9 Month Favorites

Old Navy Bow Graphic ankle socks: these are the ONLY non skid socks I can find so far, which amazes me considering I have all 6-12 month sizes and most babies are at least standing by this age span. Anyways, I got these as a gift in 0-6 month sizes and they are very cute and soft. My only complaint is the size- they are huge in 6-12. I figured since the 0-6 were seriously too small that these would fit, but they are  big and keep falling off. Oh well, they'll fit eventually!

Fisher Price Go Baby Go! Poppity Pop Musical Dino: Olivia LOVES this toy! She plays with it at a friends house and also at church. I actually have two of them because our first one didn't pop right so Fisher Price sent us a brand new one for free! It's easy enough for her to play with starting back at 5 months or so and she still loves it now. I've even started to find non-ball objects inside, like blocks and pacifiers. Clearly she thinks this is funny.

Vicks Baby Rub: since Olivia had her first cold/cough, we used this a lot for a few days. It's different than the adult kind so if you need it for an infant, be sure you get the BABY one. We rubbed it on her feet and chest and it seemed to really help her congestion.

Baby Orajel Tooth & Gum Cleanser: Baby's first toothbrush! My dental hygienist told me that we should start rubbing Olivia's gum with a washcloth or finger brush even before she got teeth, so I bought this pack. At first she thought I was insane and would just try to bite the finger brush. Now she loves it! Every night we "brush the toofers" as my song goes, and she even spits out her pacifier when she sees me coming with it! I think she likes the feeling.

Circo Stripe Bath Mat: LW is a big girl now and takes regular baths! I used her baby sponge mat for as long as I could but now that she's crawling she wants to be mobile in the bath too. This mat is great! It's pretty large and inexpensive and really keeps her from slipping in the tub (except of course, when she wants to stand!). I pull it up after every bath so we don't get mildew and it stays nice and clean.

Skip Hop Bath Spout Cover: we got this before Olivia was even born as a gift and finally put it on the spout at our new place. I NEVER worry that she will bonk her head on the spout when she's crawling around at the end of the tub. It's made for a shower pully that goes up and not out like ours, but since she has her own bathroom, we aren't using her tub for showers anyways.

With only 3 days until her 10 month birthday, our 10 month favorites aren't far behind! (hopefully)

Olivia Dell: 9 Months

Height/Weight: I waited so long for this post because Olivia's 9 month appointment was almost 2 weeks after she turned 9 months, and here we are 4 days before she turns 10 months! Let's just say I'm going to be limping to the finish line to complete this year's updates! Olivia now weights 18 pounds, 6 ounces (was probably a little off in last month's numbers!) and is 29 inches tall! She is in the 90th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight, a huge gain. The doctor is satisfied with her head size and we are all relieved.

Feeding: Olivia is now eating 3 8-9 ounce bottles a day: 1 around 7am (depending on the kind of night we've had, sleepwise), 1 at 1pm, and 1 around 6:30pm. She has rice cereal, cheerios, and sometimes scrambled eggs for breakfast, a fruit puree, some puffs, and half a piece of whole wheat bread for lunch, and usually a veggie puree and a little meat puree. However, all this is slowly evolving into "big girl" food because I'm over the purees and she doesn't seem to mind. No matter how much I feed her, she ALWAYS want to have what I'm eating. It's actually more fun to give her mini size portions of what we are having, and she likes it.

Clothing:  We are now into all 9 month clothes and a lot of 6-12's in both pants and tops. I packed away a lot of old clothes and filled an entire rubbermaid tub :( It made me so sad to look through her old clothes that fit her just a few months ago. She's even outgrown three pairs of shoes before she even wore them! I got her sized and she's a 3.5 in shoes, but still fits in 0-6 month in Robeez slip on styles. I got her a pair, but she's yet to wear them.

Sleep: Ollie is officially sleeping through the night! For the first five days it happened, Dave and I kept waiting for her to change her mind. But here we are, over a month in and it's the real deal and it's awesome. The only time she's given us trouble is if she's not feeling well. This last month she got a nasty cold and cut 2 top teeth so the nights were a little bit of a doozy. But once she's feeling better, she's sleeping better!

Milestones: We have a crawler! Olivia is quite the mover and I love hearing her little hands slap the floor when she's coming my way. She pulls herself up on everything and can scoot around the coffee table, couch, and her activity table. She's also started to crawl up the stairs (already got a baby gate!) and over me to get to a toy. Olivia also waves good bye, claps, and says "uh oh." She is growing by leaps and bounds now!

