Weekly Weigh-In: 7 Weeks Postpartum

I was fairly successful in working out this past week.  Most days I at least did some physical activity being a workout dvd( The Shred or Insanity), completing the couch to 5K running app, or at least a walk.  Some days I did both a workout and a walk with Landon!  The eating still was not great since my visitors tend to make or bring sweets...I am not complaining ha ha.  

Starting Weight: 38w pregnant: 153# /6 wk pp: 126#
Last Week's Weight: 126# 
Current Weight: 126#

Starting BMI: 28.0
Last Week's BMI: 23.2 
Current BMI: 23.0

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal: 

I'm 5'2" and have a goal weight of 115# (BMI of 21.0), so I have 11# to go.

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals:

Progress on last week's activities:
-Do the 30 day shred 3 times this week to gear up for April 1st (1/3)
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood and at the park with Landon and Rusty(5/3)
-Drink Water (7/7)
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack (4/7)
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon (1/1)
-Do something for myself everyday of the week (3/7)

As I said above, I did do better working out this week, but my eating suffered a little bit.  We are running low on food for lunch in the house so instead of eating an actual meal, I snacked for lunch which is not really healthy considering several days it included Cheetos! I also have cupcakes that I am eating to get rid of...once Easter is over I should be in the clear for unhealthy holidays as well! Occasionally, I don't feel too bad eating sweets especially because I need to make sure I am eating at least an extra 500 calories a day to keep making milk for Landon.  I should probably just work on eating better kinds of calories instead of junk food!

Landon and I ventured out a few times by ourselves.  We went shopping to Babies R' Us, Target, and Once Upon a Child.  We also went to the chiropractor which we both enjoy and need! He is so cute when he gets adjusted!  We also went on several walks and one run together in the stroller! Most times he does really well, only once has he cried on a walk so we had to come back home.

Activities & goals for this coming week:
-Start the 30 day shred April 1st
-Do abs 5 times a week in addition to the shred
-Try walking just three days around the neighborhood and at the park with Landon and Rusty
-Drink Water
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack
-Do something for myself during the week several times

With Annie visiting this will be easier to do since she is eager to take Landon off my hands for a while!  She also got me a massage that I will be taking full advantage of while she is here, so there is already one thing I can do for myself, when really it could count for all 7 days!  I also have a bit of a cold/cough this week so I will need to be careful not to over do while working out!

3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing.

Here are this weeks belly photos.  I am not noticing much of a change week to week anymore.  I probably need to start measuring in inches, so I can keep track on if anything is changing! I still have the awful line, it doesn't appear to be going away any time soon!

7 Weeks!

Landon has rounded the seven week mark!  This week I am still seeing progress with his fussiness and have pretty much learned what most of his cries mean so it is much easier to console him unless it is his I am just annoyed at the world and myself cry and then nothing will....this usually occurs during the witching hours-6-9 pm before I get him ready for bed! 

He has been sleeping longer stretches as night still.  We are up to just about 5.5 hours so from 9-2:30-ish.  Then we get to just about 2-3 hours which is how he is during the day.  Now, if I could only learn to go to bed when he does so that I can get that long of sleep too. Instead I usually stay up and watch tv or read...which is just about the only time I get to myself besides a shower and an occasional work out, and even then Landon is in the same room with me ha ha.  I moved his bedtime an hour earlier, which is nice because it is one less fussy hour at night, but it also means we get up an hour earlier too! So that has been a bit rough!

We were back at the pediatrician this week for a possible Thrush diagnosis, thank goodness he doesn't have it!  We did find out our little chunker is up to 11 lbs 2 ounces and moved into the 68th percentile in weight! We also upped his dose for his medicine which also seems to be helping more with his reflux, especially since I am off the antibiotics for Mastitis that I dealt with a few weeks ago.  His little face is filling out and he has some pretty chubby cheeks in the making, along with neck rolls and arm rolls.  His wee little chicken legs appear to be prevailing regardless of the weight gain =).

This week we had Molly, Kendra, and Brooke in town for a few days!  Landon and Brooke are so different even though they are only 4.5 months apart. Brooke is such a good baby with entertaining herself, rarely crying, and sleeping through the night! I can only hope Landon aspires to be like his girlfriend at this age!!!   Brooke was pretty fascinated by Landon, but he still is learning to focus on people so he was not quite so excited by her ha ha...perhaps at their next meeting in a few months!

