Weigh-In Wednesday

Well folks, it's weigh-in Wednesday! The first of its kind. And the verdict is......

Week 1:

Weight Loss This Week: -2.1 pounds!!

Total Weight Loss: -2.1 pounds

I am really happy with my progress for the first week.  I ate out a couple of times this week which probably wasn't the best, but its reality.  It happens. I did take a couple of walks this week with the kids to help off set some of it. 

This also means that I am officially 2 pounds BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight! Woot! I've had a lot of people inquire about the WW program and how it is going. I hope that I may have inspired some friends to get healthy as well. We can all take this journey together! 

I also had my Hubby (who laughed at me for doing this!) take some before pictures of me.  I want to document my success and physically see how far I am going to go and where I started.

And here is Avonlea at 4 weeks old. She's a lot cuter than I am. Ha!

WW recipes

I know there are others out there trying to eat right and lose some weight, so I thought it might be fun to post some recipes that others can use or try out. 

Breakfast

Yogurt Smoothie:
1 cup lowfat yogurt (I use Stoneyfield Farms Lowfat plain yogurt)
1 cup fruit (any kind will work)
1 banana
1 scoop whey protein powder (could also use peanut butter)
1 cup ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and crush it all up. I use the ice crusher mode until the ice is crushed then let it run for a minute or so on just the regular blender mode.  For the entire thing is only 6 WW points and it really fills you up.  Sometimes I add a handful (or two) of baby spinach.  Free points and it adds to the nutrition, yet you won't taste the spinach.  You can also add wheat germ (2 TBSP) or Chia seeds (1-2 TBSP) for added nutrition, yet it will add some points to the smoothie.

Oatmeal w/ fruit and nuts:
2 TBSP slivered almonds
4 cups of water
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used 1/4 cup dried cherries)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

You can toast the almonds in a pan first, but its not necessary if you don't want to.  Place all ingredients in a pan and boil on medium-low until liquid is absorbed.  About 3-4 minutes.  Yields about 1 cup per serving at 6 points.  I added 1 TBSP of brown sugar to my bowl for an extra point.

Lunch

BLT:
2 slices light bread ( I used Aunt Millie's wheat bread) 4pts for 2 slices
2 TBSP light mayo (I use Hellman's Olive Oil Mayo) 2 pts for 2 TBSP
2 slices bacon (I used Applegate Farms Uncured natural Bacon) 2 pts
Tomato slices
baby spinach

Cook bacon and toast the bread.  Spread mayo on each slice of bread.  (I mixed some dill with my mayo) Top with bacon, tomato, and baby spinach.  You can also add some avocado (1/4 of a medium is 2 pts).  You can also find bread that is lower points, like 2 pts for 2 slices. I used what I had which is 4 pts for 2 slices.  So, my sandwich is 8 pts total. I paired mine with some grapes and a spinach salad with a lowfat dressing.  I think my dressing was 2 pts for 2 TBSP.

Dinner

Stuffed Peppers:
I am following a recipe that a friend posted on her blog. I am going to use ground turkey in it instead of ground beef. 

1 lb ground Turkey
1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
10 oz tomato sauce
1 cup cooked rice
1 medium onion chopped
4 whole green peppers

This is the basic recipe I am going to use. I plan to add some carrot, spinach, and various spices to my recipe.  These are all zero points.  For the basic recipe, for 4 people, is 8 pts per serving. A serving is 1 whole pepper.

I will probably have a salad with low fat dressing with this recipe. I also have an eggplant that I need to use up, so I will probably grill that with some balsamic vinegar.

Remember to drink lots of water when you are on a diet and basically just in general.  It really helps clean out your system and helps keep you a little more full.  Feel free to post your recipes or tricks.

The time has come...

...to say "buh-bye!" to all this extra weight! I told myself during my pregnancy that I was really getting serious about losing weight after the baby was born. I'm tired of carrying around this extra weight and it seriously needs to go!

