and the cost was a magnificent sunset

just missed

a few km later and the Vancouver skyline was still visible

and I had to Stop once more

. . . → Read More: just a few minutes late]]> a little extra chatting at the end of the day

and the cost was a magnificent sunset

just missed

a few km later and the Vancouver skyline was still visible

and I had to Stop once more

the Great, Wet, Vancouver January OutDoors

Hitting Lynn Valley on the Fruvious Bike

a few days later

back on carbon

back on fast

back in the drops

back on the trainer

Soon

The Siren Returns . . . → Read More: cycling after Beryl]]> After a few Days on The Trainer, Em was Ready for THE Great OutDoors

the Great, Wet, Vancouver January OutDoors

Hitting Lynn Valley on the Fruvious Bike

a few days later

back on carbon

back on fast

back in the drops

back on the trainer

Soon

The Siren Returns To Fromme!!!

I stopped cycling on Dec 16, my last day of work and my last bike commute for at least a year (Canadian maternity leave is 52 weeks).  The time off work opened up the days for walking and swimming.  Walking to . . . → Read More: Beryl’s Arrival]]> Following up from a couple of previous posts on trying to stay active throughout the pregnancy…

I stopped cycling on Dec 16, my last day of work and my last bike commute for at least a year (Canadian maternity leave is 52 weeks).  The time off work opened up the days for walking and swimming.  Walking to the seabus for the nautical public transit trip downtown and then a mile swim at the YWCA.   My swim suit was at it’s limits!

By the time the holidays and my family came, I could only waddle a couple kilometers each day, but managed to do something every day until 2 days before Beryl was born.  Overall, I remained lucky throughout this pregnancy and very very happy to have been able to exercise so regularly.

And for those interested some details on the actual birth.

In summary, I was as lucky with the birth as I was with the pregnancy.  Our midwives were a perfect match for our desires and goals.  Their relaxed but thorough approach to my healthy, normal pregnacy helped keep my anxiety attenuated.  They supported my cycling habit, vegetarian diet, and mental health concerns (I have had some previous experience with depression and well, if Anxiety and Self-Doubt were an Olympic sport I’d be Podium Material).  They supported our decision to have a home-birth.  To increase the chances of a smooth birth, we also added a fanastic doula, Lolli Comar, to our team.  Our ideal was a home birth, but we also registered at 2 of the hospitals that our midwives use just to cover the bases.

I had been having mild to moderate contractions every 8-20 mins since Dec 25.  By 12:30 am Jan 31st, I was pretty certain that things were progressing.  I was in and out of sleep until I woke Scott up around 3:00 am.  He put the TENS machine on my back and we went back to bed.  At 7 am we called the doula who recommended a walk, but it was 10 am before I had the energy to get out of the house.  I think it took us an hour to go 4 city blocks!  In the meantime Scott has given the midwives a heads-up call at 8am.

Breathing. Walking. Breathing.

The doula arrived at our house near 2 pm.  Lolli kept both Scott and I focused and reassured.  She had me changing positions, walking up the stairs and generally labouring throughout the house.  I was grateful that we had an expert to help us through the labour.  Sometimes the contractions would come on top of each other without a break and sometimes there was enough of a break to fall asleep for a minute or two.  Having Lolli there to reassure us that things were normal and safe let me stay focused on each minute of the labour instead of watching the clock or getting worried about how the intensity of the contractions could possible increase.

The midwife came to the house around 4 pm and the labouring continued. Upstairs, downstairs, on the couch, in the bathroom, leaning on the bed, in the labouring pool.  I was deliberately not looking at the clock, but I knew that it was now dark outside and had to be after 4:30 pm.  I declined when the midwife asked if I wanted to know how far along the dilation had progressed.  Scott and I had discussed that earlier and decided it would be too easy for me to overthink how the labour was going, and possibly get upset or anxious, if I wasn’t as far along as hoped for.

Festive Labour

Eventually the time for pushing came.  That was very hard work.  Exhausting.  After pushing for about 2 hours,  I was tired.  All I wanted was a short 10 or 15 min nap.  If I could have that nap, I knew I could deliver the baby.  But, labouring women don’t get naps!  I remember hearing the doula and midwife say to each other that my fitness and core muscles could be making the pushing more difficult.  I had been in a reclining position on the sofa without much progess and was pursuaded to move into a squat.  A few pushes later, Beryl arrived at 10:10 pm!

Our moms arrived around 11pm as the midwives and doula were finishing cleaning up.  By 1 am we were on our own as a family.  We went upstairs and realized that we had an unclothed, undiapered baby and no one to help us figure out how to do it.  It only took us abour 40 mins to figure it out…clearly all of our engineering degrees didn’t qualify us for baby dressing 101.

It was great to have Beryl at home and to go straight to our beds.  We didn’t have to move or leave the house for several days.

I will brag a bit– the midwife said my placenta was one of the biggest and healthiest she’d seen for a baby of Beryl’s size!  I also was fortunate enough to not have any tearing or other trauma.  Looks like a lifetime of exercise and good diet may have helped me (but luck and genetics probably were bigger factors)!

