One Reason Losing weight with a Toddler is Challenging

My little man is turning one in about two weeks.  While I’m not far from my “pre-pregnancy” weight, everything is not sitting where it used to.

I probably need to lose 5-8 lbs to be at the weight I used to be before I got pregnant.  But ideally, I would like to be as toned (if not more toned) than pre-pregnancy me.

So tomorrow is my day to start my journey.  (I have had a lot of “tomorrow” starts, but it’s really happening tomorrow.)

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to track my food in myfitnesspal.  I’m wasn’t trying to count calories, but I was trying to make myself more aware of how much I was eating.

Aside from always being hungry, my BIGGEST problem seems to be my son’s meal times!!  While cutting up his meals, I will have a little taste (of everything!!)  All of those bites really add up!  He doesn’t finish his applesauce?  No problem!!! I’ll have the rest.  Why would I just throw it away!

Mind you, I’m not saying this is the sole reason for my weight.  The obvious would be my extreme hunger and my non-existent work out routine. 

I will stop tasting and finishing all of his food! That’s what fathers are for!! 🙂

Will My Child Ever NOT be sick??

Obviously one of the big draw backs of daycare is the germs!  Let’s face it, every child is just one giant germ!  (Just kidding…kind of!)

I honestly feel that my son has been sick more than not.  He’s coming up on 11 months old, and I feel he’s been sick a total of 10 months!  Okay, I’m exaggerating a little bit.  But, I feel like he is sick for 10 days and then feel great for 2-3 and is sick again. 

It’s heartbreaking and exhausting all at the same time.  I hate to not see him feel well.  He doesn’t sleep or eat normally.  How can we maintain a schedule when there is always a reason why he is “off.”

Today he came home from daycare with possible pink eye for the second time in a month!  The first time, they didn’t say it was pink eye but treated him for it just in case.  I’m not convinced it is pink eye this time either, but he will stay home tomorrow just incase. 

I know, this is strengthening his immune system.  Well by how often he’s been sick, he should be immune to pretty much everything soon!!

Rant over! 🙂

Stop Making it Seem Like Working Moms Have it Easy

My social media has been flooded the past few days with Stay at Home Mom posts.  Blog articles stating the disadvantages to being a SAHM.  Facebook posts about how hard they have it.

First, before I even go on, I would like to say I do FULLY agree that staying home all day everyday would be very rough.  And no, not everyone is cut out for it.

Many of the articles I read made very valid points.

• Most, if not all, recognized that being able to stay home with the little ones is a privilege.  This is so true, not everyone can afford to only have one income.  Or, in the case of the single mom, not have an income.
• Having very little adult interaction.  This too is very true.  When I was on maternity leave, I did find that I would sometimes crave an adult conversation after being home straight for an entire week.
• Not having a reason to wear “real/cute clothes.”  Another thing I also noticed while I was home for 3 months.  Most days, I would be lucky to wear something other than pj/yoga pants.  I would feel accomplished the days that I showered and put on jeans!
• Worrying about getting back into the work force.  This was one thing I was worried about when making the choice whether or not to stay home or go back to work.  If I took time off, do I have to start over at an entry level position when I go back?  Will employers be understanding as to why I took time off from working?

Points that the articles made that are true, but not just for SAHM:

• Not ever being able to have “me” time.  Agreed, SAHMs probably have little time for themselves, but the same goes for working moms.  It’s unfair to count our time at work as “me” time.  While I’m at work, I actually get very little time to myself.  Now that I’m a mother, I have to eat my lunch at my desk so that I can get out as early as possible to get home to my baby.  Going out to lunch is few and far between.  And even if I do go out to lunch, it’s with work colleagues.  It’s not like I am sitting around a table with my girlfriends having margaritas and gossiping.  Also, I feel that working moms have more guilt when they do take anytime to themselves.  Since I am away from my child 10.5 hrs a day, 5 days a week.  I feel guilty if I am not spending every available second with him.  How can I take a half an hour to an hour for myself to even work out?  That’s just more time I am not spending with him.  People may start to question why I bothered to have a child if I can’t spend an adequate amount of time with him.  The same goes for having a night out with my husband, that is just more time that the  babyis with someone else.  So SAHMs may not have as much time to themselves as they used to, but working moms don’t have time either.  Sometimes, I’m lucky to change out of my work clothes by 10pm.
• Being a SAHM is a 24/7 job.  This is a good point to make if you’re trying to justify why you are staying home to someone who doesn’t have a child.  But to us working moms, we get it.  Yes, we have a 40/50 hours a week job.  That job does end and we do get “off” days, but when we come home we start job #2.  Just because I’m working, it doesn’t magically make my house clean or the laundry done.  There is forever a pile of dishes piling up.  SAHMs may struggle with trying to keep up with all of their chores.  So do we.  The only difference is, SAHMs will probably feel more pressure to have all the chores caught up at any point.  I also feel compelled to keep up with the chores.  Chores take time away from m child.  See point above.  Chores are now my “me” time.  Chores are something that I have to get done while the baby naps/sleeps.

