Baby Weight

*This is me at 41 weeks and then 2 weeks post pardum*

I’ve had a lot of people sending me e-mails asking me how I stayed in shape during pregnancy and how I lost all my baby weight within a couple of weeks after having baby Logan…so here is the scoop.

1. Get fit before baby.
I can’t stress this one anymore. I worked out and had a clean eating diet almost two years before having Logan. I didn’t start showing until I was 7 months pregnant because of the strong ab muscles that came from the numerous planks I’ve endured through the years.

2. Eat right during Pregnancy
If we take out the horrible carb loading I did during the first trimester I maintained a healthy diet throughout my pregnancy. I limited the sugary drinks, kicked 98% of desserts and candy and tried to eat smaller meals and snacks just like when I wasn’t pregnant so I could regulate my metabolism and keep my baby happy.

3. Walk – A Lot
I was one of the un lucky ladies who had a hard time handling gym workouts, I would get motion sickness on a treadmill but I could walk outside, so I took advantage of it and I walked during breaks at work, after dinner and on the weekends (hello shopping). Walking helped ease muscle pains and kept me from feeling blah.

4. Keep the Scale
I know a lot of people tell you to get rid of the scale but don’t… it can be healthy to keep an eye on your weight. As long as you are smart about it and realize that you ARE going to gain weight but it’s not fat, it’s baby, boobs, extra blood etc. If you feel like your weight is getting out of control don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor.

5. Have 9 months of morning sickness
Yeah… not really, that sucked.

Overall I gained 32 pounds and lost all 32 pounds within 3 weeks of having Logan, but I know it wouldn’t have been half as easy if I didn’t have a great fitness and nutrition regimen already in place.

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER! With ham in the oven, a sugar rush of peeps and a sweet boy enjoying his third, first holiday…the day is shaping up to be amazing.

Happy Easter from my family to yours!!

p.s. – OMG OOTD Pics are going to start again soon, what!!!

This is how memories are made!

It’s FRIDAY!! Happy Easter weekend to all of my friends who celebrate Easter. Wes and I are heading out on our first mini road trip with Lo. Were off to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in the country. My In-Laws live on a ranch so Lo will get to smell the cows and horses, see new things and hopefully he won’t sleep through the whole experience…but what am I saying, these are memories for Wes and I to cherish as Lo gets older and its uncool to hang out with your parents.

I’m looking forward to dying easter eggs, egg hunts and tales of the Easter Bunny but for now I’ll just continue taking Lo places and experiencing the world over again with him.

What was your favorite thing to do as a kid with your parents (before they became un cool lol)!!?!?!

Hmm.. What did you say?

I’m 7 weeks already – That’s just crazy talk.

As the weeks go by and my little bug get older I can’t help but scream YIPEE for having a late winter baby. Now that he is getting old enough to interact and look around the weather is ticking closer to 75-80 average. Which means lots of sunshine for this family.

With spring upon us… what do you look forward to? Usually I love our annual closet clean out but since I just got rid of any article of clothing I wore pregnant, I’m left with…not much so I’m looking forward to SHOPPING and filling my closet back up.

Take that Octopus

My little buggy is going through his 6 week growth spurt and while I feel like I’m climbing a hill with no end in sight with the extra feedings (yep, formula babies want more too), Logan fighting sleep and needing extra cuddles…we like to take time out of the day to beat up Mr. Octopus from his playmat… Look at him stare that octopus down, he’s a vicious baby I tell you what.

So tell me ladies, how do you survive baby growth spurts?

Lazy Girl Fitness – MILF Style

The return of Lazy Girl Fitness with a little bit of a twist; MILF STYLE!! (Mom’s In Love With Fitness ladies… what were you thinking?). Now that I am a mom I know I’m going to need to incorporate my little man into many of my workouts since he takes up the majority of my time. This doesn’t mean you need a kid to do the workouts, just more proof that you can multitask and get a workout in.

The pediatrician said it’s a great time to start engaging with songs, talking and staring with our baby so while I was giving Logan his brain workout…I snuck in some Sweeps and Lifts! It’s simple and works out my rear, thighs and tummy.

