9 Months: Stasis

December 27th. This seems fitting to write a post as I am jumping back on the blog wagon.  I kind of predicted or set my year up for my blog to reflect what I thought would happen.  My year has been a year of stasis.  Not just blog inactivity but flying in a holding pattern as some things with my health took over in the cockpit.  My year was essentially focused on being pregnant, recovering from a c-section, then recovering from not being able to metabolize iron. Tonight my youngest will be 9 months old.  On the outside as long as he was on the inside.

As I finished 2012 I was pregnant and told most folks to back off.  I started the year by living gratitude as much as I could for the possibility that my health or my baby’s health would take priority once he was born.  I actually freaked out a number of friends that wanted to know if there was something I was not telling them.  Nope, just covering my bases in case things did not go as perfectly as I planned.

As we finish 2013 I am happy I made that decision to not put pressure on myself with obligations or expectations here and elsewhere in my life.  Kai was born 9 months ago via the most unnecessary surgery in my life, a c-section for a surprise breech.  Our recovery was remarkable as we left the hospital 40 hours after we walked in.  However I truly believe the Ayurvedic idea that it takes TWO years to heal from pregnancy and childbirth.  I went into post-partum with patience.

There are some post-partum joys that did not go so smoothly.  For me it was iron metabolism – my body is now just barely starting to metabolize it again.  Iron has led to fatigue, low milk supply, etc.  I am hoping to continue to see it rise as we go into 2014, especially as I am joining a new performance training center soon.  I am having another iron assessment in February and hoping all is good.

2013 was a fun year for being a Polar Ambassador.  I had to back off of a lot of physical training but they were patient with me and my gentle post-partum messaging.  I signed up to rep them at a few races and even donned the Polar singlet for a couple of half-marathons and a sprint triathlon.  Going into 2014 I hope to actually train for races, get on the trails a lot more, and enjoy the hell out of my nordic ski pass.  I am loving their new Loop product because for realsies my fitness feels like it is at a minimal baseline.

In 2013 I enjoyed my Larabar ambassadorship but let it go for 2014.  I was a bit sad that even though I am local I never did any repping with them at local events – even when they had no one to rep at the events for them that I went to.  Instead there would be an empty table and bars.  I still love the product and buy it but I did not feel very useful as an ambassador mostly giving out bars to yoga students when I was out and about so much.

The best health tidbit for 2013 for me was that my sugar cane allergy was reversed.  This is a huge game-changer and my post-holiday fitness efforts will reflect the newfound food freedom I now experience.

There ya go.  9 months ago I had our family’s second babe.  We are done.  Maybe in 2014 I can give people here in onlinelandia something besides being a mom to know me as.

There will still be a lot of content about maternal fitness since I have 2 prenatal yoga certs, but I will expand on other types of yoga too, personal training, #realfood enjoyment, stress-less living, and my love for the simplicity of the natural world because we are jacking up the consumer-driven, man-influenced one.

This next year I will see ya around online and IRL in a few places. My 2013 was a year of stasis, but not of regrets.  I am happy I took pressure off myself so I could be gentle with my body and enjoy my loved ones.  I hope to have my priorities in 2014 be just as reflective of how I choose to live my life.

Namaste.