Turkey Week Randoms

Just stopping by before things get crazy with turkey, football, and Christmas.  Yep... Joey is extremely enthusiastic about the holidays and as soon as we were home from "A Christmas Carol" on Saturday, he begged me to pull out the decorations.  Having a baby in the house means that every project you start gets interrupted every couple of hours for a feeding or a diaper or something.  So, as of this morning, about 1/3 of our Christmas decorations are currently strewn around the house, haphazardly placed on shelves and the mantle and everywhere else there is room.  That was definitely a run-on sentence but I don't feel like going back and fixing it.  I'm sorry.

If you read our 3 month update (and I'm not mad if you didn't), you'll know that I hadn't had a chance to weigh Abby in a while.  I finally plopped her on the infant scale and she weighs just about 12 pounds, give or take an ounce or two.  She's getting big! She's gained about 5 pounds in the 3 months since she was born.  5 pounds is a lot when you only weighed 7 to begin with!

And, more stuff that you may not care about unless you have kids in which case you will totally understand my excitement when I got a text from Joey on Friday that said "omg omg omg! Abby just rolled over!!" And then he sent me a snap chat of her laying awkwardly on her arm because she can get herself over and then her arm is in the way and she lays there and we just laugh. Which is terrible, but it's cute and we obviously help her out (after a few minutes...).

So, I'm the proud parent of a back-to-front roller and she did do one front-to-back this weekend as well but I think she's tired of the attention because she hasn't really done it since.  Girl needs to learn how to perform for an audience....

She also did a really tiny laugh this weekend so I'm hoping that there will be more of those soon.  She thinks Joey is the funniest person alive, so I'm confident she will be laughing in no time.

Everyone enjoy the short work week!

3 Months Old!

Yikes! This is a little late.  Welp, get used to it :)

One-quarter of a year old already! Goodness. My little sugarplum is just blossoming.  She's definitely not a blob anymore and far from it.  She's interactive, cute, fun, and easy going.  We are so lucky.

Some happenings in our third month:
-I wrapped up breast feeding and we're currently supplementing our stash of frozen milk with formula (I have a post written on this and will publish eventually)
-Abby started rolling onto her side, making all kinds of noises, holding onto objects, etc.
-Mom and Dad went out to a bar (WOO!)
-We also went to a cute little pumpkin patch to pick up our Halloween pumpkins
-Abby attended her first wedding (and I freaked out because it was outside and BEES)
-Abby's first Halloween!
-She really started taking an interest in the TV...
-She also took an interest in her Taggie blanket
-Abby voted!  (OK not really but she went with me to the polls)
-Mom broke the stroller (and Dad fixed it)
-Mom went back to work :(
-Daddy Daycare commenced (as did activities such as "Abby-zilla" and listening to Disney Christmas music)


How many months? Threeeee! (14 weeks old today)

Recent Stats?  No recent appointments.  I'll chunk her on the scale and let you know. (But I'm going to post this without stats because otherwise she will be 4 months and this will still be a draft.)

Mmmm HANDS

Clothes Size? We are following all the rules and wearing 3 month size.  She's grown out of most-all of the 0-3 stuff.  It's SO SAD to put away clothes that don't fit.

Holding her fave blue monkey by the tail

Diaper Size? Fitting comfortably in Pampers size 1.

Loungin'

Feeding? Like I said above, there is a complete back story to this, but we're supplementing frozen breast milk with formula and I'm officially not breast feeding anymore.  Abby could care less what's in the bottle or the fact that it is a bottle.  This made my decision easier to handle.  It was very sad but I had to do what I needed to do.

BELLY

Sleeping? Every day I think about how lucky we are. Every day I know that it can and WILL change.  So each night that she sleeps 8+ hours I just enjoy it.  Abby takes her last bottle around ~7:30pm and then will fall asleep around 8:30-9.  And she sleeps until 5-6am. It's a beautiful thing.

It was all good til she kicked Doc in the butt.

