Quick (or not so quick?) Update

Random - so being home a lot, some days I end up watching more TV than I usually would. Sometimes I watch The Doctors, even though I occasionally disagree with some things they say. Yesterday I had the TV on Cosmo when The Bachelor came on. Where have I been, I never knew Dr Travis was a bachelor a few years ago.....it really made me look at him differently. If I had a job, maybe I wouldn't be putting any thought into this at all.....

So I'm on day 8 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred and it's definitely getting way easier. I'm ready for level 2 (there are 3 levels) but I'm going to do level 1 for 2 more days so that I'm doing 10 days of each. My body feels stronger and my endurance is up so I'm definitely glad I'm doing it! And it's such a short (yet high intensity) workout that I can squeeze it in while Aidan naps and still have time to shower. I'm loving it.

So we discovered the cause of Aidan's nightly screams - he has a mild ear infection (as well as teething). For all you mommies not "in the know" (like me) apparently after babies get a cold they are likely to get an ear infection so beware! I broke out the humidifier again and that seems to be helping a lot as well as tylenol. I hope it clears up on its own. Aidan is back to 12 hour sleeps and Mommy is loving it.

I think that's it for updates. Here are a few recent pictures.

Going to watch Daddy and Aunt Linda play baseball (it actually didn't go so well, he got pretty fussy)

Wearing my raccoon hat from Grandma.

Trying to use a spoon myself but putting the wrong end in my mouth.

Playing with Mommy :)

Having dinner at Montanas with Mom, Dad, and Aunt Danielle (he was pretty good for the beginning but, as you can tell by the soother, he got fussy towards the end)

Physical Journey

So I've posted before about how I joined a Mommy and Baby fitness class. This class jump-started my desire to workout even more and I am now doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I had my class on Monday and on Tuesday I did Tae bo (a Billy Blanks DVD we have). My sister Danielle has been staying with me, and she told me she had this Jillian Michael's workout DVD that she wanted to start. It's only 20 minutes (well, it's actually a bit more with the warm up and cool down) so I thought, "how hard can it be?"

I decided to try it Wednesday. Let me tell you, I realized that I am REALLY out of shape after just the warm-up. As the warm-up ended, and she said "We're ready to begin" I was like "BEGIN!?!? Haven't we started already?" and I definitely thought I was going to pass out a time or two. The second day, Thursday, was definitely easier but I've still felt like crying towards the end pretty much every day.

So you're supposed to do this video for 30 days straight. I'm on day 5 and I have to say I already feel so much better. The video is so short that I know I can squeeze it in during Aidan's morning nap, but I sweat and feel like it's the best workout I've ever had. When I think back to myself running on the elliptical and going for walks, thinking that was "exercise", I was kidding myself. I can't wait to see how I look after 30 days. Only 25 more to go!

Anyone out there have an exercise video to recommend? I think I'm going to stick with this one because it's such a good total workout (it combines cardio, weights, and ab exercises) but if anyone has had a great experience with getting back into shape I'd love to hear how you did it.

I was considering posting a "before" pic of myself but....I think you guys can just picture a flabby tummy and cellulite-filled tush for yourselves ;)

New Sleep Pattern?

So it's 10am and I'm exhausted. For 2 nights, Aidan didn't fall asleep until close to 9pm. He was still sleeping until 7-7:30am and napping as usual so I wasn't too concerned. Last night, however, it got even worse and now I'm not sure what's going on.

I figured he was over tired from his late nights the previous two evenings, so I put him down about 6:30pm and he fell asleep. I relaxed, poured a glass of wine, and watched one of my fav shows - Law and Order SVU as well as a repeat of Lost which happened to be the only one I had missed this season while I was in Florida so all in all, the night was going well.

Around 8pm (just as Lost was ending - perfect timing), I heard Aidan crying. As I entered the room my nose detected that unmistakable odour. I had a plan of action - do not make eye contact, do not speak, just change the diaper and get out. Hopefully he would go back to sleep. I was wrong.

Aidan would be quiet, or be talking to himself happily, and then all of a sudden break out into wails. I'm really not sure why. I'd go in, flip him onto his back, and plug his mouth with a soother. 15-20 minutes later, the wailing started again. Finally around 9pm I fed him again. He ate and I really thought that was the end of the screams - not so.

