. . . → Read More: AJH: Week 9]]> Xander is 9 weeks old today and has his two month pediatrician appointment tonight. He’ll be getting three vaccines today — two shots and one oral. I’ve heard that the oral one is actually the worst. I’ll hate to see him cry and know bedtime will be full of cuddles.

Little man got to see lots of family this week. My sister fly into town to meet Xander for the first time and my dad and stepmom made a day trip for my cousins graduation party, so we got to see them plus everyone at the party!

Here are some notable mentions from week 9:

• Will (usually) sleep in the crib but still wakes up 3-5 times a night. Yes, you read that right.
• Rolls from back to side and back again.
• Doesn’t hate tummy time anymore. Doesn’t love it, but doesn’t hate it.
• Has SUCH improved neck control.
• Is starting to look at toys.
• Grabs a handful of shirt or blanket when you are cuddling him. This isn’t the first week that he’s done this, just the first time I’m mentioning it since he does it so often now. He will also grab your skin if there is nothing else to hold onto — little stinker.
• Hates the heat.
• Loves loves the bath.
• Smiles a TON after waking.  
• Is more tolerant of being set down for 10-15 minutes at a time in the swing, pack and play, chair, or play mat.
• Has been getting uber cranky around 7:45 for bedtime. (Although the last few days he hasn’t been doing this).
• Sat in the stroller without the infant carrier (car seat portion) for the first time for a short walk. The stroller has a complete recline option where he was laying down flat. He really seemed to like it and fell right to sleep on the walk.
• Is still nursing well without the nipple shield. Like last week, he won’t nurse without the shield if he is worked up though.
• Loves to stand.

Even though Xander’s overnight sleeping habits are worse at week 9 than they were at week 8, he is still the light of our lives! We’re just a little more tired than normal. We love you little man!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

My sister came . . . → Read More: My First Postpartum Run]]> Last Friday I had the opportunity to test my legs with my first running mile. I have been walking a lot, on my own and with the moms group, but hadn’t gotten around to figuring out how to get out of the house for a solo run.

My sister came into town last Thursday, so we met one of my mom friends on Friday for a usual walk. This time though, my sister was able to chat it up with my friend while I timed myself on my first postpartum mile.

After a warm up walking mile it was time to get moving…

I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised! Pre-baby I ran some miles like this, so this is wonderful!

Overall the mile felt good. My legs were fine and my lungs were decent. The area that I feel I need work on are my abs. I totally forgot how much you use your abs while running! The next day I only had slight soreness on the front part of my ankles. I need to get those feet used to wearing sneakers again! Haha. We wrapped up the walk with two more miles and I left feeling proud of my 4 miles accomplish with a great first mile!

John and I need to figure out how I can get some runs in during the week, but we have plans for the weekend that involve some mommy-running time. There is actually an awesome gym that I want to tour down the street that has daycare, classes, a pool, and more. I think this might be a great option for working out during the daytime with Xander — just need to see if the membership fee fits into our budget! I’m pretty excited about the possibility though.

I know I tweeted out the above picture right after my run, so a big thanks is in order to all those who have shown me support thus far! I really appreciate it and am very excited to start this new chapter of my fitness journey!

Have you ever had to start a new chapter to your fitness journey? What is some good advice to keep in mind?

PS. My super awesome husband registered me for the Army Ten Miler yesterday before it sold out! I’m so excited to start doing races in the DC area — there are so many! The race filled up quickly and my friend, who tried registering only a half hour after me, found out it was already full! She’s going to keep an eye on the list for transfer bibs though! Also, there are SO many bloggers running this race and I’m so excited to have a meet-up with them!! Anyway, thanks again babe!

Hello there lovely HH readers! I’m Maria . . . → Read More: Myths We Were Told While Pregnant by Maria]]> Today I have one of my new blog friends, Maria, sharing a guest post! Maria pretty awesome — she’s a personal trainer, a military wife, and mom to a wonderful baby. I highly encourage you to check out her blog!

Hello there lovely HH readers! I’m Maria and I blog over at a life to Bragg about, and like Katie, I’m also a new mom to a gorgeous baby boy. I love to work out and share healthy recipes and tips so I’m excited to have the opportunity to do the same with Katie’s wonderful blog. Since I especially love talking about all things baby, today I’m hoping to debunk some of the silly “myths” I was told before having my baby. Motherhood is a wonderful ride and if I have the opportunity to share its joys with others, you bet I will!

The first myth is one that I heard over and over again while pregnant. At times, I wanted to rip a person’s head off after hearing “you’ll never get your body back” and then scream at them “you don’t know me!” because I heard that phrase so much.

Here’s why I almost went hulk smash on those people: It’s simply not true. Thing may be a tad bit squishy, wider and not as taut but with hard work, determination, and dedication, it is totally possible to get your body back. Granted, it may take some time, but telling someone they can’t or never will do something is only more motivation to prove you wrong. Our bodies just went through nine months of incubating a precious little human being, it will most likely take 9 months (or even longer) to get that weight off.

Unless you’re one of the Victoria’s Secret Angels or a genetic freak like them, of course.

The next myth I was also told was that “you’ll be back to your pre- pregnancy size in no time”. This one didn’t bother me too much because the optimist in me liked to believe that I was being complimented. But I still feel that I need to dispel this “myth” because in my experience, it didn’t happen that way.

