Bootcamp: Surviving Week 2

Tonight is class 4 of bootcamp.  To be honest when Monday rolled around I was dreading going back soooo much.  It didn't help that it was a dreary cold and rainy day on Monday...that kind of weather does nothing for your motivation!  I dragged myself to class and actually pushed myself through the hardest one yet.  Those who know me know that I HATE running or anything that involves doing cardio...and Monday's class was all about the cardio!  We had to do like 6 sets of stairs, a warm up run, suicides and we ended the class with a run to the hill (or in my case what feels like a mountain) and had to run up it 3 times.  It was a great workout and I survived, I'm proud of myself! 

I may not be the fittest person in the world, but I am committed to sticking to this.  By the end of the 8 weeks my goal is to be able to make it up that hill all 3 times without stopping!

Besides bootcamp, I haven't really been up to much this past week.  Next week will be a busy one for me.  Cole has his 3 month check up, it is my birthday and I will be going to a BBQ at the child care centre that I work at :)

Hope everyone is doing well!  Feel free to leave me a comment!

My Favourites...

As a new mom, I wanted to share some of my favourite baby products over the last few months.  I am sure that I will add more to my list as Cole continues to get older!

Nursing Pillow
I use my nursing pillow for more than just nursing.  I used it when I first had Cole for nursing purposes, but when we switched over to formula, and even before then, I use it as a place to sleep....I know this may sound silly, but it was nice when he was first born.  I could put him in the pillow on the couch and not worry about him being too far, even still he often will fall asleep lounging in the pillow and is easily moved to the playard or crib upstairs.

Here is a picture of the peanut sleeping in the pillow:

Pack and Play with changing table
Below is the picture of the playard that I own.  I love the changing table being attached...it is honestly pretty much the only place we change  him when at home, unless we are upstairs.  I use the playard for naps during the day or if I need to put him somewhere safe while I am busy downstairs.  He loves watching the mobile spin round and round :)

Playmat
A bright and colourful playmat is essential!  Since he was a few weeks old I have been using his playmat as a source of fun and entertainment!  I own the exact one below....Cole enjoys swatting the toys, kicking and watching himself in the mirror.  I also use it for tummy time by placing a small pillow a little further back and that way he can see the hanging toys.  A good feature of this playmat is that the toys can be removed and changed with different ones if baby gets bored.

Bumbo Chair
In the last week or so I have fallen in love with the Bumbo chair!  Now that Cole has better control of his head, he enjoys being placed in the Bumbo.  I am never far away when he is in it at the moment...but it saves me from having to hold him in sitting position for long periods of time.  Cole enjoys sitting up and being able to look around and we read books while he sits in there as well :)

Soothies Pacifier
Cole isn't really too attached to his soother, but the Soothies pacifiers are the best!  We use it to help calm him when he is getting overtired.

Swaddleme Blankets
I LOVE these blankets.  They've actually come out with a zipper version as well since he was born, but we use the velcro version every night.  When he was first born they were useful in controlling the spastic movements of his arms and legs to help him sleep.  At 11 weeks old, Cole knows that when he is swaddled it is time to sleep for the night.  We've had a few funny instances where we've somehow managed to get our arms out (as depicted below lol)...but otherwise I LOVE LOVE LOVE them....they make swaddling so easy!

Colourful Books with big pictures
Cole loves looking at things with bright colours and being in the education field, I love reading and wanted to pass that on.  I've received a few fabric books and have slowly started building up a board book collection as well...I have tonnes of paper books for later as well.  When I look for books for right now, I look for big bright pictures.  The book below is currently Cole's favourite.  It scrunches and has peekaboo flaps with lots of great pictures and a cute storyline too!  

Bootcamp: Surviving Day 1

With having  a baby only a couple of months ago I've just been sort of unhappy with my body ever since.  I understand that your body doesn't completely bounce back to normal in the matter of a week or two...and I have lost all of my baby weight since having him, but things just don't look the same.  My pants still don't fit and my tummy just isn't what it used to be....soooo I decided to take things into my own hands...or errr the hands of a bootcamp instructor.  A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a fitness bootcamp in my area and yesterday was day 1.  I arrived feeling nervous, but excited and left feeling tired, sore and with the realization of how out of shape I am.  Seeing how out of shape I am only makes me want to push myself harder at tomorrow's class...and for the next 8 weeks.  I am hoping to see some changes in the next few weeks and I hope to use this class as a starting point to getting myself back in top shape.  I'm a bit scared lol...I only feel a dull ache today, which for me usually means that by tomorrow I won't be able to move, but I look forward to it!!  Wish me luck over these next 8 weeks!

May 2-4 Long Weekend Fun!

We had a very busy, but very fun long weekend!  Our weekend started off on Friday night.  Mike and I decided we felt comfortable leaving the Peanut with my mom for a couple of hours while we went to the movies to see the Avengers.  It was really nice to get out and just have adult time, since we haven't had that since he was born, but at the same time it felt weird for me to be out without the little man.  I surprisingly didn't have any anxiety about leaving him and was surprised with myself that I didn't call or text my mom to find out how he was doing.  I guess I knew that he was in great hands and he is such a good baby that I wasn't worried for my mom either.  The movie was really good and we enjoyed our night out and my mom enjoyed spending time with the Peanut, who was on his best behavior all night!