Landon his beloved swing-showing off his cheeks and chubby neck!

Brooke trying it out and realizing she might be a bit too big for it!

Bonding time...can you see Landon doesn't look so excited lol! I told him she wouldn't want to marry him if he isn't nice to her!

Landon desperately wants to be a stomach sleeper! Perhaps once he learns to roll over we will put him on his stomach to sleep.  I am guilty of doing it during nap time, but he just sleeps so much better.  As long as I am next to him and watch him, I think it is ok! At night he remains on his back in his rock n' play sleeper to help with his reflux!

Landon and Brooke exploring each other! They were pretty cute together.

Landon is his favorite spot in the house-his diaper changing pad.  This kid just hangs out here for 30 minutes completely content and stares at the wall...I think he is trying to tell us he understands he will be a great baseball star by looking at all his baseball stuff =).

Annie is here visiting with us now, so we will have plenty of pictures and stories for next week's update! Hopefully, I will start catching pictures of his smiles as well.  They are still so random when he does them that I have yet to catch on on the camera or my phone...perhaps that is a goal for this next week =)!

Weekly Weigh-In: 6 Weeks Postpartum

As of today, I am officially 6 weeks postpartum! This means, in theory, that I will be cleared for working out.  Now the super hard work begins.  On a board that I read, a group of us are beginning Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.  I have done this workout before, although have never finished it.  So starting April 1st, I will be doing the 30 day shred for the ENTIRE month of April! Wish me luck.     

Starting Weight: 38w pregnant: 153# /5 wk pp: 127#
Last Week's Weight: 127# 
Current Weight: 126#

Starting BMI: 28.0
Last Week's BMI: 23.2 
Current BMI: 23.0

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal: 

I'm 5'2" and have a goal weight of 115# (BMI of 21.0), so I have 11# to go.

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals:

Progress on last week's activities:
-Try walking just three days around the neighborhood with Landon (2/3)
-Drink Water-(7/7)
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack-(7/7)
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon and Robin-(3/3)
-Do something for myself everyday of the week-(5/7)

With Robin around eating healthy and drinking water was easier to do! She was great about refilling my water without me even asking and constantly making sure we had a nice lunch and dinner! The only downfall was our trip to the cupcake store and a few unhealthy treats at Kroger! We got out several times with Landon including neighborhood and park walks and errands with Landon.  I am still 100% terrified of him waking up and screaming in public, but so far we only had to take him back to the car at the chiropractor since he was pissed off being in his car seat!
      
Activities & goals for this coming week:
-Do the 30 day shred 3 times this week to gear up for April 1st
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood and at the park with Landon and Rusty
-Drink Water
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon
-Do something for myself everyday of the week
 
3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing.

6 Weeks!

Mr. Landon is a month and a half old already! I know I say this every week about how time flies, but this just seems like a major milestone.  Dare I say it, but I want to say we are finally coming to an agreement with each other.  He seems to be learning not to cry all the time, but to express himself in other ways and I am learning about his cries and what each sound and movement means instead of him getting to the point of ragingly upset.   Several other Mommy friends keep telling me that after the 6 week point things start getting easier because the baby starts learning to express themselves and you as a Mom start picking up on ques before the crying; so far this seems to be our trend we are falling into this week.  Perhaps by the time Logan gets home, Landon will be in a nice routine and Logan can just fall right into it with us!

When Landon cries there is usually always one of three things: hungry, his reflux, or he is hot or cold.  He will not fuss if his diaper is wet or dirty; with the exception of if he pees through is diaper and gets his clothes wet, which probably happens about once every two weeks.  Rarely, will he cry if his diaper is dirty.  At night, he rarely will start screaming to wake up to eat, he just kind of grunts and whines which is my clue that I need to get him up BEFORE he starts getting super upset.  During the day however, he will start crying if he is hungry, it is almost like he waits just a bit too long to let me know he is hungry, especially when he wakes up from a nap!  His crying from his reflux ranges anywhere from a sad pathetic whine to a ragingly pissed off I'm in pain cry! The last one I hate the most because he cries real tears now, which get me every time!  Over the past few weeks, we have found a few things that help with the reflux.  Holding him vertical for about an hour after he eats, carrying him in the carrier, swaddling him, and just trying to keep him calm.  The more upset he gets, the worse he cries, the more air he swallows, and the more spitting up he does....it is a vicious cycle!

