Healthy Me: Week 1

Check in time, Mamas! I'm hoping to keep up with this as I weigh in each week. I tried doing this with my meal plans last April, but it fell through. Now, I have more reasons for accountability. And, most importantly, I wanna show that it doesn't matter what I do, as long as I'm doing something to change! If I can do it, so can every other Mama out there! Let's get started.

My Yoga Path: Finding Myself Again



So, I did it. I finally put the excuses aside, and threw myself into the world of yoga. Both feet. No tiptoes. And so far, it feels amazing. Adriene, the Yogi I've come to just adore, has a sort of mantra: 'Find What Feels Good'. And though I'm not on the correct day for this week ( I had an early nursing night with Baby Girl and a stress migraine), I'm still feeling fantastic. This series is on Youtube, and I've put the first video here to see if it's your cup of tea. If so, enjoy!

My Un-Diet: Kinda like an un-birthday. I don't really believe in one, so I had to look at the big picture. Healthier eating is a better diet for everyone. Not necessarily calorie counting, but good, wholesome foods. But, of course, you can still eat too much of a good thing. My too much? Sugar. Holy cow, I didn't realize how much was in my diet until I started using a fitness app to track my meals. Wait, a fitness app? Me? Yes!!
MyFitnessPal on android or Iphone is an amazing investment, especially since it's free! It gives you a general amount of calories that you need to have every day, tracks your sugar intake goals, and has a place to keep a record of how much you exercise during the day.
{Protip: Add 'breastfeeding' under the Cardio section for calorie burning. Writew up the calories burned by doing the math I'll be explaining in my next post. Win/Win situation!}

The downside to this app is that I always have questions: How am I still undereating? (I usually never meet my 1280 goal by about 200 calories.)
Did I push myself into starvation mode? I'm not that hungry, man. I don't graze on food all day like I used to. I eat small meals with small snacks, and I'm always full! What on earth is going on here??

I will say that MyFitnessPal is, personally, easier to use than the S Health that comes standard on the Galaxy phones (S2 and higher). I have no idea how to plug in all those numbers. But, if you need a pedometer that also tracks food, then go with the S Health. It's all about how you want to lose the weight!!

Starting weight:178 lbs.

Weigh in 1/10: 175.5

Total pounds lost: 2.5

WHOOO!!! I beat my week goal, -and- I'm keeping my milk supply up! If I can do this, you can do it, Mamas.

Mommy Reality Challenge #6: Real Mom Loungewear

So, a while back, I started doing the Mommy Reality Challenges to help get those juices flowing for blog posts, as well as connect to my Mommy Blogger community. And then I fell off the wagon.
It was August. AUGUST. Geeze.

I decided that they were really too fun to quit, and since I'm dedicating myself to my blog and my health, it'd be good to pick it back up!After all, I'm all about keeping things real.

Where was I? Oh, right. I'm on the 6th challenge: Mommy Lounge wear. AKA, what I wear when I only have to take Delilah to school. (Bra optional)

Oh yeah, there I am in all my radiant glory! I don't do a lot of makeup , or dress up fancy, so this is as close to comfy as I get without being naked! (Remove fuzzy socks to see me in my summer wear)

You see that plain old gray shirt? Sure, it's nice and simple. It can be paired with lots of things to look nice and not-so-slept-in. But what you don't see is the throw up stain that my hair is covering. You don't see how stretched the collar is because Baby Girl keeps pulling on it for her 'Na-Na' time. It's also starting to ride up a little in the back, thanks to the muffin top that refuses to deflate. That qualifies it as pajamas to me!

Anyone else out there dare to share? C'mon, it's fun! 

#MommyRealityChallenge

(See more challenges at Leapfrogs and Lipgloss )

Adventures in Breastfeeding: One Year Later...

Big Sis Beans and Baby Girl. January 15, 2014

Wow. This year has gone by so fast; I can hardly keep up with everything! Baby Girl will be a year old in about one week, and we're still going strong on the breastfeeding front. This is a goal that I never dreamed I could obtain. Each time we curl up on the couch, or in bed, and she looks up at me with those heavy-lidded eyes as she suckles herself to sleep, a wave of contentment washes over me.

Don't get me wrong, we're still struggling with things. Breastfeeding isn't a walk in the park, as much as I would like it to be. Not really the same issues from before, but different situations I've never had to deal with!

The cold weather has settled itself in, and I suffer from constantly hard and/or chapped nipples. Negative temperatures will do that to ya, I guess. 

Baby Girl has become a 'snacker'; during the day, when she's missed me, or just thirsty, or needs to feel safe, she fusses about until I pick her up, and she paws at my shirt until I can pull myself from my nursing bra. After a few big gulps, she P-U-L-L-S off, stretching the end of my nipple like taffy, grinning and babbling at me. I have yet to find a way to deter this behavior, aside from lying in bed, in my dark bedroom, at bedtime. Any other Mamas out there with tips, feel free to leave 'em in the comments!

Yes, I'm still pumping at work. My boss is OK with  pumping for as long as I need to. That makes my job awesome!! I still feel like a cow most days, though. Moo.

Big Sis Beans and Baby Girl. Christmas 2014 (almost 1 year later!)

I think that my next goal is 18 months. I say that because, between note and then, she could get actual teeth. Once that happens, she may possibly want actual food more than the Ta-Tas. I won't lie, I'm excited about child-lead weaning! 

Of course, I say this, and Baby Girl hits another growth spurt where she only wants to nurse for hours and hours.

There are good things (baby snuggles!!) and bad things, (periods that can make your supply drop) but overall I'm still content with knowing that my body is still doing everything in its power to give Baby Girl what she needs.

I've met my goal, and surpassed it. You can do the same, Mamas!!

