Leah 3 Months Old

My dear little Leah, you grow more beautiful each day. Right now, you weigh 13 1/2 pounds and you are 25 inches long. You have basically grown out of most of your three month clothes, so we had to break out the 6 month stuff. You are still wearing size 2 diapers, but they are definitely more snug on you! We've had a lot of firsts in the last month!

You rolled over the first time when you were exactly 11 weeks old. I had laid you on a blanket in the family room while I was making dinner. I heard you fussing and when I turned around you were on your belly! I was so bummed that I missed it, but you did it again when your daddy and I flipped you over. You have just recently started rolling over again and again. It seems like every time I put you on your back, you have rolled onto your belly within seconds. It's actually turned into a bit of a problem because you do it in your crib and wake yourself up!

One day we were bored, so we took out and put together your Jenny Jump Up. You LOVED it. Ever since you were a few days old, I've noticed this frustration that you feel not being able to move much independently. When I put you in the jumper, you had this look of absolute excitement! 

The jumper is a great place for you to hang out when we do our story time. You used to sit on my lap, but you were so squirmy and we couldn't finish any of your books. I put you in your jumper and then took out Dr. Seuss. You really enjoyed looking at the pictures! The Dr. Seuss ABC Book (which is an old copy of your daddy's) is your favorite. I think I could read that book in my sleep now!

You are starting to get into a little bit of a schedule. You take about 3-4 naps a day and you still love going on walks. We go on about 4 walks a day - rain, shine, or heat wave! I've been trying to get you to like your stroller, but you only last about 15 minutes. You LOVE being snugly tucked into your carrier on mommy facing forward. It is one of the fastest ways to get you to sleep if you are fussy.

We still do bath time every evening around 7:30pm unless we're out and about. One time I forgot and I didn't realize until you refused to go to sleep, so we did bath time at 9pm! You went right to sleep afterward!

On the third of July, we walked about a mile to the community center from our house for the annual fireworks show that the town puts on. We bought some blue shave ice (which daddy gave you a small taste of) and ate some cotton candy (you didn't try that one). Daddy got you a pink slap bracelet and you wore it on your ankle. Everyone we walked by was enamored with you. A nice man from the Lions Club gave you a glow stick for free. I guess he figured you would be good for advertising since everyone was staring at you!

On the Fourth, we went to Aunt Paula's house on the Shenandoah and they set off some pretty intense aerial fireworks! It was really loud, so I tried to take you inside away from the noise. You started fussing as soon as I took you inside, so I brought you back out. You were absolutely spellbound with the fireworks.

You have become EXTREMELY squirmy! You love to kick and move around your arms and legs. I have to keep a close eye on you now when you're in the Bumbo because I'm scared you're gonna break out!

We had our family reunion this month as well in the Poconos. All of your cousins loved playing with you and your aunts and uncles loved holding you! 

You were not too happy about having your picture taken with the cousins! :-)

You discovered your feet and your fingers at the reunion which has been loads of entertainment for the car! (You HATE the car and usually scream yourself to sleep.)

You got sick. :-( (Definitely NOT a fan)  Mommy woke up Tuesday morning with a scatchy throat and big swollen tonsils with white spots. Grandma checked with a flashlight to "diagnose" strep throat. Daddy took us to Urgent Care where we were both checked out and prescribed Amoxicillin. You LOVE taking your medicine!!

You went swimming. (not a fan, yet) We went to the Camelbeach Waterpark which is the biggest one on the East Coast. Mommy lathered you up with about 10 layers of organic sunblock and you wore the cutest swimsuit ever given to you by your Aunts Bekah and Eliza. We got in the wave pool (during no waves), the baby pool, and went around the lazy river with daddy. You spent most of the time in the cabana with grandma and grandpa. Everyone in the park thought you were adorable! One teenage kid stopped in the middle of walking by us and said out loud, "That is one cute baby!"

You met a horse. (and didn't like it) Most of the family went horseback riding and we hung around until they were back. You made the funniest faces at the horses.

You were separated from mommy for 7 hours and 32 minutes. (Not that she was counting.) Mommy lost her mind and decided to sign up (and pay for) a 5 mile run/obstacle course up a mountain with her siblings. Grandma was willing to baby sit and you did pretty well. You weren't even fussing when mommy came home, but you did hold onto her tightly when grandma handed you over.

