Mason is 5 Months Old!

Mason James is 5 months old!! We are loving how interactive and fun this age is!

Feeding: because his weight dropped quite a bit percentile-wise, we have been supplementing feeds with extra breast milk from the bottle. He will take anywhere between 2 and 5 ounces after breastfeeding, depending on the time of day. He's a champ eater still, and usually eats every 2-3 hours-ish.

Sleeping: he takes a morning catnap, a long (1-5-2.5 hours) afternoon nap and an evening catnap. Still sleeping 10 hours or so through the night. He has only needed us in the middle of the night a handful of times since he was 8 weeks old. We feel really lucky!

Growing: His weight-check appointment showed he was gaining more weight and trending back up on the growth chart. He went from the 11th percentile to the 25th percentile! Woohoo - success! . He's still squeezing into 3 month tops but the bottoms are too short. He fits in 3-6 months clothing the best. Starting to outgrow size 2 diapers and move into size 3.

Loves: jumperoo, standing, tummy-time, observing, tickles, being outside, splashing in the bath, nursing, listening to mom and dad talk and sing songs, reading, and grabbing everything in reach. He also loves when daddy gets home!

Dislikes: the sound of taping a box with a tape gun, being in the car seat for more than 10 minutes, and teething!

 Mason loves to play with us and others, but is also great at independent play.

He moved for the first time from Bountiful to Cottonwood Heights. He did fine with it!

He is enrolled in 6 weeks of parent-and-tot swim lessons at the local rec center. We are excited and think he will really enjoy it.

He is trying to army crawl and is a great roller. We have yet to witness him rolling back to front. We just find him flipped! He is also getting pretty good at sitting up on his own!

Fitness Progress 4

Progress on goals:
1. Keep working on pull-ups and push-ups. Progress!!
---still working on this. I haven't focused as much on these specifically, but I'm up to 4 and 25.
2. Meal prep! Weekly.
----I make overnight oats for breakfast, salads, black bean burgers with rice and veggies, and I make Jeff some chicken, rice and veggies. I bought these bento containers to meal prep with. They are so great and easy to clean.


3. Go to the gym to lift heavy 2x per week.
--- I was going 4x per week. Now I am going 6x per week.
4. Drink more water!
--- drinking lots of water. And lemonade from Trader Joe's. ;) the low-calorie, sweetened with stevia kind.
5. Go hiking & mountain biking.
--- we hiked to Donut Falls and to Cecret Lake. No mountain biking. It's hard to give up time with Mason on the weekends.

My milk supply is still good. Definitely did level out. I stopped pumping at night so I could get sleep, because between that, waking up early to workout and working night shifts, I felt like a zombie. I was scared to stop pumping at night, but my supply is just fine!

I have really liked the daycare at the gym. They do a great job with Mason. But I still don't waste any time working out. I just can't wait to pick him up!

My current weight is 112. I'm feeling really good.  When the scale goes down while I am working out so much, I can almost be sure it is fat loss and not muscle loss. Yay! I will measure inches by the next update, and I'm hoping to see positive changes there!

I joined a 6-week challenge through bodybuilding.com. It's just a contest to see who can make the greatest strides toward personal goals in 6 weeks. Contestants submit before pictures, and in 6 weeks we submit after pictures. A male and female will both win $15,000. Some good incentive, but I'm just playing along for fun with my friend Shanna. My 6 week goal is to increase muscle in inches on arms and legs and lose inches in my waist. Overall, just reshape my body.

I also started following a program. Sometimes it's nice to just show up to the gym and not have to have planned anything. Just follow the routine and be done. It's called Jamie Eason's From Flat to All That. Kind of a corny name, but it's all about building muscle which is what my goal is. Jamie Eason is actually still creating the program. It'll be 12 weeks long once she's done. She's on week 6 or 7 now. I'm one week 3. I really love it so far. It's my kind of lifting.

I'm fitting into my smaller jeans. The ones that don't fit me on my pre-pregnancy Cafe Rio days. Hahaha! This is some exciting progress for me, because that means my hips and bones are shifting back into place, which seems to be out of my control.

Here are my progress photos immediately postpartum:

 

 Here is me at 4 months postpartum:



New Goals:
1. Increase push-ups and pull-ups.
2. Follow JEFFTAT program every week.
3. Continue meal prep and exhibit portion control with treats.
4. Continue 6x per week lifting.
5. Mountain bike with Jeff.

Mason is 4 Months Old!