Almost a month after Beryl’s birth, we remain lucky.  Like mom AND dad, she she is a very good eater.  She was 1 oz over her birth weight of 7 lbs 7 oz at the 1 week checkup and just over 9 lbs by 2.5 weeks!  I wish she would sleep as well as she ate, but we have had a few 4 hour eat/sleep cycles.

. . . → Read More: Holiday is over]]> back to work!!!!

to do this

and this

. . . → Read More: pedaling rewards]]> rushing home

to do this

and this

Sunday started with such high hopes, it was going to be a rainy day in North Van (or all of southern BC), so we chose to cruise to Squamish, visit shortly with Armand, and go for a short hike.  Possibly up near the Chief, or along some of the lower . . . → Read More: Nap time at the Sportsmans]]>

Sunday started with such high hopes, it was going to be a rainy day in North Van (or all of southern BC), so we chose to cruise to Squamish, visit shortly with Armand, and go for a short hike.  Possibly up near the Chief, or along some of the lower trails in Crumpet Woods, or look for bald eagles in Brackendale.  We managed to get out of the house at a reasonable time, and decided to hit the new coffee shop in the neighborhood. Of course, this being BC, the coffee shop was closed on Sundays (?!?!), quick detour to Lynn Valley to a shop that ultimately had mediocre coffee (at best) and pastries.

While waiting from Emily to pick up the coffee, Beryl shared her opinion on car seats in a parked car anyone within earshot

However, once we were on the road, between the soothing sounds of Click and Clack on NPR, and the Rumble of our VW Diesel, she resumed her usual transporting posture…

At Armand’s suggestion, we decided to try some new (to us) trails in Paradise Valley, with the assumption that hiking through Old Growth would shield us from the unrelenting rain and winds. However, as we got approached Paradise Valley, the rain had been replaced by a very wet, very heavy snowfall with flakes the size of toonies!

The hike still sounded lovely and between the fleece attachment to the Ergo carrier, the rain attachment, Beryl’s north face thermal layer, her Smart Wool socks, and her North Face Fleece outer layer, we knew Beryl would be warm enough, but I hadn’t thought to put the snow chains into the car and we weren’t willing to risk the roads, so we headed back to North Van.  And, as things sometimes workout, as we got closer to home we rationalized ourselves right out of going for a hike int he rain in Lynn Valley (it was lunchtime, after all)…

Once we had eaten, our house was beset by a full-on nap attack..

With a full belly, Beryl succumbed

safely hidden behind the newest piece of furniture and nestled on a little foamy pad, Pumpkin also threw in the towel

the contagion quickly spread laterally, enthralling both Oskar and Emily

I fought valiantly, but eventually, with the assistance of the NFL playoff games, I also fell victim to weighted eyelids..

Note the blurred legs, the bored Oskar.. What you can’t see is the happy and content (after a pre-ride feed session) Beryl sleeping on my lap, listening to the white noise of a mag trainer. nor can . . . → Read More: Back in the Saddle]]> Emily spent some time spinning on her Orbea yesterday, approximately five weeks since her last ride (on the Commuteriffic Bandersnatch).

Note the blurred legs, the bored Oskar.. What you can’t see is the happy and content (after a pre-ride feed session) Beryl sleeping on my lap, listening to the white noise of a mag trainer. nor can you see the absolutely dismal weather outside as our week of beautiful snowy weather had transitioned to warmer (but still cold) and wetter. Also notice that Emily is rocking my old Oredigger Jersey and looking quite warm.

I don’t know that I have spent a winter in a house this warm since leaving Florida; we’ve been striving to maintain ~20C in the house since Beryl was born, both at night and during the day. Previously, we kept the house near 17 for a few hours in the morning and evening and as low as 13 at night, and 10 during the day while we were at work. We expect our next hydro bill to reflect our newly tropical living conditions.

Her trainer experience was markedly different from my earlier spin in the garage, which was cold enough to require long sleeve jerseys, light gloves, and ear coverage until my body warmed up from intervals.

For the foreseeable future, I think that the Orbea/trainer will be a permanent feature between our dining room and living room.

The bike lane across the 2nd narrows was clear and salted, unlike the exit, where someone missed the 1st switchback…

-8C and blue skies combined for an irresistible call to ride on Fromme

. . . → Read More: a Post of Two Rides]]> The first ride was a fixie ride to submit some paperwork for Beryl in downtown Vancouver…

The bike lane across the 2nd narrows was clear and salted, unlike the exit, where someone missed the 1st switchback…

-8C and blue skies combined for an irresistible call to ride on Fromme

snowed in

in the snow covered forest

checking out new sections of The Spirit Trail, a largely separated bike path that will eventually connect Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay.  It’s only lacking two sections for us to pull the Chariot to Stanley Park with very few traffic interactions

I could see sunlight breaking through to the North Shore from the Dunsmuir Viaduct (under grey skies)

I took the time, and went out of my way, to ride all of the separated bike lanes ending beside the horribly decimated plaza in front of the Art Gallery.  The Occupy Vancouver movement clearly prevented people from using this popular, in-demand plaza…

Body English required to continue occupying the snow packed skinnies

With the mountain to myself, I was able to climb the ever-popular Bobsled trail..

and today’s PSA….