For various reasons, January 2014 has not been our month. I woke up on Feb. 1st breathing a sigh of relief. January felt like we were being buffeted from one major crisis to another, all while I was sick with my umpteenth round of tonsilitis and fighting milk supply issues. Hopefully, I shaved off a little bit of time in Purgatory?
New year’s goals and resolutions? I didn’t even have a chance to write any down. So I decided I’m just starting over. February 1st is day one of the new year for me and the new year is going to leave last year in the dust. Anybody want to join me in starting the new year over? Let’s do this.
If it had been a January that wasn’t full to the brim of Survival Mode, I would have decided on a “one word” for the new year, like all the organized bloggers did in December. But, in regular procrastinating fashion (hey, it wasn’t ALL due to my disorganization this time) I’m picking one now (we’re starting the year over, remember?). And here it is: “Health.” That’s what I’m focusing on this year.
After giving birth to the world’s sweetest baby after my pukiest pregnancy followed by three months of post-partum exhaustion and then three months of on-and-off tonsilitis, times they are a’changing. Since we’re using NFP (Marquette) to postpone pregnancy for the first time, I’m motivated to really use each month to recover and replenish before we go back to “let’s get pregnant whenever” mode. (And please know that I don’t say that flippantly. I am well aware that secondary infertility can affect any couple and that our ability to get pregnant easily thus far is a huge gift. I really do give myself a little shake whenever I feel overwhelmed by our “hyperfertility” and say a prayer for all my friends struggling to conceive who would trade with me any day.)
But why am I so motivated to get super healthy? Well, post-partum NFP requires a good bit of abstinence which isn’t super fun (surprise!) so I really would like to toss it out the window and just be trying to get pregnant again. However, hyperemesis gravidarum (so bad that I couldn’t keep water down) and being too sick to lift my youngest into her high chair is also not super fun, so I’m in “prevent morning sickness” research and implementation mode. (This little quest deserves it’s own post, so I’ll get on that soon.)
So, here’s some ways I’m going to seek health this year:
1. Stay consistent with my vitamins and supplements (esp. the ones that may affect severe morning sickness in future pregnancies (B vitamins and Magnesium.) Probiotics also seem to be crucial for preventing morning sickness and having a healthy gut to absorb the nutrients that keep it at bay. I also need to take probiotics to prevent being GBS positive (I was with Lucy and with Gwen) so that I don’t have to be hooked up to antibiotics during labor if we’re blessed with another pregnancy (ugh. So uncomfortable.) This is the one my midwife and a reader recommended.
2. Choose a weekly exercise outlet (I’m not teaching ballet this year so I’m doing exactly ZERO physical exercise apart from chasing babies and chickens.) This might be a ballet class with the city, or a pilates or spin class if I can find one that meets before Daniel goes to work.
3. Shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep. I’ve always needed a lot of sleep, but I also love staying up late and getting up early to write. I have to make sleep first priority or I’m just going to wear myself down again. Caring for little ones and nursing takes a lot out of me, and I have to remember that part of being a good mama is taking care of myself.
4. Get serious about cutting processed sugar out of my diet. Not only does it mess up my immune system, I feel tired and crabby. AND sugar addiction seems closely tied to morning sickness.
5. Occasionally make sweet treats with the kids, but avoid the gluten (the kids are allergic and I know I don’t process it well, either, but I like to ignore that fact because PASTRIES!) (So I use this Gluten-Free baking ecookbook. Steph’s grain-free chocolate cookies are my favorite.)
And this almond joy cookie recipe has been requested for all my friend’s baby showers because they are oh so good.
6. Get back into the saddle with meal planning which always helps us eat more veggies (and plan meals around what’s growing in Daniel’s garden.) And planning ahead helps us remember to observe special days in the Christian Year. (p.s. our liturgical year ecookbook is still on sale until Wednesday!)
7. Prepare ahead of time with slow cooker freezer meals. With three kids under age 5, cooking from scratch all afternoon only happens every so often (or on weekends when Daniel does it). Does it take anyone else 3 hours when there are childrens underfoot to make a recipe that should take 1 hour?
I just got my hands on my real life friend Stephanie’s NEW edition of her awesome cookbook From Your Freezer to Your Family with 75 recipes (she sets it up so you can make prep everything ahead of time, keep it in the freezer, and just put it all in the crock pot the morning of. Life saver.)
Did you pick a “one word” for 2014? Care to share in the comments?
p.s. Some of the links above are affiliate links which means that if you purchase through my link, I will receive a portion of the sale. I only promote products that I would purchase myself and I always share my true opinions! Thanks for using my affiliate links. Each sale help support my family and is oh so appreciated.
I totally hear you on the meal prep time. I feel like recipes should come with a “kid free” and “with kids” prep time. Because what takes Martha Stewart 30 minutes with pre-measured and pre-cut ingredients takes three times as long with toddler “help” and a baby pulling on your leg.