On Saturday Mike cleaned up the backyard and got it Summer ready.  That afternoon we went over to my friends house to hang out with her family and one of our other friends.  It was so cute!!  My friend had two daughters, one is 2.5 years and one is 10 months, both were obsessed with Cole!  The 2.5year old didn't leave him along the whole time, sitting beside him and talking to him, laying with him on his playmat and smothering him with kisses.  The 10 month old was very curious about him and continuously crawled/walked over to check him out.  It was nice to get out and see some of my friends and socialize :)

On Sunday I did some running around while Mike was golfing...picked up a UV net for the stroller and bought some bigger sized swaddles since Cole is growing so fast.  That night we had a joint BBQ with our next door neighbours and their children, which was nice.  The weather was so nice this weekend, haven't had good weather on the May 2-4 long weekend in a long time!  We were invited to watch fireworks as well, but Mike was too tired so we just stayed back and watched some TV.

Yesterday we were invited to a family BBQ/Pool Party.  Cole went swimming for the first time and surprisingly he enjoyed it!!  He only stayed in the water for a few minutes because he can't wear sunscreen yet and I didn't want him to get a sunburn.  When he came out of the water Grandma took him and I got to go for a swim, which was very much enjoyed.  We then had a big BBQ with all the family and came home and passed out!

It was nice to have a weekend filled with so much socialization...you tend to feel deprived of that when you are at home with a baby everyday (not that I care) so this weekend was very much enjoyed!

Showers of Happiness and 2 Month Checkups!

Hard to believe that the little Peanut is already 9 weeks old!! Yesterday we went for our 2 month checkup and vaccinations. We are now weighing in at 13.2lbs and measuring 25 inches long. That means he has almost doubled his birth weight and grown 4 inches since he was born, looks like I am going to have a big boy on my hands and explains why he is already starting to outgrow his 3 month clothing. We had to get our vaccinations as well yesterday...talk about heartbreaking! I have never heard him cry in pain yet and I hope I don't have to hear it again...and it's not like he even cried long, only for a minute or so. Otherwise the Peanut is doing well and looking healthy!

 It's crazy how much he has changed in the last 9 weeks...we've gone from sleeping all day and not really doing a whole lot to small catnaps during the day, lots of playing and TONS of smiling and babbling! He is developing quite the little personality already too...I suspect that he is most likely going to be a little troublemaker with a great sense of humour lol. We have been out and about a lot lately and people keep telling me the same thing everywhere I go.."I can't believe how alert and aware he is for 2 months"..people actually don't believe me when I say he is 2 months old because he pays so much attention to everything around him. I have truly been blessed with an amazing little man!

Last weekend we had our second baby shower and got lots of fun new things! Since I already had everything I needed for him as a newborn I updated my registry to make it more geared towards the first year. We received a lot of fun and colourful toys and books, a new stroller, a wagon and some other fun baby gear! I just have to organize everything and find a place for it, our house is slowly being overrun by baby items!!

Figuring It All Out...

I've been pretty busy lately...trying to fall into a routine with the peanut and keeping myself occupied so I don't go stir crazy. Being a mom is one of the best and most trying experiences ever...but not one that I would trade for the world. The peanut is 6 and a half weeks old now and I think we have pretty much established a schedule. Sometimes the schedule varies a bit, but for the most part we're doing well. The last couple of days Cole has been sleeping from about 12-6amish, which has allowed me 6 hours of straight blissful sleep. He usually then wakes up, eats and falls back to sleep for about 4 hours. When he wakes up we get changed, have a bath, eat again and then usually spend some time hanging out on our playmat and singing songs until we get fussy. Our afternoons are spent playing, eating and sleeping. Cole is usually awake from about 5pm every night until we get ready for bed at 11. Around 11:30 we do a top up and get swaddled then I put him into his crib for the night. This schedule seems to work out well for us. While he sleeps during the day I usually clean up around here, do some laundry and cook dinner when I can. I like to try and get out too...go shopping or for a walk. Last week I took him to get his pictures done...I'm really excited to see the finished products. They were super cute...but also super expensive lol...but again totally worth it! It's crazy how much he has grown since coming home from the hospital. He is now fitting into most of his 3 month clothes and I have had to pack away the majority of his newborn stuff. In a way I'm happy because he has a lot of really cute 3 month clothes that I've been waiting to put him in and in a way I'm sad that he is growing so fast. This last week or so I've started working out in an attempt to get my pre-baby body back! I'm curious to know how much weight I've lost. In total I gained about 24lbs when pregnant and I know that at 1.5 weeks postpartum I had already lost 12lbs. I've seen a bit of a change in my stomach already...it's not quite as jiggly as it was a week ago but I still have a little "pooch" that I want to get rid of. I'm hoping that if I continue the workouts, along with walks I intend to take once it's nicer out, that I will be bikini ready by the summer! I hope all of you pregnant mamas are doing well and that all of you that have recently had babies are enjoying every minute of it :)

It's Been A Month Already!

Cole will be exactly 1 month old tomorrow :) It's amazing how fast time flies by! We have our one month appointment at the pediatrician tomorrow, so we will get to see how much he has grown since he was born :) I know that he has definitely gained weight and has most likely gotten longer as well, since he is quickly getting too big for all of his newborn clothing. I'm happy to say that we have kind of established a routine over the last month and that our nights are not too bad!

I'm really excited to get my hair cut tomorrow as well! It's sooo long right now and I feel like it is always in my face or Cole's so it just needs to go! It will be a nice change for the Spring as well...it's been long for a long time...time to switch it up!

Anyways...I don't really have much to say at the moment..so guess this will be a short post!