.Freedom

This past Monday I was exactly seven weeks postpartum. I can't believe Kendrick was born seven weeks ago! Time is really flying and he's changing so much every day! Next time I upgrade my iPhone I'm going to have to go with a 64GB, as I take multiple pictures of him a day and am running out of space. He's just so darn cute!

A week and a half ago I went to the doctor to go for my six week check up and after I got checked out the doctor gave me the go ahead to not only lift the carseat, but to slowly get moving and start working out again. I was over the MOON! I've been feeling so trapped at home and so bored of TV so I'm so glad that Kendrick and I can start going out and about during the day! I haven't watched Netflix in over a week! She told me the most important thing was to listen to my body and don't start off too crazy, and recommended no ab-specific exercises (crunches, etc) for another month. I was definitely feeling a lot better but still feeling a little bit of pain and had some difficulty getting out of bed or off the couch so I took it easy the rest of the week.

This week however I've felt very good. I've decided that my fitness journey to get back to pre-baby weight (or a few pounds lighter) is going to start now. These pictures were taken on Monday (I'm not a fan of selfies so these shots are headless):

If I don't leave with the baby, I fear people will still think I'm pregnant. Then again, I just keep telling myself that I haven't been able to do much of anything for over 10 months, so to get here at this point is probably pretty good. Essentially I know now what was baby weight and what was just extra weight (from maybe a few two many cherry candies) from the pregnancy. I'm about 30 pounds away from my goal weight (which is about five pounds lighter than what I was when I found out I was pregnant) and I hope to accomplish that by the end of 2015 if not sooner!

I've had smoothies for breakfast every day this week which has been pretty refreshing. Monday afternoon I went grocery shopping and bought some greek yogurt and frozen fruit for smoothies and dug out my Magic Bullet so I could make single portions. Here's what I bought:

Frozen mango, strawberries and blueberries

Greek Yogurt (banana, coconut and key lime)

Almond Coconut Milk

Spinach

I already had flaxseed at home, so this has provided me with enough to try different combinations until I run out of groceries! I admit it is cheaper to buy the frozen fruit at Costco, but the sliced ones at Sobey's I find work better in my Magic Bullet as it doesn't take well to full sized fruit. My goal is to have smoothies every day this week. They are quick to prepare and I can take them on the run if I decide to go out and about in the morning! So far so good! I've been finding it difficult to prepare healthy meals three times a day since the baby has come, but as he gets older I'm finding that my time management has been slowly getting better and I'm able to start to get things done some days (the key word here is SOME). I also am not a fan of almond milk on it's own or in cereal, but in smoothies it tastes delicious!

I went for a walk on Monday and it was awesome! Made it just over 3KM and felt a little tired but very motivated. I need to find a way to get some sort of sun shield for the stroller, as when I was walking back I had to keep the cover over him because the sun was shining right in his eyes! I felt a little bit crampy which definitely let me know that I'm not ready to run just yet, but walking was definitely a start! We didn't have a chance to go Tuesday or Wednesday but we did go for a short walk today and it felt even better! 

I also signed up for Mommy & Baby yoga this week at Purity Health and Wellness! I haven't done yoga in at least three years so this should be fun for Kendrick & I! I'm thinking of starting bootcamp with my co-workers next week too, so slowly but surely this mama is getting back into it!

With that, I will leave you with this photo as when I saw this onesie I actually laughed out loud in the store and couldn't say no... :) You'll also see my dog's paw in the bottom right hand corner - I think he loves baby photo time just as much as I do! He wants to be in all the pictures!

xo
-Dianne

PS: I went to get Kendrick & I's passport pictures done so we can apply for new passports in May. Getting a passport picture for a baby is a lot trickier than I thought! Essentially I had to kneel on the ground and try to hold his head up with two fingers, while using my other hand to hold down his hands (as he really likes to raise his hands in the air in the "touchdown" pose) and all while not having any part of me in the picture. Somehow, it we managed to get one in less than five minutes - hopefully Passport Canada likes it because I really don't want to go back and try it again! It's pretty darn cute though - now the little bugger is stuck with that photo until he's 5! :)

PPS: After buying this onesie yesterday I searched "hashtag" and "onesie" on Etsy and oh man, I'm in trouble! There are so many cute ones just calling Kendrick's name...

.Smile

April 14th, 2015: Kendrick smiles for the first time (and it's not even because he has gas!)

I don't plan to be one of those moms who document online every little thing my child does, but having the first smile happen today melted my heart a little more than usual. I had been reading some things online and read that the first smile usually happens around the six week mark. So I had been anxiously waiting and when he was awake trying to make faces and talk to him so he would smile. Until today, his only semi-smiles happened when he was gassy - which was pretty funny but not really the same. I am one happy mama! :)

It's been a bit of a tough week. My Nonno (grandpa in Italian) passed away yesterday after being in the hospital since Thursday night. I am so thankful that Easter happened and we all got to spend some time together before he passed away. I was able to take a four generations picture with my son, my Mom and my grandparents and Nonno was able to meet and hold Kendrick. I won't forget the looks on my grandparents faces when we brought him over to them for the very first time. I haven't seen them that happy in a really long time and that in turn made me very happy! We spent some time every day at the hospital since Thursday and every time Kendrick was able to bring some sunshine into the room just by being himself. We are so lucky that he's been such a good baby; he doesn't mind being passed around and doesn't play strange with anyone. He also has periods where he's wide awake and very interactive and is starting to make faces and noises that just light up the room! I can tell it's been therapeutic for especially my mom and Nonna, and yesterday when we found out the terrible news cuddling him made me feel better too. It's kind of like puppy therapy: go into a room full of puppies and it's hard to stay sad! The same goes for babies, and I'm so happy that Kendrick got to meet his Bisnonno (great grandpa) before he passed away.

