Off the couch I fall.

So, after having 2 kids in a 4 year time span and hitting the 34 year mark, the baby weight didn’t just fall off after I had Joseph like it did with Anna.  Two weeks after Anna was born, I was back in my skinny jeans.  Two weeks after J was born, I was unable to breathe in my bath robe. 

Something had to be done.  So I did it.

I started the Couch to 5K program right around the 5 week mark after having Joseph.  I used to run quite a bit pre kids and even managed to hit the treadmill quite a bit after Anna was born.  It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and a way for me to feel like I’m healthy in some capacity (I eat like total crap).  So, after being out of the loop for a while, I dove back in and haven’t looked back since.

It was a very slow process at first.  Using old running shoes that were well past their lifespan certainly didn’t help.  I had major knee issues that I forced myself to run through.  A new pair of shoes, many hours of icing myself down, and bottles of Naproxen later, I’m now running again, and this time I’m in it for the long haul.

It took me about 8 weeks to start seeing any results which was pretty frustrating, but once my body realized it was being used again, the baby bulge started coming off, and I started getting stronger and stronger with each run.

I set a challenge for myself right before I had Joseph to train and run in a 5K before the fall.  I’m proud to say that I met my goal, and I’m even surpassing it by running in additional 5ks (my friend and I are running in the Breast Cancer Awareness 5k in October) and maybe even a 10k if I feel brave enough.  At this point, though, I’m just proud of my accomplishments thus far and am going to enjoy the moment.

Joe was nice enough to join me (he used to be a runner although he’s not been very active with it over the years) at the Saints Back to Football 5K in NOLA.  There were about 5000 runners who showed up that day, and while it was pretty claustrophobic to be around so many people, once we started running, it was fabulous.  The energy was intense.

Here I am before the race showing just how fabulous my time was going to be:

I basically didn’t want to die, so I paced myself very slowly just to be on the safe side.  I am also kicking myself that I didn’t eat any chicken on a stick after the race.

A small section of the crowd. 

Rounding the bend to see the Super Dome.  What a glorious site to behold since I was about to die at that point.

I made it without stopping to walk once!  I wasn’t last either.  WOOT!  My eyes look like that because they were sweating.


Pretending to lick this man’s sassy shorts.  I was just shy of photo  bombing their photo. 

The hubs and I in all of our sweaty glory!

Video of me crossing the finish line.  Take a Dramamine because it’s hella shaky!

Natalie finishes!

My results:

Overall: 1798 out of 4089

Women: 708 out of 2291

F 30-34: 149 out of 466

Age/Grade: 43.29%
Place: 1709

Finish: 34:26
Pace: 11:05

Tag Time: 34:26

Gun Time: 45:23

I am happy to say that I feel more fit now than pre-kids, and it’s all because I got my butt off the couch and started moving again.  The Couch to 5K program is absolutely amazing for anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort.  By following the marathon not sprint mentality, you slowly work your way up to long hauls of running time.  It truly works! 

After the 5K program, I started the 10K bridge program, but I really don’t have an hour a day to run unless I want to neglect my kids, so for now I’m going to work on running faster miles and adding on more difficult challenges with my runs (inclines, arm weights).

If you’re on the fence about this program, start today.  I promise you won’t regret it!

If you’ve had success with the program, let me know.  I’d love to hear your feedback about how it worked for you! 

Toof.

It’s happening this time a lot more quickly than with Anna.  Joseph is getting a tooth.  This would be really exciting if I weren’t still nursing, but since I am, all I can do is shudder at the thought of what may happen with that precious little tooth. 

At least he’s cute!

Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ Part Deux

I went out of town this past weekend for my annual girls’ weekend, so I missed yet another milestone. My mom told me that Joseph spent the entire weekend rolling from back to stomach. I put him on the floor to see, and within a second, he was rolling over like a little pro. I’m so proud of my man!

5 months under my belt.

I’m getting behind on my monthly posts because the days are flying by like seconds.  How do I already have a 5 month old child?  And a near 4 year old?!  Say wha?

Here are his (and Anna’s) 5 month photos. By the way, my baby doesn’t look like Mr. Clean in real life.  I have no idea why his little hair sprigs don’t show up in these photos.  I think he’s going to be blond like his daddy was.  Awww!

(Little Joe wasn’t feeling 100% the day these photos were taken yet he still smiles and has fun.)

