Home and Exercise

I haven’t left the house in 5 days.  I am starting…strike that…I am stir crazy!  Not only has it been bitterly cold (-16 without windchill) but all three kiddos are still getting over their sickness.  The twins are on day 7 of antibiotics, and my older buddy is still coughing and requires his snot rag (disgusting, I know, but he has something against tissue.)

You would think I would be used to this by now, since we spent last winter in isolation, but it somehow is different.  Perhaps because the twins are now mobile and need more constant entertaining.  Actually, they need constant crisis intervention.  My “Little P” climbs onto everything, but doesn’t really understand that he may fall off.  “Big C” puts anything and everything into his mouth.  No.  Wait.  That’s all three of my kids.  I caught my 4-year-old licking a cotton ball on a Christmas stocking.  When I asked him why, it was because he thought it would be sweet.  No, that’s Cotton Candy silly boy.

We also had a lot of visits from our home healthcare nurse, physical therapist, and grandparents last winter, so it didn’t seem so lonely or isolating.  This year, there are no medical professionals, but luckily, there are still grandparents.  It’s pretty hard to go a whole day without adult conversation, and instead have the ridiculously annoying and catchy tunes in your head from every single toy in the living room.

I also usually escape to Target or the grocery store a few times a week, either when my husband gets home or when my mom is here.  Since it was so cold these last few days, I didn’t even want to attempt it.  Plus, I figured if the kids were stuck indoors, I should stick it out too.

On the 3rd day, I decided it was time to shake things up.  I dusted off my old workout DVD, put on my indoor tennis shoes (can’t drag germs from outside in!) and during the twins morning nap attempted to workout.  No need to change beforehand since sweatpants are pretty much my uniform.

All I can say is…..OUCH.  I am so sore.  It hurts my legs to sit down, and it even hurts my arms typing this post.  I knew I was out of shape, but this is a new level.

Now, this was not a complete surprise to me.  In a previous life, I was pretty active.  I was in a Modern Dance company, and belonged to a gym.  When I got pregnant with my first, I was sick the first trimester, but still tried to stay moderately active…a little yoga, walking.  After he was born, and after I woke up from the sleep deprivation period, I started working out again.  I got really into yoga, and even did a boot camp class.

Then, I got pregnant with the twins.  For the first 8 weeks, I didn’t even know it was twins, but I was so sick, I was on self-imposed bed rest.  I continued to be super sick until week 16 or 17, but by then I was on mandatory bed rest.  By week 24, I was on hospital bed rest, then the twins were born by emergency c-section at 25 and 5, so I had to recover from major surgery.

Since the twins were born, it’s been kind of a whirlwind of emotion, stress, and exhaustion.  I’m not trying to make excuses for myself, I’m just telling you why I am so out of shape.  Exercise probably would have helped me deal with the stress from the NICU, or my anxiety when they came home, but I was just so darn tired.  Actually, just drained both physically and emotionally.

I think I’m finally at a place where I need to exercise in order to help myself feel better, again both physically and emotionally.  It’s going to take a long time to get back in shape, but I’m certainly going to try.

Pregnant 1st time                             In the hospital after the c-section (I don’t have any belly pics of the twins)