Firm Fridays: It's a Start

Ok, let's talk about it.

The post-baby bod.

Like, whoa.

I would classify myself as having been "in shape" most of my teen-adult life. I played sports and then continued to stay fairly active into and after college. Active meaning running, some weights here and there, hiking, kayaking, a short stint in swimming {which I would love to start again}, you know the miscellaneous activities that can keep a person healthy.

The activity I could usually stick to the most was running. I mean, I was no marathoner but I enjoyed a run with my dog. The thing with running though is I mostly enjoy it outside. Well, outside usually means I like fairly decent weather. Around these parts for a good part of the year our weather is 45 degrees and rainy. I don't enjoy running in that.

Rewind to last March when we found out we were going to be having a baby. The months leading up to March are the prime months of unfavorable running weather around here. So what had I been doing up until March? Not running would be the correct answer.

I had always thought when I got pregnant that I would work out the whole time and feel so great since I was in pretty okay shape before I got pregnant and as long as I started out working out while carrying the little human inside of me, I would be good to continue right up until close to birthing said human. Right?

Wrong!

First of all, I was in no place of continuing a workout routine since I didn't have one going in the first place. Second of all, the first few months I had nausea with vomiting that did continue mostly throughout the whole pregnancy. I had heartburn like the fire of a thousand suns and I just didn't feel overall that great.

Except for the occasional walk or two and yes I would try some light weights here and there and even some "pregnancy exercises" sometimes but for the most part the exercise I enjoyed most when I could was the exercise for my eyelids. If we do the math here, I was pregnant through summer so I missed working out and running during my favorite season to do so. Continuing the equation, I haven't had a good stint of running in over a year. Yikes. {Sidenote: there was a decent time right before I found out I was pregnant and I did my longest run I had done in awhile and was so proud and happy and motivated and then a week later I peed on the stick. Kind of funny.}

Like I have hinted, I have never been any kind of obsessed with working out or obsessed with my body in any way. I figured my post-baby bod would be just that and I would deal with it and it would work itself out. Obviously for the first few weeks post-baby I didn't give it a second thought. I had other things on my mind. I would say about 5 or 6 weeks post-babe I started feeling a little restless. I mean, I had been doing a lot of rocking, holding, feeding, soothing, sitting around. I started to notice the bod. Yes, at my 6 week appointment I weighed in and had lost twenty pounds which was great but like the midwife said, it would take the next nine-ish months for the next 10-ish to come off. But she said with exercise, I could speed it up.

The thing is with an infant that isn't quite on any kind of predictable schedule yet, it is hard to know when is a good time to exercise!

This week, I set a couple of goals for myself:

1. Get dressed everyday. It is really too easy to just sit around in my pajamas all day when I know I won't see anyone or go anywhere. Heck, let's face it there are some people that I don't mind them seeing me in my pajamas so sometimes even someone coming over isn't motivation to get dressed.

2. Do some sort of exercise everyday. I wanted to try to utilize the times Baby E is sleeping and even if they are just some quick ab workouts or a few lunges here and there, it needs to be done. The mush won't tighten itself. There, I said it.

I know, it's a slow start but I feel I have to start somewhere and I have always been kind of a slow-starter when it comes to working out so starting with ease will be good. I have also gone on some walks which feels great and come time for nice weather, hopefully I will really be ready to break in that jogger and see what she's made of.

I have been reading Kristen's Firm Friday posts and thought it was time to become accountable for myself so if you feel it's time for you to share your goals with others head on over!

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Still Playing Milk Maid

I wanted to do a little update on my breastfeeding experience. I posted here about the early weeks and I will say it has gotten a million times better.

For some reason I was holding off on seeing a lactation consultant because I just kept thinking that it was going to get better as everyone kept telling me. Well, after many tears, many frustrations and being sick and tired of the pain, I "gave in" and decided it was time to see someone on E's 5 week birthday. I went to our local hospital and had an appointment with a really nice lady. She showed me how to get Eleanor into the football hold and of course, that day, Eleanor latched right on with no problem, there was no pain and she ate straight through and got 3 ounces. She did confirm that I had been dealing with a pretty severe nipple crack and assured me that these techniques should help. I was so happy, thought our problem was solved with this new position and a few tips she gave me and went home. At her next feeding I tried the same thing and could not get it right. I was frustrated again to say the least.