Yes! I find myself getting grumpy with the kids when I try to cook between 3-5pm because everyone seems to need mama then!
I hear you. While I was fortunate not to suffer from morning sickness (aside from the occasionally queasy stomach) during pregnancy and was gbs negative, I really want to focus on getting my health to an optimal point before we conceive again. We’d love to try for baby number two in July, so I have about half a year to get where I’d like to be. Many of my goals are similar to yours and you’ve given me inspiration to write them out.
Hope your February is 100% better than your January!
Thanks, Patina! 🙂
I am going through a very similar process! With 3 pregnancies very close together (and one miscarriage inbetween) it’s time to buckle down and get serious about health. There is definitely some baby weight to lose – someone asked me the other day how my “other” child was (and gave my stomach a very pointed look! Yikes!) and my baby is only 5 months old. So yes, health is a very splendid thing this year 🙂
Here’s to health! 🙂
Yes, our January left us weak and weary! Husband’s new project took off (and he’s one of the leads), we traveled for holidays only to be sick while there (after having overcome some major allergies and a virus a few wks prior), came back with the flu that knocked us out for two weeks in January, and have had a lingering runny nose with this up and down, crazy winter season here in N. Texas. I just started feeling mostly back to myself and am starting to see the rest of the family doing better too (except for the teething almost 1 year old). Health sounds like an amazing word to bring in the new year with. Our nursing relationship is still going strong at one year and I have yet to get cycles back. In that I’m a c-section mama (first one resulted in emerg c-section, and wasn’t allowed to wait to vbac with second or couldn’t find a doctor rather) we’re forced to keep our babies 18 months apart now. I’d really like to strengthen my core this year so I’m hoping to start an exercise routine and get more sunshine!! Maybe sunshine will be my word for the new year 🙂 Prayers for your year of health! 🙂
Oh my gosh, that sounds horrible! You definitely deserve a do-over!
Simplicity. So much has happened in the last two years, for us. I want to absorb more of what is happening and feel less like I’m not keeping up.
That’s a good one. I have been feeling like I can’t keep my head above water lately. Time to slow down!
February is totally the first day of the year. We need January to recuperate from December, so it doesn’t count.
Here here!
My word for this year (which I just started doing this year) is embrace…
At 37, I’m finally going to start really embracing who I am, instead of fighting myself all the time; God made me ME, and this is how I am supposed to look and talk, and act! I’m going to embrace my curves, while also embracing the health that I have, as I continue to work towards becoming even healthier. I’m going to embrace change; I’m going to embrace my children and husband in all their splendid personalities and quirks; I’m embracing God’s love and wisdom and provision in and for my life.
I can think of so many more things that ’embrace’can pertain to, but these are the big ones.
And may I just take a moment to say thank you Haley, sincerely, from me to you and yours. I consider it a blessing to have you in my life, even though we have never met or talked our hung out…your messages and your example really stand out in today’s kinda crazy world, a beacon for the way things should be, and what I feel we all are trying to get back to. Keep up the awesome work, and kiss that gorgeous family of yours from the stranger who loves you all like I know you….
Thanks again, and God bless your journey this year!
Love your word of the year (embrace) and everything it can stand for! I’m going to write it down for our family next year!
Our 2014 word of the year is Balance….one month in and we are doing pretty good…
What a beautiful way to express your word for the year, Jennifer! And many thanks for the wonderful encouragement! <3
I’m joining you & starting late. Mine is Balance. And it’s going to start with setting a routine.
Routine is good! I feel like we’ve just recently fallen into a good one.
Oh goodness your post was so encouraging to read right now. My husband had step earlier this week and now I have the creeping crud that includes a majority sore throat. I can totally sympathize with your January! Is it weird that I find it encouraging to hear that others have gone through similar trials? Hmmm. I really like your word of the year being health. That really encompasses what I’ve been working on so far, I might just steal your word 🙂 I pray you all stay healthy from here on out!
Not weird, at al! I’m glad I’m in good company. 🙂
Erg that is supposed to say my husband had strep not step lol. Gotta love auto type 🙂
I hope you start feeling healthier soon. Taking care of kids while sick is so hard, and when you throw pregnancy into the mix, that’s just crazy.
My word of the year is acceptance. I thought it meant one thing, but by the end of the post I realized God was leading me in a different direction.
That’s a good one, Jennifer! If my next pregnancy (God willing we get pregnant again) involves similar hyperemesis I’ll need that word ; )
I’m looking forward to your post on avoiding morning sickness post. We’re NFP’ers too, and I’m conscience that we could be pregnant at any time, and I’d really like to be well enough to work (I work full time) and be able to care for the 3 littles we already have, which seems daunting at this time given how sick I was with the last two. Magnesium and Vitamin B are on my list now – I knew about Vitamin B, but not Magnesium.