This past week Bird came to visit us! She was a great help with everything around the house including cleaning (thank you for her OCD ways), cooking, looking after the animals, and of course entertaining Landon so I could have some time to shower and get other things done! She invented a game called racetrack for Landon that involves circling the house on a "track" complete with pit stops that jiggle and have sound effects ha ha.  This was her best attempt at keeping him awake before we went to run errands so he would sleep during that time!  I will have to try that some day when he is upset to try to distract him =).  We already miss her and want her to come back; hopefully later this year if she gets a chance!

Auntie Bird and Landon

Here are just a few other pictures from the week that I took of Landon:

Landon's first St. Patrick's Day!

His Irish Temper-or Suiter and Brokaw temper....poor guy lol.

Please don't mind my outfit ha ha...trying to get him to relax a bit for pictures!

Yawning-6 weeks old.

Trying out some tummy time using the boppy!

Hanging out in the garage after a walk, while Mommy and Bird tried to get some yard work done! Rusty is such a good baby sitter =).

Landon and I are on our own for a few days until Molly, Kendra, and Miss Brooke come into town! Then Aunt Annie comes for her visit.  Hopefully soon after that Logan will be back for a bit before he has to leave again! We always welcome visitors! =)

Weekly Weigh-In: 5 Weeks Postpartum

Another week has gone by!  My weight loss has pretty much plateaued, which means now the hard work begins!

Starting Weight: 38w pregnant: 153# /4 wk pp: 127#
Last Week's Weight: 127# 
Current Weight: 127#

Starting BMI: 28.0
Last Week's BMI: 23.2 
Current BMI: 23.2

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal: 

I'm 5'2" and have a goal weight of 115# (BMI of 21.0), so I have 12# to go.

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals:

Progress on last week's activities:
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood with Landon-(3/3)
-Drink Water-(7/7)
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack-(7/7)
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon and Robin-Work in progress
-Do something for myself everyday of the week-(4/7)
-Take naps when Landon naps-BIG FAIL lol.  

I started an actual workout this week!  I did a post-pregnancy dvd and it was tough.  I am super out of shape, but at least I am happy I can finally start working out.  However, I did discover that I actually DO have diastasis recti.  So that was rather depressing.  So that means, I need to do specific ab exercises to help close the gap.

I went shopping with Logan and out to dinner this week before he left.  I also went to get a pedicure wit Alena.  I tried to do something for myself more this week everyday, but sometimes depending on Landon's mood it is difficult!
      
Activities & goals for this coming week:
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood with Landon
-Drink Water
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon and Robin
-Do something for myself everyday of the week
 
3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing.

5 Weeks!

Landon is already 5 weeks old today! Seems crazy.  I always think the days go fast, but the weeks are slow, but really the last 5 weeks have been a big blur!  I think we are slowly settling into a routine with Landon.  With all the visitors in and out, our routine changes slightly depending on what needs to be done during the day or if we have appointments to go to, but overall it remains just about the same day to day. 

We get up anywhere between 7:30-9 am, depending on the day. Landon has many faces when he wakes up!

Sometimes he is rather happy when he wakes up, other times he just wakes up pissed and ready toe at lol! This morning was a nice morning to wake up, until he got impatient ha ha.

Smiles are usually followed by morning yawns and stretching.

After getting up Landon nurses, gets a new diaper, and hangs out on his changer, his favorite place in the house! I try to grab something to eat and down some water during all of this.  After all of this, Landon usually does some play mat time and tummy time, while he is in a good mood. 

Yawning during play mat time! 

After his morning routine, I try to get him to nap for a few hours.  During that time I catch up on internet things, eat my real breakfast, clean, do laundry, or just hang out and try to relax.  After his nap he wakes up to eat again, another new diaper, hangs out for a bit.  Starting around  2-3 pm Landon starts getting a bit fussy pants.  He usually goes back down for another short nap, then wakes up to eat again! We have afternoon playtime and tummy time, then back down for ANOTHER nap lol. 

