Losing the weight

Lately I’ve gotten down about my weight and size.  Mostly because I’m sick of wearing the same two pair of stretch jeans that I own and can’t fit into my other jeans.  Now I know it’s only been 2 months since Alexander was born but it’s still frustrating.  Before pregnancy I was 180-185lbs and a size 12.  I have to add I love being a size 12 because I think it’s a normal size for a healthy woman and the beautiful Marilyn Monroe was a size 12.  I gained 40lbs while pregnant.  My doctor said she was never concerned about this because of my size (I guess she meant my  height?) and that all my other tests were healthy.  I lost 30lbs pretty quick after Alexander’s birth.  Breastfeeding helped a lot considering you burn 300-500 calories a day breastfeeding.  My stomach shrunk pretty quickly also even though I have absolutely no ab strength.  I also have to consider that pre-prego I skied every weekend and taught 6 PE classes a day and also coached.  Now I mostly sit on my butt breastfeeding or rocking my baby.  I do get out almost every day for a walk. 

So how am I going to lose those last 10lbs….I don’t have a clue.  If I join a gym, most gyms don’t provide daycare until they are 6 months old.  I also don’t feel like leaving the Eric and Alexander during the night so I can work out.  I consider that our family time.  I could diet but they recommend that you don’t diet while breastfeeding.  So Eric and I are going to try the famous P90x workout.  Not sure how it is going to go but we are going try to do together.  The first workout today not only kicked our butts but was interesting.  We had stopped 2-3 times to change Alexander’s diaper or give him attention.  Before I could do the ab workout after our first chest and shoulders workout I had to stop and breastfeed Alexander.  I still have to read over their diet plan they recommend to see if it is okay to do while breastfeeding.  Overall I hope it will at least let me tone up my body some and get rid of those few extra inches around my butt and thighs.

Would I have done anything differently while I was pregnant?  Yeah maybe.  Maybe go on more walks or do more squats and lunges.  But who knows if that would have helped.  Could I just buy the next size up on jeans? Yes but when I have to spedn$75-$90 on pair of jeans from Long Tall Sally, I don’t consider that an option (I know my cousin Sarah will understand this).  Overall, I know Eric and Alexander love me for me not whether I’m a size 12 or 14. 


Alexander update:  He is now in size 2 diapers.  He was only in size one for about a month.  He is still sleeping around 8 hours a night.  We have been putting him to bed a little later which makes him sleep a little later in the morning. This helps Eric and I get a little more sleep.  Overall he is a happy, growing baby that we love to death!

Get up and Go

Get up and Go

A piece of advice that a friend gave to me once was that going places with a baby is hard work and that is why a lot of people just stay at home with their babies.  This is very true.  When leaving the house there are millions things to think about….change his diaper before leaving, is he dressed warm enough, are there diapers in the diaper bag, is the diaper bag in the car, is the stroller in the car, do you want to bring the baby carrier with, don’t forget his blanket, does he have a pacifier, do you have your wallet and phone, does the car need to be warmed up first, am I dressed warm enough, when does he have to eat next, do we want to be back home for the next feeding or feed in public, etc.   And that’s just going to run errands.  Eric and I decided long before Alex came that we would not be the couple to stay at home.  We just understand that it now takes about 30minutes to get out of the house.  Alexander’s first outing (besides doctor visits) was to Home Depot to get a Christmas tree.  His second outing was to Garden of the Gods for a walk.  Now, we go somewhere almost every day whether its running errands, out for a walk, or visit a friend.  Our biggest outing was last Sunday we went up to Breckenridge (2 hours away) so Eric and I could go skiing.  I packed so much stuff for Alexander and I, you would have thought we were staying overnight.  When we got to Breckenridge, we set up camp in one of the lounges and Eric took his turn skiing.  After about 2.5 hours, Eric came in and I took my turn skiing.  We had a good time and Alexander did very well.  However, the change in his day did affect him by that Monday morning he was very cranky. 

