I worked out today (a little cardio and abs, then a full arm/shoulder work out), and I reflected back on my weight loss. Currently I'm 118 lbs. Just to recap: I was 130 when I got pregnant, and 162 at the end of my pregnancy. There are 4 very important reasons that I think I lost so much weight so quickly.
1. I am nursing. Hallelujah.
2. I eat real, healthy, prepared meals. I have eaten fast food maybe twice since giving birth, but I do have dessert occasionally.
3. I drink water. The amount of water I drink directly correlates to my weight loss. When I felt addicted to water, I dropped 35 lbs. I stopped drinking as much, and I was at a stand-still. I started up again and lost another 6 lbs. Then I stopped. Then I realized what was going on, and I've been drinking water and steadily losing weight since. This relates to the "don't drink your calories" approach, too. I drink a LOT of Crystal Light when I have it on hand, as well as tea and coffee. I have had soda about 3 times total since giving birth.
4. I started working out when it was ok to, most of the time. I don't think this actually has anything to do with weight loss, but it reminds me that I want to be healthy, and I eat better because of it. And then I drink more water.
So there you have it. Every woman's body is different, so this won't work for everyone. However, it worked for me, and I hope I never forget it if we decide to have more children.
Monday, September 9, 2013
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Ramblings about every topic under the sun
Got back into my work out groove this week. I'm down to 118 lbs, so I've lost 44 total since May 23rd, 2013. That's crazy. I guess nursing really does burn a shit ton of calories!
Work is going well. I like working. Mostly, I like working part time. I still have time to work out, make dinner, and play with Noah before his 8 pm bedtime. It is very nice, and its definitely working for us.
Simon received his last package from us today. HIS LAST PACKAGE. Still a ways away, but in my soul, his homecoming feels imminent.
On a more serious note: Simon asked me about Syria the other day, and I had no flippin' clue what he was talking about. Needless to say I've been paying a lot more attention, and my thought of the day is this: It should not be ok to kill children (and others) with chemical weapons that force them to suffocate to death. "It's not our problem" is a horrible excuse.
A much more personal note: I'm also a hypocrite. If I saw someone on the side of the road that needed help, I know I wouldn't stop. Maybe I should rethink my actions more often, and try to be the person I wish I was.
Work is going well. I like working. Mostly, I like working part time. I still have time to work out, make dinner, and play with Noah before his 8 pm bedtime. It is very nice, and its definitely working for us.
Simon received his last package from us today. HIS LAST PACKAGE. Still a ways away, but in my soul, his homecoming feels imminent.
On a more serious note: Simon asked me about Syria the other day, and I had no flippin' clue what he was talking about. Needless to say I've been paying a lot more attention, and my thought of the day is this: It should not be ok to kill children (and others) with chemical weapons that force them to suffocate to death. "It's not our problem" is a horrible excuse.
A much more personal note: I'm also a hypocrite. If I saw someone on the side of the road that needed help, I know I wouldn't stop. Maybe I should rethink my actions more often, and try to be the person I wish I was.
And here's a picture of my 20 lb, 3 month old baby!
<3 Kristin
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Projects
I love projects. The picture below is one I did last year (inspired from Pinterest, of course), shortly after I found out I was pregnant. Having Noah now has inspired even more! I wanted to show this, because I'm about to assemble it again. I use the wreath for more than just one holiday, so all the decorations easily come off. Here she is:
This year, I'll make the O's go straight up and down :)
The next picture I did yesterday. Total, it cost me about $40. I got 1 panel curtain, 2 strands of string lights, and 2 basic long curtain rods. The curtain is lined, so it helps to dim the lights so I can easily sleep. I love it!
That's it for now. I'll post as I keep working on more projects!
<3 Kristin
Friday, August 23, 2013
3 Months Down
Today is Noah's 3 month birthday! It only feels like its been one month! I can't believe this. Where did time go?
He's doing really well. His eyesight can go a lot further. I can be standing 10-15 feet away, and he can still see me smiling at him and will smile back. He's great at tummy time, but he has issues with pulling his head forward. Also, if I give him a lot of time, he can roll from tummy to back. He starts on tummy, can go fully on his side, and usually just sits there like that, but if he wants, he can roll from his side onto his back. Going the opposite direction will take a long time though, because of his size.
He got used to drinking out of a bottle this week, but he can only use one of the 2 styles I have. I bought some more of the good kind today. Too bad they're really expensive. I need to get a new top for them, now. He's obviously outgrown the "slow flow" top, and now needs medium. Babies need a lot of shit.
