Sleep Regression - IT'S REAL.

Baby is born. Baby comes home. Time pretty much stops existing while baby figures out the difference between night and day. Parents don't care because they are in complete awe of their precious bundle of joy. Baby finally gets it. Nights become time to sleep and days become time for play. Baby wakes up 3 times a night to nurse, but goes right back to sleep. Normal. Months pass - baby sleeps through the night! And not just through the night, 9-10 hours straight!! Parents praise themselves. It must be some awesome parenting they did. They high-five each other.

Then, something happens. Baby starts waking up 2 times a night to nurse again. Ok…not a huge deal.

Then, something more happens. Baby is waking EVERY 2 HOURS. She's restless. She's fidgety. She's hungry. She's not hungry. She wants to be on her stomach. No, she wants to be on her back. She wants to bounce. She wants to sleep in your bed.

Sleep regression. When this happened to us, I immediately googled "4 months old not sleeping?" and "4 months old waking up a lot" and "4 months old IM EXHAUSTED" and every other phrase you can think of. Every. Single. One. gave me the result "4 Month Sleep Regression".

Turns out that, due to a huge developmental leap, it is very typical at this age for babies to just flip their sleeping routine on its head. They "regress" to sleeping like newborns, because their brain can no longer just check out like it used to. Ive read it described like this: Imagine going to bed the night before a big meeting or big event. You are tossing and turning and checking the clock every hour it seems. You can't stop going over scenarios in your head. Thats what it is like for weeks for babies that go through sleep regression. Usually, they are working on mastering a skill at this time, like rolling over or sitting up.

Ive READ that often times, once this skill is mastered, the regression stops. Meh, not so sure I buy that one. She's sitting up unsupported now, rolled over once (yes, once) and the "regression" has only gotten worse. Its now moved to naps also.

On the flip side of this, Camila is all of a sudden a REAL LITTLE HUMAN! She is the coolest little person ever! It seems like she went from being a little blob of poopie, sour milky mess to a thinking, feeling, giggly, bubbly, adorable HUMAN. She is so much fun and so amazing. She learns something new every day, she has "conversations" with us, she yells when she's bored and likes to read books and loves the swing at the park and grabs our faces and belly laughs. She giggles when I dance like an idiot and squeals when talking to her papi. She sings herself to sleep and responds to her name and pays attention when skyping with her family and is discovering her hands and toes.

Quite simply: SHE ROCKS. This is equally the hardest and most joyful stage thus far.

I don't know when this sleep regression will end (i hope its soon) but advice I often get from other parents is "this too shall pass." Enjoy the many stages they go through, because it will go by fast. So for now, we have decided to assist her however we can through this bump in the road. She will eventually work through it, and no, we won't create any bad habits by helping her sleep in any way we can - even if it means sleeping in our bed. We will continue our bedtime routine of bath and a book, and continue to put her to bed in her crib. Once she's through this stage, our goal is sleep training, which will be a whole new adventure!

Can anyone relate?! I would love to hear if theres anyone else that went through this sleeping hump!

Hiatus!!!

Oy time flies!!!! I got myself in a rut with this blog, because its original purpose was to document keeping fit during pregnancy, and getting body back after baby. However I started  to feel like people enjoyed reading the baby parts and not so much the keeping fit parts so I kind of drifted off. And now I find myself wishing I had been doing more CAMILA updates on here, because time flies SO FAST and I am already forgetting how it felt during certain stages!

 3 months old

I also realized that this would be a good avenue to discuss different parenting adventures (sleep regressions, diapering, feeding solids), not only so I can document these times for myself and my family, but to hopefully help others!!! I am one of those people that is constantly googling everything, from "ok to deadlift 30 weeks pregnant?" to "4 months old nap schedules". Whenever I come across another young mom documenting her experiences, I am hooked. I always end up wishing there were more people out there who did so, and so in reality thats kind of why I started this blog (I wanted to help and connect with other fit moms).

We reppin' Gold's!

SO LONG STORY SHORT, this blog will now be WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE WRITING ABOUT!!! Fitness, monthly Camila updates, adventures in the different stages in infancy, blah blah blah. I hope along the way I can help other new parents, but if not, at least I'll have documented life at this sweet, sweet stage, because my gosh, it'll be over before we know it.

