Post #299- Oh how has life changed!

I can't believe this is my 299th post (I originally thought it was #300, but I was off by 1. Oh well!)! It's crazy to think about how much my life has changed since I started this blog. When I first started it, I was planning my wedding planning and looking for full time employment. Now, I've gotten married, been at my full time job for 3 1/2 years, had many awesome times with friends and family, bought a house and had a kid- what a ride it's been!

Being that today is St. Patrick's Day, I could help but remember taking my first "bump photo" last year on this day!

And this year, I took another photo with that same little boy but this time he was a whole lot bigger and cuter!

I know I'm not blogging as often as I used to. However, I hope to continue checking in when I'm able and updating you on this crazy ride I call life!

Happy St. Pat's Everyone!

Sammy Jay Update: 4 Month Update

"Well, hello everyone! Long time- no blog."  I so happy the February has passed because I was really getting sick on the sub zero temps. And I'm really happy because the weather is finally getting warm enough that we can start going outside with little man! Hopefully we'll gets some family after dinner walk in this week, but we'll see.

(Yes he's wearing two different socks- thank his dad for that one)

So being that this momma is pretty worn down from going back to work and the time change- I'm going to keep this updated pretty short and filled with more baby cuteness.

Clothes- He is wear both his 3-6 month and 6 month outfits. We also had to size him up to size 3 diapers this month. But I won't lie- he's so cute just in his diaper!

Movement & Talking- I think this video pretty much sums up what he's been doing this month... rolling over, grabbing at things, babbling, and drooling all over the place.

Sleeping- He is still a pretty good sleeper, but he's been getting up at 3:00 am for the last few weeks for a middle of the night feeding. Sometime he'll go right back to bed, sometime I find myself sleeping in his lazy-boy because he won't settle down in his crib because he just want to snuggle.

And sometimes I just give in and let him sleep in our bed. This only happens when he gets up at 5:00-6:30am and I just want to get my last few minutes of sleep because something about our bed puts him back to sleep. Hey I'll take whatever sleep I can get.

Eating- Last night was the first time we try some rice cereal. It seemed to go pretty well, and only a little spit up after. We actually thought to film it, so here is how it went.

He seems to be changing everyday, so it will be interesting to see what this month has in store!

Post Baby Weight Loss

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. I figure today would be a good day to talk about the journey to lose the baby weight being that weight loss was my main focus right before I got pregnant.

First, I'm going to start off by saying- I'm really not doing anything to lose the weight yet. Being that I'm nursing, I understand how important it is to keep my calories up so I can feed little man. However, weight loss is a process so let start at the beginning- which was about 2 years ago.

 

This picture was take 2 years ago today, and it's was the heaviest I ever was (or the heaviest I was willing to document with a picture). It was at this time I also got my first smart phone, and starting using the MyFitnessPal app which is was started me down my weight loss path.

If you have been reading this blog for a long time, then you know I spent a lot of time and energy to see that number come down. It took me 1 year to go from my heaviest to my lowest that I had seen since high school. Below- this picture was the lowest weight I documented and it take 1 year ago today as well...

Being that these pictures span my weight loss journey over the last 3 years- that is why I think this post was so fitting to write today. However, being that I'm back to work and that we are going to get our taxes done tonight- there will be no picture of todays weight- but this is what the scale read on last Thursday when I went to the gym-

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I do think it's important to know, I was right around 190 pounds when I gave birth to Sammy Jay. So basically all the weight I lost just I allowed me to get back to where I was at my heaviest. However, since giving birth, I have lost about 20 pounds of the 35 pounds I gained. I wish the last 15 would drop off like the first 20, but I know that it's all a process. Plus, like I said, being that I'm nursing I haven't really starting cutting calories and I haven't gotten into a routine at the gym (which I think will be the hardest part with the baby).

 

To all my new momma friends- please don't be too hard on yourself when it comes to the baby weight. We all grew a human in our bodies- which is crazy- so we have to nice to ourselves because that process took a lot of work so it's not like we can expect to be back to our old self in just a few weeks. It will take time, so just enjoy that little baby while you can!

First Day of Work- Post Baby

Yesterday marked my first day back to work since Sammy Jay came into our lives. I guess I should feel blessed in the fact that my first week back is a short one. I worked yesterday, the university is closed today, and I'm back to work on Friday. So I'm easing my way back into the groove of things.

(Old picture- my office has more decor now, but you get the idea)

Also, I feel blessed that I have great coworkers. Everyone made me feel very welcome and back on my first day. However, it was a workday and of course our Dean would put a "special project " on our plate that needed to be done right away. So even with the short week there was no "dipping my toe in the water " but it was more of a "hard shove into the deep end". 

 

Additionally, it wasn't as hard of a first day back because I knew the babe it was in good hands with grandma. However, next week we will be transitioning into our new "normal" with the babe at a babysitter two days, with my mom two days, and with me one day (because I'm going to be using some vacation time). I'm hoping that the schedule will continue to work as well; however, my new boss did stop by my office yesterday with questions about it. They get nervous when there's not at least one advisor in the office every day, so we'll see how this is going to play out.