Picture taken by grandma while babysitting!

You have grown up so much in the last month! I can't wait to see what you'll be doing by the time you are four months old. I love you my little Weeby!

I Hate Exercise

So I'm now on day 15 of the 30 day shred... 31 days in. Yeah.

Excuses - In-laws were in town...I needed to do the final pack up of my classroom (basically my home for the last 6 years)...I have a 2 month old...I hate exercise.

Maybe I should clarify the whole "I hate exercise" deal. I guess I can say that I REALLY dislike WORKOUTS. I actually really enjoy running, hiking, biking, swimming, playing sports, etc. I'd rather be active than to have to sweat to death 25+ minutes a day and then ache the rest of the day. Right now, I'm doing this because I'm determined to get back my pre-pregnancy body... Well close anyways, I don't think it's possible to go ALL the way back. :-) I figure I can go back to normal living after I have achieved that.

Doug and I aren't super healthy eaters, but we are good at portion control and we only eat out maybe once a month. I cook dinner every night and we use the leftovers for lunch the next day. We never have junk food or really any type of convenience food in the house (mostly because we're too cheap to buy it). My goals right now with food are variety and vegetables. I prepare about 10-12 different meals and rotate through them, so I'm looking for new things. I also only prepare a vegetable with dinner like 1% of the time. So yeah, I definitely need to work on that!

I've been thinking a lot about exercise and healthy living and how I want to raise Leah to view these things. I don't want her to be worrying about going on a diet or exercising until she really is an adult. I see a lot of YOUNG girls that really obsess over body image and I think it's an awful way to live! I just want to encourage Leah to have a healthy lifestyle. I want her to be healthy and confident. I'd like her to be involved in some type of active sport (dance, soccer, karate, swim lessons, ...whatever she enjoys). I have some time to work on my meal preparation, so hopefully I'll have vegetables down. :-)

There's a family (mom, dad, 3 year old, and 5 year old) in my neighborhood that goes on bike rides together just about every evening. I really like that! It's healthy AND good family time. Doug and I have started to go on walks with Leah most evenings, so I guess that's a start. 

Oh and I WILL finish this 30 day shred... It just might be in 60 days.

And I end here with some recent pictures for those of you not on Facebook!

Leah 2 Months Old

Leah, you are growing so fast! Right now at two months old, you weigh 12 1/2 pounds and you are 24 inches long! You can wear most 0-3 month clothes and some 3 month clothes.  You are now wearing size 2 diapers. You are so long and skinny that I have to cross the diaper tabs in order to keep the diaper from falling off of you!

You have been sleeping in your crib regularly since you were about 4-5 weeks old and I sometimes miss the days where you would snuggle with me in bed all night. Some mornings, I sneak you into bed with me and we sleep in. :-)

We haven't quite gotten into a schedule yet, but there are certain things that you like to do every day. On the top of that list is going on a walk OUTSIDE! We had a few rainy days due to Tropical Storm Andrea and you were very unhappy! You still like to be facing forward so that you can see everything.  

One thing that we have started to do recently is bath time every night. You can be screaming and the second that I put you in your bathtub, you calm down. You LOVE to splash and you usually soak your mommy!

You started using a Bumbo at around 6 weeks even though the recommended age is around 4 months! You love to sit up so that you can see everything and you have a strong neck that allows you to get away with it.

You aren't regularly sleeping through the night yet, but you did surprise me with two nights in a row where you slept from 10pm-5:30am!  When you are waking up for the day "officially" around 7am, you are usually full of smiles. One morning your daddy and I were standing around your crib talking to you and you couldn't decide if you wanted to pout or smile. You kept on going back and forth between your big pouty bottom lip and a big smile. Your daddy and I were cracking up!

We had a very special day the beginning of this month. You were just seven and a half weeks old. On June 2, your daddy gave you a name and a blessing. Your mommy was very worried that your daddy was going to change your name to "hippopotamus" like he was always joking, but everything went very well... Very normal! :-) Great Grandma and Grandpa R and Grandma and Grandpa S plus Aunt Katie and Lexi flew all the way out from Utah to be there for your blessing. Your Aunt Heather and her family also drove all the way up from Virginia Beach! Your Grandma H made you a beautiful blessing dress. You have lots of family that love you already!