He wakes up for about 2-3 hours in the evening, right during dinner so that is not totally ideal timing, because his witching hours are from around 5-9 pm.  So we usually have a fussy little man on our hands!  In the past few days, I have figured out the key to calming him down a bit when he is screaming and that is to swaddle him.  He sleeps swaddled at night and I realized that his arms were the demise to nap time and wake him up.  So when he gets super irritated and the arms begin to flail, I swaddle him to a little baby burrito and it seems to help!  So lets hope this is a new trend =).

Last week Donna was in town for a visit, so Landon got plenty of Nana time while she was here. 

Also during this past week, Landon got his first bottle!  He took it like a champ.  We learned he takes it anyway, warm, room temp, and straight from the fridge.  Logan gave him his first bottle, it was cute.

  I find it hilarious Logan used the boppy lol.  He also asked I bring him water and a snack...think he was trying to milk it for all it's worth? 

Landon last week was also diagnosed with reflux and probably colic.  However, since starting the reflux medicine we have seen a huge difference in his spitting up.  In the past few days, he has started spitting up more, so I am not sure if it is working as well as it was.  So I am going to stick it out for a few more days and then ask to see if they can switch it, if it seems to not be working anymore.  We have been using Gripe Water to try to calm him down.  It seems to work and if anything, it takes away his hiccups.

We are slowly learning what works for him and what just seems to irritate him more.  The past few days he seems to be doing better, let's hope this is an upward trend!

Weekly Weigh-In: 4 Weeks Postpartum

Starting Weight: 38w pregnant: 153# /3 wk pp: 130#
Last Week's Weight: 130# 
Current Weight: 127#

Starting BMI: 28.0
Last Week's BMI: 23.8
 Current BMI: 23.2

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal: 

I'm 5'2" and have a goal weight of 115# (BMI of 21.0), so I have 12# to go.

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals:

Progress on last week's activities:
-Try walking just three days around the neighborhood with Landon (2/3)
-Drink Water (7/7)
-Eat healthy meals (this should be harder with just Logan and I on our own with the wee man)-(4/7)
-Get out with Landon by myself in the car-(0/1)
-Do something for myself everyday of the week-(2/7)
 
I didn't do so well this past week on much of anything. I only walked the neighborhood once with Landon, but did go about 2 miles.  I also walked the mall with Logan.  This next week looks to be better weather wise for walking, not windy or rainy, so hopefully I will hit three days next week! I did better with my water, I am consistently drinking about 120 ounces each day. 

I totally failed with getting out with Landon by myself.  When Robinbird comes into town in a few days, I am going to try to get out several times with her and Landon for practice.  With a fussy Landon, it is really hard to be confident that I could get him to calm down without Logan or one of the Grandparents around to help out!

Also, need to work on doing something for myself.  If I get to read or at least get out alone one day a week, I am lucky!

Activities & goals for this coming week:
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood with Landon
-Drink Water
-Eat a healthy lunch, not just a small snack
-Get out and go walking at the mall or target with Landon and Robin
-Do something for myself everyday of the week
-Take naps when Landon naps 
 
3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing.

4 Weeks!

Landon is 4 weeks old today-so almost a month (tomorrow, if we are being technical on the 9th)!  This week Donna has been in town helping Logan and I.  We are thankful to help her calm are screaming little man, especially at night when his melt downs start.  I am leaning to believe that he has colic, which is really not ideal considering how much Logan is gone in the coming months!  Thankfully, we have a stream of visitors coming at least until April! Regardless of his cranky pant ways, we still manage to have fun with him.  Logan has already started tormenting him, which was to be expected judging by how he treats poor Rusty!

Exhibit 1: Poor Landon with the hat lol...

Doesn't he look rather traumatized??

 Besides eating, pooping, and screaming, Landon's major pass time is sleeping! He sleeps pretty much anywhere, but his favorite place is on someone.  In this instance, he was having a rough morning and the only way he would sleep was on his tummy, which makes his little chubby face get all scrunched up and cute. 

This is another example of his sleeping.  He pretty much was asleep a minute after I put him in the boppy to get him ready for his bath.  I came back and found him like this....a little old man!

It has been another rough week.  We are actually headed to the pediatrician tomorrow to rule out colic or reflux or any other issues with him.  We may just have an unhappy little man on our hands until he grows out of this.  We will see what the pediatrician says tomorrow! I am hoping it is an easier fix than colic, but we will see!