At 10pm, still crying, I went in again. He was rubbing his eyes like crazy and turning his tired head from side to side. Mike ended up holding him until almost 10:30pm, when he passed out for the night. My sister commented, "At least he'll probably sleep in" but I knew better.

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Elapsed time - 7.5 hours. Mike is talking to me (or is it a dream?), "Katrina, I think Aidan is awake". Me - "Like awake awake or just making noise?" My question is answered with a wail coming from Aidan's room. I think he might go back to sleep so I go in to re-soother him. As soon as he sees me, his screams get louder. So much for going back to sleep. I bring him into our bed (a bad habit and one I said I'd NEVER do, but here I am doing it. Not often, but still....) and rub his head for a while, hoping he'll dose off. He doesn't. Eventually, at 7am, I feed him breakfast. I know he's tired but I'm not sure how to make sure he stays on a good nap schedule. At 8am I put him down for a nap, and I go for one, too. He only sleeps for an hour.

So here we are. I want to get Aidan back on track - he was sleeping so well - but I'm not sure what the problem is. I was thinking maybe he just needs to eat more in the day and is having a hard time sleeping because he's going through a growth spurt. I already fed him twice today (a morning snack, which he doesn't normally have) and I'm going to try to load him up at lunch and dinner, as well as an afternoon snack (sometimes his snacks are breast milk, but whatever high calorie "food" he can get will work I think).

If any experienced moms out there have advice about this issue happening around 6 months, please let me know! I want my good sleeper back!

Just a test

This is a test - I'm trying to post my blog in facebook so we'll see if it works!

New Post

So today won't be about anything in particular, I just thought I should write a new post to keep my fan base interested ;)



It seems I am now able to upload pics so here's a cute one (maybe I'm biased) of Aidan after getting food on his hand and then rubbing it on his face.







Tonight when I was feeding him, he kept grabbing the spoon and trying to put it in his mouth himself. I'm wondering when your kids started feeding themselves? I want to try it, even though it's messy, but I'm not sure when to expect him to be ready.

I had Aidan's portraits done on Sunday. He smiled the whole time and I can't wait until I get them back. For now here's a home-taken pic of him and I.



That's it for today. New post likely to come tomorrow since I hardly talked about anything today!

Dietitian, Mom and Baby Yoga

Another 2 topic post, man you guys are lucky.

Everyone knows the combo of pregnancy and loving food (as well as being a little lazy) can cause problems with that once girlish figure. A few weeks ago, I decided that I would count calories. I did an online calculator that takes into account age, weight, gender, etc and it said I should eat 1500 calories per day to lose a pound a week. After 2 days of that, I decided to up it to 1700 since I'm still nursing (but not nursing full time since Aidan is also eating real food). I thought that was a lot of calories, but I was surprisingly VERY cranky on that amount. After a few days, I just pigged out on junk because I couldn't take it anymore.

With time on my hands, I looked into what Michael's group insurance from work has to offer. I was surprised to find out that a registered dietitian is covered, up to $400 for each of us per year. I figured, since it's free, I may as well take advantage. I searched for a registered dietition in my area that specializes in post-natal nutrition as well as infant nutrition, since I had a few questions about Aidan.

The cost of the home visit was $125 for one hour. I'll just say, I'm glad it was covered by insurance and I can't believe people actually pay that much. I learned a few things that I didn't know before, but mostly you could just google it all (vitamin C to help absorb iron, eat lots of fibre, fruits, and veggies) if you didn't know it already. It was worth doing for me since it was covered, but unless you're clueless when it comes to nutrition, I don't recommend spending your own cash that could be better spent on new clothes that fit your new body :)

Topic #2 - Mom and Baby Yoga

I haven't done too much yoga, but I've mostly enjoyed the relaxation aspect. How can yoga be peaceful when everyone brings their babies? What was I thinking? I couldn't even do everything because I kept having to tend to Aidan. At the end, we did a sing time with baby instead of clearing our own minds. The class also ends at 3:30pm so I end up driving home right at the start of rush hour traffic. At the end of the class, the instructor said, "Don't give up, every week is different. Some moms don't come back because they get frustrated, but each class is a new class". Had she read my mind? I'd way rather take a regular yoga class and find a sitter for Aidan, or leave him at the babysitting service at the fitness centre. I'll most likely drop the class...but now I feel bad because the instructor told me not to.