Great Grandma R was very impressed with you! You are very alert for your age and you love to push yourself to a standing position whenever you get the chance!

Grandma and Grandpa S and Aunt Katie and Lexi LOVED holding you every chance that they had while they were here.

You made several trip to school with mommy before the end of the school year!  When we walked around the school, kids from all grade levels somehow knew your name. You're famous at mommy's school!

I love being your mommy! Seeing you grow so quickly makes me sad that it is going by so fast, but excited at the same time. I get to see you do new things and witness your personality surface a little more each day. I'm so glad that I get to spend every day with you!

First 10 Days of 30 Day Shred

My inlaws are in DC on this HOT day and I am home with Leah. I decided to get my exercise in, but Leah woke up the second I was in my work out clothes and pushed play. I decided I would just preview the second 10 day portion of the 30 Day Shred while I bounced Leah and walked around the first floor. Leah fell asleep about 5 minutes in and now I'm sitting on the couch eating a cookie while I preview and blog. I'm in trouble!

Up until this point, I had been doing great! By Day 5 or 6, I had started feeling like I was actually doing the exercises right. I was doing the more "advanced" version of all the exercises except the push ups... I can only do the modified version.

On Sunday (Day 5), I was getting out of the car and my left knee felt kind of out of place and hurt and I had to have Doug carry Leah into the house. I had already done my work out earlier that morning, so I didn't miss a day. By Day 8, my left knee started bothering me during the exercises so I just made sure not to push it too hard.

On Day 9, my grandma arrived in town and the first thing she said when she saw me was about how quickly I had lost the baby weight. (I'm still about 3 pounds above pre-pregnancy weight and none of my pants fit me, but it was a nice compliment.)

I finished Day 10 yesterday and I felt strong and optimistic. I felt like I could have done the whole work out again back-to-back.

Back to my current reality... My knee is hurting even watching this! A lot of the exercises are pretty high impact. I'm going to do it because I don't give up, but I will probably only be able to do the modified versions.

Tomorrow is Leah's baby blessing and I have a lot of family in town so exercise (besides the mile plus that I walk each night with Leah) will have to wait until my house is empty again.

On a more positive note, I ordered two maxi dresses online from Target and they are supposed to arrive today!  They should both work well long term with breastfeeding.  I'm hoping one of them fits, so I can have something that isn't skin tight to wear to Leah's blessing.

Update: Leah was napping a little longer than usual, so I went ahead and did level 2. The good news is that I didn't die and my knees are still intact. (I even did 1 "advanced" move!) I'm feeling good. I think I can do this!

30 Day Shred

So I was on babycenter (at around 3 in the morning) reading different posts from women in my birth club (moms of April 2013 babies) and several women in the group were talking about doing the "30 Day Shred." I googled it and saw lots of before and after shots. I read both the positive and negative reviews on Amazon and decided to go for it. I'm not necessarily doing this for weight loss, but for inches off.  My body has changed the way it distributes weight and I'm having difficulty fitting back into my pre-pregnancy clothes comfortably. I hate tight clothes! Leah is 6 weeks old and I've had doctor clearance to start working out (again?). I'm ready!

Why am I choosing this over the gazillion other exercise routines? Well, it's supposed to get you quick results and it only lasts 30 days. I like that it has an exact beginning and end dates and that the whole routine only takes 30 minutes. I can do it during Leah's morning nap and it gives me a little routine to my day. It's something that I can realistically stick to.

I decided to take some before shots and boy did they mess with my self esteem! My belly and butt are NOT looking good. I felt embarrassed when I looked back at the picture. I guess I had been feeling "thin" since I didn't have a huge pregnant belly anymore, but the pictures (especially the side view) were sobering. I'm not sharing the pictures on my blog unless I have some pretty awesome after results, but I guess I'll share my measurements.

Arms - 11 in

Waist - 33 in

Belly - 38 in

Butt - 43 in

Thighs - 24 in

Right now, I'm within 5 pounds of pre-baby and 15 pounds of where I guess I'd ideally like to be. I've never really been stuck on getting into a size 2 or anything. I'm very happy with my regular size 8-10 body. Also, I've never really been one for dieting. I like to eat and I'd rather work it off than starve myself or eat... healthy... ugh.  Maybe I will just need to change that and develop a taste for foods rather than Ramen and grilled cheese sandwiches... But I'm not giving that up just yet!