Help me, help me now.


Temperament: I have the happiest little guy on the planet.  He’s just so content and happy about 95% of the time.  The other 5%, while he can be fussy, he’s still smiling in between the cries.  He soothes very easily and is pretty much content once he’s able to nurse or included in whatever activity is going on at the time.  He’s very aware of his surroundings and people around him, and he enjoys sitting up and being part of the group.

He also adapts well to new situations and people.  He’s just as happy and content around family members as he is around me.  This is wonderful because it allows me to get away every once in a while. 

Feeding:

I’m a few weeks shy of my 6 month goal, and I’m happy to report that all is well in boob land!  I will hopefully be starting a new job soon, so we’ll have to see how the whole pumping situation will go, but ideally I would like to make it to a year now.  I never thought I’d say that, but here we are.  He’s made it especially easy this go round, and my supply has basically kept up with his demand. 

I went on my annual girls’ vacation this past weekend (more on that later), and he took a bottle like a champ the whole time I was gone.  So, I think it will work out just fine with him going to daycare eventually and having bottles there.  I pumped enough on my vacation to carry him for quite a while, and since I’ll be pumping at work, hopefully we can keep him on mostly BM until the 1 year mark when he’ll switch to whole milk.

No solids yet – I’m waiting until he’s 6 months, so that’s right around the corner. 

Sleeping: While we’ve somewhat weathered the 4 month wakeful storm, Joseph is still not the world’s best sleeper.  He usually goes to bed around 9:30 – 10 p.m. and wakes for his first night feeding around 3 a.m.  Again at 5 a.m.  Again at 7 a.m.  Some days he will nap for an hour here and there.  Other days, not so much. 

We will have to move him out of his RNP sleeper now (in fact, I will do that tonight).  He’s almost fallen out of it twice – once at my mom’s house, and once last night.  Even buckled in, he’s somehow able to wriggle himself to a position that is no longer safe for him.  I am hoping he does well in the pack-n-play since it’s flat and he’s used to being elevated.  We shall see.
Milestones: In a month’s span, he’s hit some major milestones!  He started flipping from stomach to back around 4.5 months.  Then, while I was away on vacation, he flipped from his back to his stomach, and he’s been doing it incessantly ever since. I put him on the floor on his back.  BAM, he’s on his stomach.  He’s starting to move his legs in a way that mimics crawling, so I imagine it’s only a matter of time before he’s more mobile.  Eeek!

He can sit up on his own with very little assistance.  Where is my little baby?! 

He’s also very verbal and is cooing and communicating more with lots of squeals and baby talk.  He is even murmuring (ugh, 50 Shades ruined that word for me) mamamama, and while I know he has no clue what it means yet, it’s still cute to hear.

I also feel a little sharp tooth coming in on his bottom gum.  I really am NOT ready for him to have teeth yet.  Anna didn’t pop a tooth until well after her first birthday.
Size: We just moved him up to size 3 diapers. If he keeps growing at this speed, we’ll need to buy him some Depends. 

He’s wearing 9 month clothes and size 1 shoes.
Activities: We introduced the Jumperoo just a few weeks ago, and so far he loves it.  Well, for about 15 minutes, that is.  Anything longer than that, and he has a meltdown.  We have to put a pillow beneath his feet so he can reach, but he’s quite enamored with the different lights and sounds and spinny things. 

He’s kind of over his swing at this point.  He’ll swing for a while and get really fed up with the motion. 

Siblings:
Joseph loves his big sister.  He smiles and laughs at her all the time, even when she’s not trying to be funny.  I think they’re going to have a close relationship because she’s super protective of him, and he definitely loves her.  It will be fun to watch them interact. 

Sit up or shut up.

While giving Anna a bath tonight, I look over at the RNP sleeper and see my son sitting up completely on his own.  He just sat there staring at us like some little baby creeper.  Of course I had my phone within grabbing distance and got a quick shot.  Then I had to capture it in a milestone picture because I’m an awesome mom like that.


Oh, and there’s a hurricane that just made landfall, so you can clearly see my priorities are set right.  Bunker down?  Nah, I’ll just take photos of my kids. 

Rollin’, Rollin’, Rollin’

So, today Joseph accomplished a pretty significant milestone, one I’ve been waiting for for a while.  He rolled!  From belly to back, that is.  Anna basically came out of the womb with the ability to roll, so I assumed J would be inclined to do so as well.  Four months later, here we are! 