8 weeks postpartum!

So I was photo bombed by David Hasselhoff.

Seriously though -  Who hasselhoffed me?! I went to upload photos to this blog, and it gave me the option to upload from my phone. I thought to myself, "How does this thing know my phone? Lets see what pops up." And THIS was the picture - the only picture- that showed up. Um, what? 

Ok! Let's move on from the creepy Hasselhoff photo bombing. 

Its been 8 weeks since I gave birth to my beautiful Camilita. It has been the most awesome, exhilarating, emotional and amazing 8 weeks of our lives! 

At 6 weeks postpartum we started working out again, and even though I was active my entire pregnancy, 6 weeks of doing NOTHING really takes its toll! For two weeks now we have been doing Insanity, which was harder to do than the first time we did it! Its hard to have worked so hard on your strength and fitness level only to have it virtually deteriorate. Below are reverse before and after pictures, haha. On the left is my before, my goal essentially (and then some), on the right is where I am now. 

While I was very active and ate healthy during my entire pregnancy, my diet was definitely not as clean as normal. While my planned meals were on point, I pretty much allowed myself to eat what I wanted almost whenever I wanted (and so did my husband!). This led me to gain a considerable about of body fat, which my body was already trying to do (pregnancy hormones - your body holds on to fat even more to prepare for breastfeeding). 

BUT…its all ok because its a learning process, and this process gave us the most beautiful and special gift anyone could ask for.  :)

SO, my goal right now is to lose the body fat I've gained, while also gaining a muscle base (usually these two do not go hand in hand - however I am relying on "newbie gains" - the ability to gain a bit of muscle while also losing fat when you are new to lifting. While I am not new to lifting, I might as well be at this point. Ha.) However, I have heard lately that those last 5-15 lbs are often hard to lose for breastfeeding moms because your body wants to hold on to fat. This is because your body obviously needs energy to produce milk, and in case of an emergency where you aren't eating and drinking enough, your body has fat stores to make milk. So I need to eat enough calories to support my milk production (otherwise my body will continue to hold on to fat instead of let it go) as well as enough to gain some muscle - again, something that is difficult for the postpartum body to do! So this will be a bit of an experiment.

These past 2 weeks we have been doing Insanity, but now that I'm feeling better I am ready to incorporate lifting back in. We have equipment in our basement for this, as our gym's child care won't take Camila until she is 3 months old. Our routine is Insanity 3 days a week, and a full body lifting routine 3 days a week. 

I'll post later this week about exactly what we do, and HOW we do it with an 8 week old.  :)

39 weeks, Camila's birth story and 1.5 weeks postpartum!

39 weeks

Donovan and I had just spent the weekend really focusing on each other - we went for a long hike, didn't turn the TV on all day, talked a ton and just got in a very serene we-are-ready-for-this mindset. I had been having a lot of mixed emotions leading up to that weekend - fear, excitement, worry, you name it. The emotions were building, building…so this weekend was exactly what I needed. Wouldn't you know it, that night my water broke!

Camila's Birth Story

Camila was born at 6:29 pm, with the sun streaming in the window and Bob Marley's "Stir it Up" playing. True story. But let me back up!

Sunday at midnight my water broke. I wasn't 100% sure that it had happened - for a good 20 minutes I battled with the idea that maybe I had just lost all control of my bladder in this last week of pregnancy, how embarrassing! Once I realized that yes, this was indeed my water, I woke up Donovan, we grabbed any last minute things we needed, and headed to the hospital. I wasn't feeling any pain or discomfort, so I was in denial the entire time, until we got there and they confirmed that labor had begun and we wouldn't be going home without a baby in our arms. So exciting!