 

Our Mason boy is 4 months old. He is so much fun and such a little ray of sunshine. He's just the sweetest little guy.

Eating:
Every 3-4 hours. Still mostly breastfeeding. Just getting his bedtime bottle of breast milk from Daddy when Mommy goes to work twice a week. He is so fast now. One day he just started eating in half the time he used to. From 20 minutes to 10 minutes! It was hard to tell if he was done or just distracted (which is a frequent occurrence these days!). But he will not try to nurse if he's not hungry.

Sleeping:
Napping pretty great most days! Naps range from 1-2 hours. Usually one long nap and 3 shorter naps throughout the day. He is still sleeping through the night. He goes to sleep around 8:30 PM and wakes up around 8 AM. He is now sleeping unswaddled. We took one arm out at 3 months and took the other arm out about 2 weeks later when he seemed ready. He no longer sleeps with a pacifier either! (He just spits it out. He found his thumb and prefers that!) He can sleep anywhere. He does best with his white noise playing.

Growing:
Size 2 diapers. Out of most of the 0-3 month & 3 month clothes. He is long! At least it appears that way. We get comments about how tall/long he looks all the time. (His 4 month checkup isn't until the 24th, so 3 weeks after he turns 4 months, but we will have measurements then!)

Likes:
Gym time, tummy time, hiking, daddy's raspberry noise, grabbing hands & burp cloths, splashing in the bath, sitting & standing (with assistance), riding face out in the carrier, nursing and rolling.

Mason can now roll to either side from his back. He is SO close to his tummy. Any day now. He is babbling so much more and imitating sounds. Who knew having a baby would be so much fun!?

 

His pout is to-die-for! He has been this good since birth. It'll melt and break your heart all at once.

He went to Donut Falls and Cecret Lake and was such a trooper for both.  He LOVES being outside.

We love this little boy more and more each day!

Fitness Progress 3

Progress on goals:

1. Keep working on pull-ups and push-ups. Progress!!

--- I have increased my pull-ups from 3 to 4, and my push-ups from 10 to 24!

2. Meal prep! Weekly. (This is probably the only thing that's kept my healthy eating in check before... I just love food so much, I want to eat it ALL)

--- With the camping trip and weekend plans I have failed to plan, because I used to dedicate Sundays to this.  Looks like I need to devise a new plan for this. :-/

3. Go to the gym to lift heavy 2x a week. 

--- Doing it! And oh my... it feels SO good.

4. Figure out exercising with returning to work night shifts. 

--- Basically, I prioritize exercise daily whether I worked or not.  It's a great boost of energy post-night-shift.

5. Start taking progress photos.

--- I have the ones from early on, and I took one last week.  I will post those... eventually.

My milk supply seems to have leveled out with my new regimen.  I have removed high-intensity workouts from my training.  Just focusing on lifting and being active every day.

I work out at the rec center in my city, and it has a child care.  It is recommended to call a week ahead to reserve a spot for your child, because they only take 4 kids at one time.  Well, if that isn't accountability to show up, I don't know what is! Pretty nice little bonus.  I don't know what is so motivating to me about the gym environment... maybe the gazillion mirrors lining the wall, but I find myself SO much more focused and driven there.  I ALWAYS leave sweating and feeling accomplished from giving it 100%.

With this killer heat, I haven't been hiking as much because we just roast having Mason against me. I have plans to go to a few that are higher in the canyons soon!

My current weight is 115 lb.  I seem to have plateaued there.  I imagine my weight will start fluctuating up and down with fat loss and muscle gain ahead.  I still don't really care about the number on the scale.  I have been 115 before and felt super muscly and lean, compared to 115 now where I feel more weak and squishy.  

New goals:

{Mostly the same as before}

1. Keep working on pull-ups and push-ups. Progress!!

2. Meal prep! Weekly.

3. Go to the gym to lift heavy 2x a week. 

4. Drink more water!

5. Go hiking & mountain biking.

Mason is 3 Months Old!

Big boy Mason is no longer considered a newborn. So bittersweet! Each week is my new favorite week. I can't get enough of this sweet little boy!

Feeding:
He's still eating about every 3 hours during the day. Our schedule is something like this every day:
7-8 AM- eat then play
9:45- nap
10:30-11:00- eat then play
12:30- nap
2:00- eat then play
3:30- nap
5:00- eat then play
6:30- refuse to nap most days haha
8:00- eat then bedtime

Sleeping:
He sleeps great at night in his crib or really where ever; while we were camping he slept all night in his pack'n'play and his car seat after his pack'n'play was rained on! Naps during the day are short unless he's being held, and even then he's a catnapper.