I have officially lost the 16lbs that I gained during this pregnancy and I am back to wearing my regular jeans.  However, I have been "stuck" at my starting weight for about a week now.  It's not budging a bit! I would love to lose the 30lbs I gained when Hubby came home from deployment last year and some baby weight left over from #1 and #2.

Ultimately, I would love to lose 50lbs, but right now I am concentrating on 30lbs and then I will go from there. I signed up for Weight Watchers last night. I am doing the online program and I had good success with it after I had Bennett.  Because I am nursing, I get 45 points per day and 49 extra points for the week. I think that is more than doable.  With the new plan, most vegetables and all fruits are 0 points.  Which I think is AWESOME! I already eat a good variety of fruits and veggies, so its great they are basically "free" points.

I AM going to hold myself accountable each week.  My weight in day will be Wednesdays and I will be blogging about it.  I WILL get back to a single digit pant size! So, please, tune in and help keep me accountable!

What have we been up to?

Things are starting to calm down a bit around here and we are settling in as a family of five.  That is so weird to say...a family of five! Anyways, the boys are adjusting great to having a little baby in the house. The only real issue we continue to have is their volume level.  Not a huge deal, I'm hoping in time it will level out.

The weather has been so nice out this past week.  It has been in the high 70's/low 80's and we have had our windows open.  The boys have really enjoyed being outside a lot more and so has Avonlea.  I try to get her out at least once per day to get some fresh air and sunshine.

We've been taking lots of walks and even went to the Farmer's Market in Carmel with Nana and Papa.  After we walked around the reflection pond because the boys like to see the ducks.  My mom lives within walking distance to it all which is super nice. We also walk to downtown Carmel on the Monon Trail which is a great way to get some energy out.

Avonlea also got to make her first trip to Target with mommy this week.  I have been trying to find the Mam pacifiers with the latex nipples and it is impossible to find them anymore.  I have one left over from Bennett and that is it.  She has taken a somewhat liking to the Nuk latex pacifier, so that may be my only hope.  She really only takes a pacifier during the night after feedings.  She really likes to suck to fall asleep.

Things are still going rather smooth.  She has been a pretty easy baby thus far, but I know that as the weeks pass and she is awake for longer stretches that it could change.  She is fascinated by her brothers though and loves to stare at them.

I started back to work today. I only took on one case which equals about 12 hours per week.  I can make my own schedule so that way Avonlea is home with Daddy and I am only missing one feeding.  I can pump at work and I pump before I leave so that Daddy has some milk to give her.  Today went pretty smooth, but I am glad to be home and snuggling on my baby.

2 week appointment

Avonlea had her 2 week check up yesterday. We went  for a weight check/billi test 7 days ago. She weighed in at 5lbs 7oz (up 2 oz from her discharge weight 2 days previously).  At the doctor yesterday, she weighed in at 5lbs 14.2 oz!! Thats a 7oz gain in just 7 days! I was so happy! The doctor and I both agreed that we can stop the fortified breastmilk bottles.  Honestly, in the past week, she has only gotten maybe a handful of bottles anyways and she obviously is gaining just fine. 

The doctor said that her color looks great and the jaundice is no longer a concern.  I have noticed she is getting much more of a pale color compared to her "red/yellow" jaundice color.  She is still about 19 inches long.  She is a long baby! She is in the 19th percentile for length and barely on the charts for weight.  Doc said if we move the chart over for her gestational age, she would be right around the 50th percentile for both height and weight. 

Night time has been decent.  Some nights are better than others.  It seems as though she has at least one feeding a night where she does not go right back to sleep.  She is the first baby we have swaddled at night, so I have a question for those that have swaddled their babies.  Do you feed/change then swaddle? Or change, swaddle, and then feed?  I am trying really hard to have her sleep in her own bed instead of with me, but honestly, last night I gave in.  After over an hour of trying to get her to sleep, I laid down and latched her on and we both passed out.  It felt nice to get some sleep.  It's not that I mind her sleeping with me, my worry is that sometimes Peytonn comes into our bed in the middle of the night and I am not comfortable with them both in the bed at the same time.  I don't think it is safe.  We haven't tried the hammock out yet because we haven't put a hook in our room.  I may have Hubby install one and try the hammock. 