I started the workout yesterday and it was killer! I wanted to give up like 5 minutes in. I stuck it out and I did the second day today. I've realized that I could/should NEVER do any exercise in public or around people. My form is horrid and I am completely uncoordinated.  I'm trying hard to do the exercises exactly the way she is showing them. I don't want to get injured and have to quit before the end.

So, here goes nothing! I probably won't be done in exactly 30 days because my in-laws will be staying with us for around a week for Leah's blessing. I will have company in the house that I will NOT want to see me looking ridiculous while I exercise.

Pinterest and a Party!

It's true. I'm using. Pinterest.

I signed up for Pinterest about a year ago during my summer off. I was immediately overwhelmed by the cuteness and creativeness of all of the ideas. I am not creative. I am not original. I'm definitely not cute. I stink!

I never wanted to get on Pinterest again. I felt completely inadequate.

Fast forward about 11 months or so... It's 3 in the morning and I'm up feeding Leah. I'm glued to a rocking chair with no hope of getting up for the next 15-30 minutes. No one is updating their Facebook status and I've caught up with all of the blogs I read... What to do, what to do...

It started innocently enough with looking for ideas on how to decorate the STILL bare walls of Leah's nursery and then it turned into newborn photography tips, and then home improvement projects, and then cleaning tips, (VINEGAR works miracles!) and then, and then, and then...

It turns out that you don't need to be creative, or original, OR cute. Pinterest just helps you LOOK like you are! I've stopped looking at Pinterest as pressure or as a look-how-much-better-everyone-else-is and started to look at it for what it is... a way to cheat for people like myself.

It's all in your perspective. So now I can show you "my" creative, cute, original ideas... that I got off Pinterest.

While I was browsing for photography tips, I stumbled upon an idea to create a board book with pictures of the different family members... Leah's BFF, Brooke, was going to be having her one year birthday party and it was the PERFECT gift! Brooke loves to read and comes from a very close-knit family. I borrowed an external hard drive from my friend Caitlin (Brooke's mom) with tons of family pictures that I sorted through to find the right ones. Then, I used the website www.pintsizeproductions.com to create and print the book. It turned out just the way I wanted it to!

That was going to be it and then... Darn Pinterest! I stumbled upon these cute toddler purses and I decided that I needed a sewing project to get started with my new sewing machine. My problem was that I didn't really have any fabric, my mom's (rather large) stash is pretty outdated, and Leah doesn't do well on shopping trips. Then, I realized that I DID indeed have fabric. One of my baby shower presents was a bunch of different fat quarters for quilting. With the help of my mom, I was able to create my own pattern that used 2 fat quarters (outside + lining) and a skinny quarter (border for name and strap.) We also used some stuff (I forget what it's called) that I ironed onto the back of the fabric to stiffen it up, so the purse could keep its shape. My mom had some left over ribbon and she has a sewing machine that does embroidery, so I was able to put together what I think is a pretty cute little personalized purse! It's a Brookebag!

Brooke had an amazing birthday party! Leah at 5 1/2 weeks was able to hold her own with all of her one year old buddies. (...and by holding her own, I mean napping on my lap for most of the party and then waking up for the group picture!) I know she looks teeny in these pictures compared to the other littles, but she really is growing up so fast. I love my little sweet girl!

Leah 1 Month Old

Each day is new and different with you, Leah. You are growing and changing so quickly. Right now you weigh a little over 10 pounds and are about 24 inches long. You wear mostly newborn clothes and a few 0-3 month clothes. You have REALLY long feet! You have never fit into newborn socks and your feet barely fit on the paper for your footprints when you were born. We bumped you up into a size 1 diaper around 3 weeks after daddy couldn't find the brand of newborn size diapers that mommy asked for after traveling to 3 different stores! They're a little big on you. Here is your one month picture. You are wearing the bib daddy got you from Italy and "eating" the lamb stuffed animal he had made for you in Germany.

At your 2 week appointment the doctor commented on how strong you were and the nurse said you were acting more like a one month old because you almost rolled over on the scale. You have been pretty good about supporting your head and focusing your eyes basically since you were born. (You were only 3 days old in the picture below.) You have very strong legs and you use them to scoot yourself forward during tummy time.

