3 Months

Lily turned 3 months old on Saturday, the day we went to the County Line Orchard with some law students. It poured most of the way there and then stopped by the time we arrived so that it was a perfectly grey day for picking out a pumpkin. We went on a hay ride, wandered around their barn looking at all their fun and delicious products, and had lunch at their restaurant. It was a good day, but at the end of it we were all pretty tired. 

The day before I made gingersnap cookies with my mom. (She did all of it while I watched. My excuse is that Lily had a shot that day.) They were excellent. So much so that when Joe was eating one Lily grabbed it out of his hand and looked very surprised that she was successful. She also made a cute little squeak that sounded kind of like "woah!"

Finally we had a lazy Sunday. This picture is actually from Saturday night, but is more representative of how we spent the next day. Duncan is not trying to escape, he just likes to dangle his head and paws off the edge of the couch. 

Friday's appointment was with the other pediatrician at the office we go to. I liked him MUCH better. When we were in Tucson we just picked someone off the insurance list because we weren't going to be there too long. We actually ended up really liking him. Then when we moved here that same approach did not work. I think because we had experienced someone so awesome previously, it was hard for anyone else to measure up. After three attempts we've found one that will do. I didn't think it would be so hard. Anyway, we're happy now. 

Have a great week! 

Week 2

So, this wasn't a great week for exercise. I did good at the beginning and had dropped all the way to 169.4 on Thursday. Then came the weekend. Lily got vaccinated on Friday, so all she wanted to do for the rest of the day was comfort nurse. Saturday we went to the County Line Orchard in Hobart Indiana. That took a lot of time and some walking, but not a whole lot. Sunday I had a headache off and on all day (which truthfully probably would have been helped by going for a walk) and it kept threatening to pour. I know these are just excuses, but it's interesting to see just how much not doing anything has an effect. As of this morning, I weighed 171lbs. 


M: 70 min walk with 20 min jog. This felt great even with the stroller.
T: 60 min walk with grandma! Also, lots of lifting and unpacking boxes.
W: 60 min walk
Th: Baby and me yoga. Unfortunately, the class is right during the time that Lily usually takes a nap while I walk run. This means she is ok for about the first half of the class and then I have to sit and nurse her while she sleeps.
F: Nothing 
S: Pumpkin Patch
S: Nothing

Morton Arboretum

Here are some pictures from our trip out to the Morton Arboretum. Lily will finally tolerate wearing a hat which is a good thing since it's starting to get colder. 

Week 1

Was a success! As of this morning the scale said 170.8 lbs, so I lost two over the week. Hooray! Here's the record of what I did as far as "exercise" not including our regular daily tasks. 


M: 70 min walk with 15 min jog in the middle. Lily and I have a certain loop that we go on for our walk/jogs that usually includes a quick stop at the grocery store near the very end (not included in the total # of minutes).
T: 70 min walk
W: 30 min jog with Joe. Running without the stroller is amazing! I hadn't realized just how much resistance the stroller added, but it is significant. I felt like I was flying without it. I'm encouraged that I can actually run for half an hour.
Th: Baby and Me Yoga at Sweet Peas Studios. It's a bit of a drive, but it is definitely worth it. The instructor, Jenny is extremely welcoming and normal (I've had a few really bizarre yoga instructors over the years). There are only two other women in the class, so it feels really personalized. Lily is the oldest and the smallest baby. 
F: 3 hours of walking errands wearing Lily in the Baby Bjorn (thanks Angela!). We took the train up to City Hall to get a Chicago vehicle sticker and Lily passed out so I just kept doing things around town. 
S: 3.5 mile hike in Morton Arboretum with my parents to see the fall colors. It was a perfect day for that. 
S: 90 min stroll around the neighborhood with Joe after the Bears game. 


Hopefully this week will go just as well!

Good week

So far, this has been a pretty good week. The weather has been great, I've been able to cook a lot and Lily has been in a great mood. I got the DVD's unpacked and organized/stored the baby stuff. Next week my mom is going to come out to the apartment to watch Lily while I do some major unpacking. I can't wait. 


Yesterday we went to visit my mom and Lily was so smiley and alert. She has really cute dimples and a very jolly smile. She really likes to clutch her hands together and stare intently at them trying to figure out how to get them apart again. She was in such a good mood we tried to get a picture of her smiling. Of course, as soon as the camera came out she became very serious. 

After about 20 minutes of doing ridiculous things she finally smiled for the camera, only with a toy in front of her face. This was the best we could do. 

And finally, we have quite possibly the strangest cat on the planet. Cats hate water, right? Not our cat. We came home after a jog last night to find this:

This is everything cats are supposed to hate: cold, hard, and damp. Ridiculous. When I tried to shoo him out he wouldn't budge so I turned the faucet on. Surely, this would make him move. But no. With the cool water pleasantly trickling on his tail and pooling around him, Duncan serenely reached his head forward and began to drink from the running tap and purring loudly as if to say "Thank you for installing my own personal waterfall with pool." I turned the water off and he stuck his face right under the tap to see where the water went. I turned the cold water on full blast. Didn't even phase him. So then I had to scoop out a soaking wet cat from the sink (my own fault, I know). I put him on the floor, he shook off the water and hopped up onto the toilet to wait for me to finish with the sink so he could snuggle back in. Oh well. At least he's not destroying the furniture. 

