This morning was one big flashback to 2 1/2 years ago.  I should say it was lots of little flashbacks to 2 1/2 years ago.  You know, when I was all round and glowy, maybe a little sleepy too.  Ah!  Here she is…

FLASHBACK! September 2010, about 34 weeks pregnant

I joined a group of round, glowy and sleepy gals this morning at Rapid Fitness in Raleigh.  I have been to lots of gyms, but I seriously love this one.  I like fitness classes because I’m an uber-extrovert who can’t stand the solidarity and monotony of running.  (Let’s be honest.  I hate running in general.  If that’s your thing, they have plenty of treadmills and ellipticals with fancy TVs.) What I really love is that they have specialty prenatal exercise classes.

No.  I’m not pregnant.  Thanks for asking, though.

Now that we have that cleared up, I have an explanation for my attendance to this class.  Rapid Fitness’ prenatal class was being featured on NBC 17’s local morning newscast.  As part of my Public Relations job, I do Media Training to prepare clients for interviews.  After helping Brandy, a Personal Trainer for Rapid Fitness, they asked me to use my baby blogging skills to tell all my darling readers more about what they offer.  I was there to observe and tell you all about the prenatal class.

Disclaimer: Rapid Fitness gives me free classes that I don’t attend like I should.  My opinions, however, come up more than they should.  They are totally free and totally honest.

Being with the TV news crew gave me flashbacks to all my early morning hours as a news reporter.  I was all busy and harried, maybe a little stressed too.  Ah!  Here she is… (Really cold and miserable on this day, apparently.)

FLASHBACK!  No joke. EXACTLY 3 years ago today January 29, 2010 (Found it on Facebook.)

This morning Brandy discussed the importance of prenatal fitness.  As a personal trainer and mother of a 2 1/2 year old, she works with moms-to-be to stay fit before pregnancy.  She explained to Page Crawford from NBC 17 that exercise while you’re pregnant can help with the following…

• More energy
• Less moody
• Better sleep
• Easier labor and delivery
• Decreased chance of Gestational Diabetes

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  “Ha!  Sounds good Amy, let’s go workout when I’m already more tired then I have ever been in my entire life.  Did someone poison my food?  Seriously.”  I hear you.  These recommendations come with a caveat.  Do what your doctor says is okay.  Don’t push it.  That is something they really stress at Rapid Fitness.  Let me tell you, these were some seriously dedicated pregnant chicks.

You see the blond on the left?  That’s Jennifer.  She is my sweet, adorable coworker whom I love working with.  You want to talk about a tough cookie?  This poor girl has had an awful pregnancy!  She has been sick EVERY DAY.  If you have questions about Zofram and extreme exhaustion, Jennifer can answer them.  She is expecting a boy in May, and I think she will be glad to not be pregnant.  Yet here she was this morning, toning muscles and keeping her body strong.  She is my new hero.

All the exercises they offer in the class are modified and lower impact to make them safe for pregnancy.  They did lunges and squats to prepare your legs and booty for the big pushes of labor.  The class then used small free weights to tone arms.  I know I’m not the only one whose arms were seriously sore after labor. It’s hard work to pull yourself up by your legs like that.  Bouncing and sitting on the exercise ball while lifting the weights was encouraged.  Of course breathing, stretching, and water breaks were a huge priority.  (Wait, not those kind of water breaks!)  

I’m making it a personal goal to do more low-impact exercise the next time I get pregnant. (Whenever that is. Again, I’m not pregnant.)  I did a lot of walking the first go-around, but I want more overall tone this time.

Were you/are you able to exercise during pregnancy? What kind of exercise did you do/are you doing while pregnant?  Did you take a class?  Did it help you feel better during pregnancy or labor and delivery?  

Watch the NBC 17 segments and here so you can see some of the exercises.  (The second link is longer and you can hear more interviews!)

This weekend I went to the baby shower of a first-time mom.  Amber is a girl I grew up with and one of my sister’s best friends.  (See picture below. That’s Amber.) Julie is my little sister, but Kristen and Amber made up their gruesome threesome.  I feel like the other two are sort of “little sisters” too.

Amber had a mountain of gifts, thoughtfully wrapped and checked off her registry.  Many other young mothers, me included, talked about different gifts.  You know, how no Americans knew who Sophie was 5 years ago, unless you had a baby in the last 5 years.  Now like, OMG everyone’s baby LOVES them!

