September 16, 2016

How I Increased My Milk Supply

I went back and forth A LOT about publishing this post. I assume that 99.9% of people that might stumble across this blog are likely not interested in breastfeeding. But breastfeeding is hard especially, in the early days. I found a lot of peace in reading other mom’s stories and struggles knowing I was not alone. I also learned a lot by reading what other mom’s did to increase their supply. I finally decided I should publish this in case my story could help another new mom.

I assumed that I would start breastfeeding in the beginning and all would be fine. I even told myself that if I HAD to use formula that would be okay (and it is fine) but as they say everything changes when you have a baby and those hormones are no joke!

I had some issues with hemorrhaging after giving birth to Cannon, I found this resource very helpful in explaining what happens in a Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) and how it can impact recovery and breastfeeding. If you had a PPH I highly recommend reading it. Long story short my milk took a long time to come in and was not enough to feed Cannon and help him grow.

When Cannon was born he was in the 65th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height. This put him at a healthy 39th percentile for BMI. When we took him to the pediatrician at 4 days old he had lost over a pound and was in the 3rd percentile for BMI. This was way more than the recommended weight loss that most babies have after birth. We saw two different lactation specialists and it was determined that his latch was good and I likely just didn’t have enough milk for him and he was becoming dehydrated. My heart was breaking that my baby wasn’t getting enough milk and I felt like a failure. immediately the Pediatrician gave us some supplemental formula to give Cannon right there in the office and some to take with us as well. She also reassured me that Cannon was fine and if we kept working on breastfeeding him my milk would come in. In the meantime we should supplement to be sure he was getting what he needed. You can supplement with breast milk banks but given that Cannon needed to have something immediately we went with our pediatricians recommendation and used supplemental formula.

After a few days my milk did come in and Cannon started to put weight back on so I was less panicked. I was still irritated after a couple of weeks that I still wasn’t making quite enough and was having to give Cannon at least one bottle of formula a day. I made it my mission to increase my supply. I spoke to my midwife, Cannon’s pediatrician, a lactation specialists and did a lot of research. After a couple weeks of hard work I was able to increase my supply and even start a freezer stash for when I went back to work or emergencies.

I found that reading what other new moms had done so helpful when I was struggling so I thought I would share what worked for me.

**I am not a doctor or lactation specialist, although all of these strategies were cleared by my professionals. Everyone is different so you should discuss with your doctor before trying anything!

Things I know worked for me:

supplements! I take two different supplements that are meant to increase milk supply:
- Honest Lactation Plus – These have lots of herbs that are shown to increase milk supply. I take one tablet twice a day.
- Fenugreek is shown to help increase milk supply, and I definitely noticed an increase after I started taking it. You should take between 1200-2400 mg a day. The Lactation plus pills have Fenugreek in them as well so I take 2 Fenugreek in the AM and PM each and 3 capsules with lunch. These will make you smell like a maple bar which is annoying but there are worse things to smell like.

Add pumping into your day even if you are exclusively breastfeeding. In the beginning I would nurse Cannon then hook myself up to the pump. I would barely get any milk, it was frustrating and defeating. But the extra pumping signals to your body that it needs to make more milk and slowly I started to produce more. Eventually I figured out the right times to pump. Most women, including me, produce more milk in the morning than the evening. I gave up pumping past 3pm but I added pumping sessions over night. We are very lucky that Cannon sleeps most of the night but I still set my alarm for midnight and two am to wake up and pump.
Upgrade your pump and parts. I thought about upgrading from my Medela In Style pump to a hospital grade pump. I have friends who have said they are great. In the end I decided that since I was making more milk than he needed in a day and had been adding to my freezer stash that we didn’t need to make the investment. I did upgrade the flanges from the ones that came with my pump to Pumpin’ Pals Super Shields these are more comfortable and do allow me to get more milk from the In Style pump.

I also tried a couple other tricks like eating lactation cookies with Brewers Yeast and eating more oatmeal but gave up on those after not seeing much difference.

And of course you should get as much sleep as possible (HA!), drink lots of water, exercise, eat well and be kind to yourself! Good luck to all the new mamas out there!!!

For more information:

Increasing Your Milk Supply, Without Losing Your Mind (From MomLovesBest.com)

August 25, 2016

Road Back to Fitness – Post Baby Plan

I am truly surprised at how out of shape I am after having my baby. While it seems obvious that I would lose some fitness while being pregnant, I was not ready for just how much I would lose. Having your abdominals stretched out for nine months is clearly going to do a number on them but it was still a shock when it’s hard to get up off the floor.