Firsts: Olivia celebrated her first Halloween (as an Owl!) and picked out her first Christmas tree at Peltzer Pines. She also cut her first (2!) top teeth, started crawling, and had her first cold and trip to the doctor's for a sick visit.

Crawling!

I see top teeth!

 

First cold :(

Winter baby

Dave and I have long joked that Olivia is a "winter baby" because when she was just a few months old, she deeply expressed her hatred for being hot and clammy. there were a few sweltering days and nights where she let us know that she wasn't too keen on warm weather. since it's started to cool down, she can be found watching the rain against the sliding glass door and happily wearing sweatpants and socks in the autumn chill (chill being a relative term, here in Southern California).

that being said, Olivia is also growing out of all her clothes and didn't have much of a winter wardrobe anyways because she didn't have much past 9 month sizes. so the past few weeks I've been on the prowl for some warmer clothes. The good thing about living in Southern California is it doesn't really get cold like most states, so I can get away with upgrading her pants and long sleeve collection and be pretty good. No snow suits or one piece fleece stroller outfits necessary!

I'm definitely a bargain shopper, especially when it comes to baby clothes that are only worn 3 for months. So sad. So in the words of the well known series, Game of Thrones, buckle up, because "Winter is Coming":

I definitely shopped around because it's hard to find cute baby clothes, in my opinion, that aren't all cupcakes and unicorns. I'm also not a big fan of onesies that have cheesy sayings like "grandmas sweetie", etc. The navy owl onesie and black, ruffle top are from Kohl's (brand: Jumping Bean), the pink striped top, navy and teal polka dot blouse, and navy and pink onesie are all from Baby Gap (on sale AND an extra 30% off!), the 4 pack of onesies are Carter's, and the purple sweatshirt is from Target (brand: Circo).

and for bottoms:

I got pretty lucky and found a decent amount of pants from Old Navy. I say lucky because they're onesies are just too wide for Olivia and never fit well enough. the navy and black leggings, as well as the mint and dark peach color pop jersey pants are from Old Navy, the dark pink sweatpants and light pink polka dot jeans are from Carter's, and the navy polka dot corduroys are from Baby Gap. I also got her two pairs of leggings in teal, and pink and black polka dot from Baby Gap, but they aren't pictured because I ran out of room!

my diligent quest to affordable clothes means that I got all of this for about $100! Everything was on sale and I even got one of these items for $2.09! Though not urgent, I would love to find some cute, warm boots and a warmer jacket. We have one, but it's really not made for winter and she's nearly grown out of it.

lately, Olivia has been outdressing me! even though I can fit into most of my old clothes, there are some old blouses i'm dying to get back into. let's hope the winter is kind to me ;)

8 Month Favorites

I am getting worse and worse at this! Luckily, I only have 4 more of these to do. Honestly, it's been taking me forever to make my lists of favorites because they are fewer and further between. I haven't been paying attention as to whether or not something is new, we just use it!

Old Navy Pop Color Jersey Pants: these are my FAVORITE pants for Olivia! We only have 2 pairs (in peach and turquoise) but as soon as I can get my hands on more, I will. They are really soft, like leggings, but look like pants. It gets a little old for babies to just wear typical leggings and these fit the bill!

Johnson's Honey Apple Baby Bath: I know a lot of people give J&J a hard time but I'm not one of them. You couldn't pry their pink baby lotion out of my dead hands, I love it so much. This baby bath and container are awesome! I always find myself up to my elbows when giving Olivia her bath and the pump on this bottle is so helpful! The smell is delicious and it's very creamy, so Ollie doesn't get extra dry skin.

Fisher Price Classic Infant Trio Gift Set: Olivia got this as a gift from great grandma and she loves playing with the lid of the shapes box. I find it all over the house! I probably play the xylophone more than she does but she always smiles when I do :) This is a nice basic toy set that is small enough to take with us and is inexpensive.

Carters Microfleece PJs: now that it's "cold" in California, these are perfect jammies for baby! They keep Ollie nice and warm and she doesn't need a sleep sack when wearing them. The only problem is that she doesn't crawl too well when she's on the carpet, because the friction from the carpet with her pants causes her leg to get stuck. It's actually quite funny.

Gerber Puffs: These are Olivia's favorite snack. She literally starts shaking when she sees the container. I keep a little ziplock container of them in my person and they have proven quite helpful in screaming situations! They have whole grains and the serving size is something like 85 so I know she's not eating too many.