He has 3 1/2 lbs to gain until he's too big for his infant carrier, too. Such a shame! I was hoping I could use it for a while longer, but I'm also hopeful that his weight gain has slowed for a while. I was expecting him to weigh more than he did, because he's been gaining 1 lb a week up until recently. I actually might be able to get a couple more months of use out of it if we're lucky.
I had to take him to the doctor today, because his temperature was 101.3! They checked for an ear infection and teething, but his doctor thinks its just a virus. I'm lucky he made it almost 2 weeks through daycare before getting sick :) Hopefully his immune system will be boosted for a while!
That's all.
<3 Kristin
He's doing really well. His eyesight can go a lot further. I can be standing 10-15 feet away, and he can still see me smiling at him and will smile back. He's great at tummy time, but he has issues with pulling his head forward. Also, if I give him a lot of time, he can roll from tummy to back. He starts on tummy, can go fully on his side, and usually just sits there like that, but if he wants, he can roll from his side onto his back. Going the opposite direction will take a long time though, because of his size.
He got used to drinking out of a bottle this week, but he can only use one of the 2 styles I have. I bought some more of the good kind today. Too bad they're really expensive. I need to get a new top for them, now. He's obviously outgrown the "slow flow" top, and now needs medium. Babies need a lot of shit.
He has 3 1/2 lbs to gain until he's too big for his infant carrier, too. Such a shame! I was hoping I could use it for a while longer, but I'm also hopeful that his weight gain has slowed for a while. I was expecting him to weigh more than he did, because he's been gaining 1 lb a week up until recently. I actually might be able to get a couple more months of use out of it if we're lucky.
I had to take him to the doctor today, because his temperature was 101.3! They checked for an ear infection and teething, but his doctor thinks its just a virus. I'm lucky he made it almost 2 weeks through daycare before getting sick :) Hopefully his immune system will be boosted for a while!
That's all.
<3 Kristin
Saturday, August 17, 2013
First week of daycare
I think Noah likes daycare. He's a little too young to quite understand what's going on, but its good that he's around other babies and people. On the other hand, pumping is not as productive as just direct feeding, so it has been a hassle to try to make enough milk for the next day. In addition, I'm doing so much hand washing of all the small parts that I spend over an hour a day just doing that. It's usually about 8 pm before I'm done preparing for the next day. I can't even imagine if I was working full time. There's no way I'd have enough time :(
In addition, I'm trying to accept that my little baby is growing up. He'll be 3 months old in 6 days. I got him to nap in his crib earlier, but he was already sleeping, so it wasn't difficult. Currently I am trying to put him to bed in his crib for the night. In general, I think it's going well. I'm keeping his door open, because I'm insanely paranoid someone is going to break into his window and take him. He's like 20 feet away, and I have the video monitor on him as well. Maybe I'll sleep tonight, too :)
He can roll over half way now, like go from tummy or back to his side. I don't expect him to do a full roll over for a while, considering his size. Tummy time is going so well. He has almost full head control when I'm already holding him or have him propped up. I think he's meeting his milestones fine. He's always showing me new things he can do! So far he can grasp, and rotates his head, and can follow things with his eyes. It all sounds right to me.
Financial improvements: I've started buying diapers in bigger bulk packs now that he's steadily in size 3's. We went from paying $.16/diaper to $.14. Definitely a huge savings. Also, I switched from sensitive to just the unscented wipes. Both packs are $15, but I get 72 more wipes if I go with the unscented ones. He doesn't neccesarily need sensitive wipes, but I was buying those just to be nice to his hiney. Now that he's bigger, I'm sure it doesn't matter at all to him.
Another financial improvement: Sometimes you need to recognize when you have enough of a certain size of clothing. Target had ADORABLE onesies (only $5!), so I decided to buy 2 and then assess what I actually needed at home later. Turns out I just wanted them and didn't actually need those sizes, so they're getting returned. In general, if I have 8 of a size, that's good enough. 8 might not seem like a lot, but usually he's a cross in between a couple of sizes, so really its like 16. The next size we'll need is 12 months, and we've started working on that. It's too bad baby clothes are so freaking adorable, and that they're only in a size for such a short period of time. I did buy him a sweater though, because he has none that he fits into. Small win for the day :)
I want to give some baby advice, but I really don't have any. I guess so far all of my successes have been due to reading up on different things when we run into them. Example: I did a lot of reading about sleeping in a crib today. I've also read articles about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, bed sharing, only children, and expected growth until my eyes bleed. Most of this I would never have even thought about looking up when I was pregnant. I don't even remember what I looked up when I was pregnant. I think it was things like "When will he eat baby food?" and "What if he's born premature?" Most of it was irrelevant anyways. Like colostrum. Don't even waste time reading about that shit, because in the blink of an eye, your milk is coming in and that whole phase is long gone. :)
<3 Kristin
In addition, I'm trying to accept that my little baby is growing up. He'll be 3 months old in 6 days. I got him to nap in his crib earlier, but he was already sleeping, so it wasn't difficult. Currently I am trying to put him to bed in his crib for the night. In general, I think it's going well. I'm keeping his door open, because I'm insanely paranoid someone is going to break into his window and take him. He's like 20 feet away, and I have the video monitor on him as well. Maybe I'll sleep tonight, too :)
He can roll over half way now, like go from tummy or back to his side. I don't expect him to do a full roll over for a while, considering his size. Tummy time is going so well. He has almost full head control when I'm already holding him or have him propped up. I think he's meeting his milestones fine. He's always showing me new things he can do! So far he can grasp, and rotates his head, and can follow things with his eyes. It all sounds right to me.