Getting out the door is the biggest challenge.  One of my first times out with Alexander was to MOPS with my mom.  We put Alexander in his car seat and he started screaming.  I didn't know what to do.  He had a dry diaper and been fed recently.  My Mom finally said, "Heather, lets just go and if he still cranky when we get there we will deal with it then".  So I picked up the car seat with Alexander in tow and we were off.  By the time we got him in car, he was quiet.  Within 5 minutes on the road, he was asleep.   We learned that sometimes the transition into the car seat is rough but once we get going, all is fine. 

Overall, you can be the parents who sit home all the time or you can get up and go somewhere.  It’s a lot work but I think it’s worth it.

MOPS

MOPS

MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers.  This is my mom’s club.  I learned about it from my friend, Lindsey, who is also part of it and the director.  I love this group!!! We meet every other Wednesday and I wish it was every week.  The group consists of moms with children of all ages.  We also have our mentor moms who have kids in high school or are grandparents.  I love this group so much because they have really given me some great advice.  Also whenever I have been having a problem there is always someone there to say, “oh yeah, I’ve been through that too”.  They always have solutions to problems too.  We do a lot of great stuff at our meetings from having speakers, to crafts, to making meals, playing games, and going out for breakfast.  I think every mom should have a Mom’s club to be part of.  It just gives you a place to go to where you know you will be able to relate to others.  Above is a picture of Alexander with his MOPS friends.  All four babies were born in the last two months.  They are sitting oldest to youngest, left to right.  Alexander is the second one on the left.

Today we had a speaker who presents the Love and Logic philosophy.  Yes another book. Yes another philosophy.  I have heard of Love and Logic from teaching.  Love and Logic is basically about giving your child (or student) choices.  It’s about getting rid of the power struggle and letting the child know you are hearing what they are saying.  When teaching I used this with a student who misbehaves.  I would either have them make their own consequences, or provide them with two consequences of which they can choose from.   With your child it can be simple as “Do you want to brush your teeth or put on your pjs first?” Today our speaker talk about bedtime struggles, changing clothes struggles, cleaning up, tantrums at home and in public areas.  I think she had a lot of great stuff to say and it all made sense to me.  I would suggest any parent of a child 2 or older to read the book or do some research on it.  Teachers I suggest getting the teacher version.  You don’t have to do everything the books says but I think has some good ideas.  One great line from today is when a child rolls their eyes at you say “Can you see your brain when you do that?”.  Its about not letting them push your buttons.  My other favorite was with cleaning up, “You get to keep the toys you pick up and I get to keep the toys I pick up.”  If you do this you must follow on keeping the toys and having them earn them back.  Last one I liked was when your child throws that first tantrum you are suppose to step back and say “Really, that’s it? I thought it was going to be much better than that.”  Now do I know if any of this works…well some of it I know it does from when I taught.  However, we will see with Alexander throws his first tantrum or bath time becomes a struggle. 

Other random stuff from my day

Alexander was an angel this morning.  He woke up and feed and then just chilled in his bouncy seat for an hour and half while I got ready for my MOPS meeting.

We have been going on walks almost every day and it’s starting to really annoy me that people park their cars on the sidewalks.  I walk down some semi busy streets in my neighborhood and don’t like the fact I have to walk in the street and around a car with my baby.  Also now being a mom, I realize how fast people drive down our streets.  I know I sound like an old lady.

Last note, Eric is out of town on business today and tomorrow and I’m doing okay on my own!

My first blog

The purpose of this blog is to write about Alexander and his developments as he grows.  In doing so I hope to help any of my expecting friends and relatives who are soon to have babies by giving them a glimpse of what is to come.  I also hope to let those family and friends who are far away know what is going on in our lives.  That’s why people write blogs right?