Other than that, we are all doing well.  We seem to be adjusting pretty well and we even went on our first outing as a family of five the other day.  We went to lunch and then to the mall.  We ended up taking 2 strollers, one for the baby and one for Bennett.  I'm still debating getting the second seat for the B-ready stroller that we have.  Maybe I should rephrase that....I absolutely think we need the second seat for Bennett, Hubby isn't quite convinced.  Maybe I should let him take all 3 kids out by himself, that should convince him. :)

And now for some pics from my phone:

 Two weeks old!

No paparazzi while I eat, please!

 This pacifier is as big as my face!

So sweet, right after a bath. She is just so calm and alert!

Cloth diapers

Thought I would do a little update on the cloth diapering thus far.  I really thought I would get a little big farther in my pregnancy and that she would be a bit bigger.  Although, I am still impressed by her size at 35 weeks.

The BumGenius XS are still a little big for her.  They gap some at the legs and they are my last resort diapers right now until she grows a bit more. So, what are we using right now?

Nana's Bottoms AIO's size newborn:

We are also using preemie prefolds:

Starlight Expression Extended Tab Prefolds Infant size (I have to fold down the back about 2 inches to get the rise correct, but they work and are very absorbent!)

They fit great around her little legs! There isn't any poo coming out of these babies!

Currently the only covers that I have that are small enough for her are my wool soakers. Plus she looks super cute in them!

Hopefully in the next few days her cord will fall off and then the covers that I have for her should fit.  Then the BG XS diapers should fit not long after that.  She is definitely a heavy wetter too.  She can soak a diaper from front to back in under 2 hours.  Must be all that good milk she is getting.  She is a champ eater, that's for sure!

P.S. From looking at the different pictures from the day and day after she was born, compared to today.....is anyone else noticing a bit of a gut/belly on little miss? We have her 2 weeks appointment on Monday and I am curious what she weighs now.

Birth Story

Sunday, July 25th started out as any normal day.  Hubby left in the morning to go golfing with a friend and I stayed home with the boys.  It ended up storming and Hubby came home around lunch time.  It was basically just a lazy day at home.  Sunday night around 7:30pm we took the boys upstairs for showers.  After the boys got out, we got them dressed and ready for bed.  Peytonn usually lays with me in our bed so I went to use the restroom before laying down with him.  At that point I was pretty sure I lost my mucus plug when I wiped.  I mentioned it to Hubby and went to go lay in bed.  I told Hubby that it could mean nothing, I mean, I wasn't contracting or feeling out of the ordinary.  I was schedule for a doc appt that next day at 10am and thought I would mention it then.  I got out of bed about 10 minutes later to use the bathroom again and I knew when I stood up that my water had broke.  It wasn't a gush, but I could tell something was coming out.  My underwear were wet by the time I got to the bathroom.  I thought I might put on another pair of underwear and wait 15 minutes, just to make sure.  I stood up off the toilet to put the underwear on and it just started dripping on the floor.  I knew then that it was for sure my water.  I called the doc on call (Man Hands of all people! Ugh!) and he told me to come get checked at the hospital.  I showered and we finished packing and headed out with the boys about an hour later.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:45pm.  My mom met us at the hospital and we swapped cars and she took the boys home with her.  I get checked into Triage and they get me hooked up to the monitors.  Man Hands comes in to check me and isn't convinced that my water is broke.  In his words, "I don't want to jump to anything with a 35 weeker for a "leaky bladder.""  I about died! Are you kidding me?! Why all of a sudden at 8pm would I not be able to hold my pee?!  He said he would come back and check me in 15 minutes.  When he came back, there was fluid coming from my cervix and then he was convinced my water was broke.  Duh! I mean, this isn't my first rodeo, buddy!

