.  The nurses who attended to us were wonderful as well.  We received a great deal of support from the lactation specialists, and the nurses whose magical touch could calm Mikey while I was still learning how to soothe him.

I cannot begin to describe how special it is to see Mike holding our baby.  He was so supportive during the delivery, and while we worked to BF him during those early days.  His love for baby Mikey is so special💙. This is a picture of them together shortly after delivery.

While at the hospital, we kept visitors to a minimum.  I am the kind of person who needs some adjustment time before I was ready for people to come and take my baby😝. Additionally, all the doctors and nurses coming and going meant that I never knew what was going to be "exposed".....lol. Our parents did come to the hospital.  It was an easy trip for my parents, but Mike's parents hopped right in the car and drove 11 hours from FL when they got the call.

Photos of the excited grands below:

We stayed at the hospital 3 days, and were ecstatic and a little terrified to head home and start life with our little sweetie.  Here's to an exciting holiday season with a newborn!

Baby on the Run

Baby Newman is growing by the day!  I am loving feeling his little kicks and finally looking like I have a baby growing, not just an unusually fast weight gain.  

Last month, my running bestie and I had a chance to participate in the Retro Run 5K in Greensboro, NC.  It was a lot of fun, and a totally different kind of challenge since I was about 22 weeks pregnant at the time of the race.  Running while pregnant is hard.  Not only physically, but also mentally.  I have struggled to drink enough water throughout the pregnancy, and between that and the added weight that comes along with being pregnant, it has been very difficult to continue to run.  Regardless, I am going to keep trucking along-with plenty of walk breaks!  My distance goals have certainly changed.  At the VERY beginning of pregnancy, I was still able to run 5 miles without too much of a challenge.  Now, I struggle for 2 miles, and have to walk if I plan on running 3.

Pictures from the Race:

We went with tie dye to stick with the "retro" theme.  I was very proud of myself for finishing this race, and never imagined a 5K could challenge me so much.  This whole process has definitely given me a new perspective on the challenge that non-runners face when they are starting to run for the first time. My goal is to run one more 5K in October-fingers crossed!

Welcoming Baby BOY Newman

Drumroll please.....

This week at our 17 week appointment, Mike and I found out that we are having a baby boy!  We could not be more excited to welcome Michael Ander to the world.  The doctors appointment went well-we have an amazing team at the women's clinic.  We could see all of Little Mike's anatomy during the ultrasound, and are so thankful that everything looks healthy and normal:-)

Here's the highlight reel:

This is a side profile-Mikey's head is on the right.  We think he looks like Big Mike.

Hi world!!

The day after our doctor's appointment, my best friend and mom threw a gender reveal party.  Mike and I already knew, but we wanted to do something special to let our families know.  With Mike's parents living in Florida, we had to FaceTime them and his sister-they were elated.  We left boxes with yellow and green bows on them, that had little boy and little girl slippers in them.  

For my family, we bought a gender reveal cake, and had a small get together. Here are some of our favorites from the party:

This was the gender reveal cake-it read, "Twinkle, twinkle little star; How we wonder what you are?"

This was the spread that my parents and friend put together.  It looked amazing!

Cutting the cake...

It's a boy!!!

Followed up with some staged photos:-)

This is my favorite:-)

I'm going to count this as my 17 week bump photo.

Now that we know the gender, we are totally ready to plan the nursery.  Let's do this!

Surprise!

Well bloggers, it's been a year!  In the past year, I have graduated with my MSA, completed a year long administrative internship, run a half marathon, and......found out I am having a baby!  Yay!  My husband and I are ecstatic to welcome Baby Newman to the world in December:-)

ECU Principal Fellows Class 20

Heart and Sole Half Marathon 2-7-2015

Zoey and Jax are excited too!

A few highlights of the changing bump:

5 weeks pregnant

13 weeks pregnant

Crazy Eats

Little Newman has grown so much already! I have definitely been through some body changes.  I started with crazy food aversions.  I could not eat any meat or have any coffee.  Just the idea of anything that was not a crunchy or cheesy carb was repulsive to me.  I am still not totally over the aversions, but it has gotten better.  I am typically a very healthy eater! so it has been really hard to not want healthy food.  Late in the first trimester, I started having cravings-mainly for slushies and pimento cheese?!?!?!  Healthy, right?  I also had slight naseau (which I understand could have been so much worse), and serious fatigue.  Today marks my move to the second trimester, so I am hoping that the fatigue will fade, and I'll be able to enjoy some healthy food again!

Workouts

Since I found out I was pregnant, working out has been challenging.  For a majority of weeks 6-10 I did little more than go for walks.  I have always been a runner, but it is a struggle now to run even 2 miles, but I am still trying.  The biggest challenge has been a constant need to pee:-). It results in frequent walk breaks.  I really had no idea that pregnancy would affect my exercise the way that it has.  Here's to hoping the second trimester will be a little easier!

Highlights

My favorite pregnancy moments so far have been telling our family and friends, hearing the heartbeat, and seeing our baby moving during ultrasounds.  It is crazy how active our little one is in there!