The nurses hooked me up and started me on pitocin to get my contractions starting. Once your water breaks your baby is prone to infection and other things on the 'outside', so they want active labor to begin quickly. At first, the contractions felt like bad period cramps. I could handle it. Uncomfortable yea, but I was alright. Give it ten minutes…HOLY HELL. Yea, full blown contractions are no joke. In the middle of tear-enducing agony (only about 30 minutes in to the contractions) the nurse informs me that I can receive the epidural any time I want. Really?! Because I watch 16 and Pregnant and they're always sitting there for hours before someone offers them the epidural! Anywho, epidural = magic. I couldn't even feel my legs, let alone contractions. And so began a long day of waiting…

I was technically in labor for about 18 hours, give or take. However I couldn't feel anything, so it was just the 3 of us (my mom had arrived around 7am) in a room waiting…and sitting…and pretending we were trying to sleep but really being too excited to ACTUALLY sleep. Finally, around noon, the nurse said I was almost fully dilated and would start pushing in an hour. GREAT! Time to call my dad and get the rest of the crew on down! 1:00 came and went…so did 2:00, and 3:00…they informed me that even though I was fully dilated, they wanted her to "labor down", or descend into the birth canal more on her own, before I began pushing. They told me that the further she came down on her own, the less pushing I would have to do. Ok, ok, I guess a little more waiting won't kill us…

4:00…5:00…ok seriously?! I can literally FEEL this baby pushing down in places I won't mention, and I am ready to PUSH…turns out my doctor was called into a C-Section that ended up having some complications, so we would have to continue waiting. Those cruel (slash incredibly sweet, but cruel in this moment) nurses even pulled over a mirror and had me do one big push so I could see Camila's little head. It was so exciting I was ready to keep pushing, but then she's like "Ok now we will just wait for the doctor!" Noooooooooo!

FINALLY at 6:00ish the doctor called down and instructed the nurses to get me started pushing. I glanced at the clock before my first big push - 6:15. Ok, here we go! Donovan got Bob Marley kickin on his phone (trying to spread some positive vibes) and I went to work. And I mean went to WORK. I had the mirror there, enabling me to see the progress Camila made with every push, which motivated me to keep going. When they told me to rest, I pushed. The doctor barely had to touch me because 15 minutes later, out popped our beautiful, sticky, smelly, in-mid-poop baby girl. Words can't express how it felt to finally see her as they laid her on my chest. We were both in awe at what we had created. 

The next couple of days were spent staring at and admiring our new addition, visiting with awesome friends and family, and Skyping with those that couldn't be there in person. Camila had a mild case of jaundice, which required an extra night and day in the hospital as well as her being strapped to a weird UV light contraption. It was an emotional time for lil' ole hormonal me, but we survived and finally came home on Thursday. We were greeted by flowers and edible arrangements from family as well as delicious homemade Indian food from Arushi and her mom - just what we needed after days of hospital food!

I will wrap up by saying that nothing can prepare you for how you will feel when your new baby is born. I was starting to panic in the last weeks of pregnancy - worrying about being a good mom, about losing my independence, about how my and Donovan's relationship would change, missing out on beach trips, wondering if we'd make it to the pool this summer…you name it, it scared me. But now that she's here…NOTHING matters because she is the single coolest, greatest, most awesome thing in the world. We are so madly in love with this little chick and with each other, and nothing beats that. Yes, things are different, but in the best possible way. Our hearts and our home feel so much richer with her presence. My friend Tali told me, "You will be so obsessed with this little being." She had it right, we are obsessed!

1 1/2 weeks postpartum 

So since the purpose of this blog is staying fit, "pregnancy and beyond", its only fitting that I include my postpartum progress. 

Below is 7, 8, 9 and 10 days postpartum - you can see how the swelling goes down a little each day. I have also been using a postpartum girdle, which I definitely recommend. I don't know if its really whats causing me to shrink so quickly, but it definitely holds everything in and feels comfortable. Everything is verrrry soft for a while so the girdle makes me feel like its tightening everything up a bit. 

I obviously can't work out for 6 weeks, so until then it will be clean eating and light walking. Ill tell you though, something I didn't expect: recovery is harder than both pregnancy AND labor and delivery (in my opinion). Looking back, my pregnancy was easy, and I stayed active the entire time. Labor and delivery weren't bad at all once I had that epidural (how people do it naturally I do not know). But the next day, I felt like I'd been run over by a horse. A horse who got joy out of kicking me in the crotch multiple times, and a swift kick to the gut. And my whole body was more swollen than it was during pregnancy! Seriously, my toes looked like tater tots. My shoes completely stopped fitting. Not fun. Im now almost 2 weeks postpartum and just starting to feel slightly normal again. I've been pretty much couch ridden. My amazing and wonderful husband has been doing all of the cleaning, cooking and diaper changing. He told me, "Your only job is to eat, drink, and focus on Cami." Don't know what I would do without him! Anywho, walking has become almost enjoyable again, I can see my ankle bones and can cross my legs, and all of my cute summer dresses fit perfectly - even over bigger boobs, nursing bras and a girdle. Woohoo!  :)

How far along? 38 weeks!

