This day last year, I woke up in labor (again) at 4am. After contractions continued for many hours and weren't progressing, we opted to go hang out at the mall and walk (even climbed a bunch of stairs). Things gradually got more intense and my water broke at around 7:30pm. That is when the fun really started. I remember the midwife saying "happy new years" to me while I was standing in the shower. I had vomited in the bathtub and they were filling the birthing pool for me. Transition at midnight was kinda surreal. Transition from active labor to pushing. Transition into motherhood. Transition from 2010 to 2011. Of course a few more wrenches were thrown in and she wasn't actually born until 2:07pm 1/1/11 at the hospital. But she was perfect (and still is). 2011 was an adventure from the first hours to the last. As we get ready to say goodbye to 2011 and welcome 2012, we celebrate my daughter's first birthday and my first year as a parent. A year of having to relearn to make myself a priority too. A year to get my health and fitness goals back on track after the stressors of infertility and IVF to conceive and the changes that pregnancy brings. 2011 saw me lose not only the 70 lbs I gained during the pregnancy, but found me 15 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight. In 2011, I ran the Baltimore marathon, my 10th full marathon. I have learned that my health is important, both for me and to set an example for my daughter. And, I am learning how to balance fitness, life, work and motherhood. As we welcome 2012, I hope to help others find their balance and get healthy. To stop wishing there were more hours in the day and to start prioritizing and getting things done. To realize you cannot have it all or do it all perfectly, but you can do and have what really matters. Here's to more adventure in 2012!