Halo Microfleece Sleepsack: no more swaddle Sleep Sack for us! This is an awesome wearable blanket that keeps Olivia warm, and that we don't have to worry about accidental smothering with. I accidentally got her a size Large based on her height and it was ludicrous how big it was. I think I could have worn it. Once we got the medium, it's been great!

Chef Mom

a few weeks ago Dave drove off for the day with our one and only car seat and I was stuck at home. I decided to keep myself busy by trying something I've always wanted to do: make my own baby food.

I've gone back and forth throughout Olivia's solid food days on whether I should make or buy her food. I have no problem buying it because it's really not that expensive ($1.09 feeds her for an entire day, minus snacks) and I trust that the food manufacturers know what they're doing. I.e. I'm not making claims that they have poison in their food, blah, blah, blah. I personally buy Gerber because I'm confident that when the label says the ingredients are "green beans and water" that it's the truth. I don't feel pressured to buy organic because I don't eat all organic myself, and honestly, I can't afford it. It's over $1.60 for 1 serving, which is more than double what I pay now.

I found butternut squash for a little over $1 at Trader Joe's and found an easy recipe online. I was actually surprised at how easy it was! and it made 8 servings, which was indeed cheaper than buying premade. that night I gave Olivia some and she loved it! So I froze the rest and set about to make even more food! I bought carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes and apples. I tried carrots and green beans and noticed they didn't give me as much as the squash. It was actually more expensive to make the green beans then buying them! Regardless, we tried some with her that night.

it did NOT go well. I gave her some of my green beans and she literally GAGGED. I tried again, she almost threw up. I had Dave open a Gerber pack of green beans and no problem: she finished the whole thing. before the night was over I decided to have her try the carrot and same thing: gagged to the point of almost barfing.

I really wasn't offended at all. I have a girlfriend who's daughter reacted the same way, and it was probably partially my fault for starting her on Gerber in the first place. Additionally, the recipes had warned me how hard it is to get certain foods really smooth and I know the green beans were way more grainy than she's used to.

I thought the squash would continue to work out and I defrosted one of my cubes a week later. I noticed how watery it was but stirred it up anyways. there wasn't any gagging this time, only crying. after the first bite she cried like I was torturing her. and so my days of making baby food were over.

don't get me wrong, I liked the feeling of making something for my child from my own heart and hands. And to be honest, this won't be the first meal I make that she won't eat in her lifetime! But there are many other ways I can love her and create things for her instead of slaving over the Magic Bullet (which she despises anyways). Every morning we share scrambled eggs and if I ever eat near her, you can bet she's crawling onto my lap to see what I have. there aren't many days left when I will even have the opportunity to buy her baby food. she's getting so big and will soon just be eating off our plates. I actually love going down the baby food aisle and planning her meals. We chit chat back and forth about what she wants and she gets excited to hold her puffs container.

They say "food before 1 is just for fun" and while I'm not sure that's entirely true, I'm having a great time! I'm looking forward to seeing her personality even more through our experiences with food :)

Operation Abs: Week 4

I simply can't believe a month has gone by since I started this fitness adventure! I have to say, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and I am now a believer in the philosophy that if you do something for 30 days, you can create a great habit.

For the past 3 of the 4 weeks, I have worked out 5 times a week (the first week was only 4x). This most likely means I went to the gym or did a workout video. On occasion I went for a good long walk with the stroller. But more often than not I doubled up on video days by also going for a walk, usually to Trader Joe's for dinner supplies. I am now addicted to feeling that tired, sweaty sensation and I NEED it to feel like I'm not cheating!

At the gym I've continued with 30 minutes of cardio, usually on the Arc Trainer, and then 15 minutes of strength training. It seems my secret machine has caught on, however, and twice now they've all been taken by the time I get to the gym! Those days I did 10 minutes intervals on the stair master (the real one, not the one where you flutter your feet), running for 10 minutes (almost died!), and then the final 10 on an elliptical. I have to say, I was SORE after those days. I am planning on doing this at least 1 time a week to keep things interesting. As for strength training, I usually alternate between up and lower body.