Fall in the City

I had forgotten how much I love real fall. The leaves crunching under your feet, the blue October sky, the slight chill in the air (not so much this week), and the smell of wood burning in people's fireplaces. I'm glad to be back.

Lily has grown a lot this week it seems. She's finally big enough for the Baby Bjorn a friend gave us. The sling is still her favorite but I can do so much more with the other carrier. She has a very jolly smile that is hard to catch in a picture. Also, she's finally on the border of being too big for the newborn size diapers. She can still rock the newbie clothes, though. This picture cracks me up because it looks nothing like her. Her face is definitely chubbier than it used to be, but not this much. Also, she's started losing her hair. Mostly it's just at the front for now leaving a glorious mullet in the back. Awesome.

172.8

That is the number my scale said this morning. I'm not too disturbed by the fact that this is almost eight pounds more than when we left Tucson for several reasons: 1) this is a new scale; 2) I have been more mobile over the past month and am starting to gain back muscle that I lost on bed rest; and 3) my clothes are fitting better so I'm clearly getting smaller. Even so, this number is bigger than I would like it to be. 


I was inspired by my friend Erik who just competed in the Chicago Marathon. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but have never really had the time to train for one. I feel like now is that time. To be honest with myself, the chances of me actually completing 26.2 miles are very low because of my wacky hips. But I am going to operate under the assumption that they will hold up if I take care of them and don't push too hard too fast. 


I am pretty good at making grandiose plans and then not following through with them. I also find public shame a very strong motivator. Therefore, I am publicly announcing my intentions to train for the 2011 Chicago Marathon and to lose 20 pounds in the process. On Mondays I will post about the previous weeks workouts as well as my average weight for the week. This is mostly for my own record keeping, but also motivation to keep going. 


From now until it is too cold to run outside (or the snow is too deep) I am going to work on rebuilding my endurance. Over the winter I will focus on speed and strength. Then spring training! I have been a big fan of Hal Higdon's training programs in the past, so I think I'll go with him again starting in April. 


So it's official now. Let the sweating begin!

Acceptance

I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost two weeks now, and there are a few things I have had to come to terms with:

1) My body is not the same as it was pre-pregnancy. While I am officially down to my pre-pregnancy weight, I am definitely not my pre-pregnancy shape. I was prepared for the changes in how I looked, but I was not expecting to feel so different. When I jog things jiggle that never have before, and I get tired way sooner than I think I should. As someone who thinks of herself as a runner, I am disappointed that I'm winded after jogging for 10 minutes in the middle of my daily walk with Lily. I need to remember that I was sedentary for almost three months and I need to go slow. On a more positive yet slightly demeaning note, on our walk today I got honked at for the first time in a very long while. I find that I am equal parts flattered and offended by this. It's good to know that I don't necessarily look like the lumpy sack of potatoes that I feel like sometimes.

2) The apartment will get unpacked eventually. Lily likes to nurse for comfort a lot, and won't accept a pacifier or tolerate being put down so I can't do a whole lot. She will sleep in the sling for about an hour in the morning before getting too fussy so that is pretty much my only chance to get things done. I have this compulsion to have the area around me be neat. I end up spending most of my "free" time straightening up, and then only have a little while to try to unpack. Joe has done a good job of helping me get the living room, dining room, bedroom and our bathroom mostly box free. But our office is still full of unopened boxes of stuff that belongs on shelves in the other rooms. By the time Joe gets home in the evenings, all we want to do is relax together and I am unwilling to sacrifice the little time we have together for unpacking. I'm just frustrated with not having everything put away and having everything feel only partly done.

3) I do not love being a stay-at-home mom. There, I said it. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm making a mistake. I am absolutely convinced that it is the right thing for our family right now and I am happy to do it. I definitely enjoy watching Lily grow and learn new things every day, having the time to go for long walks while the weather is nice, and being able to cook real food while Joe sits with Lily in the evening. I am having trouble filling the hours that I just sit with Lily nursing. I tried listening to the local NPR station, but I am sorely disappointed in their programming. It seems to be a lot of uninteresting filler and jazz. I hate jazz. Daytime broadcast TV is mind numbing, and I haven't mastered the one handed reading trick. I can type with one hand, but there's only so much time I'm willing to spend on the computer. So, I'm looking for suggestions of good books on tape/CD, good radio stations to stream through my laptop, or anything I can do with one hand (keep it clean people).

Writing this post has been more cathartic for me than usual. Somehow, writing about acceptance has helped bring it about some. It will take me a while, but I am settling into this new life and am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.