Spreading the News

I told Mike (the hubs) using the cinnamon roll pictured above.  We were ecstatic, and so thankful for a "quick" pregnancy.  The blessing of becoming pregnant is not lost on me.  We told my parents using the scrabble board pictured above, since we spend a lot of time playing scrabble with my parents.  We made coffee mugs for mikes parents, and served his mom coffee in the mug when she came to visit-and forgot to take pictures.  Typical.

Until next time...

Running with Furry Friends

How many of you have dogs that join you on your run?  I really enjoy taking my two dogs for a run, especially since I don't have a running partner.  I appreciate that they benefit from the experience too.  I find that it can be hard to take them along though, and often choose to jog alone because of the issues that sometimes arise.  For a long time, I was taking one of my dogs who has a LOT of energy on all of my runs.  It was so good for him, and we were logging 3-6 miles per run!  But one of the last times I took him on a run like that, we got chased down the street by **2** dogs.  Eeek!  My nerves just couldn't handle it!  I was so fearful that he (or I) was going to get bit or otherwise injured, and be a long way from home.

Pros of dogs joining on the run:

1.  Dogs get much needed exercise. (I live in a townhouse with no yard)

2.  I run faster.

3.  The dogs and I bond:-)

Cons of dogs joining on the run:

1.  Other dogs barking, chasing, etc.

2.  No music. *sigh*  I feel that I need to be extra attentive when I take along a pup.

3.  I can only take one dog at a time, in order to make sure that I maintain control of the dog at all time.

 What insights do you have about running with dogs?  Do you find that the pros outweigh the cons, or that the cons keep your pups homebound?

I found this resource from Runner's World that you may also enjoy-it has lots of information and thoughts on running with your furry canine:  http://www.runnersworld.com/motivation/running-with-dogs

Zoey, ready for a jog!

Jax postrun....maybe more tired than me? maybe not.

                                                                                                             

hike, hike, baby

It's Friday bloggers!

Sometimes, especially as summer gets closer, it can be really fun to make your workout a little less official, and get outdoors.  In th past few years, I have really been trying to take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the gym and breathe in some fresh air.  My hubby and I took a trip to Asheville , NC recently, and there is no shortage of beautiful hikes, scenery, and outdoor fitness opportunities!  

While I love the scenery, and "flora" portion of the outdoors experience, the "fauna" still basically creeps me out.  I don't want to be terrified of wildlife, but the SECOND I see a snake while hiking....that's it.  Fun over-for me and everyone else that has to deal with me.  I am talking TOTAL meltdown.  Tears, jumpiness, and general paranoia will ensue.  Ugh.  That being said, I want to share with you my most recent snake calamity (and maybe share some positive points of the hike too!) HA!

Our hike "looker-upper" who researches all of the trails that we hike found the Panthertown Valley Trail in Western NC, and pieced together an 8 mile loop for us to explore.  There were going to be approximately 5 waterfalls, and difficulty would be fairly easy to moderate for most of the hike.  The first 3 stops that we made on the route were amazing, and after passing them, we were probably 4 miles into the route.  All of a sudden, my nemesis made it's slithery appearance-day ruined.  For the remaining 4 miles of the hike, I was on pins and needles, and making major efforts not to bring the whole group down.  All that being said, the hike had some BEAUTIFUL features, and we will continue to explore the area.  To find out more about the hikes and other outdoor adventures in the western part of NC, visit hikewnc.info.

highlights:

What kinds of outdoor summer activities do you enjoy?  Any favorite hikes you have taken? What suggestions do you have to work past irrational fears?

Have a blessed weekend!

It's been a while....

Blog World!!

I am embarrassed to report that it has been a full YEAR since I have last posted!! Sheesh.  Maybe I should just hit the highlights??!!

I am still holding strong in my graduate program, and currently am out for summer break.  I know what you are thinking.....summer break? from college classes?  While that sounds amazing to some, I am SO ready to head back to work, and am eagerly waiting to find out where I will be placed for my internship!   Here is a picture of me with my fellow Principal Fellows:

Such a fun bunch!!  

In addition to school, there have been lots of races and places since my last posting.  I set a goal for 2014 to race at least once a month.  So far, I have hit every month with the exception of March, due to a family emergency.  

Highlight Reel:

January:  Run for Young 5K-Raleigh, NC

February:  Cupid Crawl 5K-Greenville, NC

April:  ECU Pirate Alumni 5K-Greenville, NC

May:  Elmhurst 5K-Greenville, NC

June:  Asheville Half Marathon-Asheville, NC

Don't ask me why I waited to run the longest distance in the mountains....I am such a flat land runner!!!  Needless to say, that was one of hardest races I have ever completed, and I felt amazing after finishing.    I owe a huge thanks to my trainer, who coached me through hills training on the *dreadmill*. 

Now, I am looking for races to finish out the year!!  I am needing a little bit of a break after training for and running a half in the mountains!  

Any suggestions for fun races to try?  

How have you pushed yourself to run farther, faster, or stronger than you have run before?