Of course the area I would love to see the most improvement is my mid section and it's the area I hate to work out the most. I don't know why I hate ab workouts, but I do. Maybe it's because I'm never sure if I'm doing it right. Because of that and not seeing an immediate improvement, I usually just give up, thereby ensuring zero improvement. Anyways, doing Lindsay Brin's Bootcamp 2 video has really got me going. There are 6, 5 minute Core workouts to choose from and I have no excuse to NOT do one. Probably my biggest takeaway from her videos is actually "activating my core" throughout the day by ensuring I have good posture and am hollowing my stomach during workouts. Though I don't have a 6 pack yet, I definitely notice the lessening of the pooch. It still looks nasty when I bend over, but I'm on counting on too many people looking at me from that angle!

As for my diet, I am paying a lot more attention to what I eat. I've taken to making berry smoothies 3-5 times a week and make them with Trader Joe's frozen berry mix, milk, 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder, 1/2 a banana, a scoop of Peanut butter, and a little yogurt (I like Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla the best). They are pretty tasty and replace a breakfast or lunch pretty easily. Though I have to be careful when I make them because my Magic Bullet scares Olivia! I am also continuing to watch my bread and general carb intake and limiting it to later in the day if at all.

Here are my numbers after 4 weeks:

Weight: 126.5 (DOWN 3 pounds from initial measurements!)

Hips: 34.5" (DOWN a 1/2 inch from initial measurements)

Waist: 31"

Below Waist: 33" (DOWN as 1 inch from initial measurements)

Arm: 11." (DOWN a 1/2 inch from initial measurements)

Thigh: 21"
Bust: 35" 

It's hard to say whether others would notice a difference but I do, even if a small one. While my thigh measurements haven't changed, I most definitely notice that they are toned. If they don't shrink in size, that's fine by me, so long as they don't flap back at me when I walk. Here's a comparison picture and you be the judge:

Week 1 is on the left and week 4 is on the right. Not bad, right? I think I look "tighter" for lack of a better word. I'm over halfway to my goal of losing 5 pounds by the end of the year and can't wait to reach my goal!

Olivia Dell: 8 Months

Height/Weight: Holy weight gain Ollie! I did the whole, weigh myself then weigh myself with the baby trick and she came in at 19 pounds! I'm very impressed and I can definitely feel the difference when I carry her. My rudimentary measuring puts her around 28 3/4 inches. I'm excited to get real numbers at next month's 9 month appointment!

Feeding: Ollie has been leaving a fair amount in her bottles these days and I think it's because she's eating more solids. So we reduced her 4 bottles to 7 ounces each and she seems to be doing quite well. She's not really drinking water from her sippy cup, but enjoys chewing on the straw. So, I may just start giving it to her in a small bottle so she's getting some. As for food, she's eating her cereal in the morning and then I usually give her some of what I'm eating, like eggs or fruit. For lunch, she's eating 1 fruit and some vanilla cereal puffs. For dinner she has an entire container of veggie and  more often than not these days, a container of meat (eww, but she likes it and needs the protein). Then she usually gets some veggie puffs if she's still hungry.

Clothing:  This month I went shopping and bought all 9 month clothes for Olivia for the winter. I've had to pack away a ton of 3-6 month clothing, especially pants, aka capris. I've even had to start packing straight 6 month sizes and it's making me said. She easily fits into 9 month sizes, even at Target which has HUGE sizes. 

Sleep: Ever since we've been giving her bigger dinners, Olivia has been sleeping AMAZING at night. I've only considered her sleeping through the night maybe twice before this month because she fusses upwards of 3 times a night, requiring us to go in a find a pacifier or change a diaper. But lately there's not even a peep until 4-6am for her bottle. As each month passes, she continually reminds me that she is on her own schedule and will meet her milestones when she feels like it! This is one I'm glad she's finally arrived at.

Milestones: This month, Ollie started army crawling! She has mastered it on both the laminate floor and carpet and now I have to watch her all the time because she loves to get her hands on cords and magazines. Also, just the other day, Dave also found her SITTING UP in her crib. WHAT!? she's never been able to go from laying down to sitting up before and I still don't know how she did it but I'm very impressed. Olivia is also getting great with feeding herself, and has especially realized how to open her fist to get food in her mouth instead of cramming the entire thing in! She can sit up in the bathtub, has started pulling herself to her knees and sometimes feet, and loves standing on her own at the side of the crib.

Firsts: Olivia's first tooth came though! Not only that, she's a big girl and already has another one. Olivia also had her first visit to a pumpkin patch and her first Dodger playoff game (something probably many adults haven't done). She also had her first taste of meat (see hilarious picture below) and stood by herself for the first time (waah).

First Tooth!

Pumpkin patch visit

First Dodger playoff game!