I tried the new position for a few days and could not seem to get it and was still having pain. After a few days of this, I decided this position was just not for me/us at this time and went back to the cross-cradle hold. With the tips the lactation consultant had given me, though, I was able to finally get her latched on properly and my crack began to heal.

Around week 6 I was able to get my baby latched out without pain, without dread and without frustration. I was so thankful.

Here we are at her 11 week birthday and nursing is going well.

We do have a new challenge though. I don't know if she gets distracted, has to go poo, or has some gas but she does really well for about the first 5 minutes of her feeding and then kind of comes off and on for the rest. She doesn't necessarily do this at every feeding but definitely at least once or twice throughout the day.

We are feeding about every 2-3 hours during the day and about every 3-4 hours at night.

I am obviously hoping she will be picking up some longer stretches at night here soon but for now, I am content knowing that she is seeming to get the correct nutrients as she always seems content after she eats whether it be by falling asleep or just coming off on her own.

I still stand by the fact that I love breastfeeding. I am so thankful that I get to be home with her and basically still feed on demand.

I haven't really done much "public" feeding, just mostly at other peoples' houses which I am always comfortable with since it is usually people I am very comfortable with. I don't know how I feel about all the controversy with women feeding in public with no cover. In Seattle I am pretty sure they passed a law that a women can feed in public but has to be covered. Maybe this has already been a law but there has been a lot of talk about it lately. I guess I kind of feel like if a woman is comfortable with feeding in public with no cover, is discreet and doesn't completely expose herself, then why not? It's not like people should be sitting around staring at her!

Another challenge we are having is getting her to always take a bottle of breast milk when we offer it. Like I said I am feeding her a lot of the time but it would be nice to know that she will take a bottle when we want her to. I don't know if we are just not offering it enough {most likely this is the case because I never offer her a bottle when I am home because it is just so much easier to just give her my breast rather than pumping and making a bottle} or if she truly has just built a very strong preference for me. Maybe once she gets a little older and we keep offering she will get better.

All in all, I think we have made some great strides in our breastfeeding adventure. My husband remained very encouraging during the touch parts and was always supportive whether I was crying or just needed a drink of water. {He's still really great about getting the water. Oh, and about tears if there ever are any!}

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Time to spice up the mid-week lull with some things that I am loving this week!

I am loving ...

New Shows:

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A couple recipes to try:

Source: zenfamilyhabits.net via Allyce on Pinterest

Source: skinnytaste.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Some crafts for the house:

Source: bluecricketdesign.net via Allyce on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Allyce on Pinterest

Source: goodhousekeeping.com via Allyce on Pinterest

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Relaxing, A Trip to Home Depot (Okay 3), and a Date

I haven't talked about a weekend in awhile and honestly that is kind of because we haven't really done much on the weekends around here. Ben has worked a lot of weekends and when he wasn't working we wanted to maximize his time with Baby E as much as possible. We have spent a lot of time at home.

Being at home is pretty much the norm for us but obviously since I am home all day everyday nowadays, it is nice to get out of the house here and there.

Saturday we got up leisurely, milled around the house a bit and then decided to make a trip to Home Depot for a couple things we needed. Well, one of the things wasn't right so Ben ran back. I waited at home anxiously because...

wait for it...

...we had decided that this was the day/evening for our first date away from the baby. Granted Ben had been away from the baby because he goes to work everyday. The only other time I had left her was for about 20 minutes when she was 6 or 7 weeks old to run to the grocery store. So this was kind of a big deal for me.

My parents arrived and I tried to just make the departure quick so I didn't freak out. I left a bottle of breastmilk  because I thought she would eat while we were gone.

We didn't go too far but had a nice time. We just went to a burger place, had dinner, a couple of beers and visited. I admitted to Ben halfway through the meal that I was feeling a little tipsy after my beer and a half. Embarrassing!

Anyway, I know if we are going to continue to thrive in our marriage, it is important to nurture our relationship as much as nurturing our child/ren. So, I was very happy that we broke the ice and went out. It is also so nice to have my parents so close to babysit. I don't think we would be so quick to head out if we had to have a stranger or something babysit!

So I survived being away the whole hour and a half and when we got home, my parents were very disappointed because she slept the whole time!