Financial improvements: I've started buying diapers in bigger bulk packs now that he's steadily in size 3's. We went from paying $.16/diaper to $.14. Definitely a huge savings. Also, I switched from sensitive to just the unscented wipes. Both packs are $15, but I get 72 more wipes if I go with the unscented ones. He doesn't neccesarily need sensitive wipes, but I was buying those just to be nice to his hiney. Now that he's bigger, I'm sure it doesn't matter at all to him.
Another financial improvement: Sometimes you need to recognize when you have enough of a certain size of clothing. Target had ADORABLE onesies (only $5!), so I decided to buy 2 and then assess what I actually needed at home later. Turns out I just wanted them and didn't actually need those sizes, so they're getting returned. In general, if I have 8 of a size, that's good enough. 8 might not seem like a lot, but usually he's a cross in between a couple of sizes, so really its like 16. The next size we'll need is 12 months, and we've started working on that. It's too bad baby clothes are so freaking adorable, and that they're only in a size for such a short period of time. I did buy him a sweater though, because he has none that he fits into. Small win for the day :)
I want to give some baby advice, but I really don't have any. I guess so far all of my successes have been due to reading up on different things when we run into them. Example: I did a lot of reading about sleeping in a crib today. I've also read articles about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, bed sharing, only children, and expected growth until my eyes bleed. Most of this I would never have even thought about looking up when I was pregnant. I don't even remember what I looked up when I was pregnant. I think it was things like "When will he eat baby food?" and "What if he's born premature?" Most of it was irrelevant anyways. Like colostrum. Don't even waste time reading about that shit, because in the blink of an eye, your milk is coming in and that whole phase is long gone. :)
<3 Kristin
We love tummy time!
Fresh Jammies!
Friday, August 2, 2013
Delighted
From July 27th:
Even on my worst days, I'm happier than I have ever been before Noah.
I'll probably pass out from happiness when Simon comes home.
Not very well focused, but this pretty much sums it up.
Even on my worst days, I'm happier than I have ever been before Noah.
I'll probably pass out from happiness when Simon comes home.
Not very well focused, but this pretty much sums it up.
Daycare 2.0
Going back to work in 10 days. Boo. I finally got daycare squared away, and he'll be attending one on base. It is so much cheaper than out in town, and it seems like a very secure facility. I still hate to leave him with someone else. No one will love him like I do.
I've consistently made it to the gym at least 3 days a week for the last 5 weeks in a row. It isn't ideal, but I'm glad that I'm going. I lost a little more weight, and everything is slowly firming back up. I wish it would go quicker though!
Noah is so good at cooing and smiling. It is delightful. He's so much more fun, and he's learning more every day. I swear the time is going by too fast for me to be able to keep up.
I'm super excited for Simon to come home. I think its been long enough, but we still have a ways to go. So annoying.
I got my birth control put back in this week. My arm still hurts pretty bad when I move it, so I've had to avoid a lot of things at the gym. I'm ready to get my arms back and be able to work them out :)
There's so much love in my heart, for both Noah and Simon, that I think I might explode.
That's about it!
<3 Kristin
I've consistently made it to the gym at least 3 days a week for the last 5 weeks in a row. It isn't ideal, but I'm glad that I'm going. I lost a little more weight, and everything is slowly firming back up. I wish it would go quicker though!
Noah is so good at cooing and smiling. It is delightful. He's so much more fun, and he's learning more every day. I swear the time is going by too fast for me to be able to keep up.
I'm super excited for Simon to come home. I think its been long enough, but we still have a ways to go. So annoying.
I got my birth control put back in this week. My arm still hurts pretty bad when I move it, so I've had to avoid a lot of things at the gym. I'm ready to get my arms back and be able to work them out :)
There's so much love in my heart, for both Noah and Simon, that I think I might explode.
That's about it!
<3 Kristin
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