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!