(via Pinterest: Rosie the Riveter By Melissa 'Asylum' Hansen)

Out With A Smile, In With A Cheer!

As 2014 comes to a close, I keep hearing ads on the radio about 'Going Out With A Bang!' parties and such. Well, you know what? I don't go out with loud, obnoxious noises. I'd like to think of the end of the year as a time to tie up loose ends, and plan for the (immediate) future. A lot of this has to do in part with some serious reflection on my personal wellness, thanks to the last class I took. (By the way, I totally rocked my finals with a B- and an A-!)

As I take a look back on 2014, I realize it was an absolutely wonderful year, and much less stressful than the years before. Yes, even with a new baby, 2014 has been relatively relaxed. Any serious stressors came from my own mis-planning, and situations were resolved easily. I found my limits, and respected them. I even discovered a passion for something that I didn't know I'd even like. All in all, 2014 was a good year.

There were things that I let go to focus on others. I let my personal health go to focus on work and school. All the baby weight that I tried (and was pretty successful with) to lose came back with a vengeance, and my body has been reacting to the extra weight. My family's meals have become more of the 'open box, throw in oven' type, and I've never liked that. Essentially, I traded my time for convenience.

So, I knew that the new year would bring a fresh starting point for me. I knew I could do it, but I wasn't going to make any resolutions. Oh, no. Those things are bound to fail the second you make them. What I wanted was a goal. Goals have clear, concise instructions, and feasible timelines. I even gave myself little rewards for each goal met! I didn't say 'Oh, I'll just lose 50 pounds and be good!' No, that's not truly realistic in my world. But I could lose at least 20. I gave myself a main goal, and then broke it down into each month.
I'll give the example of my weight loss strategy.

Main Goal: Lose 24 pounds by March 31st

January: Lose 8 pounds (2 pounds a week).
-Reward: Pedicure (Not something I get often)
February: Lose 8 pounds (2 pounds a week).
-Reward: $10 to spend at Bath & Body Works (Since Baby Girl's skin has gotten a little more tolerable of fragrances, I can start wearing my lotion again. Yay! Just can't do the perfume/lotion combo. She breaks out something awful)
March: Lose 8 pounds (2 pounds a week)
-Reward: New Yoga Pants!

Because each month has its own goal to attain, I don't have to be pressured to lose all the weight quickly. And my rewards are very affordable! I believe this is the best way to do things. Because I'm still breastfeeding, I simply have to look at my caloric intake, what is the makeup of those calories (is it an apple or a slice of apple pie?), and changing my eating habits back to something healthier!

I have two other goals for the year as well. First, completely dedicating myself to my Yoga again. I loved that I was so at peace and my body felt healed through Yoga. I follow a wonderful gal named Adriene who does wonders with her Yoga practice. She teaches to find what feels good, instead of focusing on being perfect, which I love!

CLICK HERE to get the Foundations of Yoga series to start your own journey!

And last but not least, I made a goal to change the eating habits of my home...again. Gone will be the days of quick snacks and chocolate for desserts, (because Christmas gave us a LOT of chocolate this year) and back to homemade goodness and fresh food! You already know how I feel about my bad romance with the grocery store. So, the pressure is on! But not so much that I have to stress over it.

I know all of us want to change with the new year, so how do you plan to do it this year? Baby steps, Mamas. Take baby steps, and remember that your babies think you're perfect as you are!

Namaste, God Bless, and have a wonderful New Year!

Revamp, Incoming!

Hi, Mamas! What with all my new changes underway in life, (that I will talk about more soon) I felt as if my blog was also in need of a long overdue overhaul, too. A little tweak here, a polish there, and by the time I'm done, it'll be wonderful!

Thanks to someecards, I can finally express my snark properly!

Love to all my Mamas out there, and I hope you're having a great holiday!

Adventures in Breastfeeding #10 :Boobie Time During the Holidays

Hello again, Mamas! I've just come back from 'vacation', and had a wonderful time visiting with my extended family. While I was there, I noticed something that caused little bumps in the visit. My breastfeeding, while voices sang approval, quirked a few eyebrows because of my daughter's age. The following comments rolled from the peanut gallery:
 "Why don't you just give her the bottle?"
"Are you going to breastfeed after she gets teeth?"
And, my personal favorite: "You're going to have a Game of Thrones thing going, aren't you?"

While visiting with my mother and step-father, they didn't bat an eyelash every time I pulled out my breast and let Baby Girl latch on, even if it was for a few minutes. She was, after all, in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by unfamiliar people who wanted to hold her! Isabel can be very shy, and isn't persuaded by strange arms easily. Well, unless you're holding a bottle. Then she loved you! But, back to my point. I let her latch as much as she needed for comfort and nourishment, and my mother's only words were, "Maybe she's big enough for you to put her strictly on the bottle. You pump enough, right?" She had no idea about my supply struggle, so I just nodded and said, "If she'll take one from me seriously, I will consider it."

 Overall, the running theme for my family holiday visit was one of scrutiny and 'helpful' suggestions on weaning. I finally took a stand, and said that I would wean Isabel when -she- wanted, not the other way around. Well, you'd have thought I grew a second head, or something. No one said another word about the topic, but you could tell there was tension in the air. I was glad when the trip was over, after all was said and done. How did you cope with Family Peer Pressure? Were they supportive in the beginning? This situation isn't singular for most Mamas, I'm sure. And, if you came from a breastfeeding family, was the pressure still there to wean after baby was a certain age?

Visions of Milky Sugar Plums...

Hopefully, you all had low-stress holidays, Mamas. New posts coming soon. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Love to all my Mamas out there!

FINALS WEEK!

I promise, I will be writing more after this week. The semester will be over, and I will be able to write about all the things YOU love reading about! See you soon, Mamas!