The saddest aspect of all of this is that I missed it completely.  Yep.  Anna, Joseph, and I were all in his room having a tummy time pow wow.  I took my eyes off of him for one second while he was on his tummy, and the next time I looked at him, he was on his back.  The kid turned over with lightning speed.  Anna got to witness the whole thing, and I think she was more excited than I was.  Too bad I didn’t get it on video, but at least I got my camera and snapped a photo to remember the day.



Past milestones (watch J grow):

 

4 months under my belt.

Whaddaya know, Joe?  I have a four month old.  And I’ve been introduced to the hell known as the 4 MONTH WAKEFUL.  I was able to gloss over this weird anomaly with Anna, so I never had the wonderful experience of newborn-like night wakings, cluster feedings from hell, and raging ADHD that affects Joseph’s every waking minute.  What’s that, a toy?  What’s this, a boob?  Who’s that, daddy?  Look up, look down, look around, look sideways, latch, unlatch, laugh, cry, drool, kick, drop it like it’s hot.

Mama is tired.  And I’m worried this new wakeful Joe is here to stay for good.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore his newfound interest in basically everything, but I feel like I’m dealing with an entirely new baby here.  He went from the most chill baby on the planet to Elmo on speed in a matter of weeks. 

Help.  Please help.

Oh well, at least he’s adorable and sweet pretty much all the time.  Who needs sleep or the ability to function without having a baby attached to your boob?

Here are some recent photos of my little lad and lassie. 

This month in InstaGram and mobile uploads:


Rockin’ his purple Bumbo!


He’s not too happy about his hair transplant.


Joe and his favorite cousin Jocelyn!  We call them the twins since they’re only two weeks apart!


Anna drew a picture of Joe.  I think the resemblance is uncanny.

Anna decided to paint her own toe nails. 


My sweet, smilin’ baby.

Watch me grow!



Temperament:
As I mentioned above, we’re in 4 month wakeful hell at this point.  While Joseph is still an absolute pleasure of a baby, he’s definitely had his baby awakening and spends the majority of his day kicking and cooing and looking around like a mad man.  You can see the little baby wheels and cogs turning in his head, and it’s so cute to watch him really take in his surroundings and find so much joy in the little things. 

He’s a very sweet and happy baby, rarely cries unless he’s hungry or in pain from gas.  When he does cry, he’s easily calmed by me and instantly starts smiling again.  He enjoys playing with his big sister, too.  His face lights up when he sees her. 

He’s great with strangers and family members as well although his preference is always for me.  Probably because he knows I’m his food source.  The boy is smart!

Feeding:
Those first few weeks after having Joseph, I was worried that I would ruin his perfect latch if I gave him a bottle, so I waited until he was about 4 weeks.  He took to a bottle perfectly fine, so I figured all was well. 

I recently lost my job, so I’ve been at home and able to nurse him throughout the day.  I guess he’s gotten used to this method because now he’s flat out refusing bottles.  This is a serious issue because 1) I will hopefully find employment soon and will not be able to nurse him all day and 2) How am I supposed to go anywhere without him if he won’t take a bottle from anyone?  Mama needs her independence! 

So, yesterday I went to Tarjay and bought some ridiculously expensive bottles – Tommie Tippie and Advent – they’re both “close to nature” bottles that supposedly have a close shape to a boob.  Of course my child is no chump, so fooling him with a synthetic nipple isn’t easy.

He flat out refused the Tommie bottle.  I tried again later with the Advent, and after about 10 minutes of forcing it in his mouth (that’s what good moms do, right), he finally succumbed to it and actually drank it all down.  I gave him about 4 oz. of breast milk in the first bottle and then followed up with some formula, and he drank both bottles.  WOOT!  Now I just need to keep feeding him at least once/day with a bottle to get him used to it again. 

Other than that, nursing is going really well.  I made it past my four month first goal and really have no plans of stopping at this point.  It’s just so easy!  Of course once I go back to work and have to pump while I’m there, I may change my tune.  I absolutely HATE pumping.  I’d at least like to make it to 6 months.