Total Weight Gain: Clocking in right around 40 lbs total- what I expected.  :)

Stretch Marks: None - so thankful!

Belly button: Stretched to the max. Ha.

Movement: Ive had an elbow (we THINK its an elbow) sticking out and poking me right to the left of my belly button! Its so odd looking (and feeling)!

Feeling: Pretty good lately, still energetic though I have those 2-3 days a week where I just feel blech!

Cravings: Popsicles still, but also ice and frozen peas and corn! The frozen veggies thing isn't as odd as it sounds - I have been known to eat those as a snack on any random day, since I was a kid. But its been every night lately!

Symptoms: The back pain has actually kind of gone away (unless I do the dishes) which is interesting. Swelling has picked up due to the humid weather. I also feel a tremendous about of pelvic pressure often, which definitely slows me down! Sometimes its not an issue but when it is, getting up, changing positions, or moving at all is laborsome…SITTING is even uncomfortable!

Missing: My old clothes! And my old body! Oy!

Looking Forward to: Meeting her! We are at the any-day-now timeframe.

Sleep: Rolling over in bed requires me to be fully awake, haha. And I switch sides often in the night! So aside form these very-often night wakings (including using the bathroom), Im sleeping well! 

Exercise:  Still lots of cardio and walking. I am slowing down in the cardio arena though…not feeling as agile. I am REALLY looking forward to getting back into a solid routine, which I won't be able to do until 6 weeks AFTER delivery. That actually is lowering my motivation too. Whenever I feel even a little bit tired I think to myself, "Whats the point anyway? She will be here any day now and when that happens I won't be able to do ANYthing for 6 weeks." Meh whatever.  :)

Eating: Clean and healthy with lots of liberations!!! Same as usual. Im going to have to kick this popsicle habit once this little chick is here. With no exercise for 6 weeks, my diet will have to be spot-on.  :)

Thoughts this week: I am equal parts THRILLED and TERRIFIED for her arrival. I can't wait to just love her and hold her and care for her, but at the same time the reality of having this little person to care for always is scaring me. Im scared in selfish ways - our life will be changed based on the responsibility we have towards her. We won't be able to do whatever we want, when we want. It won't just be US anymore, and that scares the crap out of me! But many kind people have assured me that yes, that happens, but the love we will feel for this little being will surpass all of that. I totally believe that, but I know that until she's here I will probably continue to have lots of mixed, hormone-induced emotions! 

How far along? 36 weeks! (missed 35s pic  :p )

Total Weight Gain: Last drs appointment I was at 38 lbs, 4 more than last week! However I was VERY swollen in my legs and she said that 3-4 of those pounds were water weight alone from the swelling. Sooo, I haven't gained any weight? Or have I? :)

Stretch Marks: None 

Belly button: Stretched to the max. Ha.

Movement: She's always wiggling and pushing, but there's no room for kicks!

Feeling: Large! I have days where I feel 'gross pregnant' as I call it, where I feel like I waddle and move slow, and my ankles are swollen so I have to keep my feet up. Yuck. But most days I feel pretty normal and energetic, just with a large gut! My lower back often hurts though, and I get up slower.

Cravings: Popsicles :)

Symptoms: Still the sore lower back after cardio and standing (walking doesn't seem to bother it), and now the swelling! That part totally blows. However when the weather is cooler, like 70s and below, its not an issue. Those 80something degree days we had though, man my legs looked like tree trunks!

Missing: Feeling tiny and light on my feet.  :)

Looking Forward to: Meeting her! SO CLOSE NOW.

Sleep: Sleeping really well! I wake a couple times a night to use the bathroom or roll over but am able to go right back to sleep.