On Sunday we again had a leisurely morning and then I went to the grocery store and back to Home Depot to return something else.

When I got home, Ben worked for a little while, E napped, we went for a walk, watched 50/50, cooked dinner and started getting ready for bed. We hadn't changed our sleeping arrangements yet despite my lack of sleep however, for some reason this seemed like the night. I had been working on putting E in her crib or in the pack and play for naps so we figured she would be okay going down in her pack and play. We rocked her for a bit and she went down. She slept in her pack and play the whole night. It was a little strange but I will admit I got some better sleep. 

This weekend felt great because not only did we have some quality time together as a family and as a couple but we had a couple of monumental events happen. Well, monumental in our little world.

{my heart}

Next up: take more family pictures!

In the spirit of this day of love, go ahead and check out our love story.

Makeover Monday

Let's start with the fact that I always have to have something on my lips. I have probably seized any type of natural moisture being produced because of this but I can't stand dry lips.

I used to be obsessed with lip gloss. I always loved having a little shine on my smoochers. Toward the end of this habit, I loved Victoria's Secret lip gloss. Silly, I know, but it smelled good, had a good shine and came in many a different "color."

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Hub hated the lip gloss phase--which, mind you had been going long before him!--he always said that it's too slimy and would always make a face after a smooch with lip gloss.

Nowadays what coats my lips?

Nothing more than plain, old chapstick. I like to stick with Burt's Bees but I will basically use anything as long as it moistens my lips. 

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I rarely wear lipstick, probably because I have never found the perfect shade. 

I have been hearing talks of this Revlon tinted lip butter that I may have to try soon. Could be the best of both worlds for me -- a little shine, a little butter, a little color. Okay, the best of three worlds--even better.

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Head on over and share your luscious, lip secrets!

What's Goin' Down

I had a different post for today but I just can't get our comforter off my mind. Yes, that's right, I said our comforter.

I have had a down comforter for as long as I can remember. I introduced Hub to the down comforter. Where we live, it's pretty conducive to our weather for a better part of the year. I love snuggling under the cozy comforter and have always thought I wouldn't have it any other way.

Until now.

With a down comforter, one usually has to use a duvet cover. I wouldn't see a problem with this except for the fact that I can never find a cover that fits the duvet perfectly and causes the duvet to bunch or slide down the cover. What has been happening so much lately is that when I pull the covers up, I am pulling up only the cover because the duvet has slid somewhere down to the middle of the bed. Not awesome.

Hub suggested just taking the cover off and using the duvet by itself. Our duvet is white so this would be hard to keep clean and I don't think they are very easy to wash. I think we may do this for awhile, but I think it may be time to retire the ol' down comforter idea and move onto some other types of warmth in our bed.

What do people use other than a duvet?

A regular comforter?

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A quilt?

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A thin blanket and then maybe a heavier blanket?

I feel like I am at a loss.

Hopefully I will figure something out because obviously this is a pretty big problem we have.

And just to throw something else in--love these!

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Happy Friday! and Sweet Dreams! ;)

Our Love Story

In the spirit of the Valentine's holiday I thought I would join in the fun of sharing the story of Ben and I. I came across the link up on I Love You More Than Carrots who linked up with From Mrs. to Mama. I started the blog after we were married so besides bits and pieces here and there, I don't think I have shared any details about the Hub and I and how we came to be. Plus, it's always fun to remember back to those early days of love! Here is the fun little survey she posted:

1. How long have you and your significant other been together? We began dating in October of 2004 so about 7 1/2 years.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} Ben and I were neighbors in the dorm beginning our second quarter of freshman year of college. I walked past his room everyday to get to my room and would wave. We began hanging out mostly with his group of friends and a couple of my girlfriends. By the end of freshman year, I was hanging out with those guys practically every weekend. We all parted ways for the summer. Ben is from Texas so he went home to San Antonio for the summer.

On the 4th of July I got a call from Ben. I was surprised since we hadn't talked since school got out but it was fun to say hi and I didn't think anything of it. About a month later, I got another call. I had just had knee surgery so I think I was a little out of it and Ben later told me that I was short with him and not very nice. Whoops!

