Post-Baby Body

You know what is totally unrealistic? Women like this:

I was talking with my MIL a few weeks ago about how tired I am of seeing women in the media with their perfect post-baby bodies. It makes us 'normal' mommies feel unattractive when in reality they are the abnormal ones. I don't have a personal chef, personal trainer, a nanny, a housecleaner, or a surgeon to make me look 'perfect' again.

Shopping for jeans after having a baby was pretty depressing for me. For some reason I had all these ideas in my head that I would be back to my pre-baby body by the holidays. Boy, was I wrong! I blame the media for putting those ideas into my head. That the baby weight would "melt away" with breastfeeding. Yeah, right! Not for me. It's a slow, slow decline on the scale. But you know what? I grew a baby inside of me.

Now I am feeding her with my own body. I need to try to remember to love my body for what it is. Sure, I may carry some extra weight, but I love my body for being able to grow a perfect baby and now provide her with enough food to enable her to grow healthy and strong. So if a few extra pounds is the price I pay for my daughter? So be it. She is more than worth it.

An Update With Pictures And Video!

It's harder than I thought to get around to blogging after having Emily. I do have more time now that I'm not feeding every 2 to 3 hours and then pumping for a half hour after that but it seems there is only enough time to get some sleep in and try to keep the house from looking like a tornado hit.

Today we managed to go on our first walk with Emily around the block. It was nice to get out of the house and get some sun and exercise! Right now, all I am supposed to do as far as exercising goes is walk. My belly is almost gone now, which I am excited about but I still have about 20 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I've lost 20 lbs already in two weeks so I can't complain too much. I just can't wait to not feel like a pile of mush anymore! I still don't fit into most of my clothes yet either so most days I live in pj's.

Anyways, we are doing well! I gave up on following Dr.'s orders about not giving her any pacifier or bottle for the first 3 weeks. We haven't given her a bottle since breastfeeding is working just fine, but she had been using ME as a pacifier and I would stick her on all the time just to calm her down. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore during the middle of a long night up so I gave in and gave her a pacifier. So far I am not regretting it one bit. I'm not tethered down all the time to her and she is just as happy with it as she is with me.

I've been feeding her about every two hours during the day but at night I only feed her when she starts to wake up. It's hard to get her back to sleep most of the time but we are still getting more sleep than we were.

All in all, we love being parents! It's hard, but sooo worth it!

"It's Ok" Thursday

You know what today is, right? Today is Thursday, which means I get to ramble about what's "OK" with Neely and Amber! Feel free to link up too! It's fun!

It's Ok....

To whine about still being pregnant. Every day. I'm so glad my husband, family, and blog and twitter friends have let me vent and continue to encourage and support me!

That my in-laws have a bet going for who will be right about what date I will have the baby. But anyone who dares breath a word about how I will probably go past my due date because it's my first time better watch out. Michael made that mistake. Once. I don't need those kinds of negative thoughts!

That I go into the babies nursery and look at her things to feel closer to her.

To worry that nobody will want to enter my giveaway even though I think it's a great deal!

That I don't get what the big deal is about Targets' Missoni collection.

To have a sleeping schedule that isn't the norm.

That I love to smell candles but have to resist the urge to buy all of them!

To look forward to cooler weather so I can wear my new boots!

To love to read books over and over again. I'm in the middle of rereading the Hunger Games series and Breaking Dawn! I'm preparing for the movies coming out!

That I keep begging Michael to let us get a DVR so I don't have to worry about missing all the shows I love when I'm taking care of a baby I love even more. 

To eat. A lot. And then worry about your weight. But still eat. A lot. I can lose this weight after the baby gets here, right?! Ugh. Sometimes I can't help but just have one more snack before bed...okay then another and another.

That I love obsessing over TV series that I can watch to my hearts content because there are tons of episodes on Netflix. Right now my current obsession is Desperate Housewives. I'm pleasantly surprised with it! I've watched five seasons so far!

