Big News: We’re Having a Baby!!

by Luann on August 12, 2010

You may have noticed that I have been neglecting my blog for the last several weeks. There has been a really good reason for that: I’m pregnant! Not that pregnant ladies can’t write blog posts, but really sick pregnant ladies who are supposed to be writing about fitness but who can barely get out of bed, don’t write very good blogs. That has been my situation.

I knew going into this journey, it probably wouldn’t be easy. With West, I was sick 24/7 for 4 1/2 months. It was awful. With this baby, I’ve been sicker. I honestly didn’t think that would be possible, but that has been the case so far. So through the day I have been saving every little bit of energy I can find and simply “sucking it up” to get out and play with my son. It’s times like this when raising an active kid can backfire on you! I may want him to watch tv all day so I can remain horizontal, but he isn’t having any of it. He still wants to ride bikes, go swimming, play in the park, and play “tennis racket.” Most days I managed to live up to his standards, even if I was only going through the paces while anxiously awaiting when my husband would get off work and take over play duties.

Feeling sick all of the time is hard on anyone, but I think it is particularly hard on a very active person. My body was longing for exercise, but most days I considered it a good day if I was able to keep up with West. On the days I was feeling a bit better, I’d manage a 3 mile walk. Yippee! And then there is the guilt that goes along with not exercising. Am I not being healthy for me? For my baby? I even called my doctor and asked if it was ok. She told me that feeling the way I did, it would only be worse if I pushed myself to exercise. Besides, carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs felt like a 10K, so that must count for something, right? Now that the pukey feeling seems to be easing somewhat, I’m trying to work out again. I even went for a run on Tuesday and plan to go again today. And I hope that I’ll get back to blogging more regularly too. Wish me luck!

Be sure to watch the video of us telling West that he is going to be a big brother. He is going to be awesome!

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Family Fitness Friday: New Health Findings and Running Inspiration

by Luann on July 9, 2010

A few interesting articles I have found recently that you may want to check out for your healthy family.

A new study says BMI may not be the best measure of a healthy body for children. Neck circumference may be a better measure. Measuring neck circumference is also easy and reliable. As with adults, BMI can be skewed if you are very muscular, but it is very unlikely a child will have a very muscular neck. Talk to your child’s pediatrician about this new study at your next appointment.

A little inspiration for all you pregnant moms out there. Paula Radcliffe, an accomplished marathoner, is seen here in this article running with her daughter in a 10K race while 7 1/2 months pregnant. Although the headline describes her as “heavily” pregnant, I’d have to say she hardly looks pregnant at all. Nothing like I looked when I was that far along :-P .

Now there is evidence that children exposed to PCB’s have a reduced immune response to vaccinations such as tetanus and diptheria. Just one more thing to worry about, unfortunately.

But let’s end with some great news! Breast feeding your baby can help prevent respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

I hope you found some interesting information here. See you next week!

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Too Hot to Exercise? Try the Slip n Slide

Summer is finally here! It took long enough where I live. When visiting my parents last week, we pulled out the slip n slide, which by the way, we bought for an obscenely cheap $5. We used to live on an old-school version of this thing when we were kids, and it is just as [...]

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Now You Can Turn Workouts Into Playtime Too

YAHOOO!!!!!! It’s done! After thinking about writing a book about fitness for moms and their kids for over a year now, I finally did it! It all started back when my son, West, was just learning to walk and suddenly it wasn’t as easy to work out with him as it was when he would [...]

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Family Fitness Friday

As usual, a round-up of a few things I’ve found this week that I think you may find interesting.
A recent Washington Post article highlighted the findings of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in encouraging kids to select better food in the cafeteria. They found that presentation of the food had a major impact on [...]

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Barefoot Running: Should You–or Your Kids–Be Doing It?

I was a bit slow to jump on the barefoot running craze. Mostly because the term “craze” has been attached to it, which is an instant turnoff for me. Afterall, the Thighmaster, parachute pants, and the grapefruit diet were all crazes that I am glad passed me by. But over the last several months I [...]

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Family Fitness Friday: Whooping Cough, Pregnancy, & the Power of Moms

A weekly round-up of items I’ve come across that are of interest to healthy families.
Whooping Cough is beginning to make a comeback. In California, cases have more than doubled since last year. I think this illustrates the importance of vaccinations. I had a friend whose newborn contracted whooping cough in the hospital after being born. [...]

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Norway Adventures! Hiking Fjords with the Family

Hello Everyone! My poor blog has been terribly neglected the last few weeks due to a crashed computer and a family vacation. I hope to make up for it with some stories from our recent trip to Norway and Sweden.  My husband and I wanted to have an active vacation exploring new areas so we [...]

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Family Fitness Friday

Interesting fitness information, medical findings, and blog posts I have found in the past week that you should check out.
A fascinating new study to be published in the June issue of Pediatrics finds that breast fed babies develop cues of when to stop eating that bottle fed babies do not. Some of the theories behind [...]

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Jump Squats for the Kids & You

One of my favorite family fitness exercises! The jump squat is an amazing lower body toner, and it will also rev up your heart rate. I do these a lot when I am out on walks with West and he is meandering or inspecting yet another ant on the ground. Have fun!
For Mom: Jump legs [...]

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