preggers take action!!!

okay all you preggers out there. whether you've been pregnant, are pregnant, or plan on being pregnant-- there is something you should know. well, there's a lot.

here's my shpeel:

from the front and from the back, i look good. in fact, trimmer than pre-pregs, i'd say. turn me to the side, game over/covers blown. you may say-- "that girl most def just gave birth. OR "she must be 3 months pregs" i may be slightly exaggerating but only slightly.

here's the (not so) skinny on what happens while pregs:

for starters, your normal "6-pack muscles" (rectus abdominis) split straight down the middle and spread to the side to make room for your ever-expanding uterus and baby. they become stretched out and lax (especially when you release the relaxin hormone). The same thing happens with your transverse abdominal muscles. and this is an even bigger issue because it's these muscles that hold your stomach in and taut. they call the transverse muscles the "internal girdle" because they literally hold everything together. well guess whose NOT wearing their girdle?! me and all the other new moms.

anyway, when these muscles become stretched and lax your stomach becomes distended and you have what's called abdominal laxity (or post-pregs-pooch) which leaves you looking SUUUUB PAR.

and even worse, if you've had a c-section, you have an even weaker nueromuscular connection causing even more of a protruding belly. neat.

okay, so bottom line: in order to get everything back in tip-top shape you MUST work your transverse muscles, while being careful not to work your 6-pack muscles and obliques so much because this could make the protrusion worse. you want that separation to close before working those guys.

so the month of august is dedicated to the transverse! thats right, these are the pilates "pull your belly button to your spine" kind of exercises.... which i used to think were a joke, but now there's no times for jokes. down to business because i WILL NOT stand for loose, stretched-out abs that leave me looking slightly pregs.
http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=805

on a side note: did you ever have a protruding belly as a child? because i did. a rather large one, which leaves me to believe i'm more susceptible to it now. my theory is that little kids have underdeveloped ab muscles so their stomach's stick out more. so, back to my childhood look i go. not for long. i'm so over this look.

ps! this just gets worse with each kid. the reason: mom's don't get their abs back to where they need to be before baby #2. so then, they are beginning the whole process at an even worse abdominal state. by the time they're on 3 or 4 there's no hope. so the rich get a tummy tuck. but to the smart, frugal, and dedicated: WORK YOUR ABS, LADY'S!!! there's hope for us yet.

Joy goes to the barbershop!!

we spent the weekend at the lake. one morning, while guinn was doing the "burp, diaper change" routine, i decided to go out on the deck and enjoy my cup of coffee.

coming back inside to gather the troops for our morning stroll, i find guinn doing a little impromptu theatrics. absolutely hilarious, and i insisted he do it again for the camera!!

TAKE 1: consequences of a burping session cut short :)

TAKE 2: joy's "trip to the barber"

one more video. sorry for the sideways.

she's starting to smile and interact and it is SO MUCH FUN!!!

Ashley Brooke Andrews, we love you.

our cousin, ashley, went to heaven last week when her life was tragically taken by someone driving the wrong direction on the highway . she was only 27 years old and was such a sweet sweet blessing to our family.

the end of the eulogy (given by my cousin melissa below):

One of Ashley’s finest moments, of course, was being by Jody’s side during his battles with cancer. It is hard to imagine living through that time without her there as a rock. She was supportive, caring, steadfast and devoted to doing whatever it took, to get through that period of their lives and start a new chapter. She was a true blessing.

We are all so devastated by this loss, but we would all be better served to remember what the kids told us when we were discussing our sadness. They said, “Why is everyone so sad Mommy? Miss Ashley is in heaven with God.”

Followed by… “Mommy – I know we won’t be able to see Miss Ashley any more, but we can always visit with her. If you sit really quite and listen- the angels in heaven will speak to you. Didn’t you know that?”

Jody said it best last night – something good MUST come from this tragedy. If it is mending broken fences, counting our blessings, slowing down and taking time to appreciate our family and friends or just embrace life as it is, we should all be thankful for that which we are given.

We were all so blessed to have had Ashley as a part of our lives. She was a rare and special gift to us all. Let’s celebrate the time we had and remember her -with a smile on our face -and joy in our hearts! She will always be with us – just sit still, listen and know she is here.

