Posts by santorkk

I find the easiest (and cheapest) way to exercise is with videos first thing in the morning before work, usually 6-ish.  No travel time, no membership, and usually the kids are still asleep.  I've collected a number of different videos over the last couple of years: a lot of Jillian Michaels (circuit training) and kickboxing.  Most of them I tested out by checking out of the library first before purchasing.  Some I happened to run across in thrift stores and just took a risk.  I usually exercise 5 or 6 days out of the week, trying to alternate between strength training and cardio.  I try to exercise for at least 30 minutes or if I know I have the time I'll do a longer workout.  Another thing I like about that schedule is that whatever else happens to my day, I've at least got that in.  Also, at work, I usually go for a walk at lunchtime.  Also something one can do with a baby as long as the weather isn't too crazy.

My kids are 10 months, 5, 7, and 9.  I'm not currently logging all the food just because I don't have time and also when I did it in the past I got a little obsessive about it.  So for the moment, I'm just trying to eat better and watch portions.  We'll see how that goes.  My weight has pretty much gone up and down the same 5 lbs since shortly after the baby was born although the measurements are definitely improving.  But I still have about 12lbs of baby weight to unload.

I think sleep training does work but illness can definitely disrupt it.  But once they're over being sick, it helps to try to get back to it sooner rather than later.

Good luck with the job search.

I've had a similar experience.  Before having my latest baby in 3/2011, I took about a year and a half to lose 50 lbs.  So I was at a good weight when I got pregnant.  Gained 30 lbs.  Had the baby.  Within a week or so, I was down about 13-14 lbs and pretty much stayed there for months.  That's with exercising and not being too crazy at the eating and also breastfeeding.  With previous pregnancies, I was overweight to begin with and the baby weight came off practically immediately and I gained less to start with, about 20 lbs.  I figure since I started off weighing less, my body wanted to make sure it had what it needed for breastfeeding so it kind of held on to pounds.  Even though I stayed about the same weight (163 or so, having a pre-preg weight of 147) for months, exercise did still help me get my strength back, especially in the abdominal area, and even though I wasn't losing pounds, I was losing inches off my waist gradually.  I'm just starting to lose again now with counting calories again.  I read somewhere that since it takes 9 months to put the baby weight on, one should give it at least 9 months to take it back off.  Good luck!

Regarding breast pumps.  I have an Ameda Purely Yours.  Although not cheap, it's not as expensive as the Medela pumps but still works well.  My work actually has a lactation room where they provide a Medela pump (hospital grade) where I just have to bring my own attachments.  Of course, that works well too.

Hi all.  Angelina arrived on Sat, 3/12.  My water broke about 8 am and then absolutely nothing else happened until they put me on Pitocin at 3:30 in the afternoon.  She was born 10:30 pm. 

Trying to get used to things at home.  Wow, I now have 4 children!  My 8-yr-old daughter wants to constantly hold Angelina but she hasn't had much opportunity so far since she's at school all day and even when she's home, Angelina can spend an hour nursing.  We are having lots of interesting conversations about biology.  "How did the baby get out?"  "Why does the baby drink from there?"  "Can I feed the baby like that?"etc

I'm getting real tired of being pregnant.  So what if my due date is Tuesday.  Tonight would be a fine night.  I swear I go to bed each night thinking, "maybe tonight."  Probably making myself more crazy than I need to.  Of course it doesn't help that every time I go to work someone says, "Are you still here?"  Anyway,  I'm fine.  Don't mind me.

ringnebula

Wow, that would be scary.  Glad you're okay.

Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee

Greenest state in the land of the free

Raised in the woods so he knew every tree

Kilt him a bear when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett

King of the wild frontier

Vanessa,

Ignore those people.  I found it MUCH easier having #2 than #1 just because I had a clue what the heck I was doing.  Also, does your daughter like baby dolls?  It's hilarious watching a 2-yr-old breastfeed her baby while you're taking care of yours.  Or bottles.  Or imitating any of the other things you'll be doing with baby.

To others stressing about having #1,

Read a book on infant care.  Personally, I spent so much time reading about/talking about pregnancy with my first one that when I brought my daughter home from the hospital, it was like "now what do I do with her?"

I was just saying to my husband that I feel like I could use a week off just to get our house in order.  Sometimes it feels like there isn't enough time to get all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry done.  So we never get around to those other home projects like cleaning our office, fixing the holes in our ceiling that have been there since last January, getting our outside light fixed, etc...

Vanessa, I hope all goes well with your dad's biopsy.  Stuff like that is definitely nerve wracking.

Vanessa,

I'm fortunate that there are dedicated lacation rooms with pumps at my job.  So all I have to bring are the attachments.  I will pump for a while.  With my son, I took 12 weeks maternity, then pumped at work for 3 months, so that he got through 6 months solely on breast milk.  But then I just nursed morning and night and stopped pumping.  I kept up with the morning/night routine until he was a year.  As nice as it is to have the lactation room available (and an accommodating boss-always important!), it's still a pain pumping.  So he got a combo of breast milk and formula.  With my eldest daughter, I pretty much didn't nurse her past maternity leave because it just seemed too complicated at the time since I was working part time some days of the week, taking graduate classes other days.  With my second daughter, I did similar to what I did with my son but had to stop sooner (about 5 months) because I ended up landing in the hospital with an unrelated condition.  Anecdotally, I think my son who breastfed the longest, ended up the healthiest in his first year.