Right now, you sleep best in bed with mommy. Sometimes I move you a foot or so away only to wake up later with you somehow snuggled next to me. I love it! You always sleep with your hands balled up in fists next to your face. You have a teeny tiny snore!

Your favorite time of day is around 10am. You are the most awake at this time and you like to jerk your arms and legs around while you lay in your play gym. You particularly enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror at the top. Your worst time of day starts around 6 pm. You constantly want to nurse. (I'm talking 3+ hours straight!) Even Grandpa H who is renown for putting babies to sleep can't get you to stop crying during this time!

Your eyes constantly move in the direction of any light. I wonder if "light" will be your first word like it was your daddy's. You like to sit up and face forward in my arms when I carry you, so that you can see everything! You have prehensile toes like your daddy and you grab onto my finger with your toes just like you do with your hands. You haven't quite fallen in love with your binky. You usually make a pretty skeptical or angry face initially when it is put in your mouth. You started to warm up to it a little around 2 1/2 weeks when we introduced the bottle. 

You hate cold wipes on your bottom, so diaper changes are usually a scream fest. You also hate the hiccups. I usually have about 10 hiccups warning before you "go nuclear" as your daddy says. You love having your legs and feet rubbed and it usually is a good way to get you to calm down. Bath time has been hit and miss. You seem to be thinking about whether or not you are going to like it.

I sure do love being your mommy!

Smiley Unscheduled Leah

I am loving being a mom! There are definitely some moments when it's rough, but I usually just sit there in awe most days over how much I am in love with this little girl.  The other day I was sitting on the couch with her and I thought.. Wow! I made this. How cool is that! 

So what are we up to?

Well after my last post, I skowered the Internet looking for different schedules and I found one that I thought would work for me. (There are some eh hem... Interesting "methods" out there. Just google Denmark's Divas.) The one that I liked was from a book called Baby Wise. I actually heard there was some controversy over the book, but I wanted to at least try it. Now I haven't read the book, but I thought that the 3 hours feeding schedule seemed nice and consistent and I know as a classroom teacher that I like consistency. Consistency makes expectations clear therefore making a more safe and predictable situation. Safety = happy baby, right?

So, I tried it. ...admittedly only for a day, but it was a NIGHTMARE!

New plan.

Do whatever the heck Leah wants until she's a little older.

When she is sleeping, I will let her sleep as long as she likes doesn't matter day or night. When she is hungry, I will feed her. Sounds simple enough... And it's actually working. I'm sure we'll get to a schedule eventually. I think I'm just going to try to be patient and allow it to start happening on its own.

Our major rough time starts around 6pm. I've heard this is called "The Bewitching Hour." She just wants to nurse and fuss and nurse some more. My supply in the evenings is lower, so I've been pumping during her morning nap and giving her a bottle of that in the evenings once she's drained me. There's still a lot of crying, but it's improving gradually.

Hmmm.. What else?

I had my post pardem visit today at 5 weeks. I'm trying out the Depo provera shot as a form of birth control. Pregnancy was good for me emotionally besides the morning sickness and huge uncomfortableness toward the end. The Depo shot mimics the hormones in a placenta, so it seemed like a good enough choice. If I have any adverse side effects for the next 3 months that it lasts, I guess I can just switch to something else. The best news of the appointment is that my doctors says that it is possible that pregnancy could have "cured" my endometriosis!  She sent me an email today after our appointment and decided that she wanted to schedule me to a follow-up ultrasound just to check things out. I'm feeling optimistic about my chance for future pregnancies!

After the appointment, I decided to stop by the school since its pretty close to my doctor's office. I texted my long term sub to see if it would be okay and then I headed over after my appointment. It was SO nice to see everyone and show them Leah. I was hanging out in the teachers lounge and the kids had no clue I was in the school, so we decided it would be funny if I just went to the cafeteria to pick them up from lunch.

They.  FLIPPED.  OUT.    In a good way of course. :)

I stayed around for recess as well since it was a nice day, but none of my kids wanted to play. They were just mobbing around Leah and I the whole time. I felt like Justin Bieber. ;)

Once I was home I thought Leah would crash HARD. She had already been awake for FIVE hours by the time I got home, so I put her in her crib and she just started smiling and cooing, so I got these great pictures. Seeing this little girl smile just melts me!