I sat there with my two-year-old but I found my mind running.  I wanted to shout out, “Oooh!  Let me tell you how to best use that!” or “I used that this one time when…”  I chatted with the mom-to-be about childcare and other things, but I wanted to say more.  I found myself bubbling up with advice that I had to consciously bottle up at the shower.  I didn’t want to be like, “I know it all because a person came out of my birth canal and I kept it alive for two years!”  No one likes that woman.  Then I thought, “Oh that’s right.  I have a blog.  I can write whatever I want to there.”

So here it is.  For all the Amber’s out there with your big bellies and glowing faces. My advice.  Take it or leave it.  I give it with love.

• Get a really good breast pump.  DO NOT cheap out on a breast pump.   It pays for itself as much as you use it.  Oh!  It pays for itself anyway.  For working mothers, breast pumps are now tax deductible.  Go ahead and warn your husband they are like $300.  But, save the receipt!  Again, TAX DEDUCTIBLE!  I did not rent one from the hospital because of this.  I had the Medela one that looks like a purse.  It was great.
• Get a hands-free pumping bra.  Looks hilarious, but extremely handy.  You’re welcome Bessie, now hook on up to that there pump and get yourself milked!  That’s  a good girl!
• Get on a waiting list for a day-care NOW!  If you’re not already on one by your baby shower, you may be screwed.  Sorry.  It’s true.  We were on five and only one could take us when I needed to go back to work.  Oh, it’s $150 to just get your name on the list at each one.  No, it’s not refundable.
• Wrap up those Dr. Brown’s bottles and take them back to the store.  They are a gigantic pain in the ass.  You will spend the next year of your life with a tiny bristle brush washing those stupid parts.  I’m not convinced they are any better than any other bottle and now I will have to use them for the next kid because I have about 25 of the damn things.
• Take the Brest Friend pillow to the hospital.  For me, it is the greatest breastfeeding invention of all time.  When I was shopping for Amber I saw the new Born Free pillow and got very excited.  It looks really great too and may have some features the Brest Friend pillow doesn’t have.
• You may have to buy more than one nursing pillow.  I had a Boppy at the hospital.  A friend brought me a Brest Friend.  Boom!  That worked.  Find the one that works.  For me, the Brest Friend worked when she was little, but the Boppy was better when she was older.  Like I said, the Born Free looks phenomenal.  You’ll have to adjust as you get more comfortable with nursing and your baby grows.
• Find a pediatrician.  We toured ours before the baby was born.  I didn’t know it, but having a lactation consultant at the pediatrician’s office was WONDERFUL for those newborn visits. Yep, I whipped out my boobs for the nurse at the peds office.  I needed advice and I knew she could give it.  Be weary of peds offices that don’t have them and be weary of peds offices that pump out formula samples.  Formula is fine, but advice that helps you keep nursing is even better.  You CAN do it.  It’s just hard at first.
• Buy a boxes of unscented maxi pads before you go into labor.  No one tells you you’re going to have a heavy period for 6 weeks after the baby is born and you can’t wear tampons.  Use unscented.  Trust me.  You’ll thank me later.  Use the big ice pack ones they send you home from the hospital with while you’re still sore.  But, you’ll run out and be with 8 extended family members who came to see the baby and you be all like, “Ah!  Someone go to the store!”
• Get your FMLA and maternity leave stuff lined up.  I was in a panic because we got a new HR rep at my old job when I was 8.5 months pregnant.  Fortunately, I got some of the necessary paperwork earlier.  MAKE SURE you know how much time you’re taking off and what’s paid and what’s unpaid.  My husband and my daughter were on my insurance so right after she came home from the hospital I had to get on the phone and make sure she was covered.
• Fill out paperwork for the cord blood banking now.  I totally didn’t and have no cord blood saved.  Not the end of the world, but it would be nice to have.
• Take everything from the bassinet at the hospital.  Diapers, wipes, everything.  It’s yours.  You paid for it with insurance.  Ask for two bulb syringes and two squirt bottles.  Get the nurse to grab you extra ice pack pads and that numbing spray to take home too.
• It’s okay to cry a lot.  You will.  You’ll cry at every freakin’ commercial with a baby, or when your mom leaves after staying with you that first week.  You’ll suddenly be afraid that EVERYTHING will harm the baby.  Ugh.  It’s a little rough sometimes.  You’ll get it together, but you cry a lot in the first few weeks.
• This is awesome.  It’s great.  Not all the time.  Sometimes it’s really hard, but it’s also amazing.

