Had quite a scare today... went out for a run in the beautiful fall sun, feeling good after eating a really tasty big breakfast. I was coming down a hill in the woods at a pretty good clip, listening to some music when I tripped over a root and landed right on the belly. My elbow only broke the fall a little. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt, but that's not why I started to cry. I was so scared. I layed there just waiting to feel the baby move, tears coming down my face. And I felt nothing, just my own pulse. There was nothing worse I could imagine than something happening to the baby. I prayed and cried. I didn't want to get up, but knew I should get to the OB department at the hospital to make sure everything was okay. I was a good 6 miles from home, but I ran back fast (for a pregnant lady). I waited for about 10 minutes to be seen by a nurse, all the while waiting for a sign from little C, but there was nothing. She took my blood pressure (which was low) and seemed to be eternally postponing the doppler. I just wanted to hear his heart. Then I was laying there waiting for the doppler to be brought in when I felt him kick. Oh, thank god! And she put the doppler on my belly and there was his heartbeat, perhaps the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.
They actually wanted to admit me for observation, but I refused. I have been feeling him kicking quite a bit since then and no cramping. I actually discussed the incident with a colleague and he agreed that it was almost certain everything was okay. SR agreed, too, that it didn't really seem necessary for me to stay.
Anyway, I am a happy mother-to-be again. And I will have to be more careful around that root.
And I just wanted to address a comment I got, too, about a previous blog post:
Sea Legs Girl said:
"The fear is probably a bit irrational, but in my mind, most moms are fat and out of shape. Ever since I was a little kid, I just associated pregnancy with becoming fat."
Michelle said: Way to insult and alienate every mother in the world. Just because YOU have a psychological issue, that doesn't mean it's OK to lump every women who has ever birthed a child as being fat, out-of-shape.
Certainly what I said wasn't meant to be alienating. #1, I am being honest: I don't want to get fat (and I think that is pretty normal), #2, Acknowledging the fact that many of mothers are overweight is telling the truth and is not alienating. I'm not saying anything about anyone's character. It is like saying, lots of women who smoke get lung cancer. I don't want lung cancer, so I'm not going to smoke. Obesity is also a disease (which I see repeatedly every day) and I don't want to become overweight, so I will watch what I eat and watch my weight gain during pregnancy.
That being said, I did a lot of looking at research today and was surprised to find a correlation between low weight gain during pregnancy and low birth weight as well as pre-term delivery. But I've got lots more info about that. I just wanted to get everyone interested in reading the next post.
For now, suffice it to say that I just ate a chocolate chip cookie that was the size of my head.
Running Song of the Day: Gotta Have You by the Weepies
6 comments:
Sea Legs,
Glad to read you and baby are okay. Hope your wrist is ok too. Chocolate chip cookie mmmm sounds good to me!
Sweets are my downfall :)
Bet you didnt realize what a stir you would create with you just stating feelings about yourself and pregnancy. I'm addicted to your blog now...
p.s. Obesity is a disease! I wish more people would realize that. It creates so many health problems that could be prevented... Not that I'm perfect with my diet but I try the majority of the time to eat reasonably..
Hi Sea Legs,
I've made my way over to your blog via Olga's and I find your blog so interesting.
First, it's miraculous that there are people out there sharing their opinions and sometimes telling you what to do! Such a concept is both one of the joys and pains of the public blogging world! It would be nice, if people couldn't contain their urge to criticize you, if they could do so in a constructive manner. Where is the productivity in the destructive subjectiveness that I've read in the comments section of this blog?
Second, I wanted to congratulate you on your goals of being a healthy pregnant woman and, later, a healthy mom. I also appreciate the fact that you are willing to challenge the status quo, and you aren't bashful about it.
Third, perhaps there are data to be gathered about pregnant women in other more active cultures. There are cultures wherein pregnant women do the same list of manual labor daily chores as they do when they are without child. This is all anecdotal, but in Guatemala, I once saw a pregnant woman with another baby in a sling around her front carrying firewood in a satchel on her back. In my estimation, she was carrying 40 pounds of goods, all while visibly pregnant. And, what about the African subsistence cultures where groups of women, old, young, pregnant, and so forth, spend all say doing gathering walks for miles around their homes to collect food? I have myself seen a big-bellied pregnant Masaai woman walk miles to gather wild gourds.
Fourth, our culture is so very different! I sometimes wonder if the highly cautionary angle our culture takes towards pregnant women is a remnant of the Victorian Era philosophies that pedestalized women as helpless creatures and that birthed sexism in our culture in earnest.
Finally, I apologize for the long comment, but I do want to thank you for this blog and the discussion which is arising from it. If I did nothing but look at the pictures here, I would see an abundantly happy, motivatingly healthy pregnant woman. If nothing else, that's a wonderful thing!
megan, I don't think anyone questions that exercise is healthy during pregnancy. I do think people question whether scale obsession and running hours and hours despite pain is healthy. Women safely run through pregnancy all the time. But that's not really the issue here.
Also, I agree that there is much we don't know about pregnancy and health. But I'm certain that a study of the Masai and women in Guatemala would reveal a significantly higher infant mortality rate than in the US. Not to say it's the result of engaging in labor during pregnancy, but I don't think it would take much investigation to find that the women you refer to face many more health problems than we do. And, I'm fairly certain that these women don't obsess about their weight during pregnancy. I'd be willing to bet they take advantage of the available nutrition.
I would just add that being in "perfect shape" requires mental health as well as physical health. My goal in commenting (as a perfect stranger) isn't to be mean. I'm not even trying to be critical. I just hope SLG will think long and hard about this stuff so she can be the healthiest mom possible and have the healthiest baby possible. And, she clearly is thinking about it at least some. Whether or not that will affect what she does, who knows. It's not up to me.
Whew, that was a scare! Did I tell you to watch for trails? :)
I was away and had to brainstorm all your latest posts. Not even sure where to begin. Excercising while pregnant is healthy and good for both baby and mom. Most pregnant women are fat - I was one of them with second child. Many stay like that, excusing themselves they have a kid to look after and don't need to feel/look healthy. You do have OCD - so do I in other areas, so what I do is just admit it. Once admitted and accepted, it becomes less of an obsession somewhat, or at least I stop fighting other "advices". I just listen quietly and may be - may be - incorporate what I think would work for me and my OCD. Middle ground. Your honesty is great, I am all for "what you see is what you get". Meghan always has awespme insites on any topics, I like her comments a lot. I would check out another doppler just in case, and may be cut on biking a bit - kind of back straining for a growing belly. May be swim more? The weight of placenta and a baby and waters minus 3-5 lbs from your own body could be a good estimate for what you'd look as a weight gain by the end. Low birth weight of a baby may not be a big issue - but could be going "hand in hand" with something else, don't dismiss it quite yet. All the science around it is mostly based on observations, not a "perfect experiment" with proper controls and similar cases, so I don't really follow it (not like we are mice who undergone food and sport variations when all other substances were highly controlled). Humans also have emotions and minds, what adds on to stress hormon levels and a bunch of things - and that influences baby as much. If a future mom freaks out too much, it's as unhealthy as if she is feeling stable mentally.
That said, I'll look forward to what you have in next post:)
I'm glad that you and baby are ok after your fall. Must have been quite a scare! I'm also glad that you put some research in regarding low weight gain and low birth weight ect. I don't think anyone reading your blog wants you to get fat and unhealthy. Adding a few wholesome calories isn't going to do you any harm and may reduce the risk of harm to you and/or your baby. One thing that I found as well when trying to run while pregnant was that my balance became very unstable. Be careful and switch to a more secure (for lack of a better word) exercise if need be.
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