"It's Ok" Thursday

I'm linking up with Neely at A Complete Waste of Makeup and Amber at Brunch with Amber for "It's Ok Thursdays"!

This was really fun last time I did it and I'm finally getting around to linking up again! Here we go!

It's Ok....

...if I love to browse random YouTube videos. This is one I found yesterday that made me smile.


...that I can not wait until the Hunger Games movie comes out! I think it's going to be just as crazy fan-wise as the Twilight movies. It might even be bigger than those because these are more guy friendly. After reading the books to Michael, even he wants to see it. It looks like it's going to be good!


...that sometimes the only thing that gets me out of bed is the thought of breakfast. I've been waking up STARVING lately and so we got a bunch of breakfast foods besides cereal to spice things up a bit. Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, English Muffins, and Blueberry bagels with strawberry cream cheese. Mmmm!

...if I am already creating a mental list of clothes/shoes I want to buy as soon as I lose the baby weight. I'm thinking of trying straight jeans with flats and some new boots.

....to want to be done with pregnancy. Of course I want Baby Girl to stay in as long as she needs to, but this mama is ready whenever she is! Just knowing that I am full term is reassuring.

...that I have gained more weight than I wanted to. My midwife says I've gained the perfect, healthy amount so I try to keep that in mind whenever I have to step onto a scale.

"It's Ok" Thursday

 This is my first time linking up for this meme with Neely and Amber!

It's Ok....

If I love my pup more than a normal person does...and let her sleep in our bed. Under the covers.

That I never do my hair anymore. I'm pregnant, uncomfortable, impatient, and hot. No need to do my hair and make it harder!

"To have a friend who lives over 1000 miles away" :-)

That I waddle when I walk.

That I love to have PB&J pretty much on a daily basis.

To not constantly check Facebook, Blogger, and Twitter. Sometimes I like the distance from social media! Especially after long stretches of not seeing Michael. Then my attention is on him, not the computer or my phone!

That our "date night" this week was Michael BBQing steaks and corn on the cob and then eating at the table instead of on the couch, watching tv. 

That I am gaining weight. I am pregnant and it's what should be happening. I tell myself this every time I see the number on the scale.

To let Michael pick things up when I can't bend over to get it myself.

That sometimes all I can talk and think about is being pregnant or having this baby!

To sleep with a million pillows to be comfortable. 

That Michael and I have a strange sleeping schedule. Pretty much 2 or 3 am to late morning. It works for us.

That I'm going to a two year old girls birthday party tomorrow. Alone. I do what I can to support friends and I feel that that's how it should be! Unfortunately there are those "friends" who are only there when it's convenient for them. I try to always be a good friend. It's important to me and it really bums me out when it's a one way street.

That lately when Michael is playing his video games, I sit in the room with him and read The Hunger Games to him. He likes it.

17 Weeks Tomorrow and Having Some Cravings!

Tomorrow I will be 17 weeks and the baby will be approximately 5 inches long. Where has the time gone?? I can't believe I'm almost halfway through my pregnancy. My belly hasn't really changed since my 15 week picture. I still look like I'm bloated. Some days it really doesn't even feel like I am pregnant. Sometimes I even forget! I think it will help make it more real when I start feeling the baby move ANY DAY NOW! Occasionally I sit and concentrate on my belly area to see if I can feel anything but I don't think I have felt it yet.

Our next appointment is in three weeks. They will probably be able to tell the gender by then and I hear we will get to see our baby for 1-2 hours! I'm so excited for it!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm supposed to be gaining weight now. I've been making more of an effort to eat more throughout the day even when I'm not hungry or don't feel like eating. I think I've been having pregnancy cravings lately too! Usually they don't last long but for the past 2 or 3 days I've been CRAVING peanut butter rice krispy treats and so later today Michael and I will be making them :-). Yay! Oreos and milk sound good too.

