An Introduction

My name is Barb and I'm one of Lindy's sisters-in-law from back East. Greg, Michael's brother, and I just had Baby Number 5, James, two weeks ago. The pregnancy was a particularly long, tiring and wearing one, even though I only had some minor health issues. I didn't exercise or stretch for most of the pregnancy, unlike my previous ones. I ended up gaining 40 lbs. which is a little high for me. At this point I have 25 lbs. to go.

At two weeks post-partum, I've been setting goals in walking, stretching, strength-training, and drinking water for myself. I have a Franklin Covey planner which allows me to do a master task list for the week, but print it daily. As I do each task, I cross off a hash mark. Some days I get all the hashmarks crossed off, and other days only one. It's like stringing a necklace; the beads start to add up and make something bigger than the individual beads.

In terms of stress relief, walking, gardening, working on a creative project like knitting or embroidery, reading, and baking are all things I do when I'm feeling stressed. Taking a computer break to read some craft blogs can help give me space to deal with the stress. However, when at least two kids are screaming at once, I have to stick it out and figure out which kid will calm down first and work with them. I learned in college when I started long-distance biking, that hills/stress can be our friends if we learn how to stick it out and manage the stress. My final stress relief is being conscious of the rhythm of the day. We stay home a lot because it's tough to move four little people in and out of the mini-van and in and out of stores. By staying home, we can stick to a predictable routine and have lots of space in our day for playing, reading books, working on stuff around the house. If we do need to get out, I'm mindful of how long we'll be out, and ways that I can make coming home easier like buying McDonald's after a doctor's appointment rather than trying to make lunch when we get home.

I'm looking forward to sharing my progress and will be checking in weekly.