Go Time!

This week is the beginning of a new chapter in my life! Well it is not so new, but I have to re-kindle the fires that once burnt deep within me. Before my sweet Ella Jean, I was more fit then I had been since High School. Then I got pregnant and my once shrinking waistline was growing out of control. So now Ella is here and almost 3 months old. I have lost twenty pounds since her birth, but now I am at a stand still and I'm still 10 lbs heavier then my pre-pregnancy weight! So my goal is to go beyond my pre-pregnancy weight and really trim up!

This is all easier said then done! Between home, Ella and work I really don't have a lot of time, plus the fact that I am exhausted. But I had to make a decision: A.) get off my butt and do something about your weight or B.) just go on with my life and hope "one day" I will lose the baby fat! Well I choose A! I don't like feeling embarrassed about my image and I don't like the fact that my regular clothes don't really fit me anymore.


My girlfriend Holly challenged me to do a 1/2 marathon in October. I basically just laughed, but she is so inspiring and she really made me feel like I could do it! So I started researching training programs. I chose: The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program. The plan is to be able to run 2 miles in 8 weeks. From there I will continue on to the Half Marathon training(16 weeks). I'm not going to stress or beat myself up if I miss a run. If I don't make it to the half marathon, but I can run 5 miles I will be happy! After all, it is more for being fit then anything else.

I also have become very interested in a workout video that I saw on an infomercial, Hip Hop Abs. It seems I'm not the only one who was intrigued by this workout. Melissa mentioned it one day and we laughed historically because we both wanted it, BAD! So I did some research and found it on Amazon for $12.93, what a great deal, I added 2 to the shopping cart! So I broke out the dvd on Monday, let me tell you this is some workout! I'm still sore... But I love it! Melissa as also taken to it like a champ! We will be looking good, if we can stick to it...she already has me beat ;)



Workouts this week:

Monday- First day of training
Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes 10x(about 30 minutes total)
Hip Hop Abs(30 minutes)

Tuesday-
Walked 15 minutes

Wednesday-
Plan is to Run 1 minute , Walk 2 minutes 10x (after work)
Hip hop abs(30 minutes)

Play Time

A quick post on Ella! She is really getting a sweet little personality. Mornings are her favorite, she really enjoys talking and laughing, especially at Daddy! We are also having play time. Everyday when we get home we lay on the mat and play, play, play... She really enjoys it for about 15 minutes :) but it sure is cute...

Two Month Check-Up

Yesterday was Ella's two month check-up. This was a big appointment for us! She had her shots, she got weighed and measured and mommy & daddy got lots of helpful information! That's right, I said daddy! Jeramy called me yesterday, mid-morning, and said he was on his was to Murfreesboro to go to Ella's appointment with us. What a wonderful surprise and what a wonderful daddy!


Ella's Shots: I think she did great! She received two shots in one leg and one shot in the other leg. She also had to take an oral medicine. She cried/screamed for about two minutes and then calmed down. As she returned to Melissa's she was a little fussy, but settled down to take a small nap until mommy came to get her. She had a good rest of the night with a little fussiness here and there.

Ella's Stats: Ella weighed in at 8lbs 13.5oz(10%), 21 1/2 inches long(25%), and 36cm head circumference(5%) She is our sweet "little" girl!

For Mommy & Daddy: We learned that car seat sleeping is not the doctors favorite thing, neither are sleep wedges or positioners! Well Ella sleeps so well in her car seat and not so well on the wedge!

"What do I do...I need sleep too! I know she will wake up every hour! Yes, maybe the car seat sleeping is more for mommy then it is Ella, but I have to work all day!"

Well I tried to get her through the night without her car seat, and I succeeded! Thank you lord! She only woke up once, which is normal, so I was a happy camper and it sure gives me hope.

We also think Ella has a mild case of reflux. Dr. Libby gave us a prescription for Axid, it is bubble gum flavor and Ella loves it!!! My hopes are that this will help her continue to sleep well in her crib.

YAY POOP!

