Small Victory!

Pretty much from the day I got out of the hospital I have been trying to get my body back to the way it used to be.  Which is funny because I wasn't all that happy with it before I was pregnant.  We women are never happy when it comes to bodies and weight!
Of course while I was breastfeeding I ate healthy and didn't limit myself by any means.  I had also had a C-section so I couldn't do much for the first 6 weeks anyways.  Once they were over though, that's when I started getting serious about things.  I finally had weighed myself and it was great but it wasn't terrible either.  While pregnant I had gained 32 lbs and the scale was telling me I had 13 more to go.  Sounds doable right?  Things are never that easy with a baby around.  This is my first time being at home with a baby.  I have worked since I was 16 so its the first time in a long time I've been home all day for an extended period time.  So boredom does sometime take over and that is my down fall to weight loss.  When I'm bored, I eat!  Even worse, when I'm bored I bake!  Guess who eats the baking afterwards..
Anyways, I've been steering clear of the baking, and if I'm bored and thinking of food I will grab a piece of gum first to see if that will suffice.  I also downloaded an app call my fitness pal that lets your put in everything you eat so you can track your calories.  Its easy to use, you start with putting in your current weight and the weight you would like to be.  It figures out your daily caloric intake and you try to stick to it or slightly below.  You can either search for your food of choice or it also has a bar code scanner.  Or if you're into baking like I am you can manually enter in recipes and it will figure out the calories per serving.  It also has an area that you enter in any exercise you have done.  It's really amazing how quickly the calories add up! 
So I have been actively trying to lose weight for a little over a month now and I am down 5 lbs.  Which may not sound a lot to some but I prefer the slow and steady method.  I feel like I have more of a chance of keeping it off that way.  I've never been into the gimmick weight loss options.  I have especially never been into the diets that require denying you the things you like to eat.  So, every day I enter in everything I eat; bad stuff included.  If I go over because of the bad stuff then I know I have to make up for it in exercise.  It seems like the closest thing to happy medium you can get in the dieting world.  At this rate I should be able to fit into my summer capris just in time for summer to be over! lol..oh well!

Mom's networking

I have been pretty honest from the get go, I am an introvert.  I'm not much for small talk or getting together in large groups.  I do have to admit that after being cooped up in the house for 3 months now even I crave outside interaction.  So I threw it out there on a local forum to see if there were other moms in my area in the same situation.  I didn't get much reply but I did get some.  I went out today and met them and went for a walk with the little ones.  I have to say it was soo nice to have someone to vent/talk to and say "Yes! I know exactly what you're talking about", or to talk it out and get another perspective from someone in a close situation.  Sometimes, not even your significant other, can understand your day like someone else who is with a baby day in and out 24/7.  So lesson learned, it pays to put yourself out there and build your own network; however big or small.  You might learn something or you may have figured something out that they haven't.  It just feels good to realize you are not the only one who doesn't have all the answers!

Stay Strong Momma!

I have recently began the endeavor of breaking my baby girl from her soother attachment.  She was never one to need it all the time but it was a must for easy bed time/nap times.  It made life easy cause you just popped it in there and she knew what she was suppose to be doing.  Until it fell out..no problem, i'll just pop it back in there.  Fell out again..no problem, I got that for ya darling.  Fall out again, and again, and again, and again.  Until it has fallen out so many times I consider myself the stair master!  It's not the worst thing in the world by any means.  Good work out to get those extra baby pounds off, but really, how well can she really be sleeping if she wakes up every time it falls out.  It has to go! 
The controversial part is that she is not quite 3 months old yet. There are some that say that this is too young to take it from her and others that say the younger the better; they won't remember and haven't officially created a bond to it yet.  I beg to differ.  Perhaps not a bond but there is definitely a reliance on it.  It makes her feel cozy and secure and doesn't like the idea of someone taking that away.  It's like telling an adult they can't have that comfort food they crave when they're having a tough day.  Not necessarily good for us but it makes us feel better temporarily. 
Anyways, I started off pretty slowly.  She hasn't been feeling well because of some formula issues but we've been to the dr. and she seems to be doing a little better.  I started off putting her down for her nap a couple minutes early without her soother and see if she would ask for it.  If she asked for it I would give it to her.   If not, all the better for me.  Lots of times she wouldn't ask for it, fall asleep, and then wake up halfway wanting it.  After a couple days of this I moved onto if she asked for it I would let her talk it out for like 5 mins.  Not run to her with it like I usually do.  Sometimes she would talk it out with herself and realize she could live without it, others she ended up screaming bloody murder.  We are on day 6 and 3 naps in I've only had to give her her soother once *knock on wood*. 
Moral of the story is stay strong; stick with it!  Might seem like a pointless task, like you may just be torturing yourself and her.  It does get better and easier.  I'm sure both of us will be thankful in the end!