First taste of meat!

First time standing by herself

Operation Abs: Week 1

Until I can get myself situated and into a good rhythm, I figured I would regale you all with my progress and hard work as I get back into shape. I've found I succeed the best when I document everything anyways, and it makes me feel good to look back and see it!

This week I am very proud of myself because made it to the gym three times! The hubby okayed me to sign up for monthly Kids Care at 24 hour fitness so I can take Olivia as many times as I want and pay a flat fee. Believe it or not, this really motivated me because I didn't have to worry about spending $5 each time I went to the gym. Olivia seems to really like going, as do the ladies who work there, and I'm in an out in under an hour.

Another thing I've accomplished is scheduling a specific time to workout at the gym, not just saying I'll go sometime during the day. So, after I've worked a few hours and Olivia takes her morning nap and wakes up between 11-11:30 we head to the gym. Kids Care closes for the afternoon at 1pm, so it works out perfect. After that, it doesn't open until 4pm, and I'm betting it's much more crowded during that time. I like that there are only 2-3 other kids when I take her late morning, because I know she'll get a lot of attention.

After we leave the gym, we usually hit up Target or Trader Joe's and then head back home for lunch. I like that I get my workout in early and can just hang out with Olivia and work the rest of the day.
So, this was my week:

Week 1:

Sunday: rest

Monday: gym- 30 minutes of cardio on Cybex Arc trainer machine and 20 minutes of strength training

Tuesday: gym- 30 minutes of cardio on Cybex Arc trainer machine and 20 minutes of strength training

Wednesday: 40 minutes of walking with the stroller

Thursday: rest

Friday: Lindsay Brin's Bootcamp 2- 20 minutes (cardio workout + warmup and cool down) and additional 5 minute core workout, and gym- 30 minutes of cardio on Cybex Arc trainer machine and 15 minutes of strength training

Saturday: rest (which is good because I a SORE!)

You'd think I get tired of doing the same machine at the gym, but I love it! One of the perks of moving and going to this new 24 Hour Fitness is that it has much newer machines than my old one.  I saw some women on an odd looking machine and saw that it was the Cybex Arc Trainer. The past few years I've been a fan of the elliptical, and then the Precor Cross Ramp machines because they are low impact and have cool workouts that adjust incline and resistance. This Arc Trainer is better than anything I've tried!

It forces you to have better balance, is even lower impact, and I am a huge, sweaty mess when I'm done. Also, because it's so weird looking no one ever uses it and there's always one available.

Aside from my workouts, I've started to take more notice of my eating habits which I think has put me in a better position to get into shape. I definitely have issues drinking enough water, and not because I drink other things throughout the day, but because I'm pretty much never thirsty. So, I'm trying to  keep a water bottle out all the time (I never drink enough if I just have a glass out) to make sure it's on my mind. I've also noticed that sometimes I eat just because I enjoy whatever it is I'm eating, not because I'm hungry. I'm trying to pay attention to my hunger and not eat late at night, a vice of mine once I can finally sit down and watch some TV by myself.  Finally, I try and save eating bread until dinner time because then I will make conscious decisions to eat other things besides toast, sandwiches, pizza, etc. for breakfast and lunch. Sometimes I will make it all the way to dinner and never even have bread (though that doesn't happen very often!). I've also started making 1 smoothie a day to replace a "meal" and I really like the combination of frozen berries, 1 scoop of protein powder, half a banana, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, yogurt, and milk. The only bummer about the smoothie is that Olivia is terrified when I  blend it in my Magic Bullet! Hopefully she'll get used to it :)

Here are my numbers after 1 week:

Weight: 128.5 (DOWN a pound!)

Hips: 35"

Waist: 31"

Below Waist: 34"

Arm: 11.25" (DOWN a quarter inch)

Thigh: 21"

Bust: 35" (DOWN an inch- quite possibly an error the first measurement.)

I'm starting to realize I may have some initial errors in my measuring but hopefully not by much. Even though the numbers may not say it, I put it in a ton of work this week and I'm excited for the day they DO show it.

post baby bod

I'm going to lay it on the table up front: I have never had a problem with weight. I have no idea where these genes came from since both my parents have had their fair share of weight struggles, and my siblings have very different body shapes than I do.  Sure, I don't practice poor eating habits nor am I lazy when it comes to exercise. I DO work hard. But I don't have to be overly strict with myself and that's a good thing because I would DIE without CARBS. I LOVE bread and cheese and I don't think I would be a very nice person if I couldn't eat them.

