Fitness Progress 6

I am feeling great! I've been getting back in the swing of things and getting used to the new gym and scheduling daycare for Mason as well.  Parents are only allowed to schedule 2 days in advance.  And parents with children under 2 are required to schedule in advance.  So I have forgotten many times and not had an available time slot to go.  So I do yard work, go for a run, do an at-home workout instead... But those are never quite as effective as going to the gym and being totally focused.
I keep considering going back to working out at 5 AM every morning.  It would save me money (by not utilizing daycare) and it would have me up available to help Jeff get out the door every morning.  The only thing holding me back is my precious sleep! Right now, I've been going on the weekends at whatever time I can while Jeff is home, and 8:30 AM on weekdays.  It works great for Mason, because it is right after he wakes up and eats.

I registered for the Spartan Super in Las Vegas on March 19th.  This race is 8+ miles and 25+ obstacles.  I am excited for this!

All my pants fit! Woo hoo! I never thought this would happen and had come to terms with the fact that babies expand hips, and my hips may never return to their original size. But it happened and I'm okay with that!

My diastasis recti (split in the abdominal muscles) has not healed yet.  I still have about a 1.5-2 finger width split on the lower half of my abs.  I need to be better about doing specific exercises that work the transverse abdominal muscles to aid in closing this gap.

My current weight: 110 lb.

Progress on Goals:
1. Increase push-ups and pull-ups.
---maintaining! I could maybe squeeze out one more pull-up!
2. Follow JEFFTAT program every week.
---stopped doing this until I can commit 6 days a week to it, because I want to use the program the way it was intended.  Hoping to kind of start this over soon, or make my own regimen.
3. Continue meal prep and exhibit portion control with treats.
---not super structured meal prepping, but healthy eating and definitely controlling treat portions.
4. Continue 6x per week lifting.
---only lifting about 3 times a week, because I keep forgetting to schedule daycare in advance!
5. Mountain bike with Jeff.
---sadly haven't been. We did go hiking though!!

Progress Photo:
(It's just of my core, but I haven't seen much progress in other areas)

New Goals:
1. Add cardio to training slowly (milk supply) in preparation for the Spartan race.
2. TRY the 5 AM workouts for a week.
3. Drink more water!
4. Target tranverse abdominus.
5.Get to bed earlier. (around 9:30 PM)

Mason is 6 Months Old!

This cutest, happiest baby is already 6 months old! Half-of-a-year old! Times sure flies when there's a baby in the home.  We couldn't be happier.

Sleeping: He has transitioned in the last week or two to a 2-3-4 sleep cycle.  He did this naturally and on his own and I just followed his cues.  I am a little shocked because this is only 2 naps a day, but he is such an easy-going, happy boy again.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this sleep cycle, the baby wakes up in the morning is awake for 2 hours, down for a nap, awake for 3 hours, down for a nap, awake for 4 hours, bedtime.  Before I clued in to his body language and cues, I was trying to get him to take 3 naps a day.  The first nap would be great! The next two he threw fits, especially for the 3rd nap.  It was basically impossible to get him to settle down and sleep.  I tried everything I knew to get him to sleep and it just wasn't happening.  Aside from transitioning to that new sleep schedule, he has been disturbed by teething a few times.  Other than that, our sleep-champ is still rocking the sleep category!! All night long and easy to put down.

Feeding: Mason is getting about half breastmilk and half formula.  He loves both.  He does bottles and nurses. He eats 6 oz about every 3 hours during the day and then 7-8 oz for his feeding before bed.  Mason also started solid foods! We started a little over a week after he turned 5 months old.  So far he eats: sweet potatoes, applesauce, bananas, peas, avocados, and oatmeal. His favorite is sweet potatoes.  We are making the baby food at home, which has been fun for me!  The only bummer lately is that he will refuse to breastfeed if I am not full enough. It is causing a decline in my supply, obviously.  I believe it is the teething because it is harder to get the milk out.  I have been trying to nurse after he takes 3-4 ounces from the bottle, rather than nursing first (what I normally do).  He will usually eventually nurse.

 

Growing: He is still climbing the growth chart, yay! He weighs 16 lbs. 12.5 oz. and is 27.5 inches long. (35th and 85th percentile, respectively). He is long and lean, so he can wear a few 3 month tops, but mostly 3-6 month, 6 month, and some 6-9 month clothes.  Baby clothes sizes are kind of a joke sometimes haha!  He wears size 3 diapers.

Mason loves his swim lessons.  He is so calm and happy in the water.  The class lasts 30 minutes every Saturday morning for 6 weeks.  We love dedicating that time to something that is especially for him!
 

Mason is an independent sitter and has been for weeks now.  Right after my last post about him, he picked it right up.  They learn so quickly!

He is laughing more, but still does his silly little cough too! And if something is funny, it is only funny the first and second time.  After that, just big smiles from that boy, no more giggles.

He loves blowing bubbles, standing up, tummy tickles, bath time, Ike, whiskers (especially Grandpa's), his calamari toy, being surprised, jumping in his jumperoo, and silly sounds.

Mason has a tooth making its way in! He has been teething for weeks so it's nice to see his misery has been for a good cause. ;) It just broke through the gums a couple days ago so it's not very obvious yet.  He has handled teething pretty well, with just an occasional dose of acetaminophen and lots of loving and snuggles.

We can't imagine life without our baby Mason!

Fitness Progress 5

Wooooah, did I fall off the wagon a bit with all the house stuff going on. We listed our house on July 31st and officially closed August 27th. In less than 30 days, we packed, stored, organized, and cleaned our house while hunting for and moving into a new one. Unfortunately work and school continue no matter how busy life is! So my gym time fell off quite a bit. I still went but only once or twice a week. My diet wasn't all that great either. But I tried the best I felt I could!

I still took a progress picture, and I actually see muscle growth, so that's keeping me motivated! I can't wait to see more transformation as I get back in the swing of things.

Soooo my Goal Progress:
1. My pull-ups and push-ups are the same as last month, maintaining!
2. I'm following JEFFTAT, but with how sporadic I've been, I'm going to start fresh again on week 4.
3. No meal prep has been happening, but I have been limiting my sweets and exhibiting good self-control with portions!
4. Failing at 6x a week, but I will get back there now that I've settled in and found a new gym.
5. Sadly, no mountain biking.

Depressing goal breakdown, but everyone hits bumps in the road. Just have to keep pushing forward and carry on!

New Goals:
I'm going to keep last month's goals and try again! :)

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.