Trying something new

I never seem to find the time to write anymore...thinking about keeping you updated via periscope...whatcha think??

https://www.periscope.tv/w/aJp3njEwOTU2NDIwfDU5MTczODI5vCrVIgW9qX5uYhNsVQmBGHQl2ZVpthfvCsoJBXzn0Wg=

Where to find the time....

Where to find the time....I'm actually writing this post using the voice to text option on my phone while I feed my daughter.... multitasking at its finest right?

I know I've said this before, but man is motherhood hard! Just when I think I've got it all figured out, something else goes and changes. 

To recap, the month of May SUCKED. Big time. My entire house was sick with the nastiest cold I've ever had, and after almost 3 weeks, we finally all got antibiotics and are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Clara didn't handle this cold well at night...literally waking up every 30-45 minutes sometimes, so you can imagine how well I've been sleeping. I've been in survival mode all month...I haven't grocery shopped or meal prepped in weeks because I honestly just haven't had the energy.

If I'm being honest with myself, I never thought I'd be here....4 (almost 5) months postpartum with still about 30 pounds of baby weight to lose. I thought I'd be able to get my act together faster, but knowing what I know now, I obviously have to adjust my expectations.

I'm going to do what I can, when I can. I'm going to work out, but I'm not going to give up completely when I oversleep after a rough night.  I'm going to make better food choices, even if they are convenience foods, there are still better choices available than some. With the 4th of July just around the corner, I think it's a good milestone date to shoot for - this also coincides with our 6 month milestone!  So...hopefully I can say at 6 months postpartum, I'm that much closer to my pre-pregnancy weight.  It might take me a year to get there, but I WILL get back to where I was, my health is important to me and my family, and I know it will make me a better mother.

I'm thinking of hosting another accountability group, starting Monday June 8th, that will run for 4 weeks so coincide with my July 4th goal - I'm happy to have you participate, the only catch is that I have to be your coach, and you have to be following any one of the beachbody programs, or even just using shakeology daily.  I could use a little (BIG) kick in the pants, and these groups always motivate me, so if you want to join me drop me an email! babewithababy@gmail.com

 

Fitting it all in

Finding time when you’re a Mommy, especially a brand new one, is tough.  It seems like every time I have a schedule figured out, the baby decides that’s not going to fly and changes things up (again).

I thought I had it figured out last week, and would just wake up super early to get my workout in before she gets up for the day.  The thing is, I’m not sure if it’s the small house or just baby’s intuition, but me getting up earlier means SHE gets up earlier.  So there’s no way for me to get up early enough to pump, workout, then nurse her if she’s waking up within 10 minutes of me getting up..and honestly it’s throwing her sleep cycle way off since she’s not getting enough sleep at night getting up an hour and a half earlier than normal! So, as much as it pains me to do it, I think I’m going to have to start working out at night, after she goes to bed.  I’m not sure how this is going to go, since workouts usually give me more energy and I’d be doing it within an hour or so of my own bedtime, but I’m hoping my body will adjust.  Last week the weather was gorgeous so we took the baby on a walk each night after dinner.  I hope to keep doing that as the weather gets nicer, but I know I need a real workout in addition to the walking too, so I’m going to try to see how it goes this week.

Every day is an adventure as a new Mom…plan as much as you’d like, but sometimes that baby has her own plan in mind!

Day 1

Today officially marks day 1 of the 21 day fix.  I’m not off to a great start.

Let’s start with last night, when my normal bedtime routine with Clara got thrown for a loop…she basically screamed uncontrollably for 2 hours, wouldn’t nurse, wouldn’t sleep, and eventually we had to give her a bottle of pumped milk to get her to eat before bed.

We finally got her down around 9:30 – an hour and a half later than normal, so all of my food prep stuff that I was planning on doing during that time frame didn't get done, and I still had to pump since she didn't breastfeed.

I didn't let that stop me though, so I prepped as fast as I could, and did some of it WHILE I was pumping (multitasking at its best, right?)

I set my alarm for 4:30am, and went to bed around 11.  Fast forward to 2:30am, and my baby is screaming her head off.  Growth spurt maybe? Who knows, but she was eating her hands fiercely so I knew she was hungry (even though she hasn't woken up for a middle of the night feeding in over a month).  By the time I fed her and got her back down, it was almost 4am…and oh did I mention, I have a nasty cold? Yeah now that Clara is in daycare she’s bringing all the germs home to me….luckily since I’m breastfeeding her she hasn’t gotten sick yet, but I’ve had no voice all weekend and a nasty cough, which means that I couldn’t fall back asleep for the life of me.  My last clock check was around 5ish…you better believe I turned off that 4:30am alarm when I put her back down in the middle of the night! I finally fell back asleep and then overslept and didn’t wake up until quarter to 7 this morning, so I was running around my house like a mad woman trying to get the baby ready, me ready, and of course my food for the day ready too! (Thank god for a helpful husband or I never would have made it!)

I didn’t get my workout in this morning.  And you know what? That’s ok.  I’m a new mom.  There will be bumps in this road.  It’s not realistic to be perfect 100% of the time, so I’m going to really focus on my nutrition today and maybe I’ll go for a walk at lunch to get close to 10k steps today.  Progress, not perfection.  I will get back to a better routine eventually, but days like this will happen, and I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

Here’s to a better tomorrow!

