Insanity

Getting my body back post-baby has been an interesting journey these past four months.  But I have to be honest and say that I haven't put forth a whole lot of effort.  I go in spurts of being good about walking/jogging - and those spurts are usually reflective of the weather and how busy I am with school.

Excuses, excuses.

While those are valid excuses, I'm tired of making them.  (And, by the way, in less than two weeks - one will no longer be an issue!)

About half of the 27 pounds I gained during my pregnancy came off pretty quickly after giving birth, but I was still hanging onto 10 or so pounds.  I know that breastfeeding helped, but I was sort of at a standstill.  Since returning to work (and running around like a crazy person), another 4 or 5 pounds have come off, leaving me with 5 or so pounds left to drop.

A couple of ladies I work with have told me that they are jealous of how quickly my body "bounced back."  I laugh, thank them for being too kind, and quickly retort, "You wouldn't be saying that if you saw me naked."

In all seriousness, even when I do get back to my pre-baby weight, I know my body isn't going to look the same as it did once upon a time.  And I struggle with that.  But I also look at my baby boy and know it was all worth it.

I have always been pretty fit and (overall) happy with my body, so seeing myself the way I do has been hard.  But again, I haven't taken it all super seriously, so it's up to me to make the changes necessary to see the results I want.

With that said, I'm getting ready to start a Beachbody Challenge that I'm doing with Haus of Girls.

With Marta as my coach, I purchased a Beachbody Challenge pack that included a Beachbody workout program (I chose Insanity: Asylum), 30 days worth of Shakeology, and her support.

We haven't started yet but this challenge is already motivating me to get my body back and into shape.  I say "already," and I mean that I got excited when a big box was delivered to our doorstep this morning.

I just finished my "Pre-Athletic Assessment" and it took about one minute for me to realize just how out of shape I am.  It also gave me frightening flashbacks of our strength training/conditioning practices with Mista Coach Klein in college.  I never want to hear or see the letters GPP together again.

Anyway, I took some "before" pictures last night and am eager to share my progress once this 30 day challenge is over - just in time for Memorial Day.

Here's to yelling at the TV, and telling Shaun T. that I hate his guts.

Wish me luck!

Take Luck,

LP 

Camden - 4 Months

I should probably just get used to accepting how fast time is flying by.

Camden is four months old today.

His four month stats are:

Weight: 12 lbs 11 oz (15th percentile)

Length: 23 1/2 inches (11th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16 inches (18th percentile)

  

(The first pictures I posted were crummy - Someone got four shots in his chubby legs today and was feeling less than stellar.  Today = much better results)

Camden is one happy baby.  He smiles and coos/babbles all the time.  Ryan is convinced that we're going to have a Chatty Cathy on our hands once he really starts to talk.

He still loves to be sung to - especially his favorite song, "Happy and You Know It,"  and loves to pull my hair.  He's very ticklish, and loves to look at himself in the mirror.

Camden can roll from his belly to his back, and lately - is showing signs of trying to roll from back to belly.  Right now he gets stuck on his side.  When on his back, he brings his hands together in the sweetest way and is really grabbing onto toys... And hair.  Did I mention he likes to pull my hair?

Some nights he sleeps really well, and other nights he sleeps not so well.  I'm hoping that we'll start to see more of the former and less of the latter.

Despite his up-and-down sleeping habits, we sure love our little man.

Take Luck,

LP

10 on 10: April 2013

10 on 10: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!

[1] The glamorous life of a working, breastfeeding mama.  Just me and my pump in a closet turned expressing room.

[2] I love Spring.

[3] A crummy day turned gorgeous.

[4] An empty backseat means it's time to pick up my boy!

[5] That's much better.

[6] Our sweet mailbox.

[7] My sweet boy finding his hands.

[8] Bottle washing.  More glamour.

[9] Hey, you aren't supposed to roll that way yet.

[10] Getting loves from Daddy.

Take Luck,

LP

Two Pink Lines

One year ago today I found out I was pregnant.  

Those two pink lines changed everything and made me a Mama.