Finally, I was excited to go back to work in the fact that I get to actually interact with other adults during the day. Don't get me wrong I love my baby; however, being able to have adult conversations during the day makes me feel like my old self again. While on leave I felt like I lost a bit of my identity and returning to work has brought that back.

So wish me luck that my transition back to work continues to be smooth and we get into this new routine of our lives.

Sammy Jay Update: 3 Month Update

Another month has past and my lil man is 3 months old (this past Saturday), and I think this month has been the best one so far! Here some of the major highlights from this month-

Clothes- He is still wearing some 3 month clothing (however, those will be put away by the end of this week I think) but I also have him wearing all the 3-6 month outfits he also has. Also, I did pull out his 6 month clothes and washed them because I'm pretty sure he's about to have another growth spurt. I has seems to have lengthen out this month and lost a little bit of his belly weight. We also have him in size 2 diapers for the majority of this month. I'm hoping he doesn't go through another growth spurt too soon because we have a lot of diapers for him to use - got to love a good diaper sale!

 Movement- As you saw from my last blog post- he can now roll over and he's doing it all the time. He can roll from his back to his belly but hasn't master it going the other way yet. Also this month he has started to use his hands more to grip things and reach for objects. He hasn't perfected that yet, but it's very cool watching him learn and explore the world around him.

 

Eating- We are still going strong on breast-feeding and haven't needed to supplement in a very long time. I'm just hoping I can keep up my supply once I return to work this week. Also were taking the doctors advice and holding off until he's at least four months to introduce any solid food to his system.

 

Sleeping- We are really blessed that this month has been a complete 180 from last month. For the past three weeks or so, we've been really implementing a bedtime routine and it has seem to work miracles. We put him down between 9-10 PM and he will typically sleep until 4-5 AM, and then go back to sleep until 7:30-8:00AM. As long as he keeps this routine up it should work pretty well with our work schedule. 

 

Talking- of course were not getting real word yet but he does love "talking" especially while you're changing his diaper. Also he loves trying to blow "raspberries" which he's learning from us and just trying to copy what we're doing. It is a very funny sight to see.

When it comes to other milestones for this month, either I don't remember or can't think of any at this moment. I have really enjoyed this month being that it's my last one before I return back to work (which is happening tomorrow- sad face). However I know the months to come are going to be more and more exciting as he continues to learn and grow every day!

Baby's New Trick!

Yesterday was a "Snow Day", so the hubby got to work from home. It's been nice during this leave that Sam has gotten to work from home a few times. However, it's hard to remind myself that he actually has to work and isn't here to help me with the babe like on the weekends. Oh well- it was still nice to have him home. Plus, I know he enjoyed being home, because he got a very cute coworker for the day!

Sam sent this picture out to this actual coworkers with the caption- "The best part of working from home... not having to wear any pants!"

During Sam's lunch break he went outside to clear the driveway, which left lil man and me time to film his newest trick- rolling over! The first time he did it was a few weeks ago, but he's really starting to get the hang of it. Also, I will now always find him in a different spot in his crib than where I originally put him because he's rolling around so much. Like this morning when he somehow did a full 180 with his head being where his feet were when I put him to bed!

The video is about 5 minutes long but he finally decided that he'll show off for the camera.

Before I know it he's really going to be on the move!

Well Hello February!

I know it's been a while since I did a blog post. January just doesn't ever seem to be my month to want to write anything. Normally it's just cold, boring, and traditionally stressful because of work. I don't have that excuse this year, but taking care of the baby should count for something.

However January wasn't a total loss- I was semi-productive. I attend a few breast-feeding support group meetings, found a babysitter to take care of little man on the days that myself or my mom will not be watching him, and Sam and I did sneak away for a short getaway! 

A few months back (when I really was needing a break from the babe), Sam and I decided we would join a group of our friends who traditionally go to Galena, Illinois every winter. 

We had been on the trip once before with these friends; and it seemed like a great way to have some husband and wife time without a baby around. Also I knew Sam's parents would be very excited to get to spend the whole weekend with little man. So it was a win for everyone involved! 

 

Doesn't  he look excited for his weekend?!?

Sam and I got up to Galena Friday night, and we pretty much just had dinner and hung out- nothing too crazy. Then on Saturday we decided to walk the town and check out some of the wineries and shops. We also picked up some tasty treats while we were there!

However we decided to cut our trip short because we knew a big snowstorm was coming Saturday into Sunday. Before we had Sammy, we might have brave the drive, however I wanted to make sure we got back to little man safe and sound. Also, I didn't want to chance getting stuck three hours away from home, so we hit the road Saturday night and made it back before it got really ugly. 

I'm really glad we did, because this is what we woke up to yesterday morning- 

So as you can imagine our Super Bowl plans ended up being very exciting with just the three of us hanging out at home watching the game. However like Sam said it was "the best Super Bowl yet! 

Doesn't Dad look extremely happy?

Today is actually a snow day for my school. I guess it doesn't really matter being that I don't have to go back to work for another few days; however, because the school is closed it's one less day of sick/vacation time I have to actually use. Score!

I hope everyone's weekend was nice and you stayed safe if you are part of this crazy blizzard! Have a great week, and I promise I'll try to post more this month.