Aches, Pains, and Zero Sleep

    So, back in April, when I ran my best half marathon to date, I felt some pain in my right hip.  I thought it was weird because I have only had issues with my left hip before, and those pains have all but disappeared.  Well, for the last month, runs have been harder and the pain has gotten worse and worse.  Add into that the severe lack of sleep since our little party animal son has joined us.

Sometimes you just have to rest, eat a salad, and kick it with your baby.

    I haven't been able to run as frequently as I would like or run as hard as I like to push.  It is understandable that the frequency would go down due to responsibilities with the kiddo, but, I think a big part of it is the pain that I have radiating down my right leg.  It's going to be after the new year before I can get in to see my doctor.  He is one of the team doctors for the Colts, so his schedule is incredibly packed.  For now, I am going to do the exercises that I know that I should be doing in order to strengthen my gluteus and open my hips.  I am hoping in time, that I can build enough strength to get rid of the pain.  We will see!
    Regardless of speed, I am still on my quest to complete a half marathon a month for the entirety of 2016.  I ran one yesterday morning and other than it being a full minute per mile slower than my average pace, it felt good.  Plus, I am keeping my monthly average at abut 100 miles.  The pain in my hip doesn't bother me much when I am running, just after and while I am sitting or sleeping...which sucks.  We aren't getting hardly any sleep as it is with a newborn, so to be in pain when I do have time to rest is a kick in the ass.  I do have big plans over the next few years in terms of my running and I need to make sure that I am rested and at full strength.  

Getting his tan on.

   Jett had a rough couple weeks to start his life...he was in the NICU due to his bilirubin getting dangerously high.  He ended up on Triple Light Therapy with an IV in his little head.  It was a heart wrenching week for us.  We couldn't hold him for almost 2 whole days and he had to get heel pricks every 4 hours.  We had to rely on donor breast milk and Laura pumping for him.  I went for a run while we were at the hospital just so that I could cry and not have Laura see me.  When I can back, He was off the IV and we could hold him again.  It was almost as good as the day he was born.  We knew the whole time that we were the lucky ones in the NICU.  We tried to not bother the nurses for anything that we could do ourselves.  We let them know to care for everyone else before us.  When we left, we had a stream of nurses tell us what an amazing couple we are and how adorable our family is.  It was so sweet way to leave.
   So, I will take the rest days that pain and lack of sleep give me.  I will accept the fact that I am not invincible.  I will sleep in when I can and not beat myself up about not getting al of my miles in all of the time.  I am still stronger than I used to be and these moments will make me a stronger mother in the long run.  After all, every mile that I run is so that I ave that much more time with my son

He Has Arrived!

Papa, Laura, and Jett

     Jett Mahan Russell is here!  At 1:01AM on April 29th, 2016 weighing in at 5 pounds 10 ounces and 19.5 inches long.  It was a rough couple of days, but, he is amazing.  Let's go back and unpack this whole bringing a life into the world thing...
   So, Laura had a few higher levels of protein in her urine and blood.  This is one sign of pre-eclampsia.  The other big symptom is elevated blood pressure.  She had 2 readings in the 140's, which led to the urine and blood collection, but normally, she ran in the 120's.  At our 36 week appointment,  Dr. Klus made it clear that if her levels were still high the next week that we would talk induction.  This goes against everything that we want for the birth.  It would mean being monitored in the hospital, and it can be a lot more painful.  We prayed for a week.  Unfortunately, Laura's protein levels were just high enough that the doctor said that induction was necessary.  Pre-eclampsia is very dangerous because of how quickly it can progress and it can cause seizures in the mother.  We were both pretty devastated at the news...the kicker was that it was happening the NEXT DAY!!!  That gave us very little time to prepare.  We both had to work the next day.  Laura was able to take the day off, but, I got my happy booty up for work the next day with al the nerves in the world!  I got up early enough...well, to be honest neither one of us really even slept, to go for a run.  I prayed that this day could still be what we had hoped for.  I prayed that my wife wouldn't suffer to badly.  I prayed that our baby would be born healthy.  I cried and ran and prayed and laughed and ran some more.  When I got home, I felt like I could actually do this...I was ready to be a mother.
    This part of the story, I could go on forever...mainly, because the labor took forever.  We went in on  Wednesday at 5pm and had a baby on Friday at 1am.  That's 32 hours for those of you that can't do fast math.  32 hours of a labor that was nothing that we expected. Laura did get he time in the big ass tub...that's about it.  At 29 hours of active contractions and pitocin, she had only gotten to 3cm.  Doc said that w had to get the baby out and that in epidural was necessary at this point...oh yea, Laura went 29 hours med free!!! She is a bad ass.  The epidural was necessary in order for her to be able to relax enough to progress further while they bumped up the pitocin to levels that no human can withstand.  An hour and a half later, she got to 10cm and it was go time.  30 minutes of pushing later and Jett made his way into the world.  We were all surprised to see the cord wrapped around his neck when he came out.  so, the doc had to cut it.  We had wanted delayed cord clamping.  We wanted our son to get all of the blood that was made for him...another thing we didn't get in this birth.  But, we did get an amazing little person.  He was absolutely perfect! Gooey, bloody, and perfect!

My amazing son!

    There is an endless list of things about the birth and aftercare of Jett that did' go how we wanted it, but, In the end, we have an amazing little baby that will love us forever.  He is the greatest thing in my world.  Thank goodness he is so cute because I have a feeling that he will be interrupting my running schedule quite often!
    The coolest thing to happen in the hospital so far is that Laura's Papa and his Wife Marcia came to see us before heading up to Michigan for the summer.  It was unexpected and beautiful.  Papa is 93 and still going strong.  He is a retired Methodist Pastor with an amazing zest for all things.  There was not a dry eye in the room when he held his Great Grandson.  Mahan is a family name and Papa was beside himself to hear that it is Jett's middle name.  Such a touching moment.
    We have had a few visitors see us besides Papa and Marcia, but, it has really been mainly Laura, Jett, and I for the past 2 days.  So sweet and amazing to be a family now.  I am so very excited to see this little tiny person grow into a man.  I am excited to see what he will love and what he will ultimately do to give back to this world.  We was made from love and will never know anything other than that.

My tiny guy.

    So, we just got home with Jett.  I was the typical new parent driving way too slow just to ensure that he was safe.  He is in a newborn onesie that he is swimming in and I already put a call out for some preemie clothes to get us by until he fills out the clothes that we have for him.  Also, I opened every pack of diapers they brought us in the hospital and took them to the car.  I was able to stock up 5 bags.  We might not have to buy any preemie diapers.  I know our cloth diapers won't fit for a while.  What an adventure we are about to embark on...I am so scared!

Proud Mommy