currently: november 2021

I think we can all agree: November is quite possibly the least fun month of the year. Not only do we roll back the clock an hour (whyyyyy), but it’s also so dark and dreary. Despite it bleh-ness, it was a decent month over here. Here’s a peek…

back to work

After 18 weeks of mat leave, I went back to work November 1. While it’s been great to get back into the work rhythm and collab with colleagues again (I’m so grateful to work with the best of the best and for an amazing company), it’s definitely been an adjustment and, if I’m being honest, I wish I’d taken a couple more months off. Just when we were starting to get into a good groove and really feel like we were getting the hang of this momma-baby thing, too. I cannot complain about having four months off – I fully realize how privileged I am and that it’s so much more than most women get – but now, being on the other side of having a baby, four months isn’t even close to enough time to 1) be fully recovered (c-sections are no joke), and 2) bond with your babe. It boggles my mind that there’s zero weeks of paid leave for parents in the U.S. – a federal paid time off policy is a must. And don’t get me started at how ridiculous it is that birthing a baby is considered a short-term disability.

thanksgiving

After nearly two years of covid, I was much looking forward to spending the holiday with my parents. Turns out, covid had other plans – my dad tested positive Thanksgiving morning after realizing he couldn’t smell or taste anything (he’s been vaxxed since February and got his booster last week). We were all so bummed! Fingers crossed we have better luck at Christmas. Despite the bad luck, we had a lovely plant-based dinner (gasp! no turkey!) at home with friend Johnny and Nick’s mom Mary.

fixin’ Jackson’s flat

At Jackson’s two-month appointment, his pediatrician said he seemed to have some torticollis (tight neck muscles on one side), which was causing him to turn his head one direction creating a minor flat spot (likely how he was in utero and why I had a c-section). She recommended some stretches and if it didn’t improve within a month, she’d refer us to a specialist. It improved, but not enough so he got fitted and here we are – wearing a craniocap for a few months! He’s had it for only a few weeks and we’re already noticing improvement. A cap looks good on him, dontcha think?! 😍

postpartum hair loss

I thought I’d escaped the postpartum hair loss, but it showed up right at 4 months pp. It hasn’t been awful, but it’s definitely more hair than I regularly
lose on daily basis. And it’s definitely way more than I lost while pregnant, which was basically none. Anyone have any good tips for regrowth? I’ve been getting ads for Nutrafol, but not sure I wanna spend that much on something that maybe doesn’t work.

The other not great part is that my hair gets greasier much faster so I either have to wash it everyday – and who has time for that?! – or on the days I don’t, wear a cute beanie or throw it in a top knot. The latter usually turns out meh because my hair’s pretty fine, but I’ve been practicing thanks to a YouTube tutorial so it’s getting maybe a bit cuter?!

But there’s one good thing: my eyelashes are starting to grow back. They basically stopped growing while I was pregnant (so did my leg hair, which was awesome… ha!) so it’s so nice to have them finally filling in again.

Boston Marathon!

I thought I’d missed my chance to run Boston Marathon because of covid and having a baby, but much to my surprise, the 2022 qualifying window was extended to include Twin Cities Marathon in 2019. So I applied when registration opened in early November and crossed my fingers my nearly 11-minute buffer was enough. Turns out it was(!), so I’ll be lining up to run my first Boston on April 18! 🦄

After some fits and starts, returning to running has turned a corner and feels great. Following a monthlong fairly conservative return-to-run program and some pelvic floor PT (highly recommend for all postpartum mamas!), I started working with my coach again mid November, and it’s been awesome to have a plan in TrainingPeaks again. We’re building gradually to hopefully stay injury-free (injuries are much more common while breastfeeding thanks to the hormone relaxin), and so far, I feel awesome. There’s nothing quite like run fitness, amiright?! It makes me a dumb amount of happy to see my Strava mileage chart ticking upward, too 💃🏼

five months old!

I feel like Jackson went from a tiny little babe to five months with no in between. Time is a thief 😭 He’s a ton of fun and loves putting all the things in his mouth, is obsessed with jumping in the Jolly Jumper, is really starting to notice Luma and Olli, loves screeching, and is already rolling over like crazy(!). We love him to pieces ♡

and the doggos

Can’t forget about these two hooligans! Luma turned 5 last month and every day she looks at us asking if we’re gonna give Olli back. Olli is a derp and is obsessed with running and watching TV. Both of them wanna lick Jackson’s face as much as possible.