After reading some of the comments on these blog posts and on social media, I felt angry.  I know that was not the point of these comments and articles.  SAHMs do have it tough too.  All moms do.  Working moms are not looking down on SAHMs and saying they have it easy.  Some aspects may be easier because they are home, but it does create other obstacles.  I just want it to be known that working moms do not pick going back to work as a way to get out of raising their children.  It is hard working and being a mom.  Your work is never done.  Being a Mom in general is challenging, but it is the most rewarding challenge.

All moms are doing the best they can.  We all deserve some guilt free time to ourselves.

No Rest for the Weary – Working Mom & Full Time Mommy

I’ve been back to work for a solid 3 months now.  So it’s safe to say we have gotten into the swing of a routine during the week.

On a good day, the alarm goes off and I get ready for work.  I get up early enough to leave enough time for a feed before it’s out the door to daycare/work.  A quick stop at daycare and I’m off on my 45 minute commute.  I work through lunch since I can no longer stay late.  I then make my 45 minute commute back to daycare and then home.  We get home and my little guy eats and has his bottle.  I quickly inhale some dinner.  Now it’s playtime! This is the highlight of my day.  We get about an hour and half before it’s time to start our bedtime routine.  After I lay him down for the night, I wash dishes and get everything prepared to do this all again the next day.

The routine is pretty easy to follow.  He wake up more some nights than others.  Everyday, I am exhausted!

I feel like anytime I get a free second I need to be accomplishing one of the many chores that I fail to get to on a regular basis.  Laundry is ALWAYS behind.

The weekends seem to be filled with family visits.  I am not complaining by any means.  I feel very blessed to have family close and family who want to be a part of his life.  It’s funny how before we had our little man, we could go weeks without anyone asking to visit.  Now, we seem to be in high demand. (I see where we rank!!)

I spend the rest of my weekend grocery shopping and cleaning.  I keep promising myself every weekend that I will TRY so much harder this upcoming week to maintain the house better.  This way, I won’t have to spend hours on the weekends cleaning up.  Ahhh, how nice would a few hours on a Sunday be to just relax.  Just have a lazy Sunday.  A lazy Sunday…HA!  I have yet to keep this promise to myself.

My mom keeps telling me, “If your house is spotless, then you’re not spending enough time with the baby.”  According the status of my house. I’m spending ALL of my time with the baby!  Every weekend, if a stranger walked in, I bet they would assume I was robbed and they trashed the place!

I need some organization in my life.  I also need some tips on how other working moms hold it together.  How do I be a good mom, keep up the house, be a good wife, and still find time for myself?  Oh, and sleep.  How does anyone catch up on sleep??

If one more person at work says, “Wow, you look tired today!”  I’m going to punch them!  That’s just a nice way to tell me I look like crap!  I get it!

Someone out there give this tired momma some tips!

How Did Our Parents Manage to Keep Us Alive Back Then

The list of things you should or should not do change as soon as you get pregnant.  You should eat more of this is you want your child to be smart, or you shouldn’t eat this because it could harm the baby.  If you do a quick search on the internet, you will find so many lists of things you cannot eat while pregnant.  For nine months, you place yourself on some sort of ‘diet’ and avoid these foods.  Nine months isn’t so long.  My main foods that I had to limit due to pregnancy was Tuna and Ham Sandwiches.  Oddly enough, I craved ham sandwiches with mayo,  but pre-pregnancy me despised ham.