I didn't know it yet but I was on my way to receiving the greatest gift ever.

And now, one year later - I have the pleasure of singing "Happy and You Know It..." about 10 times a day.  But to be honest - I'd sing it 100 more times if it meant I got to hear that sweet squeal* he's got going on.

*I tried to upload a little video, but blogger is being very difficult and apparently has other plans for this post.

Happy pregnancy anniversary, to me!

Take Luck,

LP

Intentionally

I've made it no secret that we've been busy (and duh, most people with a new baby are busy!).

It's all the normal stuff - work, trying to keep up with house duties, school work, activities, a "social" life, and occasionally - sleeping.

Being busy and "trying to do it all" has forced me to multitask.  A lot.  Probably 80% of my homework this semester has been researched and typed one-handed, with my wee child attached to my boob, hip, or shoulder.  Same goes for washing bottles, doing laundry, feeding the dogs... You get the idea.

Not surprisingly, the quality time that Ryan and I get to spend together has plummeted to a very sad amount.  With everything we have going on and my rising state of exhaustion, I try and go to bed as soon as possible after Camden goes to bed.  We spend a good amount of time in the same room - but we're both usually doing something else and not truly spending time together.

I promise I'm not complaining.  Or looking for sympathy.  I knew that having a baby would change things, and I knew that trying to juggle my final semester of graduate school while having a new baby would just add fuel to the already burning fire of this adjustment. 

What "free" time I have now is spent on school work. Trying to juggle all of this has made me a stressed, overwhelmed, and at times - irritable wife and mama. I do not want to be that person. 

I do have a point to this, I promise.

I have a new goal.  And it's to intentionally spend quality time with both Ryan and Camden.  In other words, I want to be intentional with our time spent together, both individually and as a family.

I want to spend time with Camden and not be worried about trying to get the laundry done (for example).  Since going back to work - I only get so many hours of time with him a day. There are chunks of time during the evenings where I am good about being intentional, but I could definitely be doing better.  I want to focus on soaking up all his chubby baby goodness and give him my undivided love and attention. 

I want to spend time with Ryan where we're not sitting on our laptops plugging away at homework, blogging, or internet surfing.  I want to discuss our days (or whatever!) and get some much needed, intentional time together.  We are pretty good about having little dates - going to dinner or a movie - but I don't want us to just go through the motions on those dates. I want to give him my undivided love and attention and not be thinking about what I need to do when we get home.

I want us to spend time as a family where Ryan and I are both interacting with Camden at the same time and actively doing things all together.

This probably sounds very simple but it's something I've been thinking a lot about.  The more I think about it - the more important it becomes.

I want to make sure I am nurturing the relationships I have with both of the boys in my life.

Thankfully, I know that in a few short weeks - a big weight will be lifted off of my shoulders/plate when I finish my graduate program.  Soon, my "free" time will get to be refocused.  And I cannot wait.  

After having this revelation of sorts, I encourage you to look at your relationships and see if you could be more intentional.  Trust me, it feels good.

Here's to spending my time intentionally.

Take Luck,

LP

Liquid Gold

Breast milk.  Otherwise known as liquid gold.

I think I have a hoarding breast milk problem because I stockpile it, and then I don't want to use it.  I want to have it.  Stockpiled.

Given my hoarding-of-breast-milk nature, you can imagine how I might feel if it (being the pumped milk) gets spilled.

Ryan found out one day when he was transferring some into a bottle for Camden.  He probably spilled an ounce or so and thought it was no big deal.  I proceeded to scold him and suggest he be more careful.  For heaven sakes, use a funnel, man!

Now that I feel like my supply is teetering due to pumping every day, this stuff is even more valuable.

A few days ago I spilled some after (accidentally) knocking over a container of freshly pumped gold.  I let out a small cry of anguish and a very slow, "Nooooooo!" as the goods dripped out of the bottle.

Son of a nutcracker.

Source

Do you think they ever feature breast milk hoarders on Hoarders: Buried Alive?

Sister needs an intervention.

 

Take Luck,

LP