Easing back into things

I can’t believe I’m already in my second week back at work….it’s crazy the way time works once you have a baby.  So slow and so fast all at the same time! 

  I’m not sure if this will ever get “easier”, but daycare didn’t seem as traumatic this morning.  It was really nice to have 3 days with Clara at home, so I’m really happy with my decision to do a 4 day work week for now.

So, all that being said, I'm glad I gave myself another week of leeway, because waking up extra early to workout just doesn’t seem like it’s in the cards right now.  Clara can wake up anytime between 5 and 6:30, so realistically I need to get up at like 4am to get in a workout before her morning meal…and that seems pretty daunting to this tired mama! I’m going to try to work on waking up early this week to get my body used to it (no workouts just yet) so that next week it won’t be as bad.  I'm trying to get more steps in each day with my fitbit - last Friday with the day off I had (and the slightly warmer weather), I took the baby out in the stroller for a couple long walks - enough for about 17k steps that day.... I can't believe how sore I was that night from it though!

I am also going to try simple calorie counting this week as well to help ease myself back into the 21 day fix style of eating – this no dairy thing has really thrown a cramp in my style since greek yogurt and string cheese were regulars on my list, and whey protein was a big part of my daily protein intake as well, so I’m still fumbling with that a bit.  In any event, I have about 30 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so it’s time to get focused and get those pounds off.  I know it took time to put that weight on, and it will take time to take the weight off, so I’m ok with that, but it sure would feel good to be confident on the beach this summer!

There's a lot of "I'm going to try to's" in this post.  Because I'm being realistic.  I'm not perfect, I won't figure this thing out over night, and I will have bad days. This is reality, and I"m not going to beat myself up over it.  I'm easing back into things the best I can, and no one can fault me for that!

My next “official” round of the 21 day fix starts Monday April 13^th (one week from today).  I’m hoping to get some big numbers from this first round, so I need some accountability partners; shoot me an email at babebeforebaby@gmail.com or leave a comment if you’re interested in joining me! 

Guess who's back....back again??

Ok so I think I’ve said “I’m back” like 50 gagillion times since C’s birth.  

This is my week.  This is my month.  This is my day.

Nope.  Nada.  Not happening.

I haven’t quite figured out how to take care of a baby and myself at the same time…some days it’s all I can do just to shower and get dressed (and by get dressed I mean put my yoga pants back on).

That all changed this week, as my maternity leave came to a screeching halt and I went back to work yesterday full time (insert ugly cry face here).

It is SO hard to leave her.  SO HARD.  Forget spending time to exercise right now, when I’m home, all I want to do is hold and cuddle her.

Last night was a mess, she was so tired from not having slept all day that she screamed and cried before falling asleep in my arms. Think I was about to put her down after not seeing her all day? Hell no.  My husband ordered us dinner and I held my little girl until it was time to put her down for the night. 

I know this will get easier with each day, but man does it suck.  Today was a little better than yesterday.  I’m sure tomorrow will be a little better too.  We’ll get there, but for now, this mama is so sad to be away from her little girl for so long each day! On the bright side, I’m working 4 days a week to start with, so at least my time home with her will be a little more balanced than if I was working a full 5 day work week.  I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got, so I’m trying not to be so hard on myself for not being 100% with my diet and exercise right now while we settle into our new routine.  For now, I'm just giving myself some grace.

I started back on the couch to 5k program last week, and did pretty good with it, but I haven’t hit the treadmill since last Friday, and if I’m being honest it might not happen again until this Friday when I have another day off.

I’ve been struggling with my eating, but I’ve recently discovered what I think is a dairy sensitivity in Clara, so that means no more dairy for me while I’m breastfeeding.  Besides the obvious misses like ice cream and cheese, there’s diary in freaking EVERYTHING, including sliced bread.  This presents a bit of a challenge, but I think that going back to the 21 day fix and clean eating will actually help this quite a bit, so that’s my plan, but I’m giving myself another week of being back to work before I go all in.

April 13^th is my official 21 day fix start date.  Until then, I’m going to make my best effort to survive being back to work with a baby in daycare.  If I can eat healthy and exercise during this transition that’s just an added bonus.....

Post partum plan

So I'm 5 weeks post partum as of Sunday, and I think it's safe to say I'm done losing the weight that was going to come off with child birth. I lost a significant amount of weight those first two weeks out of the hospital  mainly because of my Pre Eclampsia diagnosis and the sheer amount of fluids I was retaining. My weight has leveled off by week 3 though, leading me to say it's officially my "start weight" now, and I have about 25ish pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight....not terrible, but not great either.

My post partum check-up is tomorrow, where I'm hoping I can get cleared for exercise again.  Until then, I've been trying to get a little more steps in each day, and even got going on the treadmill last week.  I ordered my copy of the newest Autumn Calabrese program, 21 day fix extreme, last week, but I'm planning on doing 1 or 2 rounds of the original 21 day fix before going extreme (I need to ease back into this thing!!).
I'm starting things off with another 5 day clean eating group next Monday (this is FREE if you want to join me!), and then Monday February 23rd will start up with my first post-baby round of the fix! I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things...the babe is sleeping a little more soundly at night now so I'm feeling a little more human now that I'm getting more sleep :)  This means that I'm running out of excuses to get back at it, time to put this plan into action!