I was told this because I worked very hard (within reason) during my pregnancy and I planned to breastfeed. While pregnant, I swam once a week, did yoga and CrossFit several times a week, and I ran up until the day I delivered. But as hard as I worked, there was no guarantee that my body would “shrink” back to it’s size the second I popped out my little dude. In fact, here I am 5 months later and I’m still not back to my pre-pregnancy size or weight. Granted, I don’t necessarily look like I’m holding on to pregnancy weight but I know my body, and it’s there. Which brings me to the actual point I’m trying to make, just because a woman works out during her pregnancy does not mean she’ll “be back to her pre-pregnancy size in no time”. It’s hard, people.

And just because a woman is nursing, it doesn’t mean she’ll lose the weight quickly either. For the majority of women, it can be difficult to lose those pesky last 10lbs while nursing simply because the body needs extra maternal stores to make that nutritious gold for baby. And even if you’ve made it a point to eat the perfect amount of clean, wholesome foods at exactly every 3 hours to keep your metabolism kicking, nursing makes you so hungry you want to gnaw your baby’s arm. To put it simply, nursing makes it really hard to adhere to the calories in vs. calories out principle.

And this brings me to the next myth.

“You’re breastfeeding so you’re allowed to eat more and shouldn’t work out too much because it will affect your supply”.

Um.

No.

Just because your body requires an extra 500-800 calories per day to make milk for your baby is not an excuse to eat 3 Snickers bars in one sitting. It’s okay to splurge every now and then but generally, your extra calories should come from nutritious whole foods as they’re passed along to your baby via your milk. You want what’s best for your baby, right?

And though there are always exceptions, you can still exercise vigorously and have no adverse effect on your milk supply. As long as you’re eating enough calories to support the extra calories needed for nursing, and you’re drowning yourself in water, nursing shouldn’t be too much of a problem for most women.

Speaking of exercise, another gem I was often told was that “you can workout later”.

HAH!

On the rare occasion my baby does not want to be held, cuddled or played with, I will gladly seize that opportunity to squeeze in a workout. Working out with a baby is never a guarantee as anything can happen to preclude you from working out. So if you’re blessed with that small window of opportunity, there is no time like the present to do so. Dishes be done later, and writing a blog post can wait. If baby is napping, WORK OUT. This may not apply to everyone but I especially had a difficult time with finding time to work out as I had a baby that rarely slept and my husband was away for the first 4 months of his life. But I made it work by squeezing in 15 minutes here and there, or doing squats in the kitchen while my baby was in the baby carrier. All of this just goes to show that time with a baby is precious, so work out when you can and make that workout count, because you never know when the next one will be.

  

I understand that I may have made motherhood seem like a difficult journey, but it is. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s a piece of cake but as I mentioned earlier, it really is an amazing ride and one that I’m truly happy to be on.

I’m not at my pre pregnancy weight, it took me awhile to get back into my pre-pregnancy jeans, I’m breastfeeding and trying not to eat everything in sight, and I don’t get to workout when I want and for how long I want but all of that doesn’t matter as much to me now. Once your breath is taken away when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, everything is completely worth it.

Thank you so much for debunking some of these myths that I’m sure MANY women have heard, Maria!

Xander even surprised me with a little gift…

I think he might have had some help . . . → Read More: My First Mother’s Day]]> John and Xander took me out for an early Mother’s Day dinner on Wednesday. I enjoyed two sushi rolls and some crab/asparagus soup. It was a really fun evening!

Xander even surprised me with a little gift…

I think he might have had some help from daddy…

Close up version of Xander’s Mother’s Day story…

I love my family so much!

Thank you for making my first Mother’s Day so special John and Xander! You are the best boys a gal could ever ask for.

Happy Mother’s Day to all mommies, step-mommies, mommies-in-law, soon-to-be mommies, and those who care like mommies… you are all appreciated!!

Who loves pancakes? If you’re anything like me, you are up for trying pancakes in many fashions. When I found out I was selected for the Dole campaign via Glam media, I was excited to try an incorporate pineapple into my favorite weekend breakfast.

I . . . → Read More: Pineapple Chocolate Chip Pancakes]]>

Who loves pancakes? If you’re anything like me, you are up for trying pancakes in many fashions. When I found out I was selected for the Dole campaign via Glam media, I was excited to try an incorporate pineapple into my favorite weekend breakfast.

I love pancakes and I love pineapple dipped in chocolate fondue. I thought it would be fun to merge these ideas into one unique pancake for this Dole campaign. You can find the recipe to my pineapple chocolate chip pancakes on foodie.com. It was my first time using this website and I really enjoyed the experience. The recipes are displayed in an aesthetically pleasing way and I love that you can add a picture for every step of the recipe.

I actually created two ways to enjoy these pancakes. I’m not sure which way I enjoy best!

Want to create an original recipe for Dole too? Head over to the Dole Facebook page where they are calling all cooks! You can submit your recipe and potentially win a trip to Los Angeles to compete in the 2012 Dole California Cook-Off. Grand prize is $10,000 cash and two runners up will receive $1000 cash. There is also a sweepstakes happening for your chance to be a fan judge! You would be flown to Los Angeles and receive $500! How cool is that?

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Dole via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dole.

I LOVED LOVED eating potatoes in any form while pregnant. After I make a quiche with a hash brown crust I always have a little bit of hash browns left in the bag. On a whim I threw this simply hash brown omelette together and it’s a perfect way . . . → Read More: Simple Hashbrown Omelette]]>

I LOVED LOVED eating potatoes in any form while pregnant. After I make a quiche with a hash brown crust I always have a little bit of hash browns left in the bag. On a whim I threw this simply hash brown omelette together and it’s a perfect way to use up the left of the bag and it’s tastes scrumptious!

Yay or nay on ketchup?