I wore my high school size well into the first few years of marriage and when I went on birth control I leveled out my weight to a more "adult" weight. No matter what I could do, I could not lose weight. So, I figured that's just the size I was supposed to be and that was that.

Anyways, having had a relatively easy go of the whole weight thing my entire life, I was nervous about what my body would be like after I had a baby. In fact, that was pretty much the only concern I had health-wise about pregnancy. I absolutely watched what I ate while I was pregnant because I wanted both LW and I to be healthy- not because I didn't want to gain weight. When I was hungry, I ate, and when I was full, I stopped. Luckily for me, a lot of junk food didn't sound good and I was happy with string cheese and yogurt for snacks most of the time. By the time I delivered, I gained 27 pounds (I'm pretty sure anyways- the whole end was a blur). I didn't worry because I felt good and my doctor was very impressed with my steady weight gain (as opposed to putting on a ton all at once or the entire 9 months). Which coincidentally helped me avoid stretch marks on my belly, thank the Lord.

I actually got a lot of flack from passersby about my size while pregnant. "You're so small" and "Are you sure you're that far along" were common comments. I personally never felt small or huge, and my petite frame was very conducive to the 27 pounds I did gain. Here's my last picture of me pregnant at 40 weeks + 5 days:

After Olivia was born and I was still in the hospital, I made the deliberate choice to NOT look at my belly, sans clothing. It already felt weird being empty and obviously jiggly. I didn't want to freak myself out when I knew that my uterus was shrinking before my very eyes and much of my chub would dissipate on its own. I was more gracious on myself then I thought I would be!

I haven't done a ton of documenting about myself these past 7 months because I would much rather take pictures of my gorgeous baby, so I have only a few pics of myself.

This is me, 5 days postpartum:

Here I am at 1 month postpartum:

that's pretty much where the picture taking of my belly has stopped. I will say that much of my figure has returned to it's pre-baby shape on it's own, with some, but not a LOT of effort on my part. Just in the past few weeks I have been able to zip and button all pre-baby jeans, even if I have a sizable muffin top. That means my hips have shrunk back and my thighs slimmed down, but my belly is still giving me some trouble.

Weight wise, I am still 10 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight and I want to get back to that weight, no matter what I tell myself. If I'm honest with myself, I probably want to lose about 15 because I wasn't completely happy with my weight before getting pregnant. Despite having at least 10 pounds to go, I know it's not all in my belly. Since I stopped breastfeeding, I assumed my boobs would go back to my pre-pregnancy 34C size. NOT SO. I can't believe I'm saying this but I HATE having bigger boobs. I went up THREE (3) cup sizes to a DDD, and thanks to a proper bra fitting from Nordstrom went down to a 32 in band size. Did you hear me, a TRIPLE D; also known as an E. It's definitely not as glamorous as I thought it would be. I have to buy expensive bras because they don't make cheap ones in large sizes, and many of my shirts are difficult to wear, not because of cleavage, but because they barely stretch over my chest. The odd thing was, they were not this big while I was pregnant or even while I was attempting breast feeding- they got bigger after. I know if I lose the weight I want, a least part of this will come from up top. I wouldn't mind to keep a little somethin somethin', but beggars can't be choosers.

And so, because I have a hard time following through with anything these days and because I'm completely OVER looking the way I do, I'm doing something I'd never thought I'd do: posting pictures of myself on my blog and holding myself accountable.

My mom told me to give myself a year to get back to "myself" and that seems like a graceful timeline to me. I'll take it. Since I haven't done a lot with the first 7 1/2 months, I need to get going. In my efforts to get back into shape, I did some research online and found a fitness expert whose area of expertise is pregnancy and postnatal fitness. After doing a free 8 minute video which got me embarrassingly sweaty, I ordered Lindsay Brin's BootCamp 2:

She's gotten a ton of great reviews and has her own blog/website that documents her gaining and losing weight from her 3 kids. While my goal isn't to get as ripped as her, I know she'll help me get on track.

So, here goes! I don't necessarily plan on updating weekly on my bod, since that's boring to everyone else and I'm scared that if I don't see results each week I'll get discouraged. Here I am a 7.5 months post partum:

Weight: 129.5 

Hips: 35"

Waist: 31"

Below Waist: 34"

Arm: 11.5"

Thigh: 21"

Bust: 36"

I'd have to say at this point, my fitness goals are to tone my abs, arms, and thighs, to lose at least 5 pounds by the end of the year, and to feel better about my appearance. Reasonable right? We'll see!

