WARNING.. long post ahead!!!

Hi there,

It seems like it has been forever since I picked up my computer to do anything this past week. My last post was Wednesday and since then I have been taking care of Ava and myself.

This was our last picture outside having fun before we both got sick!!!

We both got hit hard with the stomach flu and I’m happy that I am finally on the mends and slowly getting back to normal activities.

Wednesday morning I taught Group Power and after class Marc updated me that Ava had thrown up. My first thought was OH NO, she definitely has the stomach bug that’s going around. I tried to stay positive, it was my birthday and we had some plans so I didn’t want to get upset before I knew how she was doing.

When I got home she was lazy, quiet and of course not her high sprung cheery self. We took Cooper for a walk, I showered and got ready to go out to my birthday lunch.

2 seconds before we were walking out the door Ava threw up again. I called and canceled our lunch plans  with my family and they brought me lunch instead.

To say it was a great birthday would be an understatement but it doesn’t surprise me that this happened. I’ve learned that being a mom is the hardest job and things come up out of nowhere. Rather then be upset, I did whatever I could to keep Ava comfortable and try to enjoy the rest of the day.

These flowers from Marc and my mom’s friend definitely helped brighten the day.

And of course this birthday balloon that Ava wanted to give me for my birthday.

 Then again this was just one birthday and we still got to enjoy some ice cream cake at the end of the night

THURSDAY

We woke up and I was beyond exhausted because Ava had us up from 1130-230… she was throwing up… then hungry, then fussy, then tired. It was draining.

I felt very run down and was praying I wasn’t next in line.

Around 4pm I had an ultrasound and I couldn’t stop thinking about how nauseous I felt. I felt like I was going to throw up but I fought it.

It was so great to see our little boy on the screen and to know he was growing strong & healthy.

My mind kept thinking about my stomach, it was SO uneasy and I literally felt like I was going to throw up at any second.

I forced myself to eat something because I had to teach boot camp and I didn’t want to go on an empty stomach. I couldn’t stomach much but I did manage to eat a little chicken & potatoes.

March 10th goes down as the TOUGHEST class I have ever had to teach. It was hands down a struggle for me but I didn’t want to cancel because I love my class and I rarely cancel.

Sure enough with 10 minutes left in class, my mouth was watering, I felt like I couldn’t open my mouth to yell anymore and I ran out of the class to throw up. Luckily there was a huge janitor’s trash barrel right outside the door… it was my savior. I then ran into the men’s room and kept throwing up for about 5 minutes until one of the ladies in class came looking for me!

I felt SO much better but my body was confused as to what just happened.

I wrapped up the class and quickly headed home to lay on the couch. I couldn’t get comfortable and I felt that nausea feeling again. I knew I was doomed again.

I’ll keep this short and sweet.. the next 3 hrs were spent running to and from the bathroom and grabbing trashcans when I could.

I finally woke Marc up at 1130pm and told him I think I need to go to the Emergency Room, I had nothing in my system but I was still throwing up. I was shaky, weak, tired, and on top of that I’m pregnant. I didn’t want anything to happen to the baby and I knew my body needed fluids.

We were in the ER until about 245am and after 2 IV’s, 2 cups of ice water and an ice pop they released me. I still felt weak, tired, and nauseous but I hadn’t thrown up in 3 hours so that was a BLESSING.

Lets just say I couldn’t wait to sleep.

(There were lots of snuggles on the couch this past few days and we both didn’t mind!!)

The next morning Ava woke up at 640am and I actually wanted to get up to get some water and food so I let Marc sleep.

I ate a piece of toast and drank water but ran to the bathroom. This time it wasn’t throw up.. and I’ll spare the details. The next 24 hours my body had to deal with a whole new type of bathroom issue and I was still having trouble eating and drinking.

The doctor warned me if I didn’t drink fluids and I couldn’t pee normally I would have to go back to the hospital. This was all I needed to hear and I started forcing myself to chug pedialyte and ice water.

It wasn’t until Saturday at around 10am that I felt a sense of relief. My body was holding onto food and liquids.

I don’t want to bore you anymore with my stomach flu story, but I have never experienced anything like this before. I was never sick when I was pregnant with Ava so this has been a whole new experience and I wish I never have to go through it again.

I am super thankful for my family who was here to help me with Ava when I couldn’t move and for Marc playing dad & mom this weekend so I could rest.

It’s now Monday and my mind can think about more then just being sick and man does it feel good. I’m still trying to get my energy back and I know that will take a few days but I’m SO SO happy that the worst is over.

For all of you out there that had to deal with the evil stomach flu of 2016 it wasn’t easy but you are stronger for having surpassed the illness. I am so relieved that both the baby and I are healthy and I will be forever grateful for that.

Have any of you experienced this years stomach flu, if so was it the worst bug you ever had?

]]> http://thefitskool.com/?feed=rss2&p=9586 3 http://thefitskool.com/?p=7571 http://thefitskool.com/?p=7571#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2015 14:17:00 +0000 http://thefitskool.com/?p=7571 Continue reading →]]> While I don’t want to ramble about the “cold” I have, I think its important that you know I’m human and I do rest. Everyone always thinks I exercise all day long but the truth is I don’t. There are only so many classes and training you can do in a day and for me my hours are limited.

I have learned over the last 19+ months that Moms don’t get much rest. You really do have to make time for it.

I’m not talking about sleeping, I’m talking about sitting in one place for more than 5 minutes. That rarely happens for me unless Ava is napping.