Exercise:  Donovan and I have been doing Insanity all this week, maybe 3-4 times total. I do it VERY slow and VERY modified so no worries! I also went swimming this week, on one of my swollen days (thanks to our awesome neighborhood for having an indoor lap pool within walking distance from home!). That was nice  :) We are hoping to hit the gym next week.

Eating: Clean and healthy with lots of liberations!!! Im definitely hungrier again, but I head that during the last month or so you should eat 300-500 calories extra so that explains it. Trying to listen to my body.

Thoughts this week: Still getting comments on how BIG I am and how i MUST be due any day now! Ha, is that normal?! Anyway, doctor/nurse said I am measuring right on track and she thinks Ill deliver right at 40 weeks, "if not a few days after" (let's stick with 40 weeks…). We went on the hospital tour this week too, and everything is feeling so real. She could be here any time and we are so excited and nervous at the same time!

Awesome, awesome 1st grade team brought mac and cheese and popsicles for my birthday treat - Ill miss them so much next year!

Ready to pop? 

Handsome-as-hell papi celebrating the end of his semester! He's worked his butt off.

Heavy Seas Brewery tour for my stepfather's birthday/Mother's Day/my birthday  :)

Happy Mothers Day to my amazing mom!!!

Birthday dinner!

How far along? 33/34 weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 34 lbs! Yep, Im headed towards 40ish total  :)

Stretch Marks: None 

Belly button: Starting to become an outtie! Ah!

Movement: All the time! And its fun to watch my belly contort and shift as she moves! I have a feeling she's going to be pretty big...

Feeling: Starting to feel increasingly less agile! I am moving slower, grunting when I squat to pick things up, walking slow…rolling over takes a good 34,823 minutes…Ive also been sick this past week. I got some sort of virus that gave me a fever and kept me home from work for 2 days. Im still fighting it a bit, coughing up a lot of fun stuff, but it definitely slowed me down  :)

Cravings: Popsicles! I need to put that in my next picture. I am craving those real-fruit strawberry popsicles! Yummm.

Symptoms: Sore lower back, especially when doing dishes because I am leaning slightly over the sink. Its really become quite a chore to clean up the kitchen! Thankfully I have an awesome husband who team-works it with me.

Missing: Moving quickly! I feel slow and whale-ish. Haha.

Looking Forward to: Meeting her! 

Sleep: Definitely sleeping only on my side now. I guess it about time right?  :) Rolling over always causes me to wake up, because it takes about 3x as long as it used to just to get from one side to the other. But overall my sleep is good!

Exercise:  Ive been out of the gym for weeks, which means no weights. Ive been keeping active with lots of cardio though. I do SOMEthing every day, whether its a long walk, Insanity or T25. Between schedule, Donovan's intense end-of-semester school schedule and sickness we have both let our fitness goals fall by the wayside. Im at the point now though where as long as Im staying active in SOME way and eating healthy, Im not concerned about my strength and muscle - I trust in muscle memory and I look forward to hitting it hard again when I am ready!

Eating: Clean and healthy with lots of liberations!!!

Thoughts this week: I have had 3 people in the last week tell me that they don't think ill make it full term because of how big I am. Really?! Am I that big?! Oy! On one hand I am glad its all belly (better than than all around right?)- on the other, that means she must be big right?! Im too small for a big baby! Oh well, guess nature will take its course! I am kind of "done" being pregnant though - my skin is stretched to the max, I waddle, my back hurts and I am moving slower than usual. I don't know how she's going to grow MORE in 6 weeks! Still trying to enjoy it while we can - she will be here in such a short amount of time, its really crazy...

 Mirror selfies!

Lopsided belly!

We are ready for you baby girl  :)

Double baby shower by our awesome team at work.

Revisiting Tap Out - We definitely like Insanity more!

Papi working under her first "car"  :)

12 months through 2T! Thanks to our beautiful niece for passing them down!

Pointy?!

Feeling good and slightly awkward after a workout, hehe.

How far along? 31/32 weeks - only 8 weeks left! Assuming I go according to schedule :)

Total Weight Gain: Still around 30 lbs - weight gain has slowed!