7 Month Favorites

To say I have lagged on updating lately has been an understatement. Olivia is now 7.5 months and without further ado, here are my favorites from this last month:

 

Hylands Teething Tablets: my mom used these when I was a baby and so I didn't hesitate when Olivia started cutting a tooth to RUN to the store to get these. They are homeopathic, are only $7 for about 130 tablets, and dissolve quickly in her mouth. The best part is they help her sleep better, which helps me sleep better!

Imaginarium Alphabet & Numbers Foam Puzzle Mat: now that we've moved and have laminate floors, I am SO glad we bought these! We have little 9 piece portions of it all over the bottom floor of our new place and LW can play til her hearts content. These are also great for outside on the grass instead of a blanket, and I've just confirmed today that they also serve as an excellent exercise mat!

iPlay Infant Sun Hat: we bought this hat while we were in Solvang and LW was only 11 weeks old. This summer, it got a LOT of use, especially while we were in Palm Springs! It has a great wide brim, and can get wet without damaging it. It washes in the washing machine and I think it's quite darling. Once Olivia gets over the strings, she doesn't seem to care that she's wearing it.

Neutrogena Baby Sunblock Stick: this was a HUGE lifesaver on our vacation. As I now know for sure, Olivia has very sensitive skin and burns quite easily. This stick is nice because I can just put the sunscreen directly on her and it's not drippy or gooey. You still have to rub it in but it makes the whole process a lot smoother.

Nose Frida: I was TERRIFIED of this thing before I bought it. I thought you sucked out boogers and they went into your mouth and that's what hippy mom's did. But after a bout of congestion that your garden variety nose sucker just couldn't tackle, I bought this baby. It's amazing! It's so much more efficient and a weird part of me enjoys seeing what boogers I can get out of LW's nose. The only thing you need to buy are the refill filters and they are about $4 for 20 of them.

Sassy Time Bathtime Buddies Squirters: I got these from my baby registry and now that Olivia can sit up in the bath she loves chewing on these, and I love squirting water at her with them! They aren't anything fancy but LW loves them and they give her something to do while I wash her hair.

And that's it for this month! I have to be honest, I finally busted this out because I have some ideas for new posts but knew I needed to get this done first. Check in tomorrow for a new post on post-baby bodies!

Olivia Dell: 7 Months

Height/Weight: Since going back to cereal and eating 3 "solids" a day, Olivia gained over 1 1/2 pounds in a month and now weighs 17 pounds! Good Ollie! In addition, I think she's going through a growth spurt which has been giving her a good appetite. With my rudimentary measuring, I'd also venture to say she's at 28 1/4 inches tall!

Feeding: LW was eating a little 2 ounce bottle at the end of the day, but we cut it out and dispersed that formula to her 4 big ones. So, now she's eating 4, 8 oz. bottles a day in addition to cereal in the morning, a fruit for lunch, and a veggie for dinner. She also started drinking water from a sippy cup, but only intermittently. I'm hoping to always keep her water in a cup and not in a bottle so the transition to sippy cup makes sense. We shall see.

Clothing:  Since it's been cooler at night, Olivia has proven that 6 month footy PJ's don't fit so well anymore! She's still wearing 6 month onesies but PJ's are getting too snug. Just yesterday, we bought 3 new fleece pajamas in 9 months! I also tried to put on several pairs of pants and leggings in 3-6 months and they are all too short! They fit in the waist, but are way too small for her long legs. Next pay period, I'm going to have to go winter and pants shopping for my Ollie.

Sleep: my child has decided her own schedule for bedtime and now insists on going to bed between 7 and 7:15. She fusses a few times and just lately has a hard time waiting past 3am to eat her morning bottle. This is why I think she's going through a growth spurt, because she shouldn't be that hungry (and I know she is because I can hear her stomach growl!). Once she eats it, she goes back to sleep and doesn't eat another one until 8:30am, no matter what time she wakes up. Huh. The last few nights she's also given us some grief by waking up and sobbing her heart out, but I think I have an impending tooth to blame for that one!

Milestones: Olivia's biggest milestone this month has been her first baby tooth trying to make it's way through! As of now, you can feel it but can't see too much. She's actually been a VERY good baby by teething standards and basically just gets overly fussy if it's bothering her. She has mastered sitting by herself, and can now go from sitting, leaning forward, to laying on her belly. She can scoot backwards on the floor, and can pull herself up to her knees and sometimes her feet if she's got a good angle on something, usually in her crib. She has figured out that hitting or kicking something makes a noise, and loves to kick the mirrored closet doors. She also can now hold her own bottle when lying down, which has been amazing!