Cheers and blessings to Ashley!!

it's official. announcing-- joy avery guinn.

look what ashley flood at a.flood of paper did!!! If you ever need an announcement, invitation, or stationary...she's your lady!
http://www.afloodofpaper.com/
http://www.afloodofpaper.blogspot.com/

i told her what i wanted and she granted my wish to perfection!!

thank you, ashley. for sharing your talents and creating the most perfect announcement for miss joy avery.

the eyes of joy are upon us

hey, it's me-- joybird. just wanted to let y'all know that i can see now!!

and everything is funny. the chair. the couch. piper. the side of my crib.

you name it, i love it.

ready to run

never in my life have i been

a. more ready to run and

b. this out of shape.

after about a 9 month hiatus from exercise i have finally been cleared to run!

i have been waiting for the opportunity to train "all-out" and accomplish my running goals. most of my running in the past has been done half-way because i was trying to start the fam.

so, praise the Lord...i have my baby joybird, and now a little bonus-- i can also have my running life...at least for one season.

so my goal: sub 3 hour marathon...either in december in dallas or in feb in austin. i set out on foot a few days ago and am realizing that the road ahead is going to be a long one. started back with an 11 minute mile pace. but, nothing thrills me more than a good challenge. i'm looking forward to pushing myself mentally and physically.

you would be surprised at what you can train your body to do. i try my hardest to get that message out. and i'll keep spreading the word.

if you are in the running world and care about training and such you can follow my running blog!
http://juleeguinn.fastrunningblog.com/
keep me accountable! i have been looking forward to this marathon season for quite some time but i now have this tiny little distraction named joy avery that i want to spend every waking moment with.

she's got LEGS!!

and she knows how to use 'em. little joybird can't get enough of all this space! from a tiny womb to a big big world....i sometimes wonder if she'll ever curl up like a normal babe.

stretch it out girl. you deserve it.

joy avery guinn

so much to tell, so little time.

okay, let me start by saying guinn and i are having the time of our lives. as you know, little joyful guinn was born may 19th at 8 in the morn via c-section. overall, it was a spectacular experience. while a c-section did not seem ideal and i dreaded it up until go-time, the experience was wonderful and incredibly special to trey, me, and the whole fam.

a quick rundown:

in the final two weeks i was pregnant, i developed this fear and anxiety about the c-section. somewhere in my pregnant mind i had convinced myself that after being paralyzed waist-down, by the spinal block, my legs were not going to "come back to life". the thought being, i have scoliosis and what if, because my spine curves, they hit a nerve?!?" i literally had convinced myself that it was possible i may never walk or RUN again!

anyway, we waltzed on in to labor and delivery before 6am. they began to prep me for delivery, and, for the first time in two weeks, i had a sense of peace that everything was going to be okay... with joy, with me. i knew that i was not in control, so it was better to soak in the moment and not let my anxiety rob me of this joy (so grateful that i got to this point).

so i walk into surgery, they begin the spinal block, and i just prayed and prayed. next, they lay me down and before i know it, i'm already cut open and guinn is watching joy make her entrance into the world! little joy was pulled out in a complete pike position (just how she was in the womb). they pulled out her little bottom and then out came her head. they quickly began checking her out across the room (video below).




after this, they placed her on me. i can't possibly put to words how special that moment was for me. three weeks later, it still blows my mind. i look at her and think, "you were just growing in my stomach for 9 months?!? and here you are, a perfect little tiny tiny human being!!" i remember when the ultrasound indicated that she was the size of a blueberry!

i've never loved anything quite like this. instant love that you can't explain until she's in your arms. and, the fact that she looks so much like her daddy makes me love her even more. when she yawns, i swear i am staring at trey guinn. it makes me smile.

so after the c-section i got the shakes! i was shaking like a leaf for about an hour. and, every so often i would try to wiggle my toes or move my legs--still no luck. i just wanted to feel my legs! about 4 hours later it was slowly moving down my body. i could touch my upper legs and feel them, then i could kind of move them side to side, and finally i could wiggle my toes!!! so now, i was completely happy! healthy baby--CHECK, healthy mom and proud papa-- double CHECK!!! as may 19th was coming to an end, i was one happy mom!!...and realizing with each moment, and continue to realize with each passing day, that i have entered the best days of my life :)

trey and i can just sit and watch joy all day long. and we do. and dream about taking her to the beach, and to the lake, and teaching her to snow ski. introducing her to good music and teaching her to dance, which trey has already begun!


a few facts about little joybird (as guinn, and now i, call her):

• she is constantly singing. i'm going to capture it on video and post it to this blog because it's unexplainable. so many people have asked me "did you sing to her in the womb?" no i did not. nothing above my normal singing in the car, in the shower, in aerobics. but she constant hums...epsecially while sleeping.


• she has very regular bowel movements and loves to pass gas in public. gets this from her dad.