Sweeps – While lying flat on your arm, engage your tummy by holding it tight then sweep your leg like a windshield wiper back and forth making sure you don’t let your core move…only your legs.

The lift is the same concept except I like to prop myself up on my elbow and straighten my back to help my core even more. Once I do about 25 lifts I hold in about half way and do mini circles (as many as I can) then bring it back down and kiss that cute kid I have been staring at this whole time.

*Disclaimer – Please make sure that safety is first. I am not a licensed trainer, these are workouts that work for me and my busy lifestyle. Consult a doctor before starting any new workout program and be safe.*

The Great Outdoors

When you wake up to 60 degree weather and it blossoms to around 85 by mid day, it’s time to soak in some rays. Baby Logan has never been outside without his car seat or stroller so my husband and I decided to introduce him to the great outdoors. Logan was so amused by everything that we were able to stay outside for an hour and a half before he fussed even once. We let him put his feet on the grass, helped him sit up and even did a floppy baby version of an airplane ride.

It’s safe to say he’s going to be like me and LOVE to be outside every chance he can get.

 

Healthy Crunch

I may have hit the jackpot with Logan, he naps and sleeps so well, but that doesn’t mean I have all the time in the world to cook.  So I’ve taken to Pinterest to find some clean, healthy and quick recipes (my waistline is thanking me). I stumbled onto a clean version of taquitos and decided to give it a try (thanks Gracious Pantry).

Step One – Shred some chicken (or if you are like me…buy a pre-made rotisserie chicken from Smiths and shred that).

Step Two – Put a thin layer of Olive Oil in a glass pan (I used a paper towel to smooth it out) and pre-heat oven to 350.

Step Three – Heat Tortillas so they are pliable in the microwave (do some Microwave Abs ;-p) then roll in chicken and place the rolled side down in the pan.

Step Four – Put said rolled tortillas in oven…

Step Five – Brush a little bit of Olive Oil on top and bake until crispy!

Overall from start to finish this took me 30 minutes (including baking).

One Word – Four Letters – Life Changed Forever

…Part Three of my Birth Story (this one is long)….

Once we arrived at the nursery to find out what was happening with Logan the nurses looked at each other than looked at us an asked if a doctor had come in to talk to us about Logan. Of course we said no since it had been 2 hours since we had seen him. They had a look on their faces I can’t even describe when they told us that he had been admitted into the NICU and told us to go through the white door in front of us and have a seat in the waiting room. Just hearing the words NICU put me in a panic, walking through the doors to the waiting room felt like someone was taking my breath away.

 I was a complete basket case at this point, we had the car seat in our room, we were ready to take Logan home and then he went missing only to find out he was in the NICU and the miscommunication between the nursery nurses and the NICU nurses caused us to not know where he was for two hours.

When Dr. Edmonds came to talk to us he told us that they had done a glucose test with Logan and he scored a 24…normal babies are within the 55-70 range. If we would have taken him home he could have had seizures that would have resulted in a coma or possible brain damage so it was good that I had been so admit that his shivering wasn’t just a normal newborn movement. Dr. Edmonds also told us that they would be keeping Logan for a while to make sure that his hypoglycemia went away. Still at the point where I wasn’t quite listening because I was so hysterical the doctor let us go see Logan. He had an IV, was hooked up to a bunch of machines and looked comatose because they had given him sugar-water because he was so upset.

For the next two weeks Logan was treated for an infection he got during birth as well as hypoglycemia. There was and IV drip that would help him regulate his glucose, it started at a 17 and needed to be turned off and his body needed to stabilize the glucose before he could think about going home. He had his IV moved five times (twice in the head ) and he had over 75 glucose pokes in his little feet. Everyday Wes and I would live and breathe by these glucose tests, if he would score high we would be elated but when he dipped down we just had emotional breakdowns.

I was still trying to recover and wasn’t doing such a great job; with the walking, not resting and eating poorly my body wasn’t holding up. My legs were triple in size, I couldn’t go anywhere after day two without a wheelchair, had a hard time healing because I was always on edge.

I had a hard time holding Logan but at one point he was hysterical and I knew I needed to help him so I just grabbed him and held him close, this picture has all the meaning in the world to me.