I named my blog “Babies will be babies” because there is one thing all pregnant women and expectant fathers do from the moment they find out they are pregnant…they read.  They read books, articles, and websites about being pregnant, labor, what to eat, how to get a baby to sleep through the night, how often to feed them, the stages of the color of their poop, breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, cloth diapers vs disposable diapers, what to do when they cry, and every parenting philosophy there is.  I read one book, one audio book, and watch a dvd on parenting philosophies.  I talked to friends, read chat boards, and articles all about parents who swear by these philosophies.  I’ve decided all those people belong to a secret society because in the end babies will do what babies want to do.

Example #1 the hospital tells you that a newborn should feed every three hours to help gain back their birth weight.  This includes waking them up every three hours during the night.  In reality to the mom (if you are breastfeeding) that’s about two hours of sleep and that’s only if you fall asleep when your head hits the pillow.  Also that includes if your baby goes back to sleep after the feeding.  This also goes against the rule of never to wake a sleeping baby.  But I did it.  Let me tell you waking up a sleeping baby is not easy.  I would strip him down to his diaper and put a cold wash cloth on his tummy or neck.   Then trying to keep him awake while feeding was another challenge.  Then about when he was a week old Alexander decided he didn’t want to eat every three hours.  So I went to on demand.  When he showed hunger signs, I feed him.  This worked fine until his first growth spurt and he wanted to feed all the time. 

Example #2  There are many philosophies out there about how to get your baby to sleep through the night.  However, once again I say babies will be babies and will sleep when they want to.   At first, they seem to sleep all the time but still wake up often.  Then slowly they start to sleep longer periods of time at night.  Alexander always did good with sleeping three hours.  Then he slept four around four weeks.  For a couple weeks he slept four or five hours.  Then one glorious night (Friday, Jan. 20^th to be exact) he slept 8 hours straight.  I woke up twice just to see that he was breathing.  My in-laws happen to be in town and my mother-in-law, Linda, asked me what  I did the night before.  Honestly, I didn’t do anything special.  Babies will be babies.  I had done the same thing the couple nights before.  I feed him, swaddled him, and put in his car seat.  He just decided he didn’t to wake up and feed in the middle of the night.  The next couple nights he would wake up a little fussy but nothing a pacifier didn’t take care of.  Then last night, he slept all the way through.  So the only downfall is he wakes up between 6-6:30am and is up.  I knew not being a morning person was going to bite me in the butt someday.  However, Eric and I have decided to take turns switching off mornings of who will get up with him. 

Some of my other opinions

Pacifiers – For you or for the baby.  I think they are great.  I know one day I will have to break him of the habit but for now, they are a gift from god.

Bottles – I am mostly breastfeeding but its good to know that I can give him a bottle if needed.  Also that Eric can help feed him if needed.  This also helps Eric feel like he can help.  Also how else am I ever going to get a girls night out.

Sleeping on the back –  Alexander will sleep on his back but won’t do it flat.  No one told us but most newborns don’t sleep flat.  They liked to feel snug like in the womb.  So swaddle them tight and place them in their swing, bouncy seat, or car seat if they won’t sleep in their crib.  Alexander went from his bouncy seat to sleeping in his swing while swinging, to no swinging, and to his car seat.  I’ll get him in his crib sooner or later.

Diapers – So cloth diapers are all the rage right now but I swear if I did cloth diapers with Alexander I would need at least 30-40 for one day.  Okay maybe not that many but I know I would do nonstop laundry. I give props to the moms who do cloth diapers.

Gifts that make a difference – diapers, swings, playmats, swaddle blankets, pacifiers, boppy pillow, fuzzy soft blankets, and cute outfits.

So I will end my first blog of Babies will be Babies that each week is different.  Once you think you have something figured out they throw you a curve ball.  Once you think they are on a schedule, they change it up.  Once you think you have figure out some way to calm them, it doesn’t work the next.  Babies will be babies and do what they want but I couldn’t be more in love with my baby.