Usually I try to cram in as much as possible in the 1-2 short hours that Ava naps but when i’m run down and sick I’ve learned to just CHILL. That means I sit down and rest. I may have my computer on my lap because of course I need to multi-task, but I avoid the chores around the house like cleaning & laundry, that stuff can ALWAYS wait and sometimes I have to remind myself that I need to be healthy to take care of Ava.

(This isn’t the greatest picture of me, but I used my selfie setting to take a picture to see if Ava was sleeping!)

I’m glad that I listened to my body over the last 5 days and I took advantage of any down time I had. I was able to bounce back from this cold a lot quicker. The old me would push myself 110% even when I was sick and then I would pay for it by not being able to teach classes for a couple days. The last time I was sick was 3-4 months ago and I remember teaching class with a sore throat and bad congestion and pushing through it like it was nothing. I eventually lost my voice and couldn’t talk for a week so I had no choice but to hit the sidelines and rest.

I’ve learned my lesson and now I take every opportunity I can when I am feeling fatigued and run down to kick my feet up and let my mind & body relax.

When I am sick here are a few things that helped me speed up the process to getting back to normal:

1. LOTS of water.
2. Green Tea with fresh lemon juice. 
3. Tons of fruit and veggies
4. multivitamin 
5. sleep

I chugged water all day every day to flush out all the bad stuff and staying hydrated was so important. The green tea helped me get a boost of antioxidants, the fruits & veggies & smoothies helped keep my throat cool

the vitamin helped me get an extra does of whatever my body wasn’t getting from food

and the sleep sealed the deal. The more I slept the better I felt! While I’m not 100% yet, I feel a ton better then I did this past weekend!

Do you have any tips for curing a nasty summer cold?

Do you try to push through your colds or do you rest?

Yesterday was a complete day of rest for me. It was about time that my overloaded schedule caught up to me.  I don’t have time to be sick anymore, we leave for Florida tomorrow morning and this cold just needs to end!

I was on the couch for most of the day yesterday and I stepped outside to get fresh air when I could.

Thank goodness I have family in town that loves to spend time with Ava.

My mom helped me a ton! It’s a good thing she likes Cooper because he loves hanging around too!

So as much as I preach as a trainer/instructor to “listen to your body” I have realized that as a Mom you sometimes that doesn’t happen.

I had to put my game face on and change diapers, feed Ava and keep her occupied all while trying to get myself better. I didn’t have time to kick my feet up and take a nap or close my eyes.. I’m sure all you moms out there know what I’m talking about! Taking care of a sick baby is hard, but getting yourself better while taking care of kids is even harder.

Last week I pushed my body a little too much. It wasn’t with exercise it was with studying for my CPR course and staying up super late night after night, spending time with my family after my grandma passed away, I did extra coaching last week, and did an extra 2 fitness classes on the weekend. Eventually my body said enough is enough and I took a seat on the couch.

I’ve been loading up on fruits & veggies though and it seemed to help a bit.

So while I had all the warning signs of being fatigued and run down I still pushed to get things done because I had no choice. 

I ended up having to find subs for a handful of my classes this week because I had no voice. That was so hard for me to do, but I needed to get healthy for myself and for my family.

On a positive note.. I am feeling 50% better! I’m almost there and that makes me feel soo good.

This time tomorrow I will be in Sunny Florida and I’m sure that will make everything better

I hope you all have a great day!

If you have kids, how do you get yourself better when you are sick?

Do you ever know when you are pushing your body too hard but you don’t back off?

Tuesday I had a scratchy throat plus a runny nose and yesterday I was so fatigued I spent the afternoon on the couch. I can’t say I’m really really sick, but something is off. It takes a lot for me to lay on the couch and do nothing but that’s what I did. I didn’t use my computer, I didn’t watch TV, I just rested.

I’m happy to say I am feeling better today thanks to healthy snacks, vitamins and rest. Clearly I got a little bit of whatever cold Ava was fighting but at least it wasn’t anything too serious.

My plans to do Insanity Max30 have gotten pushed to the side this week. I did one of the workouts this week and that’s it. Mentally I had told myself I wasn’t going to skip any workouts but I have learned that listening to my body is more important.

I have some 30th Birthday plans this weekend and I would much rather feel 100% then do a workout and have myself get more run down.

I woke up this morning to more snow. Apparently winter doesn’t want to let up. I guess one extra snow day and another day to rest is what I need. I am still waiting to hear if the YMCA is open and if classes are on!

In case you were wondering, last night I was craving chocolate. It’s a pretty normal craving right?

Instead of grabbing some ice cream at the grocery store I decided to try a Chocolate Pudding recipe using Shakeology, Avocado, Banana, & Almond milk.

Why have I not tried this sooner?? I know the ingredients sound random but it was creamy & chocolatey. I’m all about it and I love that it has healthy fats and healthy ingredients.

It completed my night on a good note

So this post ended up being about nothing besides letting you know that I listened to my body and have rested as much as I could besides of courses having my classes to teach. Sometimes its okay to kick your feet up and rest. You can’t go 110% 24/7 it just doesn’t work!

When you start to feel run down, do you take the time to rest? 

Have you ever tried Pudding with avocado?

It isn’t the flu but they might as well call it the flu because it sure feels like it. Achy, fever, sore throat, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite. The doctor didn’t pin point an illness with it, it isn’t the flu or strep or tonsillitis which is mind boggling to me.

I am not going to complain about it, but rather take it as time to rest and relax. Hopefully the antibiotics kick this cold soon and some positive thinking speeds things up!

Cooper has been my buddy the last couple of days while I have been home sick.

This face gets me,  what he is really thinking is how come we aren’t playing fetch right now, get off the couch!

Little Miss Ava has been getting attention from everyone but me which stinks but I am thankful for a family that lives close by and of course Marc who has been on duty 24/7!!