Sophomore year came and I had moved into an apartment with a girlfriend and Ben had moved into a house with 4 other guys. We ran into each other a couple days before school started and I picked right back up where I left off spending a lot of time hanging out with the group of guys. One day, walking home from the bus, I told my roommate that I thought I liked Ben. I was definitely questioning it though because I no idea if he liked me and I didn't want to ruin any kind of friendship with him or any of the other guys if things didn't work out. We continued to hang out, my feelings grew and then one night we all decided to go to a movie together. Ben apparently thought that this was our "first date" however, I had no idea that was the case because it was me and a few other guys going to a movie. Well, I had been hanging out with my roommates boyfriend before the guys came to pick us up and let's just say we had been indulging a bit in some beverages and I did not put my best foot forward that night. So, I felt pretty stupid after that and a couple of weekends later, a group of us went bowling. 

We were all having a great time and my girlfriend decided to take me aside and told me she had some exciting news. In a really immature, middle-school, girl type fashion mature way she told me that Ben liked me. {Seriously, how awesome were we?! "Liked?" Come on now, we were mature sophomores in college but still getting all giddy over a boy...oh brother!} Anyway, after that I totally let my guard down and started flirting. I think he realized my feelings as well and started flirting back. Well, that night we had our first kiss and after that basically became inseparable. 

I think we did end up spending maybe a little too much time together right away and probably annoyed our roommates quite a bit but I think all of that is so hard to tell when you are just starting to date someone. Looking back we would probably do things a little differently but it obviously worked out alright! ;)

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell} We have been married for 2 1/2 years. We got married in August 2009.

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small? We got married at a little "farm" in a smallish wedding of about 120 friends and family. We then got to take our honeymoon for a few days in Colorado and then headed down to San Antonio for a reception of family and friends there. 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share! I feel like we used to have more nicknames but they have faded out and there are mostly just a lot of "honeys" and "babes."

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey. I love the way he loves me--strong, sure, without fail and good days and bad. I have found a new love for him in the way he loves our daughter. He is always supportive of me no matter what crazy thing I am doing.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal? I love it because I was completely surprised!

We were living together and Ben was about a month away of graduating college. It was a Sunday night {Mother's Day to be exact} and Ben told me he had to go to campus late to work on a group project because his group-mates were getting back late from Mother's Day. We said bye and I climbed into bed to watch Desperate Housewives. Gosh, I literally remember this like it was yesterday and it was almost 4 years ago! About 20 minutes later, I got a call from our friend to say he had wandered up on this hill on campus and had lost his keys. It was dark so he was having trouble seeing and could I come get him to take him home and get his spare. Ben had been checking to see where my cell phone was for a little bit before he left which I had noticed but hadn't really thought anything of. I reluctantly got out of bed and drove a few blocks to pick up our friend. I saw him by his car, I got out and he handed me a rose with a note saying, "Meet me at the top. Love, Ben." I looked quizzically at our friend but he just smiled and got in my car and we drove to the top. I honestly, still, at that time did not suspect a proposal. I thought he was just doing something romantic. 

We got to the top and our friend walked me down the dark path and came to the clearing where a wooden tower sits at the top of the hill that overlooks the city. The city where we fell in love. The stairs were lined with candles, as was the platform once I got to the top and there was my love. He shared his feelings with me and got down on one knee and said the magic words. I didn't give the reaction he wanted because I was in shock. It took me a second to say yes but once I did, he scooped me up, we kissed, and he shouted, "We're gettin' married!"

Not super flattering but SO happy!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? Probably not a teddy bear but definitely flowers and a card.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? Well who doesn't love to be on a beach?! However, we have always been a movie on the couch kind of couple. We are homebodies which is obviously one of the many reasons we are so compatible. 

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere? We would love to go to Disneyworld together. He loves it there, I have only been to Disneyland so we will do this someday. There have been talks of going at Christmas one year, so we will see what happens. 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. Since it's a Tuesday, we won't go out but I will try to put some effort into at least being dressed and making dinner. 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day? Just the hubby home for the evening since he has been working such crazy hours!

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Communication. If there is one thing that Ben and I have always done, it is talk about everything. There is never anything that I would hesitate to tell him or discuss with him. This was, we never let anything stew or build up or harbor any negative or angry feelings.

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

Happiest moment of our lives.

So fun taking a walk down memory lane. I love my honey so much and don't know what my life would be without him!

Go link up!