Growing:
He's just making the transition to size 2 diapers after days in a row of blowouts. Yikes! He is wearing 0-3 months or 3-6 months clothing.

Photo credit: Karen Richards Photography

Likes:
Playing in his gym, splashing in the bath, tummy-time, being outside, walks and hikes, being talked to, making new sounds, sucking on his hands, nursing, facing out, swinging, and his little stuffed bear on the swing (he gets lots of smiles!).

Mason went camping over the 4th of July for the first time! He spent the first night with just daddy and then 3 more nights with mommy and daddy. He did so great! He was pleasant and happy most of the time and slept like usual!

 

He also went swimming for the first time and totally loved it!!

He has been working on rolling back to front by twisting and arching his back up.

Photo credit: Karen Richards Photography

Mason is a busy guy. Sometimes when he's fussing while being held, the only thing he needs is to be set down to play and kick and stretch! He's a cute little ball of energy. Life is so much better with him in it!

Fitness Progress 2

Progress on goals:

1. Increase in pull-ups and push-ups! By any amount. Progress is progress, no matter how small.

---getting there. I have not been as focused on this as I could be. Maybe because I still feel so incredibly weak, and it's disheartening trying these. Push-ups are getting easier. Pull-ups are still a struggle. I do 3 sets of 3. My max is 4. 

2. Go mountain biking with Jeff!

----done! We biked Little Cottonwood Trail. It was a blast!

3. Improve diet and maintain water consumption. Less sugar!

---honestly, I think I've consumed more sugar. Not in treats, but I've been eating LOTS of cereal and granola bars. My milk supply is JUST enough for Mason and I try to keep my calories up, which makes me justify unhealthy choices. Need to work on that!! Water consumption is great!

4. Run that 10k!

---done! It was so fun. Not nearly as difficult as I expected. I could have kept going!

5. More hikes with Mason and friends. At least twice a week. 

---done! The only weeks I didn't go twice was when I went mountain biking and did that race. 

I haven't weighed myself lately. I'm nervous it'll be discouraging, because I felt pretty lean and now I'm feeling pretty... Fluffy. I'm betting it's my relaxed diet and decrease in high intensity workouts (to maintain milk supply). 

I've been trying to find a good balance so I can continue to improve my body and continue to fuel breastfeeding. But it seems so touch-and-go! After my five mile hike one day, I pumped 2.5 hours after I fed Mason for bedtime. And I barely pumped 2 ounces total. I heard a good rule of thumb is an ounce per hour, so not far from that. But I usually get 3 ounces at that pumping session. 

In an attempt to increase my supply, so I can maintain exercising how I'd like to, I have been pumping twice after Mason goes to bed.  So I pump at 10:30 PM and 2 AM. It's lame because I could be getting some good sleep, with how long he sleeps! But it's worth it to at least get some freezer storage, if nothing else. 

New goals:

1. Keep working on pull-ups and push-ups. Progress!!

2. Meal prep! Weekly. (This is probably the only thing that's kept my healthy eating in check before... I just love food so much, I want to eat it ALL)

3. Go to the gym to lift heavy 2x a week. 

4. Figure out exercising with returning to work night shifts. 

5. Start taking progress photos.

Mason is 2 Months Old!

 Little Mason is getting big so fast! Two months and cute as ever! Love love love this boy!

Feeding: he eats about every 3 hours during the day usually breastfeeding, but also getting bottles of breast milk. He generally eats once in the middle of the night. 

Sleeping: he's a fabulous night sleeper. He goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes up around 6 or 6:30 to eat. He is up for the day at 7:30 or 8. Naps during the day are short. Sometimes only 15 minutes, but usually closer to 45. But one or two naps during the day will be 90 minutes-ish. His favorite places to nap are in his carrier on hikes or in his swing. 

Growing: just under the 50th percentiles for height and weight. Head circumference is in the 87th! Big noggin!

Loves: warm baths, music, listening to Mommy and Daddy talk to him, nursing, hiking, walks, being outside, tummy time, gym time, and practicing standing up (with assistance of course).

He is so busy and active. He started to roll from tummy to back at 7 weeks old! He is smiling and cooing; he has become quite the little flirt. Each and every day is getting more and more fun.