Weekly Weigh-In: 3 Weeks Postpartum

Somehow it is already Thursday again! So here we go...

Starting Weight: 38w pregnant: 153# /2 wk pp: 132.5#
Last Week's Weight: 132.5# 
Current Weight: 130#

Starting BMI: 28.0
Last Week's BMI: 24.2
Current BMI: 23.8

1. Reiterate my goal and where I stand in reference to this goal: 

I'm 5'2" and have a goal weight of 115# (BMI of 21.0), so I have 15# to go.

2. Discuss what I am going to do to achieve my goals:

Progress on last week's activities:
-Less sweets-Did better, since we ran out of them!
-Try walking just one day around the neighborhood with Landon- (2/1)
-Drink Water (7/7)
-Eat healthy meals (this should be harder with just Logan and I on our own with the wee man)-(5/7)


I walked TWICE this week.  Granted, I bet it was less than half a mile, but it did involve getting out to walk and I got a glimpse of just how out of shape I am.  Pushing the stroller up the hill with Landon was HARD work...this might be a long process. At least I got out twice, so that is an improvement!  I need to continue focusing on drinking water.  It is very easy to just not, if I don't carry my water bottle around, especially at night.  The dinners went okay, it was much harder not having my Mom cook for us!  Also, finding what bothers Landon in the whole food area is also a challenge-no spicy foods, beans, or some veggies!       

Activities & goals for this coming week:
-Try walking just three day around the neighborhood with Landon
-Drink Water
-Eat healthy meals (this should be harder with just Logan and I on our own with the wee man)
-Get out with Landon by myself in the car
-Do something for myself everyday of the week
 
3. Post a (reasonably healthy) recipe that I've tried, a cooking tip, a new idea for working out for people to try, a photo update of my weight loss, or anything else I feel like sharing.

 

3 Weeks Old!

This week has been trying.  Landon seems to have found his voice and is NOT afraid to use it.  It seems if he isn't sleeping or eating, he tends to fuss around until he is either sleeping or eating ha ha! Today, he seems to be less fussy, so I am hoping this is a start to a happier Landon! 

Logan and I have spent alot of the week trying to figure out what his different cries mean, but so far we have only figured that he cries when he is hungry!  It is hard for me to calm him down because all he wants to do is eat when I hold him and when he is crying, which really isn't awful, but I don't want him thinking that is the only way to calm down.  He rarely cries to need his diaper changed, so we have to be on top of that so he doesn't sit too long.  The only time he seems really displeased is if he pee's through his diaper...which we haven't quite figured out WHY that happens.

We did have some good hours though, where of course I got some pictures of Landon NOT crying!

 Lola has FINALLY come around to liking, or at least tolerating, Landon.  She has started hanging around the rooms that we are in and will come up and sniff his head.  All the animals seem to be adjusting wonderfully! We are so happy that no one has had any aggression towards him in the slightest. 

 I feel like I belong in Boulder with this carrier ha ha.  I LOVE that Landon just got all snugly against me and fell asleep prior to our first walk.  When I am alone when Logan is gone, I think this will be my go to method of taking Landon out in public so that I can have my hands free to grocery shop, go to the mall, etc.  This particular day was the day I took him out for a short walk.  We have been having such a warm winter, I want to take advantage of getting out of the house for some exercise and to get Landon used to being outside! My next goal is to bust out the jogging stroller, perhaps later today!

 This is the look of one tired Mama after a long night of dealing with a fussy Landon.  It is a good thing he is so cute and I love him so much...I am not sure I could put up with this from anyone else lol!!

This was this morning. He seems to be off to a happier start today, so I am hoping he has to decided to be less fussy =).  

Sorry this post is picture heavy, but I wanted to post some pictures of Landon's nursery that is finally finished with all the little nicknacks and wall hangings!

The cross-stitch my Mom made for Landon!

The quilt Rere made for Landon! LOVE IT!!

On Sunday, Donna comes in to give us a hand with Landon! Perhaps she will also have the magic Grandma touch like my Mom to calm him down when Logan and I haven't developed that skill yet! It has been a long week, but so far we are all surviving...even if the house has seen better days =)!