Immediately after giving birth I knew I couldn’t do too much but I wanted to get out and start walking as much as possible. The first couple weeks I mostly just rested, tried to recover and took a few short walks. I will admit I started to feel a little bad that I wasn’t up and about as much as I thought I should be or as much as other new moms I have seen on social media. I had to remind myself that I had a little more to recover from than some and thankfully less than it could have been! Comparison really is the thief of joy.

They may not be epic mountain trails but these little neighborhood walks with my family feel pretty great #momlife #cmcn

After about three weeks I felt up to doing a little more than walking. My doctor said before coming in for my 6 week appointment I could do exercise that I felt up to doing with the exception of swimming and anything too high impact. I didn’t feel up to cycling (no thanks to sitting on a saddle) so I added in some short amounts of time on the elliptical and some jogging mixed in with my walking. I didn’t have a plan at all and just did what felt good each day. Getting a little more active really helped work some of the soreness out of my body after delivery and SO MUCH SITTING while nursing my newborn.

Putting some time in on the elliptical before I am cleared for higher impact exercise and it feels great! Plus it gives me time to read Triathlete #5weekspostpartum #roadbacktofitness #fitmom #cantwaittorunagain

As we approached six weeks postpartum I began to think about what I wanted to do to get back in shape. After having Cannon my main goal was to work on my strength. My body feels like a stretched out rubber band so it is really important to me to focus on building muscle and agility. Also I knew I wanted to return to running, I figured I didn’t have time to get back to swim-bike-run and focus on strength while getting used to life as a mom (well I guess I could but I wasn’t going to prioritize it). So I decided to focus on running since it is my happy place and just fit swimming and biking in for fun/cross-training when I could.

Loving early morning miles #coloRADo #roadbacktofitness #7weekspostpartum

Ideally I would have loved to work with an endurance coach, personal trainer and nutritionist to make a plan to get back in shape. Unfortunately babies and daycare are expensive so I decided to make my own plan. I felt capable of making my own plan as I have taken some time to educate myself.

While I was pregnant I decided to go through the Ironman Certified Coach program. I couldn’t train for an Ironman and had a lot more time on my hands so I figured I could use the time to learn more about the sport I love. I also have been coaching a few athletes and that has been a great way to stay invested in sport while sidelined.

After doing some research I found these resources helpful in building my plan:

Hab-it – I found this through reading Nicole’s blog where she talks about getting back into working out after having her ADORABLE daughter. Getting my pelvic floor strong again was really important to me after giving birth. This short program was developed to help strengthen the pelvic floor by a physical therapist.

Blue-Wave Fitness via Witsup.com – For stability and and mobility training

Jamie Eason’s Post Pregnancy Fitness Trainer – For all over strength training. This is also just good resource all around.

Physical Therapy – I saw a physical therapist about 5 weeks after giving birth. I thought this was really important so I could be evaluated on where my imbalances and weakness are. I left with specific exercises to work on my core and hip strength that I am to do twice a day.

I used the resources to come up with my own plan for strength training that I plan to complete three times a week. The PT exercises I do twice a day as directed.

For running I plan to run 3-4 times a week with easy runs, hill training and progressively longer distance runs. I will incorporate speed work when I feel stronger, right now running still feels a bit like a baby giraffe trying to stand up.

And for now swimming, biking and yoga will be included as time allows (meaning usually not). And lots of walking with my family.

So that is that the basics of my “plan” to get back to endurance training. I will check back to report on how it is going. Long term I am not sure yet what races I will be looking at for 2017, I want to take my time and see what I am feeling up to. I am hoping for a 50k sometime in late winter or spring depending on what I can get into.

Anyone else come back from an extended time off? Any tips?

August 19, 2016

Cannon // 2 Month Check In

Our little man turned two months old this week!

Cannon really “woke up” this month and is not that sleepy newborn anymore. He loves to smile, babble and kick all the time.

Cannon loves hanging with his brothers ❤️❤️ #pug #frenchie #cmcn

This past month Cannon has become very expressive and makes all kinds of faces. I love them all even the exaggerated, angry, chin quiver, it gets me every time.

One of Cannon’s favorite things to do is take baths. He will kick and splash forever and dosen’t seem like he ever wants to come out. He also loves to go for walks and snuggle in his Beco baby carrier.

Cannon is still eating like a champ and is gaining weight and growing right around the 50th percentile. The only issue we have is that he doesn’t love eating from a bottle. That will have to change when he goes to daycare at 12 weeks old. I am pumping so that I can leave him with family members for short amounts of time and I can build a freezer stash so he is strictly on breast milk for now.