Phew!  That’s all I got today.  I may have to do a Part 2 of one of these posts.  Okay, other moms, what did I miss?  What did you wish you had known?

Pin it!  You know you want to!

Yes, this is a resolution post.  It’s January 2nd for pete’s sake!  It was either write this blog post or go to the gym where I would have to wait an hour for an elliptical machine.  “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”  So let’s just go with it, shall we?

I heard it said recently that “goals not written down are just wishes.” So true!  Some of my goals for 2013 are very personal, others mundane.  I won’t bother you with them here, but I wrote them down elsewhere.  I’m not wishing 2013 away.  “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”  (Wait, I’m starting to think that reference too 2012.  You think?)

Anyway, I read a lot of blogs today about resolutions, or choosing a single word that describes a theme for the year 2013.  I’ve come up with my word.

Question

Yep, as in asking questions.  Instead of resolutions, I’m asking questions.  Everyday I will ask myself this series of questions.  I made most of them open ended.  For example, I’m not going to ask myself, “Did you eat healthy today?’  But, instead I will ask, “What healthy food choices did you make today.”  It forces me to think about my decisions.  Here is my list of daily questions for 2013.

• What did you thank God for in your prayers today?
• What did you do today to show Greyson and Charlotte you love and appreciate them?
• When did you pet the dog?
• What did you do at work that accomplished a task or showed leadership?
• What step did you take to make your blog better?
• How many blogs did you comment on today?
• What healthy foods did you eat?
• How did you get exercise today?
• What junk did you get out of your car?

Is this a good idea?  Do you think I can do it?  Should I add to this list?  What questions are you asking  yourself in 2013?

August was the start of my 30th year.  On my birthday I woke up and walked the beach quietly, ready to start a new decade of my life.  Later that morning Greyson and I  bought cinnamon buns from a local bakery.  That day we laid in the sand and played with our baby.

Ahhh!  Hello 30!

A decision I made yesterday will mean the start of 31 will be completely different.  I signed up for the BlogHer ’12 5K on the morning of my birthday this year.

Now let me be clear.  For most of my life I would only ever run if someone were chasing me.  I hate to run.  It’s boring to me.  I would rather go to the dentist than run.  I would pick cleaning the house over jogging.  I would do math before I…okay wait, never mind.

Maybe it’s because I’m on this big life improvement kick, but for some reason the other day I told Greyson I was going to go for a run.  He looked up at me and said with surprise, “Really?  Okay!”  I gotta tell you.  It felt good.

Maybe it’s the new breath of life I’ve felt since starting a new job, but I’m psyched for a lot of things.  I signed up to go to BlogHer ’12.  It’s one of the world’s biggest blogging conferences and I’m taking myself and my little blog to New York City to learn from the best.  It’s silly, but I feel like the conference is just a little extra special for me.  IT’S DURING MY BIRTHDAY!  I know turning 31 really isn’t that big of a deal, but this trip is a big deal for me.  I get to go on a big adventure in the big city.  It’s the first birthday I’ve ever spent away from family and friends.  I will miss them, but I want to stretch and grow my abilities to write and reach people.

This also means I will need to stretch and grow my physical fitness before running in this race.  Oh, did I forget to mention it starts at 6:30am?  Yeah, I bet about 2 miles into my birthday run I’ll be longing for the cinnamon roll of the year before.  Aw!  Listen to me!  Choosing the discipline of running over the indulgence of baked goods…someone is becoming a grown up!

When I was seven-years-old I wrote fan mail to my favorite News Anchor, in crayon.  With childlike optimism, and a rainbow of colors I predicted my future.  I told her I wanted to be on the news one day.

