Good morning!! Yesterday easily made the top ten list of the best days of my life. I could not have been more excited to welcome my little man into the world. Then, to top it all off, I witnessed one of the most amazing outpourings of support. You all = amazing!!!! I read through every single comment, tweet, email, etc. Every single one brought at the very least a smile to my face and at times a tear of immense joy to my eyes.

I did get a lot of comments about being sure I rest up. Don’t you worry – cuddling baby B, getting into the swing of breastfeeding again, and resting filled the majority of my day. I will still continue to regularly blog, though, as it matters so much to me. I love sharing these experiences and having a special place of my own to commemorate them and express myself at the same time. I meant it when I said I’m not going anywhere. FFF will never surpass my family’s needs, but it is still certainly one of my own needs. So, without further ado, I’m here to share the (PG rated version) details of Baby B’s arrival! Quick and to the point…

It all started Monday morning as the “Snowpocalypse” of icy roads and snow had hit our state of Georgia overnight…

9:30 am – Called my mom and jokingly told her my water broke. I wanted to freak her out about not being able to drive up to watch M like we had planned. She knew I was kidding. I told her it wasn’t happening and went about my day as normal.

3:30 pm – Did a Turbo Jam workout DVD. Didn’t even start a single contraction.

4:30 pm – My sister called and warned me that I better not go into labor anytime in the next few days because she wouldn’t be able to drive to see us.

5:30 pm – Mild contractions started. They felt the same as always and I figured they would go away after a few hours. I paced the living room floor to see if that would make them stronger.

6:30 pm – Hmmmm. 7-8 mins apart. Feeling them pretty well, but I still don’t believe it will go anywhere.

7:45 pm – Standing at the counter helping finish dinner when suddenly…did I just wet myself?? No…I just went to the bathroom. But it wasn’t a HUGE gush like water breaking. Was it?

8:00 pm – Call the doctor. He tells me I need to come in because it sounds suspicious and likely water breaking.

8:00 – 8:30 pm – Run around packing up last minute things and things for M. Peter shovels our driveway to try and get out. Contractions start coming every 5 mins and stronger. Yep. This is real!

8:45 pm – Realize we aren’t getting out of the neighborhood. Neighbors come out and offer to help. They call the ambulance for us…because yes I had to take an ambulance. We figure out how to get M to my sister-in-law’s (who lives in the neighborhood).

9:15 pm – EMT truck shows up to pick me up and drive me to the front of our neighborhood. The ambulance picks me up there. Contractions are now 3 minutes apart, but I can still breathe through them okay.

9:45 pm – Get settled and checked in to my room. Find out I’m 4 cm dilated.

10:30 pm – Doctor decides I should go ahead and get the epidural, then have them finish breaking my water (apparently only the “pre-bag” broke before), then have the baby pronto.

10:45 pm – Get the epidural. I want it by this point with contractions every couple of minutes and starting to hurt bad!

11:00 pm – Water breaks on its own.

11:30 pm – Nurse checks me. I’m already almost 9 cm dilated. She tells me to watch for pressure.

12:15 am – Nurse comes in to check in on me and I’m ready.

12:20 am – He arrives! Yep…only 5 minutes of pushing. Quick and easy delivery!

Braedon just really wanted to have a fun 1/11/11 birthday and an exciting story to share – snow storms, ambulances, popping out in 5 minutes.I think he got what he wanted, don’t you?

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Happy Saturday! We finally made it. This past week drug on and on and on and on for me. I have a feeling every day and week will feel like that until I get to meet the little guy. I can only try to make the best of my time while I wait. Thank goodness I can work out again. I know that helps my sanity. I currently have my gym membership on hold, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been able to fit in some great workouts. In fact, I got my day started off with one today.

Notice the sweaty goodness. I can still manage a strong workout, even at 9.5 months pregnant. Right now, I’ve been doing a mix of the following favorites:

Turbo Jam DVDs : 45 min on average : 1-2 x/week

I love these workouts! They are fun and easy enough to adapt to pregnancy. Simply keeping things low impact give me the perfect level of intensity. I’ve even posted a video of me doing a Turbo workout before on the blog.

Walks : 30 min typically : as often as the weather & schedules permit

Nothing beats a walk as a family in the afternoon. Peter & I can talk. Makenzie can get outdoors. The lazy bones dog can get some extra exercise. A great choice!

Cathe Low Impact Step DVD options : 45 min on average : 1x/week

Even low impact, the cardio premixes of these workouts can feel tough. I adapt it accordingly by doing the workout only 1x/week and keeping the movements smaller.

At-Home Lightweight Circuit Workouts or Slim in 6 DVD Circuit Workouts : 40 min on average : 1x/week

I still try to fit in some weight training. It’s more difficult than earlier in the pregnancy, when I would still regularly attend BodyPump classes, but I can choose from a variety of moves that remain comfortable. As long as I keep the weights light, things like lunges, squats, bicep curls, and triceps extensions work just fine. See one of my favorites I shared before here.

Over the past 2 weeks I have fit in 4-5 days of exercise each week. I make sure I never feel fatigued and also make sure to stretch daily. Hopefully it will help make getting back in shape post-baby easier, like it did after M. I’m grateful I only had to take about a month off of workouts, that’s for sure.

Question of the Day – What workouts are you currently loving?