Sleep has gone great this month, Cannon usually sleeps between 6 and 8 hours straight. I don’t get all the benefits of his great sleep as I wake up once to pump overnight but still it is nice. Given that he is sleeping so much at night he tends to not be a great napper during the day. We aren’t yet on any kind of schedule so somedays he sleeps long stretches in the morning and others he just wants to play and move around all day.

Best friends ❤️ #8weeksold #frenchbulldogsofinstagram #frenchie #cmcn #puppiesandbabies #humphrythefrenchie

This month was much easier than the first month since I am feeling better. We are getting more confident taking Cannon out with us and he even went to his first restaurant after cheering Cory on at the Beaver Creek Trail Race.

Cannon also got to spectate his Gramdma and Gradpa’s triathlon at Boulder Reservior. He has done pretty well on our outings and we are learning what is needed for successful trips.

Cannon’s first chance to cheer on Grandma and Grandpa at TriBoulder this morning. They did great, so much fun! #fitfam #cmcn

We have been practicing taking Cannon on longer car trips to help prepare him for our big road trip. In a couple weeks we will be packing up and heading out to Oregon to visit family. The shorter trips have really helped us learn some lessons on what to do and more importantly what not to do.

We are so enjoying watching Cannon learn and grow, he really lights up our lives.

August 18, 2016

My Not So Fit Pregnancy

When I first imagined my pregnancy I thought things would go very differently than they did. I assumed that after years of Ironman training that I would enjoy lots of running and strength training especially during the first trimester. I even told Cory that I wanted to run a couple half marathons while pregnant. That is not how things went for me.

I don’t want this to sound like a list of excuses on why it’s ok to sit around and be lazy for nine months. It’s not excuses, just my story. The biggest thing I learned is that everyone has a different experience with pregnancy so you shouldn’t judge, compare or assume that you are in control.

As someone who lives on routine giving up control and loaning my body to someone else’s well being was difficult. And while it was overwhelmingly worth it, that doesn’t mean it was easy.

Enjoying some early fall scenery in the high country #Leadville #TrailRun

Missing fall trails

The story of my not so fit pregnancy started just coming off Ironman training. When I first found out I was pregnant I was happy to take a break from training, I needed it mentally and physically. I was 35 and pregnant for the first time so I was very nervous about miscarriage. I took it easy in the early weeks and just wished for this little life to stick.

I assumed that after a little break that I would get back into running. Unfortunately I had some scary symptoms early on and was diagnosed with placenta previa and put on modified rest. This was not bed rest (thank goodness) but my doctor wanted me to rest and do as little as possible physically. I could go to work but I was to be “chained to my desk”. So no running, biking, swimming, fall hikes, etc. for me. Going from so much training to none was really hard mentally but I was glad that for the most part placenta previa does not harm the baby and in most cases clears up before delivery. My only option to keep my baby safe was to listen to my doctor, slow down and wait to see if things improved at my 20 week ultrasounds.

Saturday snuggles #Frenchie #pug #besties

Less running more snuggles

Lucky for me the placenta had moved by my 20 week appointment and I was cleared to resume light activity. I blissfully went back out roads for a few runs.

The pug took the me and the bump for a run

Fairly quickly I developed a bad case of plantar fasciitis. I couldn’t walk without limping and running was off the table again. It’s not too surprising that I ended up with PF. I gained a total of 36 pounds while pregnant, just above the 25-35 pound recommendation. Honestly I am a little surprised it wasn’t more. Six of this pounds were gained in the last couple weeks and were mostly water, I was so swollen.

I saw my physical therapist and left with exercises and instructions not to run (and wear more supportive shoes, boo).
After all the setbacks I got a bit discouraged. I did a bit of strength training, elliptical and walking.

So after recovery this leaves me really starting completely over. There were a few more things I wish I had done, like swimming and more strength training. But in the end I gave birth to a healthy baby boy so I wouldn’t change anything.

Now the fun part begins while trying to get back in shape now that Cannon is here!

July 22, 2016

Cannon’s Birth Story

Cannon’s birth was nothing what I expected the birth of my child to be. I want to record all the details here to help myself remember. But first here is the the short version for those who don’t want all the details.

On June 16th I went in for my 39 week appointment and my midwife was concerned about how high my blood pressure was. I was instructed to go to Labor and Delivery that afternoon. I started the process of being induced that evening. The next day I had progressed enough to start pitocin then had my water broken to move things along. After 7 hours of labor and about an hour of pushing we met our little man at 8:54pm. It was amazing to meet and snuggle our little boy. Unfortunately I struggled with a severe hemorrhage for four and a half hours after giving birth. Those hours were the scariest, most painful in my life but I am thankful that all turned out ok and I was able to go home with a health baby boy.