Really early on in my pregnancy I would crave avocados but ever since then I haven't wanted anything really. I'm so happy to be getting my appetite back more. Just in time to pack on some pounds! Haha. Don't worry, I eat healthy things too!

16 Weeks and Need To Gain Weight...

I had my 16 week appointment and got to hear the heartbeat again which was nice! We hadn't heard it since I was about 8 weeks along so it was good to feel that reassurance. It sounded like a galloping horse. Strong and healthy! We still don't know the sex yet...so unless I get Michael to agree to finding out early?... We will find out on May 3rd. I'm not totally dying to find out anyway so waiting isn't THAT difficult. It really doesn't matter to me what the baby's gender is as long as things continue to go smoothly and the baby is healthy. The best thing about finding out would be that we could start planning earlier.

We haven't totally decided on names yet. We have a couple in mind that we have just kind of settled on for the last few weeks but nothing is concrete.

I'm also supposed to gain weight now. My appointment was with the midwife and she said that I need to eat every couple of hours. She even suggested having milkshakes or smoothies every day. Whaaat? I told her it's just hard to change my thoughts on eating like that. I'm still adjusting to the idea that my body is not my own right now and that I need to be gaining weight. She asked if I've ever had an eating disorder, ha! No. But when someone tells you to gain weight and drink milkshakes every day, doesn't that just go against everything you've ever heard? I dunno. I guess I just need to work on that!

I usually love to eat. And an excuse to eat as much as I want of whatever I want? I should be ecstatic! I still just don't have a lot of an appetite, plus I don't want to gain TOO MUCH weight and not be able to lose it after the baby comes. But I will do what I need to do!! Yesterday I thoroughly enjoyed a very unhealthy lunch which consisted of delicious fries, a hamburger, and a chocolate shake.

In The Gym, Just Workin' On My Fitness- You're My Witness!

Staying active is a constant struggle for me. I am gone from about 7:00 am to about 6:45-7:00 pm and so by the time I get home from my work day, all I feel like doing is eating and relaxing on the couch. Michael is really into going to the gym. Now, not only does he go to the gym, but he also has been working out while at work at the gym there on his hour break. He tries to motivate me to go to the gym after work but it's usually no use. Especially when he is not there to go with me. It might be easier if he went with me. I am simply too tired and unmotivated to go by myself. Sure, I would love to get in shape and get toned and look amazing in a swimming suit! But it just aint gonna happen after a long day of work!

However...last night I was doin' my usual flipping of channels and fighting the battle in my head whether to get off my butt or not..when I came across...

Yes, I have heard a lot about it. And I know a lot of people who watch it. It was their "work week" and they were talking about how they could do this even during a regular work week. I didn't even watch the whole thing. I got about 20 minutes worth of watching them weigh themselves and that was enough for me to turn the TV off, set my alarm for 4:30 am (instead of 5:35 am), and get to bed. I called Michael (he was working) and let him know about my new strategy.

Instead of battling my fatigue after work, I'm going to get up an hour earlier and go to the gym before I go to work! It's crazy early, I know. But you know what? I did it this morning! I put my alarm far enough away that I had to crawl practically out of bed to get it, then I didn't even let myself hit snooze. The first ten minutes were hard. All while I was getting dressed I was fighting the urge to get back into bed for an hour and forget the whole idea. BUT I DID IT!

I left the apartment in pitch black! That was a little freaky, but I was awake! It wasn't that hard! It was really surprising to see how many people were on the road and even at the gym at that obscene hour of the day. I feel like I have a little more energy today and I got less sleep.

Now let's hope I can keep this up! I want to look good on my SANTA BARBARA trip next month! Haha. Can I get in shape that quickly? :-/ I don't want to look like I'm 4 months pregnant anymore. I'm going to flatten this belly, tone my arms, and get rid of my secretary butt and thighs. Pretty picture, huh? :-) Wish me luck! 

 Amy- You inspired this post. Congrats on reaching your goals!