As I went over the list of food that I should avoid or limit, my mom kept saying “I didn’t have to worry about that when I was pregnant.”  So that brought up my question. “How did I manage to make it to the age of 27, when my own mother didn’t have these restrictions when she was pregnant.”  “Could all of these foods really be that bad?”  “Has food changed  in the last 27 years?”

I don’t actually have the answer to these question.  I felt I should warn you, because these questions will not be answered in this post (or any future posts!)

I listened to the doctors and did what was recommended in “this day and age.”  And I managed to give birth to a healthy baby!  Whew!!!…Dodged a bullet there!  Then I realized I was going to try and breastfeed (yes, I realized I failed to lack of self control.)  So for the first few weeks, I again needed to watch what I ate.  It was short lived to a cow’s milk sensitivity in my little guy.

Fast forward- He’s finally at the age to start trying foods!  Of course, I take to the internet to find out how much/how often.  You know, the general questions.  My mom, MIL, and grandmas have been telling me to start off with rice cereal.  Upon researching, I find that we should now forgo the rice cereal.  It’s empty calories and serves no purpose.  It will just make him gain weight.  Hmmm…I know childhood obesity is on the rise, could it be avoided by not giving him rice cereal?!!  That’s silly, he’s a baby.

I decide to not do the rice cereal.  We will go straight onto purees.  I later find out that some are now skipping purees all together!  I’m totally overwhelmed.  I didn’t do enough research before I brought this living being into my world.  Have I failed as a parent already?!?!

I feel like THAT parent who ONLY gives their kid fast food.  *Sigh*  My husband and I both had purees as babies, I’m guessing this isn’t going to be my biggest fail as a parent, right?

Next, the moms and  grandmas are asking about giving him juice.  “Have you tried juice yet?”  “When can he have juice?”

I have not given it to him yet.  I feel he should be able to handle it soon, but I’m going to do my research first.  I can’t make another mistake with his feeding!  Turns out, even baby juice is frowned upon now.  There is too much sugar in it.  *Sigh*  I shouldn’t even water it down, when he is old enough I should opt for fruit infused water.

With all of these  new precautions and dietary recommendations, how on Earth did I manage to make it through my childhood?!?  Who decides on these “new rules,” and how do I know that they won’t change again.

Sorry little guy, Mom let you eat purees.  He likes it and I’m going to continue on with it!

How I Knew My Baby Was Teething

When my normal calm baby turned into an uncontrollable screaming baby, I knew something was brewing.  He turns 5 this month, so teething crossed my mind.  I was hoping it was too soon for teething!  (Please let it be too soon for teething!!!). I love my little toothless guy.

I read all the symptoms of teething.  Drooling, chewing, and seeing a tooth. Yes, most sites do actually list seeing a tooth as a sign of teething.  I find this slightly humorous.  How do you know your baby is getting a tooth?? You see it!  That’s Captain Obvious!!   

Here were the signs that my little guy was teething:

• Less of an appetite.  I have an eater on my hands.  He easily will eat 40-45oz a day PLUS some solids.  So when he started to push his bottle away and barely eat 30oz, I knew something was up.  Although, my first instinct was that his tummy was upset.
• He was running a low grade fever.  I know the jury is out on this one.  Some believe that teething does not cause a fever, but he did have a low grade fever.  He was not sick. 
• He decide sleep was no longer an option.  My baby who was on a good sleep schedule was suddenly waking up multiple times a night (sometimes every hour…yikes!!!) to be comforted.  
• He was drooling. ALOT!  He has been drooling for awhile.  Probably since 2 or 3 month old, but it got worse.  Baby saliva everywhere! 
• He wanted to gnaw on whatever he could get his hands on.  I’m talking his pacifier, blanket, teether, hand, and even my hands.  Whatever he could pick up would go straight to his mouth.
• He started to cry all the time.  And I’m talking SCREAMING!  If he was distracted, he was crying. This is what made night time so stressful. 

So what’s the good news?  It was short lived?  This I cannot answer!  I’m being told as soon as the teeth cut through he will be a new baby! (Or atleast my old happy baby!). Sadly, his teeth have not cut through yet.

So here’s to more sleepless nights, long days at work, and coffee…lots of coffee!!!



First Night Out – Without Baby!

Mr. Baby is almost 2 month old now (eekk! Time is flying!)  I have avoided going anywhere without him for the last two months.  I have left him with Dad while I made a quick run to the grocery store.  He has also stayed with each Grandma for about an hour without me or my husband.  But tonight, we will be gone for AT LEAST 5-6 hours!!!

