The Journey to Healthy Habits

I am not proud of the way I ate yesterday or today! Ugh! Too much junk and not enough water or healthy foods!! I do really want to lose the 20 pounds left from baby and then an additional 15-20 to be back where I felt like I looked really good!! Not only do I want the pounds to come off, but I do want to tone up along the journey too. I lack discipline & self control. Two things that I need to work on.

I did manage to get a walk in today though..almost a mile and a half. That makes almost 5 miles in the last week and a half. It's not a lot, but it's a start and I'm getting out of the house. As said, I didn't eat real well today..the healthiest thing I had was some cottage cheese. I know it's not an overnight, immediate change but it sure is frustrating!!

This morning while I was sitting on my bed rocking my baby back to sleep, I did something I haven't done in months. I pulled out my Bible and read through a few passages. Parts of Psalm 62 & Psalm 18 & Romans 8 were all portions that were on my mind and it felt so good to read them again. This is another part of the journey....to dive back into the Word and God's will and re-learn to rely on him not only in the good but also in the hard times.

This is a journey....hopefully a life changing journey. Not a diet, but a lifestyle change. I do not want to be the mom that cannot keep up with her kids because she is so out of shape or overweight (or has other health issues from not taking care of herself). I want my children to grow up in the faith. I want my children to learn how to be godly by us being parents of example. I want them to yearn to dive into their Bibles, sing praises, and trust in our awesome God!

But this is a journey I am not alone on. I have several friends on the same or similar journey and we are supporting each other through texts, emails, even Bible studies, and becoming better Mom's (those of us who are).

Certainly this will not be an overnight change to our lives but rather a life long journey we will walk down together and celebrate our triumphs, evaluate our failures, and learn to praise our God every step of the way.

Link Two Blogs

I just found a way to combine my old blog (different gmail account) with this current blog!! Woot!!!
Please visit : Linking Two Blogs for SUPER EASY directions!!!

Mondays....

While my Monday wasn't terrible but it could have been started earlier. I didn't end up getting out of bed for good until almost NOON!! That means that I was dragging all day and not a whole lot got done. My husband and I have never been early morning people, but on a good day I'm normally up and moving no later than 9am. As a first time mom to a 9 week old, lack of sleep has become a part of the daily drill. Apparently, my lack of sleep caught up with me this morning. Sigh.

Over the next few months, I hope to find a routine that begins earlier than today! I hope to find myself lost in the Word again and trusting more in the power of God that I know is true. It has, to be completely honest, been a very long time since I truly studied the Word and even longer since I was involved in a church group. I have seen the power of prayer, the power of faith and yet, I still find myself  "too busy" at the end of the day to read and be fed. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but it's the truth.

The last couple years have been extremely tough on my husband and I. Financially, we have made some big mistakes and have found ourselves struggling with no end in sight. I am determined for 2013 to be a better year: spiritually, financially, in our marriage, in our parenting, in organizing our house, our family, and in our (currently non-existent) church life. I'd really like for us to find a good, solid church to be involved in around here.

This will be the year of change. Starting now.

My baby is 2 months old!

Today my baby girl is 2 months old!! 2 months old!! Where have the last 8 weeks gone?? They have flown by so fast!! At 2 months she is outgrowing newborn size diapers and newborn size clothes. Many things that fit just a couple weeks ago, are now too small. It makes me sad, but I know it means she's happy and healthy and growing like she should!

She is holding her head up more when she's on your shoulder and her sleeping pattern is a little bit better now too. It's so sweet to listen to her coo and "talk"!  She's eating close to 6 ounces now and we have started laying her down in her crib at night to sleep. How's that going? Well, let's just say it's going to take a while to make that a smooth transition. 

We've been signing simple signs with her and even though she is too young to be coordinated enough, we like to believe she tries to mimic us! We've focused on "mama", "daddy", "food", and of course, "I love you". 

She doesn't seem to be a fan of "tummy time" although I am trying to give her a bit more of it every day. She loves her monkey mobile that plays music and lights up! She loves music and sometimes she will "dance" to whatever is playing! 

Her 2 month check up is next week and I'm eager to find out how long she is and how much she weighs!

My baby girl is absolutely the most precious, sweet baby! Of course, I'm quite partial! :)

Here's to celebrating all the milestones month 3 will bring to us!

Snippet of my Life Map from 2010

Originally written in 2010.....