So after much thought, I decided to give Ella some rectal stimulation! Aunt Heather and Aunt Melissa told me that this would work and then the doctor said the same thing. So I get home last night and she was kind of fussy, I thought "I guess I could try it?" It wasn't as bad as I thought! I did it twice. On the second attempt we got some action, not much, but I'm ok with that. After about 30 minutes or so, she started getting REAL fussy. I thought "I wonder if she has gone any more?" I check her diaper and you can see brown from the out side edge. "Good, let's go change you!" Well I was in for a surprise... That diaper was fully loaded, with a type of poop unlike anything she had ever done, kind of like the consistency of mustard. WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!

I don't think she was in a lot of pain, but my goodness that was a lot of poop :)

Ella stayed awake till about 8:30pm and I gave her a bottle and around 9pm I was laying her down. I woke up at 4am this morning, well Jeramy woke me up asking if the monitors were on. I got up and checked and realized SHE HAD SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! Momma was full of smiles. I went back to bed and slept till five, Ella got up and moving about 6am. What a great night!

To poop or not to poop? That is the Question!

My sweet little Ella is having a little issue...SHE IS NOT POOPING! OK well she hasn't pooped since Saturday. She has never had this issue before, usually she goes at least once a day.

I have talked to a couple of people and I have read some articles online, they all say it is normal. Breastfed babies digest the breast milk better then they would digest the formula. This seems so weird to me. I just want her to poop!
(I think when you are pregnant and then have the children, all modesty goes out the window!)

I have called her doctor today and I am just waiting to hear back from her. We have our 2 month check-up on Monday, but I don't want to get there and she scold me for not calling or letting her know about Ella's issue!

My Theory:
At about 4 weeks of age, Ella started spitting up. Some worse then others. I tried a couple different bottles, no big deal. When I returned to work, Ella started going to Melissa's. There she noticed some symptoms of reflux. Also, Ella also has a lot of gas :) Anyway this past Friday, I started using the Dr. Brown's bottles. Ella loves them! Everything goes down a lot smoother. She still spits up some, not a lot and she still has some gas, but she has not pooped! Does this have anything to do with the bottles? Is she digesting her milk better? Is her stomach not as upset with gas and pressure therefore she is not pushing out poop the way she used to?

Any of that wonderful motherly advice is much appreciated! If she doesn't go soon, I am going to try manipulation with a thermometer.

She is not showing any signs of discomfort and she is not overly fussing, other then her normal once a day bit. I just hope she goes soon, before her eyes are brown and she is full of Sh#!.

We did it!

So we made it through our first week back to work and I have to say, we did it with flying colors! Ok, I will say life is totally different now, and I don't know if I will ever get used to getting up at 5am or earlier, but I have to so I guess I will just have to do it whether I want to or not.

Friday night week just relaxed and Jeramy cooked me dinner. We gave Ella a bath and put her to bed, shortly after I was asleep on the couch!

Bath Bunny Ella

Back to Work

After 6 short weeks of being home with Ella, I had to return to work this past Monday. Things are going pretty well. I have been able to stay pretty busy here so I don't have a lot of time to sit and think about Ella. However, I always wonder how she is; is she sleeping, is she being good, is she fussy? All common worries I guess. Of course I want her to be the best baby in the world, but she is going to have her moments and I have to just suck it up and be strong and supportive of her! I can't hold her hand forever...


I do , however, want to take a moment and brag on her sitter! How lucky is Ella to have her wonderful Aunt Melissa keep her!!! She will be so loved and protected. She is getting daily interaction with other kids and I love the fact that those other kids are her cousins! Growing up I was the only one who had a cousin my age that lived close by and we did everything together. It was so cool to have "family and a best friend!" So far they have had a good week. Melissa has these little slips of paper that she records Ella's feedings, BM's, activities, and sleep time. Let me tell you how wonderful it is to go home and know exactly what she did that day! It really puts me at ease since I am not able to be with her. Thanks Melissa for being so great :)

Ella is getting so big, so fast! This week we have been working on our visual skills and I have been trying to read to her every night. I love to see her interact with me. She is also beginning to hold onto things like her paci or her big soft musical worm or my finger.

Ella holding her paci!



Our two month check-up is April 21st. She will also have her first set of shots at this appointment! YIKES. But I think I will be okay, usually those type of things don't bother me.