• she has the cutest little booty! gets this from her mom ;)


• has trey's mouth, nose, and i believe maybe his eyes (that's TBD).


• she has my hands! identical. they're actually grandmother martha's, who happened to be a hand model in her day. so, we are fortunate that little joybird got those.


• she smiles and laughs, especially after meal time. this is what makes her the happiest. we're convinced all she does is think and dream about eating. i guess this is the life of a newborn.


• she loves bath time!
  
• she wakes, like clockwork, every three to four hours to eat.


• she doesn't really cry or fuss-- which makes our lives much easier.

overall, life is good. having trey by my side each day is such a blessing. we are getting to do all of this together and are loving it. trey seems ready for baby #2! but, i'm ready for marathon season -- then we'll talk baby #2 :)

on that note: i think that i'm competely recovered from this c-section but am still not cleared to run until first of july. i can only imagine how slow and out of shape i must be. but am SO excited and ready to take on the challenge of starting from square one and working my way up to my fastest self yet! i can hardly wait!!!

a few pics-- repetitive if you're on the fb but, here's to joy!! we love you more than we've loved anything else on earth!!

HAPPY 6, GUINN!!

cancun, mexico

seaside, florida

lake travis, atx

great rift valley- nairobi, kenya

st. tropez, france

zermatt, switzerland

St. david's hospital, atx.

best guinniversary yet!!!

bump progress

10 days or less!

everything is done. i mean, everything. i can't possible think of one more thing i could do to prepare for little girl guinn. and on top of that, i'm completely done with work until august-- no more running class, no more aerobics...

we've attended childbirth class, infant care class, nursing class. we've had the entire holiday guinn painted and reorganized, cleaned out all drawers and shelves and made room for all baby guinns many belongings. we've detailed the car, installed the carseat via saferiders, graciously received or bought everything this little girl possibly needs, groomed pipes, groomed ourselves, established a pediatrician, been on the phone with blue cross blue shield multiple times to discuss our policy, emailed our families our hospital info, and packed our bags... it's all done :)

i find that each day i have to make sure that the house is in tip-top shape (clean as a whistle) along with myself, piper....everything orderly and in it's place just in case she makes her move. this little waiting period is quite awkward....knowing it's your last two weeks of life as you know it. i should be taking advantage of this time in some way--relaxing more, sleeping, etc...but instead, i find myself sitting with life on hold - feeling over the pregnancy phase but not yet in the mommy phase....kind of like being in transit. i remember on our way home from kenya i was "in transit" and stuck in the london airport-- i wrote in my journal that i never do well with the in-between. I either want to be here or there (and it's even worse when you don't actually know which is better --here or there-- but either way you're going there)....the in between is always rough for me. in this situation, i'm so ready to just be "there" with little guinn in my arms. yet i know, all the while, that i cannot truly grasp what that will look like or feel like, no matter how hard i try.

trey is busy wrapping up coursework, finishing stats exams, writing and revising papers, entering grades for his concordia course, and finishing up all his responsibilities with his UT teaching assistanship. soon, he will close down the dorm and kick out all the students :) BUT, from the day little guinn is born, daddy-guinn will be free from work and teaching until august.

we both had the summer off from work last year. it felt like the best summer of our lives. we woke up when we wanted, made coffee, watched the news, went on jogs, swam laps and layed out at gregory pool, come home to shower and then head back out the door for happy hour and time with friends.... i have a feeling this summer will be equally great but look quite a bit different ;)

thank you Molly Moody Photography ;o)

9 months!!

here we are-- 9 months!! Thankfully, i still feel amazing....if it wasn't for this rather large belly and the constant kicking i may forget i was pregnant . Oh, and all the double-takes i get from students on campus who, i know, assume that i'm "that poor college girl" who got knocked up ;) that part is hard to swallow. Of course walking from my dorm room to running class in my running gear and back pack might give off the impression that i'm "that girl". i wish you could walk for a day with me across campus. it's really kind of funny.

overall, i've loved nearly every moment of this time in my life... walking around with an obvious miracle right in front of me.


in 5 days we'll be FULL TERM! i can't believe it. she could come any day...

Thank you for your prayers and support for us at this time!! as mentioned, our little girl is breech and does not have a lot of room to turn. My doctor has scheduled a c-section for may 19th at 4pm.

on this exact day--5/19/00, 10 years ago, trey and i (and all you other chs class of 2000'ers) graduated high school.

but due to my signs and symptoms, she might make an early appearance. i will keep you posted and let you know when it's GO TIME!!