".......Nothing extraordinary happened in my childhood. Became a Christian when I was a child but it wasn't until Look Up as a teen that I began to understand what it meant to really live for Christ.  I was always highly involved in all aspects of church so I knew all the right answers etc.

So I grew up in church (Nanny made sure of it); was home schooled until high school; graduated in 2004 from SHS; went through two major church splits. Got married (first time) in 2005 at twenty and completed that divorce by 25. And I've been in 4 churches in my lifetime.

I really didn't pay attention to watching God work in my life until the last two years. I've watched Him bring amazing goodness out of a heart-wrenching and devastating church split which became this amazing group of people called Catalyst. I've watched Him bring me from the pit of despair with my divorce to life after. To finding joy and hope again. I've watched Him provide for me over and over when it seemed like nothing was going to work. I've watched him do amazing things in all our lives over and over. And I truly believe that in the early stages of my divorce that if it hadn't been for Catalyst, I may have seriously fallen into depression. That’s how devastated I was. But looking back and knowing what I know now I am eternally grateful God pulled me out of that relationship when He did and I’m so glad I chose to cling to Him through all of it. I wouldn't be who I am today if it hadn't been for that. The love and the encouragement and hope that Catalyst has poured out on me has been amazing. ......"

Lessons from a Month of Mommy-hood

Our baby girl is five weeks old already! I cannot believe how fast time has passed! Seems like just yesterday I was trying to determine if the cramps I felt were real contractions or not!!

Even though I've only been a mom for a little over a month, there are already many lessons I've learned that I want to write down so I remember them for the next baby we have!

In a month of Mommy-hood I've learned:

• To breastfeed a LOT while in the hospital! I don't think I fed her near as much as I could have, which would have helped establish my supply I believe. 
• To pump starting immediately to build up a "freezer supply" of breastmilk. I wish, wish, wish I had done this from the beginning!!
• To use the "natural ways" to increase breastmilk right away & have those items on hand before the baby is born. 
• To get involved with a La Leche group before birth!!
• To take a "natural birthing" class and a breastfeeding class (and/or meet with a lactation consultant).
• To eat better (starting during pregnancy) and drink a LOT more than normal!
• To use cocoa/shea butter from the beginning of pregnancy. To note, I am not ashamed or embarrassed by my stretch marks--they are a symbol of the child I carried and grew to love even before she was born!
• To have more than one or two newborn size outfits. Our little girl was (and still is) tiny, and while this might not be everyone's case, I only had a couple onesies that fit her when she came home. 
• To have a can of formula and a couple bottles with slow-flow nipples on hand just in case breastfeeding doesn't work out before you're ready to introduce bottles.
• To have a couple different brands/types of pacifiers on hand. Baby didn't like the ones we'd been given, so we had to buy a different type for her. 
• That, while it may cause nipple confusion in some babies, sometimes a pacifier can calm not only the baby, but the parents as well. 
• To have witch hazel, pads, liners, and "adult" wipes on hand for the aftermath of birth!
• That the pads and mesh panties the hospital has are lifesavers those first few days!
• That Motrin and stool softeners are your best friends in the days after birth!
• To linger in that first shower after birth...it feels soooo amazingly good!!
• To not end up on your back during labor. The pressure and pain increased significantly when laying down. I believe if I had been able to get up and walk around a bit more towards the end, that I would not have been in so much pain.
• To not let the doctors and nurses insist on the "purple pushing" way...(pushing while holding your breath and they count to 10...it decreases oxygen to you and baby).
• To make sure that the doctor on call has a chance to view our birth plan before delivery takes place. The doctor on call was great, but wasn't aware of our birth plan (I don't believe) and a few things I wanted didn't happen.
• That you can never have too many burp cloths, diapers, or wipes!
• That doubles of everything are a-okay...especially if you have a 2 story house!!
• That a sound machine or soft music can be your best friend at nap and bedtime!
• SLEEP WHEN THE BABY SLEEPS!! (I still have not mastered this!!)
• To act like its no big deal when people flip out because you went through all of labor and delivery with NO pain meds!
• To not allow your household to be deathly quiet when baby is sleeping. We have made sure that baby has been exposed to all sorts of sounds when awake and asleep. This child will sleep through most anything once she's truly asleep...or asleep in our arms!! 
• That my baby girl is worth everything bit of pain I went through!

I'm certain there are so many more things that I will find to add to this list as life with baby rolls on!! I am so excited to be a Mom and am loving everything about it...except for the sleepless nights!! There is nothing like it in the world!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!!!

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