After getting moved over to L&D, I still wasn't contracting in a regular pattern.  Man Hands immediately wanted to start me on Pitocin. I told him I wasn't comfortable with that and wanted to wait at least until morning to see if my body would start labor on it's own. (It did with Peytonn when my water broke with him)  He told me, "I think you're making a bad decision, but I'm not going to fight you on it.  You can have it out with Hilary (my doc) in the morning."  My thought?  Perfect! Now leave me alone, dude!  The doula and I walked the halls of the hospital, tried nipple stimulation with the pump, aromatherapy, and pressure points to get things going.  My contractions would come every 2-3 minutes and then space out again.  They followed this pattern for most of the night.  By 8am I was only 1 cm and 50% effaced.  The new doc (Dr. C, we'll call him)  came in to talk to me.  Of course he recommended starting Pitocin as well.  It's not that I was against the Pitocin, I just wanted a natural delivery and I knew that Pitocin in the devil and made my chances of getting an epidural and/or a c-section more likely.  I convinced him to check me again around noon time and I would make my decision then. 

By 11:30am I still wasn't very far.  I agreed to start the Pitocin.  It took awhile for the contractions to get into a pattern but eventually they did.  They started to come every 2-3 minutes and would only last about a minute.  Then they moved very close together and started to get intense.  The doula suggested I sit on the ball in the shower.  I did and it helped immensely.  Although, I could only stay in there for about 20-25 minutes.  The contractions were right on top of each other, only about 45 seconds between, and were very painful.  There was no position or breathing that was helping at this point. 

Around 5pm I gave in and asked for the epidural.  I physically and mentally did not think I could get through the next contraction, let alone the rest of labor and then pushing.  Dr. C and my nurse knew I did not want the epidural and they were stalling.  Dr. C checked me and I was 6 cm.  I could tell they were stalling and then I got angry.  I begged for a shot a whiskey and Nubaine (apparently that was humorous to them).  I just wanted a break, I needed a break.  I had been up since Sunday morning and I hadn't eaten anything since dinner on Sunday night.  I was done. 

Finally, the anesthesiologist came in and started talking about all these good drugs he had.  I told him great but he had to move quick.  Obviously he didn't believe me.  He told me to sit on the edge of the bed (which is PURE torture when you have back labor, just FYI!) and then I started to have a contraction.  According to my husband, I started to dig my nails into his neck and I just lost it.  I bawled like a big baby.  The doc is feeling around on my back with his finger to find a good spot.  All of a sudden I yell, "This f*ing baby is coming NOW!"  (I don't remember dropping the F bomb, but my husband assures me that I did)  Then the chaos started.  I was in my own little world and a lot of things are fuzzy from this point on.  What I remember is a nurse laying my bed down and the doc running in to check me.  I went from 6cm to 10cm in 30 minutes.  Two nurses put my legs in the stirrups and I just started pushing.  (mind you, I never got the epidural!)  I had my eyes closed and held on to the bed handles and just pushed when I felt like it.  According to my husband, her head was out before the doc even had his gloves on.  One nurse stood at the door and called the NICU team.  I remember feeling a lot of pressure (which I assumed was her head coming out...wrong!)  I then felt the burning sensation and knew her head was coming out.  Then I pushed again and her body came out and the doc caught her.  Two pushes and she was out! I remember the doc saying "good job, Courtney!"  Ha!

I have to say, the labor SUCKED!!! But the pushing and her coming out didn't hurt at all and was a piece of cake compared to the labor.  I did not tear at all and felt great about 2 hours after the birth.  The NICU team brought her over for me to see and hold.  They said she was grunting a little and they planned to take her to the NICU for a while.  They said not to be surprised if she was on CPAP. 

I finally got to eat and then the nurse took me and Hubby down to the NICU to see her.  She was perfect and NOT on CPAP! Yay! She spent less than 24 hours in the NICU before they moved her to the CCN (Continuing care Nursery) upstairs on the Post-Partum unit.  She got to come home 5 days after delivery and was breastfed from birth.  Despite her having to spend some extra time in the hospital, everything seemed to go a lot smoother than they did with Bennett.  Now we are home and trying to establish our routine with 3 little ones.