Sleeping:

Joseph is a mixed bag when it comes to his sleeping habits.  Some nights he goes long spurts and only wakes to eat once or twice.  Other nights he’s up like a newborn.  I blame it on the 4 Month Wakeful and hope it’s just something that goes away soon.  I can deal with the frequent night feedings while I’m out of work, but I can’t imagine dealing with that and having to work all day.  I know moms do it all the time, so I’ll deal, but man will that be hard!

His naps suck now.  He used to nap for 3 – 4 hour spurts.  Now I’m lucky if he naps for an hour.  Naps at my mom’s house?  Fagheddaboudit!  The kid refuses to nap anywhere but in his swing which is definitely not a good thing since his swing isn’t exactly portable.  We go to my mom’s house every other weekend, and the kid doesn’t sleep at all during the day.  He’s also a very light sleeper, so any noise will wake him up.  I hate having to prance around and be quiet while he sleeps, but sometimes I don’t have a choice if I want to get things done.

Health/Milestones:
Since we’ve introduced the Bumbo and I’ve been working with him on his neck exercises, he’s doing a great job holding his head up and steady.  The wobbles are almost completely gone now. 

He’s also started turning from side to side while on his back.  He hasn’t flipped over entirely yet, but it’s getting closer.  He really enjoys grabbing his feet, so when he does, he flips to his side and then back on his back again.  I’ve been working with him during tummy time to see if he’ll flip over completely, but he’s holding out on that.  That’s OK, no pressure, kid.  In your own time, my sweets.

He’s very alert and very aware of everything around him.  He definitely knows our voices and will turn his head to see us.  He also loves looking at himself in the mirror.  I believe these are all little bitty milestones along the way. 

He can grab most things and clutch on to them for dear life.  He really enjoys his play mat with the dangly toys.  He will kick and coo for at least 30 minutes and totally entertain himself by grabbing at the toys. 

He had his 4 month shots a few days ago which pretty much sucked.  I HATE seeing him in pain.  This time Joe went with me, so he got to experience the torture as well.  It was so sad.  :(

He had to get 3 shots (Hep B, Polio, DTP combo, Hib, Pneumococcal Disease) and an oral vaccination for Rotavirus.

Stats:
Height: 24.5” (10th – 25th percentile)
Weight: 13 lb. 11 oz. (5th – 10th percentile)
Head: 16.5” (25th - 50th percentile)

I will be honest and say that I’m kind of surprised at his low percentages here.  He’s huge in comparison to babies his age, and people are always commenting on how big he is.  I know the weight is right since I was there when they took it, but I’m still not certain his height was measured correctly.  He’s super long.  The Dr. wasn’t concerned, so I’m not either, but I am still a bit surprised at his stats.  I need to bulk this boy up!

Here are his birth, 1 month, and 2 month stats:
Birth:
Weight: 7 lbs. 12 oz.
Height: 20.5”
Head: 13.5”

1 month:

Weight: 9 lbs. 8 oz. (50th%)
Height: 22 1/4” (75th – 90th%)

Head: 14 3/4 (50th%)

2 months:

Weight: 11 lbs. 10 oz. (50th%)
Height: 23 3/4” (75th – 90th%)
Head: 16”

Size:
I think I’m most surprised about his stats because the kid is in 9 months clothes.  I had to go through all of his drawers and cleaned out 3 bags of clothes, many of which he never even wore.  Some of the 9 months clothes he’s wearing are a little snug. 

He’s also in a size 2 diaper and is pretty much teetering on the brink of those being too small for him.  Oy vey!

Activities:
He enjoys his play mat and grabbing at the toys.  I also bought him one of these toys from yoyo.com (LOVE this store):

He really enjoys grabbing the different bumps and looking at himself in the mirrors.  It’s a great toy because he can easily grab it and is entertained by the noises and different textures. 

Other than that, there’s not much you can do with a 4 month old.  He likes sitting in his bumbo for about 20 minutes.  After that, it’s like he gives himself motion sickness and starts spitting up.  So odd. 

Siblings:
Anna is in love with her baby brother.  He recognizes her and lights up when he sees her.  She’s also pretty great at changing his diapers and fetching me stuff that I need.  She wants him to go wherever she goes and always makes sure he’s included.  “Anna, we’re going to Chuck-E-Cheese!” “Is baby Joe going?”  “Of course!”  “OK, good!” 

Since he’s bigger and she’s more aware of things, I feel more comfortable letting her hold him or watch him if I have to leave the room for a few minutes.  It’s nice having a second set of eyes.