Personality? We're still getting to know her.  She is very easy going, easy to please and soothe, and is a generally happy baby.  She is a little head strong, though, and when she wants something (like to sit straight up, for example) she makes sure she gets it.  Future President of the USA?  I'm calling it now.

Vote for me!

Milestones:
Grabs and swipes at dangling toys
Follows moving objects/people with her eyes
Recognizes familiar objects/people/the dogs
Pushes down on legs ("stands up")
Can hold her head up when laying on stomach with some help getting into the position. She's really not into tummy time. At all.
Brings hands (and everything in them) to her mouth. Sometimes brings mouth to hand. This is funny to watch.
Super smiley, chatty, gurgles/gargles/etc. Has started working on some consonants such as "B" and "M". Haven't heard any "D" yet.
Rolls from back to side

Also a note about the milestones, I'm just keeping track of them for future reference.  It is not a comprehensive list and I will probably forget things.

See you later, alligators!

My Post-Baby Body

I follow a mom/fitness blogger who did actual updates on a monthly basis after having her babies.  Like...complete with measurements, photos, etc! You will not be getting too much of that from me.  I just wanted to talk about what changed, what stayed the same, and what I am doing fitness-wise, since I did appreciate having some sort of accountability during my pregnancy.  Even if it was a fail half the time, I had to come on here and admit it to everybody.  Sometimes that in itself got me moving on a Sunday night when I realized I had to post the next day that I didn't exercise all week!

As I've stated about 100 times, I started the pregnancy about 10 pounds heavier than I should be.  I blame this on going off of BCP but mostly it's because of all the beer I drank.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain/Loss:

I did not have the classic "morning sickness", but I definitely had food aversions/didn't really want to eat anything and obviously wasn't drinking anymore, so I lost weight at the beginning of my pregnancy.  

As you also may recall, I gained the majority of my pregnancy weight in the 3rd trimester.  I actually had to stop checking the scale for the weekly survey because I kept worrying that something was wrong. But I did eventually gain a little over 20 pounds.  So, if you are keeping score, that's 30 to lose.

When the baby is born, they say you lose an average of 14 pounds (weight of the baby, placenta, and other fun stuff).  Guess how much I lost? 14 pounds.  I have always been pretty average.  I don't mind.

Breast feeding also makes your body burn a ton of calories, and when I got mastitis (for the first time) I had to go to the doctor to get a prescription and when I got on the scale there, it read the same thing it did when I walked in at 7 weeks pregnant. Yay!

Currently, I'm about -5 pounds from where I started but I'd like to be a round number so let's just say I have about 10 pounds to lose.

So...

What changed?

Your entire body changes when you have a baby.  I weigh 5 pounds less than I did when I started but my clothes do not fit me the same way. 

What stayed the same?

My stomach and waist. This is more an effect of genetics although I religiously slathered myself with various types of oil starting immediately and through about a month postpartum. 

What am I doing now, fitness-wise?

As soon as I felt ready (2-3 weeks I think) I started walking Abby around the neighborhood in the stroller. Even though I had a quick delivery, it's amazing how it really takes a toll on your body.  I mean, a 7 pound baby went through my pelvis. 

I would say from weeks 4-10 I did about 1-2 walks per week.  It really was depending on the weather and what kind of a day we were having.  A few weeks ago, I decided to see how running felt. I have done a few runs and while my legs and lungs hurt, it's really just my body that is slowing me down.

My fitness goals:

My short term goal is that we are doing a 5k this weekend!  I don't have a time goal at all, and my goal for it is to cross the finish line.

Longer term, I registered for the Shamrock Half Marathon (it'll be my 3rd time!) and I'm very excited to get back into the long-er distance running.  

What am I doing eating-wise?

Not much.  It was so much easier to eat healthy when I had a little baby in my tummy.  

My eating goals:

Eat more fresh food.  If it needs to be refrigerated, it's probably better to eat than something out of the cabinet.  I'm also trying Shakeology.

And now, the part you've all been waiting for.