I get to see that woman every time I go to my in-laws’ home.  Greyson is from Littleton, Colorado.  Adele Arakawa worked in Raleigh before going to Chicago, and then KUSA in Denver.

www.news9.com

In high school I produced, directed, worked the cameras, reported, and anchored for ADTV.  What?  You mean you don’t know what that is? That’s Athens Drive Television at Athens Drive High School.   Oftentimes, even to this day if I see someone from high school, they’ll mention my glory days on the morning announcements.  Hey, someone had to deliver the latest breaking news on the Cross Country team practice, or the Chess Club’s victory.  It was truly fine journalism.

My senior year, all the kids in my class have to give speeches in front of the church as we graduate.  I ended mine with, “I’ll see you on the six ‘o clock news!”  Any time I thought about changing majors, or changing professions.  I thought about that speech.  In my mind, that speech sealed my fate.  I wasn’t going to let everyone (translation: me) down.

After finishing my degree in Media Studies at UNC Greensboro and an internship at WGHP I had no money and the lease on my apartment was up.  I went home to my parents with no idea what I was going to do.

Somehow I managed a job interview at News 14 Carolina in Raleigh.  No one told me walking into that newsroom at 22 years old would change the course of my life.

I was hired as a part-time Associate Producer on the weekends.  I wrote scripts for the newscast.  Very bad scripts.

That’s okay, though.  I mean, I wasn’t gonna stay at that cable news station.  Oh no!  I had my super awesome reporter resume tape from college. ::snicker:: (No, no one will ever see it, ever.  Don’t ask!)  I was sending it out to small stations around the Southeast.  See, in TV news you start out in small markets in Podunk, USA and work your way up.

That’s what I thought anyway.  That is until I met the sports guy at News 14.  Who is he?  Oh, just the guy I’ve been married to for 6 years and have a kid with.  Love has that effect on you.

So I stayed.

I stayed at News 14 knowing it would be hard, well, nearly impossible to start an on-air career at a TV station in a market the size of Raleigh.  Even if it is cable.

But, I did it.

I worked up the ranks.  As an Assignment Editor I pulled my hair out coordinating the day’s assignments for photographers and reporters.  As a Producer I dragged my ragged body into the station at 1:00am to get the morning news on.

I finally got my chance on-air after coming in on my off days to learn to shoot, and edit my own stories.  It would still be a couple years of producing and reporting before I started reporting full-time.  Even then I worked weekends when my friends played, and worked nights when my husband was home.  (He got out of news right after we got married.)

This is me with Air Force One during President Obama's visit to Raleigh sometime in 2009. It had to be the summer because it was HOT on that tarmac!

I did 5:00am live shots and hauled equipment at 8.5 months pregnant.  I covered Presidential visits, high-profile murder trials, contentious state elections, marathon school board meetings, and more different types of weather than anyone should have to deal with.   I even made it to the anchor desk as a fill-in anchor.

One of the many snow storms I've covered. Snow is big news in the South. We get them in North Carolina, but not as often as hurricanes, it seems. (I'm joking.)

I kept at it.

I never wanted to get to network news.  That was never my goal.  I wanted to report the news in my hometown.  I did.

And now I’m done.

I will miss the occasional celebrity sighting. (Ladies, Jimmie Johnson is even better looking in person and smelled amazing!)

I felt like I owed it to myself to go back after I had my baby.  It’s been a whole year since maternity leave and it’s just time to walk away.  I’ve accomplished what I wanted to, and now it’s time for new goals.

My step-brother Bryce took this picture of himself one of the nights I anchored. Funny!

This blog has inspired me to embrace the kind of writing I really love.  My mom always called writing my “true talent”.  I’ve always felt I had to be a little more guarded on my blog compared to other bloggers because of my profession.

It was very serendipitous that I met the president of a local Public Relations firm who needed someone who knows about editing video and writing for social media.  After all, I had been complaining around here for some time that I was ready for change.  Now I have it.  I start my new job February, 8.  I’ll have better hours and more time with my family.  I can’t wait!

After 8 years this is my last week at News 14.  I cried when I told my Assistant News Director I was leaving.  I went in a college kid and left a news woman.  I grew up there.

I realized the girl who wrote that crayon letter and gave that speech is now a woman.  I’m a wife, and mother with different priorities.  I’m so proud of what I accomplished in news, but I want something different.

I may not be Adele, but I’m Amy.  I’ve lived my dream.  Not many people can say that.  With a joyful heart, and watery eyes I’ll sign out for the last time Friday, and move on to the next dream.