Firsts: Olivia was busy this month and had a lot of first: first vacation to Palm Springs, first time to Morton's (my favorite steak house!), first time drinking out of a sippy cup, first tooth on the horizon, met her Great Aunt for the first time, went to the RSM Lake, and wore her first pair of jeans!

First vacation!

First sippy cup

Meeting Great Auntie!

Walked around RSM Lake

First time wearing jeans

First time at Morton's- horrible picture!

Tooth is almost through!

Vacationing with bebe

If you've kept up with my blog, you know our lives have changed quite a lot over the past six months. New baby, new jobs, new home, you get the drift. I have been dreaming of a family vacation ever since Olivia was born. I have the BEST memories of vacationing with my family growing up. We were so blessed to be able to vacation to all sorts of places in all sorts of ways: camping in San Diego, Yosemite, Oregon, San Luis Obispo, skiing in Whister, BC, cruises to the Bahamas and Mexico, and close trips to places like Palm Springs. Trust me, I know it was a blessing.

Now that I'm my very own adult with my very own baby, I realize the financial hardships vacationing can present. Not only can it be expensive, but it's time consuming to plan, pack, and execute, especially with a baby on your hip. Dave and I spent the last 12 years (I can't BELIEVE we've been together that long) going wherever we wanted: Europe, Bahamas for our honeymoon, San Francisco, Arizona, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Again, a huge blessing. We love being jet setters and will bring Olivia up traveling as much as we can. We already have a list going of our first big trips.

Because we are in the midst of just a few transitions, we decided to utilize the time off between Dave's two jobs to take a close vacation. I have to admit, I really wanted to go to Hawaii (one of the places we've actually never been together), but after our moving costs, etc., we didn't want to spend the extra dough. Plus, Dave was terrified to take a 6 month old on a plane. So, we used my father-in-laws time share connection and headed to Palm Springs this past week.

First off, I just want to give mad props to Marriott's Desert Spring Villa's. They MADE this vacation. We've stayed here before when we were young and careless, but having a baby and staying here was so much better. If you've ever stayed in a timeshare, you know it's set up more like a condo than a hotel room. Before kids, I thought that was cheesy: I am on vacation, I don't want/need a full kitchen, I'm going to eat out in the lap of luxury! Now, the thought of eating out all the time makes my stomach hurt and sets my nerves on edge. Taking a baby out to a restaurant all the time is a pain in the rear. Not to mention, I need a fridge for leftover baby food, a plug for a bottle warmer, sink for washing, etc.

This Marriott property is newly renovated, so not only is it beautiful, it has everything you need. The "basics" include full kitchen accessories like plates, cups, wineglasses, silverware, bake ware, pots & pans, full knife set, DISHWASHER, tea kettle, tupperware, toaster, oven/range, microwave, full size fridge, even dish soap and trash bags. The family room has a flat screen TV and Blu Ray player. And the best part of all is a washer and dryer! Even I don't have one of those yet since we moved! You pretty much only need to bring yourself, clothes and go grocery shopping once you're here. Although, if you were us, you'd also bring the Wii and a bunch of dorky, sci-fi Blu Rays ;)

Because our Villa had all the amenities of home, it really made our vacation relaxing. If we needed to do a load of laundry because Olivia spit up over everything, we could just do it. If we wanted to BBQ out by the pool instead of dragging a baby to Flemings, we did it. If we just wanted to sit out on the back patio with a beer and watch the golf course, done. I don't think I ever want to vacation another way again. At least not till LW's older.

This property also had some amazing pools. Since we vacationed after Labor Day, we nearly had the resort to ourselves. We went to the pool 6 days in a row, and also had access to the main JW Marriott amenities which we hit up on the last day. We took Ollie swimming, which she LOVED, and enjoyed Miller Lite's in the heat of the day.

Main Pool at the JW

We BBQ'd our fair share:

We gave Ollie quite a good first vacation, in my opinion ;)

 I really took the time to enjoy this time away with our little family. I didn't feel rushed and was truly sad when it came to a close. Most of the time I'm ready to go home, but I could easily have stayed another week. My Ollie has been a dream baby this entire time (even in the heat!) and I couldn't have asked for a better first vacation.