Stretch Marks: None 

Belly button: Its flat, slightly sticking out sometimes. So odd!

Movement: All. The. Time. She still stretches and rolls, I don't feel her "kick" per se. Maybe that means she will be even tempered?  :) My sister-in-law told me that her pregnancy with our easy-going niece Sarahi was similar, however her pregnancy with our energetic nephew was full of strong kicks and punches. So we will see.  :) Sometimes her movements hurt though, when she stretches big or swipes an elbow or knee against my skin. Its really fascinating though because my belly will contort depending on her position - so funny! She seems to be in one general position - I feel a lump on my upper right side all the time, which I think is her butt (could be a head but doctor thinks she's head down). Its strange because whenever I want to feel her now I just touch in that area and she's always there.  :)

Feeling: Feeling great, just increasingly large and definitely heavy. Especially when I work out, because i can feel my weight in my SHINS. I never feel anything in my shins!

Cravings: Nothing in particular, other than lebananis! Ha, a lebanani is this desert we had EVERY NIGHT in Bahrain (don't judge). Its vanilla ice-cream mixed with frozen tropical fruits, with a layer of mango puree in the middle, and topped with pistachios and honey. They delivered, we took advantage. Ah what I wouldn't give for one right now...

Symptoms: The entire trip in Bahrain my ankles and feet were swollen, especially after standing for too long. I was constantly taking breaks to sit and put my feet up, thinking that my body had succumbed to the common symptom of being swollen. However ever since we got home they've been normal, so it must have been the heat! The lower back pain is still bothering me occasionally. I feel it mostly after being active, and always when I do the dishes, because I am ever so slightly bent forward over the sink and the weight of my belly pulls on my back. I think Im starting to waddle because I now stand bending slightly backwards so counteract that weight.  :)

Missing: Lebananis! :) And fresh food. This has nothing to do with pregnancy, just feeling angry at American food industry and factory farming! Traveling internationally usually does that to me.

Looking Forward to: Meeting our baby girl! Spending the past 1.5 weeks with our niece and nephew made us so excited to be parents to our own sweet little one.

Sleep: I think I am officially a side sleeper now. I can't sleep on my belly anymore, even with the pillow wedged under me, and it sucks because I am so not comfortable on my side! Oh well. Overall Im sleeping well but gone are the nights where I fall asleep, and the next time I open my eyes its morning. Even simply rolling over takes a certain amount of consciousness to accomplish. I guess its prepping me for parenthood  :)

Exercise:  This area has been a BUST for us both! I had been trying to stay mildly active before we left for our trip, but we hadn't been to the gym in a few weeks. In Bahrain we didn't work out at all, so now that we are home we are actually craving that feeling. I walked by a gym on the naval base in Bahrain and actually had a slight emotional reaction to the sound of the weights clinking and the smell of rubber and sweat as we walked by. Gross right? Haha. ANYway, we are both trying to focus on cardio and clean eating this coming week to feel cleansed and strong again before hitting the weights - however while my husband is planning to work back up to his previous cardiovascular level, I am hoping to simply stay upright and produce a few sweat drops, while keeping my shins from breaking due to my large load.  :)

Eating: Mostly healthy on our trip (aside form those delicious lebananis!), and we are now on a fish and kale kick. Haha. 

Thoughts this week: While we were both so nervous for the flight to Bahrain (blood clots? What if I go in to labor?) it was sooo completely fine. I didn't even get any special treatment from the flight crew! They were nice and accommodating, but I guess seeing a pregnant girl on a 13 hour flight is really nothing to write home about, ha. I have to thank my amazing husband though - he sacrificed his comfort to make sure I kept my feet up the entire flight and got some sleep, and reminded me to get up and walk. Overall though, I would say international travel at this stage in pregnancy is completely doable and I would definitely do it again! Im glad this trip was more family than adventure oriented though, because I definitely can't do as much as I could before (especially with the excessive swelling I had). 

The time is winding down and its just really starting to wig us out. I feel like nothing is "ready", but I also realized that it doesn't have to be perfectly ready upon her arrival. Once she's here I will be home during the day and can then focus on getting her room ready and clothes sorted and put away - she won't be using much right away anyway. Wow, time flies!