This is the longest I will go without seeing him.  We are leaving him with Grandma, and I know she is capable of looking after him.  Obviously, she had her own kids and raised them, but I’m terrified.

I like to believe I’m not one of those crazy moms. (Maybe I am and I just don’t know it?)  I feel bad that I’m not going to be there when he cries.  I have always been there to comfort him.  And, I track just about EVERYTHING he does.  Go ahead and ask me how many dirty diapers he had 16 days ago.  I will be able to give you an answer!  I bought an app that lets me track everything from feedings, diaper changes, sleep, and activity time.  Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe I am crazy?  And possibly a control freak?

Also, he has a slight diaper rash right now.  I have been treating it and it has gotten better, but will I look like a bad mom in Grandma’s eyes because of this?  I sure hope not, but I can’t help thinking I will be judged.  How dare I let my child get a diaper rash!

I’m not sure how many diapers to pack or bottles to prepare.  And I know what you’re thinking….how can I not know if I track everything he does?  I should have a pretty good idea right?  WRONG!  What if tonight is the night that he decided to poop every hour, or what if he is extra hungry tonight?!  (quick note:  I always over pack for ANYTHING)  How many change of clothes should I pack?  He has a slight reflux issue and spits up A LOT!  Sometimes I change him 3 times throughout the night.  Maybe three should suffice then?

I knew eventually I would have to leave him with someone else, it just seems like the time has flown by.  I have about 25 more days until I go back to work, so I guess this will be a good practice run for when I do go back.  I won’t be able to check in constantly with a daycare, so tonight I will make sure to limit myself to only once an hour!  I’m just kidding, about the once an hour.  I will however feel the need to check in at some point.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Baby vs Puppy vs Mommy

My husband and I had the bright idea of getting a puppy while we were trying to get pregnant.  Both of our families have dogs, and we both wanted a dog.  We thought, why put it off?  It could take us month, or maybe years, to fall pregnant.

We traveled 4 and half hours one way to pick up our new fur-baby.  She was so little, fury, and cuddly – what’s not to love??  This dog and the future baby will be best friends!!

 This is the puppy just two weeks after coming to live with us!

We were pregnant within 2 months of bringing home our furball!  Our puppy was just a year old when we brought the baby home.  She barks nonstop at anything.  The fan, vacuum, shadows, the noise my breast pump makes, and the list goes on.  I read that the baby would not be startled by her bark because he will be used to hearing it.  That turned out to be true! Whew!

Her still being a puppy brings on challenges.  If I drop something, I have exactly .02 seconds to pick it up or she will have it.  This includes the baby’s pacifiers or burp clothes.  She has destroyed both.  And I do not get any sympathy from the husband on this matter.  His advice?  Be more careful and don’t leave things where the dog can get them.  OH!  Is that how it works?  I wasn’t aware that I wasn’t allowed to drop something.  Sometimes juggling a baby, a bottle, the burp cloth, and not trying to trip over the dog is just too much!  If I have to choose any of those to drop, the burp cloth would be the one I would choose!  Doesn’t mean that I want it to get destroyed before I get the chance to bend down and pick it up.  And I have to do this fast, while holding the baby and bottle in his mouth!

I don’t know what we’re going to do when the baby is able to actually play with toys and starts moving around.  It’s not fair to keep her locked up all of the time, but it’s not fair that he would only be able to play with toys in his room.  My husband and I battle about this all of the time.  But that is a whole different issue.  I will leave that issue for Future Me to deal with!

My baby has been fussy recently.  He wants to be held ALL of the time.  Which don’t get me wrong, I love cuddle time with him.  It does make it really hard to get anything accomplished.  Also, he hasn’t really been taking naps the last couple of days.  I’m lucky to get 45 minutes before he wakes up.

So today, I changed him and fed him – and by some miracle he fell asleep!  I am finally going to be able to accomplish something with out him strapped to me in his carrier!  First, I decide to pump.  It is so much easier to pump while I can sit back and watch TV.  Just as I am finishing up, I hear the UPS truck outside of my window.  Great, I pray they don’t ring the doorbell.  I can’t answer the door while still hooked up to my pump, AND the dog will go crazy.  I peek out the window and see the driver running back to the truck without my package in handle.  Whew!  Crisis averted there!