Since I've been leaving my house more than average these past few days, I've really started to realize how little clothes I have that are fitting comfortably. I'll be real for a moment and say that I've lost about 20ish pounds since Kendrick was born (by doing absolutely nothing because I can't) which has been great but it's kind of hit a plateau. This is to be expected since I haven't been able to work out, and although I'm not eating terribly I admit it's pretty hard to eat three balanced meals a day while I'm taking care of a newborn. I've noticed that some of the weight I've gained has been in the legs and even arms, so I'm in between my normal clothes and maternity clothes at the moment. Not to mention that any pants that are remotely tight bother my c-section incision so I can't wear those either. 

This means I hate practically my whole closet. 

I suppose if I look at the positive it means that I get to go shopping. I've been able to sell a couple of decorations and things from my wedding so I'm going to head to Lululemon and pick up another pair of running leggings. Not only are they comfy right now, but I'll be able to wear them when I start running again too! At home I wear loose fitting sweatpants and plain tees so it's very comfy but I don't really feel comfortable leaving the house looking like I just got out of bed. It's a big change but I'm hoping once I'm able to get active again I'll be able to shed that extra 25 pounds and feel fabulous again!

Six more days til my six week appointment! Fingers crossed for good news!

xo

-Dianne

PS: Remember my excitement about heading to the Urban Diner for eggs benedict the last post? Well, that was ruined. The manager/part owner was extremely rude to my friend because her child was crying for awhile. Disappointing for a local business but this isn't my first negative experience there and now I won't be going back. 

That being said - where is the BEST eggs benedict in the city?! All suggestions welcome!

.Crazy

I'm. Going. Bonkers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not bored with the little man; Kendrick keeps me entertained (and tired) all day and he's wonderful. But I'm going slightly crazy being cooped up in the house, especially when the weather is really nice! As much as I love catching up on Friends on Netflix, watching TV all day is very boring. 11 more days until my six week appointment where I'm really hoping I get the OK to carry the carseat so Kendrick & I can start going out during the day! I have my eye on Mommy & Me yoga classes, some walks around the neighborhood and in the river valley, and making visits to my office and Brian's office so that our co-workers can get some baby time! Every time I see someone running I get really antsy - I miss it so much! I can't wait to get back into it!

My incision is healing really nicely - they sewed it up so well that you almost can't even tell it's there! Other than having a little difficulty still getting out of bed or sitting for long periods of time I am feeling pretty good. It's starting to hurt less and less when I cough, sneeze or laugh so I'm hoping the healing process is going well. 

Yesterday I opened the door to let the dog out and saw how amazingly gorgeous it looked outside and got the bright idea that maybe I'll try to figure out the Baby Bjorn carrier we got and take Kendrick on a quick walk! I got really excited, except that Kendrick was screaming and didn't want to sit still while I took it out of the box to try and figure out how to put it together, so I gave that up for the time being. 

Have I mentioned 11 more days until my six week appointment?

This weekend I'm meeting up with a two of my best friends from elementary and junior high at Urban Diner - I'm hoping that I can get the crab cake eggs benedict that I've been craving for months! One of my friends had her little guy the night before Kendrick was born (and in the same hospital) so I feel like they are born to be best friends. We reconnected at a fundraiser dinner a few years ago after not seeing each other for over 10 years, so it's been really awesome to share this whole new Mom experience together!

I can't believe it but Kendrick is one month old today! Time is flying really fast! Some people think he looks more like me, and others think he looks like Brian - I think he's perfect. I take a picture of him looking adorable almost every day (and my phone's memory is slightly full because of it) and it's amazing to see the changes that have happened in the last month! I've been searching Pinterest for some ideas on monthly pictures we can do with him and got some great ones! However why is it that when I try it it doesn't look nearly as good as it does on Pinterest? Damn you, perfect pictures on Pinterest! In any case, Kendrick looks cute and that's really all that matters. Since we didn't have a doctor's appointment today I couldn't get the exact weight so I weighed myself carrying him and then weighed myself without him to get his weight. Hopefully my scale at home is semi-reliable.

I'm thinking that Kendrick & I may go sit on the deck for a bit and soak up some of the sunshine we're getting with this early summer weather. Thank you, Mother Nature!

xo
-Dianne

PS: I've been using Stella & Dot's "Keep it in the Bag" diaper bag and it is AWESOME. Pockets for anything and everything. It's cute and it works for boys and girls - and it's not even too girly for Dad to carry! It also comes with a travel friendly changing pad, which I've used and comes in really handy when my son decides to pee as soon as the diaper comes off! When I go out, I throw my wallet in there and use it as my purse too. It just got a price reduction so go check it out by clicking here!

PPS: Forgot to mention, Kendrick & I are going to VEGAS for Stella & Dot's yearly sales conference in July!! I am so excited! More about that in a future post - but feel free to throw any baby traveling tips my direction for the time being! :)