One last mini-topic. I waited about a year before printing photos to put in an album and ended up printing like 3000 pictures. I'm trying to go through my pics from the past 4 months but I find it very difficult...any other new moms relate? I might have 450 pictures of Aidan in the bathtub, but I just can't choose which ones to delete. Another 300 pics of him in his exersaucer, etc. Choosing pictures to print has never been so difficult.

That's it for today! Again, seem to be unable to upload pics so it's just another wordy blog.

Mommy and Me Fitness, Vaccinations

Two topics to discuss today. First of all, I started a fitness class on Monday. I picked classes that work around Aidan's feed nap times so, while he napped, I searched through my closet to find workout clothes that fit (isn't it sad when some of your sweats are too small?). I settled on some shorts that aren't quite as loose as they used to be and a tank that I recently bought so definitely fit. I packed Aidan's bag, he woke up around 10am and off we went.

The class started with some easy warm-ups. Great for me (and probably others) because I wouldn't be ready for anything to hardcore right off the bat. We did a few strength exercises, lunges, and squats. The good thing about the class is, unlike at home, I can't really just stop because I get tired. The first class wasn't too hard but I definitely sweat and felt the burn the next day from the light weight lifting we did. I didn't get a chance to talk much to the other moms (most babes, including my own, were pretty cranky by the end so we pretty much ran out of there) but everyone seemed pretty nice and obviously we all have at least a few things in common - we're all moms who aren't happy with our bodies (haha.....)

I don't have a pic of us there, but today I start Mommy and Me Yoga so I'll get my sis to snap a shot of us before we go. I'm looking forward to this class. I haven't really done anything besides prenatal yoga so I have a feeling this is going to be a bit more challenging than what I've done before. I think I'm going to miss the days of getting on all fours, pretending my belly is a hammock, "rocking" me baby back and forth, and pretending that was a workout. I'll let you guys know how the yoga goes! The only "real" yoga I did a few years ago I kept falling over and ended up leaving half way through the class because I felt like such an idiot so hopefully that doesn't happen this time.

Insert random shot of Aidan on the swing:
Never mind, the image uploader doesn't seem to be working? Maybe I'll do an all photo blog later today.


Second topic - Aidan got his 6 month shots yesterday. I don't know about the rest of you, but taking my baby for his shots is probably more traumatizing for me than it is for him. That morning, as he happily played, I felt horrible looking at him - he was so oblivious as to what was going to happen to him later, so trusting that I would make his day as fun as possible and protect him from pain.

When we got there, Aidan smiled and squirmed for the nurse, so happy and unaware. As we waited, I could hear babies screaming all around me (from behind closed doors) and almost broke down in tears right then and there. As a woman left one of the rooms holding her son, red-faced with tears streaming down his face, I wanted to take Aidan and run. But I didn't, and we went into the torture room.

The last 2 times Aidan got his shots, I nursed him right after and he immediately calmed down. I decided to do that this time, as well (not sure what I'm going to do when he's 5) and it worked! Hardly any crying. Just needle prick, scream, pop out boob, done! By the time we left, Aidan was smiling and slapping his legs at strangers in the elevator. And I didn't cry at all! I will tell you this, though, I am definitely making Mike take him next time.

One last thing - I found out Aidan weighs almost 20 lbs (19 lbs, 9 oz) so no wonder my arms and back are sore all the time. I thought babies were supposed to triple their weight in the first year, not the first 6 months! He is also 28 1/2 inches which means he is 1/2 an inch away from needing a new car seat. I lamented about this to the nurse. She looked at me and said, "Well, look at you, you're tall. And how tall is your husband?" "6'3"...." "Well, what did you expect?" It's true, I knew Aidan would be tall, but I had no concept of how tall babies are or of having to spend $200+ on a car seat so soon after buying one of those travel systems (stroller with an infant seat) . Any moms of older tots have suggestions for a good car seat that won't make me broke? I've been putting it off but I'd say I definitely need to get one within the next few weeks.

That's all for now :)