WRONG!  My dog heard the sound of the brake being released and decided to go crazy!  She starts barking.  I’m optimistic that the baby will be able to tune her out.  I lure her into the kitchen and close the baby gate.  She continues to bark for what seems like FOREVER!  It wasn’t forever, but it was for a solid 5 minutes!  She finally starts to calm down, and the soft cry of my baby can now be heard.

She woke the baby!  I’m furious with the dog.  The baby is inconsolable.  Today will not be the day for me to accomplish anything.  Maybe tomorrow?

Having a puppy and a newborn have been a huge challenge.  I feel like every day is a new battle with the puppy.  I’m not heartless, I promise, but there have been times where I wish we could give the puppy a new home.  That being said, I give credit to all of you Moms out there who have a newborn and a toddler(s) running around!  You must have a lot of patience or drink a lot of wine!! 🙂

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there!! (At least in the states!)

It’s that time of year again, when everyone on social media feel the need to say what they are thankful for.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’m not thankful for anything.  I just do not feel the need to post on Facebook the same post everyone else is posting.  “I am so thankful for my family and friends.”

I am very thankful for both of these groups of people in my life, but I am thankful for them each and everyday.  Why do I have post or tweet it?  If you want to share your thankfulness on social media, make it something that is unique to you.  Something new has had to have happen in the last year that you are thankful for.

With that said, what I am thankful for may sound cliche.

I am extremely blessed to have my first child with me this Thanksgiving.  (I told you it was going to sound cliche!) Last year, a few weeks before Thanksgiving, my husband and I found out we were pregnant.  We felt so overjoyed and blessed.  We managed to keep it a secret at our Friendsgiving (we normally have it a a week or so before Thanksgiving.)  I didn’t feel brave enough to tell anyone that early about the pregnancy (thank goodness.)

Everything changed the week of Thanksgiving last year.  I knew what was happening, but I called the doctors to confirm.  They did blood work on that Monday.  I had to go back and repeat the blood work.  They were then able to confirm that I was in fact losing my baby.  Heartbroken doesn’t even describe how I was feeling.  They told me I should pass everything on my own, and after the holiday I would have blood work done to confirm it.

Needless to say, I did not take the time to be grateful for anything last Thanksgiving.  I was also still very bitter during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

So I am beyond grateful that one year later, I have a healthy baby boy.  He does not replace the baby that was lost, but he is the greatest addition to our little family.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day with family and friends!!

Welcome to the World of Motherhood

My husband and I got married in 2011.  We decided we did not want to start a family right away.  We were young (23 & 25) when we got married, and just wanted to enjoy being married first.

Fast forward to February 2014 – Our pregnancy test came back positive!  We were overjoyed and overwhelmed all at the same time.  This was a planned pregnancy, but it doesn’t quite hit home until you get the positive test.

Fast forward again to October 20, 2014 – We welcomed a bouncing baby boy into our family.  It’s time to bring this bundle of joy home from the hospital.  As soon as the release papers are signed, I start to have a mini panic attack.  They are letting my husband and I take home a baby, and we are now responsible for another human being! And, he does not come with instructions!!!!!!!  Shouldn’t there be some kind of test we need to pass first?!?!

Over the 9 months that I was pregnant, I had a million people offering me “advice” on parenting.

• Sleep now, once the baby is here you will never have time to sleep….EVER AGAIN!!
• Take some time for yourself now, once the baby is here you will never have time to yourself….EVER AGAIN!!!
• Enjoy meals now, once the baby is here you will never be able to enjoy a hot meal….EVER AGAIN!!!

You get where this is going…  Everyone made it seem like I would never have time for anything EVER AGAIN.  Life as I knew it would change forever.  My husband and I often joked about all of these comments while I was pregnant.  Anytime my husband would be watching a TV show, I would jokingly tell him not to get used to watching TV because he would NEVER have time once the baby was here.  Now that the baby is here, I realize that I really do have a limited amount of time to do ANYTHING!

Motherhood brought a new love into my life.  A love that I cannot put into words.  I always chuckled at the people who would say “I can’t describe the love you have once you have a child.”  Now, I am one of those people saying it!!

With every milestone, comes a challenge.  And we are ready for this crazy ride called parenthood!!