Here is the long version:

On June 16th I thought it would be fun to go to Boulder Reservoir with my Mom and Cory it was their first open water swim of the season and it sounded nice to be outside before it got too hot. Being a million weeks pregnant I did not tolerate heat well.

After watching Cory and Mom have great swims, I headed to my 39 week appointment. My blood pressure was very high and there was concern about preeclampsia which can be dangerous and even fatal for mom and baby. Given the risk and the fact that I was full term we decided it was time to meet our baby. Our midwife agreed to let us go home to get our hospital bags, take the dogs to my parents house and be back to the hospital around 1pm. I was in shock that I would have to be induced but also excited that I would meet my baby soon. After getting as ready as we could we headed back to the hospital.

I was pretty nervous, Cory was super excited about having our boy soon.

Normally the start of the process of being induced would be an outpatient procedure to help my cervix be prepared for birth since I was only 1cm dilated. We stayed in the hospital overnight so they could monitor my blood pressure and Cannon. I had no idea what to expect that night but settled in to see what would happen. We were in the process of that is called “ripening the cervix” which can sometimes throw you into labor but not always. We moved around, watched The League on Cory’s tablet and just tried to pass the time.

We did get some sleep that night I had some very painful contractions that had me hopeful that we would get the show on the road more quickly but they only lasted a couple hours and went away without really progressing. In the morning we were still just a couple cm dilated but things were moving along.

Around mid day on Friday the 17th I had progressed enough to start Pitocin. Pitocin is a drug that mimics the hormones that would naturally start labor. It was now time to wait and see how my body reacted and start to manage the contractions. I was doing well and dealing with the contractions well enough. Even though I had to be hooked up to the IV I could walk the halls and move all around my room.

A few hours into labor I had dilated to 5cm my midwife checked on me and was unhappy with how high my blood pressure was. She told me that I could take a medicine that could help control my blood pressure but what she really wanted me to do was to get an epidural. According to my midwife, epidurals often lower peoples blood pressure and she thought this would be the best choice for me. I didn’t want to get an epidural at least not that early into labor but it seemed like the best option and it would lower the risks for Cannon and me. I talked it over with Cory and agreed to the epidural. Getting the epidural was not very painful, it was just uncomfortable to sit still for so long while having contractions. The worst part for me was that I was stuck in bed and could no longer walk or move around the room. At first the epidural was really nice I could still feel and move my legs but the contractions in my belly were dulled. My midwife also decided to break my water to help move labor along.

As the epidural progressed I could move and use my legs much less and I really didn’t like this feeling. I also developed what my nurse called a “hot spot” this was a spot in my belly where I could feel everything. The nurses helped me move back and forth in the bed as much as possible to help relieve the hotspot and endure the contractions that felt like they were coming strong and fast. This time seemed to go by very quickly and soon my midwife checked me again and told me that we had made it to 10cm dilated. It was time to start pushing and doing the real work to get Cannon out into the world. My midwife was also working with another woman who was giving birth so I worked with a nurse to start the process and do some practice pushes, this lasted longer than I would have liked and it seemed like we were stalling a bit so my midwife could make it back. After about 45 minutes she was back and it was my turn to really get to work. I can’t recall exactly but I think I really pushed for 40 minutes. I was glad that my epidural was light and that I could still feel the contractions and knew when to push and when to stop and work with my body.

With each push I really believed that it could be the final one and each time it wasn’t I was shocked. Finally Cannon came into the world, he did have the umbilical cord wrapped around him twice and needed to be unwound. He was grayish blue but started crying immediately. The nurses assured us the Cannon was just fine and only needed some skin to skin cuddles and breastfeeding.

We got our magic hour of cuddling and just staring at our little boy. We were both in shock and I was exhausted. It was such a weird feeling of disbelief that he was finally here and he was OURS. After our cuddle time the nurse came in to take his vitals, he was healthy, 7lbs 13oz and 20.5 inches long (88% for length, tall boy).

Unfortunately I had a severe hemorrhage after Cannon was born and lost a lot of blood. It took over four hours to get the blood loss to stop. The procedures they had to take to get the bleeding to stop were the most traumatic and painful that I have ever experienced. Even though this was a very scary experience for both Cory and me, we are very grateful that more extreme measures were not needed including emergency surgery and/or transfusion.

In the end we had to spend four nights in the hospital instead of the typical one or two nights so that I could be monitored. It was so nice when we finally were cleared to go home on Monday afternoon with a healthy baby in tow.

Cannon has now been in our lives for over a month and I love him more than I could imagine. I look forward to sharing so many things with him but also try to hold these quiet moments while he is so small in new close to my heart .

December 25, 2015

Happy Holidays

from our growing family to yours.

runwithbeth