After ten days went by our little guy started to look better and eat better. After we switched his formula to Similac Sensitive he started to gain weight and regulate his glucose. On February 13th they took out his IV, he no longer needed the glucose (or so we hoped at that time). That night we had another breakdown because we had thought they may be trying to rush us out and Logan wouldn’t go home healthy, so we asked to speak to the doctor. The poor night nurse thought we wanted to take Logan home so the doctor (who was the head of the NICU) came in trying to convince us that it’s okay he is in the NICU and he needed to stay. So once we sorted out that we were all on the same page, Dr. Cruz assured us that they would not send Logan home if they were not 99.9 percent sure he was healthy.

Early on Valentines Day Logan’s nurse practitioner, Denise came to talk to us about staying in the Parents Room with Logan. We were SO excited that we accepted right away. They have a program where you can have your baby in the parents room and you get to watch over him/her and the nursing staff is only there if you need help; unfortunately the nurse we had that evening made it hard to watch Logan. Since he was hooked up to monitors if Logan would scream it would record it and the nurse would come in and try to calm him down in ways that we are not allowed to at home (such as putting him to sleep on his belly or using sugar-water to calm him down) so the whole point of “trial run” wasn’t in motion for us that night.

When the sun came up and the new nursing staff started we received the best news we could…Logan could go home. It had been two days with Logan keeping his glucose level steady, his infection was cleared up and he was OK to go home.

So at 1:00pm we put him in his first outfit, strapped him in the car seat and headed home. This was one of the best moments of my life, my little boy was ok and coming home.

The Next 36 Hours

Part Two

Once I was able to go to my recovery room the nurses hooked me up to leg compressors which I LOVED, I was also given the run down about pain medicine etc…but I couldn’t tell you in detail what they said, I was so out of it.

An hour later my husband came rolling in with my sweet little boy. This was it, the first time I got to see my baby boy. With the medicine they gave me for the c-section I had no strength in my arms to hold him so I got to kiss him and love him with help from my husband. Logan was so little and so adorable.

The hospital I gave birth in has a nursery and they recommend you letting them take care of the baby the first night so you can rest and recover (brilliant). The nurse told me she would be in at 2am to help me get up and move then she took little Logan to the nursery.

2am came and so did the nurse, she helped me get up and walk to the bathroom and that’s where it all went down hill for me. After learning to use the squeeze bottle I got up to wash my hands when I started to feel nausea, I told her that I was going to throw up so I sat back down on the toilet.

When I came to I couldn’t hear anything, there were six nurses, my husband, a wheelchair and me…sniffing smelling salt. Apparently I passed out and was out for about two minutes before coming to. My husband said the nurse started yelling “WE NEED HELP”…he said it was the scariest thing he’s ever seen (little did we know THAT would be wrong by the end of the week). Why did I pass out?? Possibly because I hadn’t eaten anything since I started my induction which was 28 hours before the pass out of 2013.

Logan came back in the room around 6am and I was finally able to hold him and feed him, but he was only taking 15 ml of formula and he should have been eating around 25, I thought it was very strange so over the day we kept trying to feed him and he wouldn’t take that much then Logan started to shiver, not the normal baby jerk movements but like a person who was cold. I thought it was weird so I mentioned it to the nurses and they said it was completely normal. Something inside of me, maybe that mom gift you get when you give birth came out and I just KNEW it wasn’t normal, it didn’t look or feel normal. So I kept pressuring them and then I mentioned it to the pediatrician when he came in. The pediatrician listened to my concern but since Logan hadn’t done it in his presence but by the by what I was describing he ordered a sugar test.

Logan ate with us before he went to the nursery for his test.  The sugar test was at 2:00 and the doctors had already discharged me, we had the car seat, we were ready to go just needed to wait for Logan…and wait we did, two hours went by and we hadn’t heard anything or seen Logan.

Even though I couldn’t really walk, I told me husband it was time to find Logan. So we walked to the nursery which took a long time, once we arrived the nurses had looks of horror on their faces and that’s when my life changed…forever.

Coming Up – Part Three (One Word, Four Letters…Life Changed)