And I love the crockpot meals.
Yes! Magnesium seems to be KEY. Check out this post in the meantime: http://www.mommypotamus.com/the-real-cause-of-morning-sickness/
And crock pot meals are lifesavers. We had beef curry from Steph’s book last night and it was soooo good.
I’m looking forward to your post on avoiding morning sickness post. We’re NFP’ers too, and I’m conscience that we could be pregnant at any time, and I’d really like to be well enough to work (I work full time) and be able to care for the 3 littles we already have, which seems daunting at this time given how sick I was with the last two. Magnesium and Vitamin B are on my list now – I knew about Vitamin B, but not Magnesium.
And I love the crockpot meals.
Hi there, I had to comment about your search for a good probiotic, the best one I know of is called FloraJen3. It was recommended to me by my midwife for helping with strep b. I used it and for the first time in four pregnancies I was negative. She said she had not had a single case of step b since she started recommending it several months ago. Amazon sell it, as well as many local places of you call around. I keep saying I should get a kickback from florajen for all the business I have been sending their way (I teach childbirth classes so I am always talking about this stuff)! I hope it works for you!
I’m glad you mentioned that, Lori! I took that during my last pregnancy after being positive for GBS because with my 2nd birth there wasn’t time to get the antibiotics before Lucy was born (very quick labor…3rd birth, not so much, haha) and my midwife wanted to decrease my risk of passing it on to Gwen in case she came out super fast, too. I should add that to the post!
I had terrible hyperemesis with all 5 pregnancies. It got worse and worse with each one. I also fainted a couple of times from the heat (Atlanta summer pregnancies — I think my blood pressure was affected by the constant vomiting.). Zofran (ondansetron) helped greatly — I tried every single other thing under the sun.
I hope you find the right solution– I only have 3 children but wish I’d started earlier and had more, even with the hyperemesis. 🙂
I gave in this last pregnancy and took Zofran because I was starting to get dehydrated because I couldn’t keep down fluids. But I just found out a couple of weeks ago that they’re no longer giving it to pregnant women after new studies showed it wasn’t safe. Noooo! So, hopefully I won’t need it if we get pregnant again…I guess I could try Phenergen?
It is beautiful and encouraging to hear that despite such difficult pregnancies, you only wish you had had more. <3
Please continue to share your research and regimen for preventing morning sickness and GBS! So helpful.
Will do! And I updated the post to share the probiotic that targets GBS and link to it.
I’m doing a similar regimen to get ready for the next pregnancy. I’m hoping the probiotics, less refined sugar and eating better/organic will help. At least I can say I tried something to prevent it, even if it doesn’t work 🙂
Totally with you on Feb being a new year. Good grief, so glad that month is over! lol
That’s how I feel, too. I have to do SOMETHING to try to prevent it or else I’ll be kicking myself even if it doesn’t work. So long January!
I thought I was the only one who was behind! This is a huge encouragement. Especially because God just revealed my word to me on 31 January! My word is, Wisdom. I really seeking to make wise choices and seek true wisdom from above.
Great word!
Terribly sorry that your January wasn’t the best way to start the year (praying for you), but health is a fantastic word (and hey, at least the Chinese New Year just began, right? I work for a US-China think tank)!
I really appreciate that you include so many different facets of what health entails here, as health isn’t simply about what we eat or how we exercise. Rather, you seem to have a very holistic sense of what health means for you and your family, and I both applaud that and intend to follow your lead here–especially when it comes to meal planning and 8 hours of sleep!
I blogged about my word, which is joy! Simply put, I want to find joy in the day-to-day! http://theoctobersort.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/one-word/
Loved your post on Joy. Makes me want to watch Tree of Life again (which was filmed in Waco where I went to college. Fun fact!)
Be careful not to overdo the B-Vitamins- don’t take over the RDA- it can really mess with your system. I thought that I was helping myself out by loading up on the B, but too much vitamin B has nasty neurological side-effects… not to mention that it can lower estrogen (for some ladies, that’s great, but for me- well, I started having 60 + day cycles without ovulation- NO.FUN.).
Good reminder! I don’t go over the recommended dose, but I didn’t know the negative effects!
My One Word for the Year is Health too! 🙂 Wrote about it here: http://trulyrichmom.com/one-verse-one-word-one-saint-for-2014/
Congrats on winning a Sheenazing Award! God bless you and your family!
Thanks for this chance to do-over the new year!
It’s been so bitterly cold up here all January, I felt smothered..but now we’re finally waking up a bit! My word would have to be ‘Balance’ .. I’m on opposite side of fertility – with a body that just doesn’t make or keep babies as well as it should. I feel as though stress and meals and sleep and the whole rhythm of the day needs to be brought closer into balance for me to be better able to bring babies into our family – and delight in the family I DO have!