I took some "before" photos at 4 weeks pregnant. (If you are wondering "Can you even find out that early?" Yes.  You can.)

I'm going to share some comparison pictures because this is a safe place/judgement-free zone.... RIGHT?  I even put on the same exact outfit.  I wasn't in great shape before I got pregnant- which, in my opinion, makes it much easier to get back to my pre-pregnancy state. Hahaaaa...  I think the after pics were taken around 10 weeks pp. 

Before on the Left. After on the Right. 

Before on the Left. After on the Right.

Well?  There you have it.  I will check back in a couple more months and let you know how it's going. 

~SG

The Beginning of the Rest of our Lives

Monday I will wake up, leave my baby, and drive over an hour to my job where I will work all day, drive over an hour home, and hopefully get there in time to spend a few hours with her before she goes down for the night.  Just like millions of other people in America.

But it still sucks.

I started working from home weeks before Abby was even born.  The dogs don't even remember what it's like to be locked up all day long.  I can tell you exactly what time the mailman comes on both sides of the street, when to expect the school bus (and parents/children/dogs in my yard), and when the UPS and Fed Ex trucks drive by.  I know what time all of the news channels switch over to soap operas and where to find Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because I feel guilty about my baby looking at the TV (is she watching it?!).  I know what it's like to spend an entire day in my pajamas, only to change right before Joey gets home just so he thinks I did something.  I know what it's like to really do nothing all day and feel completely exhausted.

I could have never imagined what this 12 weeks would really be like.  It's not exactly a "vacation" but it kind of is.  Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's not, and sometimes I sit back and imagine that life could always be like this (if we won the lottery).  Sure, I could stay at home with Abby.  But we'd have to give up some things that I'm not ready to give up (at least not yet).  I also care about my career and I genuinely enjoy going to work and the company I work for.  I'm about to enter into the working mom guilt club that will surely haunt me for the rest of my days. It's going to be rough at first.  But just like those first couple of weeks at home with a new baby, it's going to get better.  We'll survive.

I'm lucky that Abby will be with family for a little while before we start daycare. But I'm still going to miss things.  I'm not going to be there all day to feed her, play with her, put her down for a nap, or be there when she wakes up all smiley.  I'm not going to be able to just sit there for hours and watch her explore her world and develop new skills out of nowhere.

I'm going to miss other things too like watching Good Morning America and 'Kelly and Michael'. I'm going to miss constantly yelling at the dogs to shut the *expletive* up because the baby JUST fell asleep.  I'm going to miss going to Target at 11am on a Tuesday and going through the Starbucks drive thru just because I can.  I'm going to miss taking naps together in the middle of the day and being able to screw around on the internet as much as I want.

But I'm also very grateful that we are ready for this transition. Abby and I are both healthy and ready to go out into the real world.   I knew 12 weeks ago that this day would come but it seemed so far in the distance.  But here we are. So, as we pack up our laptop and diaper bag and head to work and daycare (let's hope I don't get the two bags confused), we'll remember these good times but look forward to even more that are sure to come.  Like our upcoming Disney trip, for example ;)

~SG

Abby's First Halloween

Hello there, friends!  It sure has been a while.  I could be telling you how to use breast milk to cure pink eye or how I broke the stroller already, but instead I'm just going to share pictures from Abigail's first Halloween because it's way more fun.

I only have one week of maternity leave left.  It's a bittersweet feeling.  I'm excited to go back and continue my career, and I'm happy that we've decided to ease Abby through the transition (family will be watching her for a while before she goes to daycare), but I'm not ready to give up my special one-on-one time with my baby.

Back in August, I knew that Halloween meant that it was time to go back to work and that Abby would be almost 3 months old.  But that was so far away, right?  ....Time flies.  And it flies more when you have a new baby.  So, even though I've had some tough times, I've been making sure to soak in and enjoy every single day.  She's growing and changing and developing at an alarming rate! I can't wait to share all of her new talents at her 3 month update, coming up in less than two weeks!

Until then, check out our Halloween adventures: