Life A.D.–6 Months

Posted in Body A.D., Cora by teamtradermom

My baby is half a year old.

GASP!

How could this have happened? Who is responsible for the time going by so quickly? I want names!

I guess I just have to accept it. My girls are going to keep growing up and there ain’t nothin’ I can do about it.

In terms of milestones and progressions, not a whole lot has happened since last month. Cora continues to observe everything and especially watches her big sister very closely.

Poor thing got another ear infection last week, this time in both ears. It’s her second one in a month. One or 2 more and we’ll probably have to start talking about tubes. This is all new territory for us as Isabella didn’t have an ear infection until just this year. Cora wasn’t showing any typical signs of it either – no ear tugging or fussiness or loss of appetite. We only figured it out because she was getting a lot of mucus in her eyes.

Yesterday she broke out in a rash. Started in her diaper area so I thought it was just diaper rash. By mid afternoon it had spread all over. Lucky for us we were already going to the doctor for her well check appointment. Turns our she is allergic to Penacillin and thus broke out in hives. Both CJ and I are allergic so it only makes sense that one of the girls would be. Poor Cora seems to be getting the lion’s share of the bad genes!

She doesn’t seem bothered by any of it though so that’s a blessing.

Here is the report from her well check visit!

She is 13 pounds 15 ounces and 28″ tall. She’s average on height but tiny for weight. We got the go ahead to start baby foods (though she’s been on cereal for a month or so already). She’s also been approved to move to a convertible car seat whenever we’re ready. That’s what Isabella is in now. So when we move Cora up, we’ll upgrade Isabella to a booster and be DONE with the infant car seat altogether! Hip hip hurray!

(As a side note, Isabella also had her well check visit yesterday and passed with flying colors. The only thing was that we discovered she has ringworm. I had noticed a little circular shaped red spot on her chest and it wouldn’t go away with Hydrocortisone cream. Now we know why. Doctor said some times kids get it from cats. We don’t have any cats. However we do have cats that roam the neighborhood so doc suspects one of them may have pooped, got some of the feces on it’s fur or in it’s paws and then carried it in to Isabella’s sandbox. Could also have been from pre-school if another kid was infected and didn’t tell the school so who knows.)

As for me, well, I’m almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight! I can wear most of my old clothes now which feels great.

I had a fun discovery today. First, take a little walk with me down memory lane. Remember when I fainted at The Annex 3 years ago? Well one thing I never shared was that when I fainted, my bowels relaxed and emptied themselves. Yes, I pooped my pants. I didn’t realize it until I was in the ambulance. The EMT told me that was totally normal but still I was mortified. So when I got to the hospital, they gave me some scrubs to wear. And they were Men’s Size Large. I obviously had to wear them home and have kept them all these years because, well, they’re darn comfortable. But they’re huge on me.

When I went to the hospital to have Cora, I took them along to wear after giving birth. I was horrified to discover the day after delivery that they did not fit. They were too small. Men’s size large scrubs were too small for my post-baby body.

I took them out today and take a look!

Too big!

THAT felt good!

I still have another 7 pounds to go to hit my goal weight. And the kicker? I actually believe I can do it! In years past I’ve tried and failed to lose that little bit of weight and told myself it just wasn’t possible. Now I know that it is. I CAN do it and I WILL do it.

What can I say – life is good.

Want to read more? Check out these!

Life A.D. – 4 months | Fat Talk | Little Things

12Sep2013

Life A.D.–5 Months

Posted in Body A.D., Cora, Health and Weightloss, Isabella/Munchkin by teamtradermom

5 months isn’t sexy. It isn’t flashy. It doesn’t get a lot of attention like it’s friends 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. But it’s actually fairly important.

There is a lot that happens between months 4-6 of a babies development yet you really don’t hear much about that middle number 5.

We have seen a big difference in Cora in the last 30 days.

She’s showing her personality more every day (here she is getting angry when she couldn’t figure out how to roll over).

She’s a bit like her mama this way…

But she soon figured it out…

Wow that was easy

She can hold her head up very steadily all on her own and she’s sitting up, with some assistance.

She can do little baby “V-ups” (where she lifts her head, neck, shoulders and feet off the ground).

She’s having fun sticking her tongue out.

She’s even grown enough to start wearing size 6 month clothes.

She’s very attentive, watching everything we do. And she wants to be included. If we’re at the table eating dinner and she’s in her swing, she will squawk until we bring her over to join us. If we have her on the floor of the playroom for exercise time while we play, she will crane her neck to see what we are doing at all times.

I find that I can’t get enough of Cora. I stare at her and think how beautiful she is. I snuggle and kiss her all the time. Making her smile is endlessly fun. I remember this phase with Isabella when she was that age too. I want Cora to progress but I don’t want her to grow up. I wish she could stay this sweet and happy forever.

Isabella has made some strides of her own in the last month. She’s now a pre-schooler!

My biggest little one is in school now and it seems somewhat surreal. I didn’t cry when I dropped her off on the first day, and she didn’t either. She was excited and ready. But the moment was not lost on me. Watching her standing in front of the school, waiting with the other kids to go inside, I was struck by how small she is.

Not in terms of size but in terms of years. She seems so old to me most of the time because she’s the big kid in the house that I forget she’s a tiny little person. She’s only 3 (she turns 4 in a couple weeks) and has a her whole life in front of her.

I have been extremely lucky to have the peace of mind knowing that my babies are in the trusted hands of CJ every day.

Now one of those babies has been handed off to someone else. I completely trust our pre-school teachers and Isabella loves going there. Still, it can be a challenge to let go.

As for me, I’ve lost a total of 14 pounds so far and am pretty darn close to my pre-pregnancy size. I am able to get back in to many of my old clothes, and therefore give away some of the bigger sized ones. Let me tell you, that feels great.

I didn’t get a chance to take a selfie and this is the most recent pic I have. Yes, that’s an astronaut.

I have 11 more pounds before I reach my goal weight. I originally set my goal at my pre-pregnancy weight but have since decided to shoot for losing a few pounds beyond that. Hey, why not? Losing with Weight Watchers has been surprisingly easy so it seems feasible now for me to get there.

Life for the Team Trader is good these days. Really good. I am extremely grateful for what I have and don’t want to take a moment of it for granted. Ever.

Catch up on more Team Trader action!

Life A.D. – 4 months | Little Things | Fat Talk

11Aug2013

Life A.D.–4 months

Posted in Body A.D., Cora by teamtradermom

Let’s start out with something guaranteed to make you smile.

THIS happens very regularly in our house these days and I LOVE it!

That laugh just cracks me up.

Cora has always been a very happy baby. She smiles easily and is just plain old content with her life, which makes me happy too.

There’s nothing better than coming home to her big gummy grin after a long day at work!

Developmentally she is on schedule with most everything. She blows bubbles, “talks”, grabs at things, follows objects with her eyes, sits pretty well when supported and pushes the bottle away when done eating.

What she doesn’t do yet is hold her head steady, rollover or sit on her own. These are things that occur in babies anywhere between 4- 6 months so I’m not worried about it. It’s partly our fault, to be honest. We haven’t been super diligent with tummy time. I just forget to do it! Consequently Cora is not a big fan and when we do put her on her stomach, she tolerates it for only a few minutes and then starts screaming. She’ll get there though.

She loves to play with her feet!

With rolling over, she’s trying to kick from back to front. She will get about 3/4 of the way there, get stuck and then flop back. It’s kind of funny to watch. One of these days she’s just going to flip on over and surprise us all!

Cora had her 4 month well check appointment yesterday and did very well! Poor thing had to get 4 immunizations (one orally and 3 shots). Fortunately she was hungry so she sucked the oral one right down. She cried while the nurse was giving her the 3 shots but stopped almost as soon as I picked her up and gave her a bottle. Mental note: bring her slightly hungry from now on!

She clocked in at 12 pounds, 6.5 ounces and 25.5″ long. which means she’s grown almost 2 lbs. and 2″ in 2 months. She’s long and skinny.

Here she is on that same mat, just 1 week old.

I’d say she’s grown a little bit!

By comparison, Isabella was 14 lbs 5 ounces and 26” tall at 4 months. So Bella was a bit chunkier.

Cora’s skin issues continue. We’ve been noticing a lot of redness and scaling in the areas where her skin rubs against itself (inside of the elbows, back of the knees, and ankles) and have tried everything to help it. Nothing really seems to work. The pediatrician said it’s eczema and recommended we take her to a dermatologist. She actually said it’s one of the worst cases of eczema she’s seen in a baby in a years.

Poor Punk!

I made an appointment and we’ll be taking her to the dermatologist next week. The cradle cap persists as well, which the doctor thinks is related to the eczema so hopefully the dermatologist can help us there too.

Another personality trait that we’ve noticed lately is that Cora knows us (CJ, Isabella and me) very well and wants nothing to do with anyone else at first . Stranger Danger! As soon as she realizes someone else is holding her, she freaks out. She does this even with her grandparents or people we see a lot. She will calm down after a while but man, those first few minutes are crazy!

Isabella is doing great and loves to make her sister smile. She plays with her and gives her hugs and kisses. We still don’t let her hold the baby that much because Munchkin can still be rough sometimes. I can see now why younger siblings are often sturdier/tougher than the older ones!

As for me, my weight loss progress continues along. I’ve lost a total of 9 pounds in 8 weeks.

It’s slow but steady progress. I am really liking the Weight Watchers plan and the meetings. Both help me stay accountable and give me tools for success.

I’ve also changed up my workouts and began training with a friend again. We worked out together last year until I found out I was pregnant and then we put it on hold. Well we’ve picked up again. It’s only been a week so far but I think it’s just what I need to shake up my routine. Though I was working out every day before, I was getting kind of complacent and not pushing myself as hard as I could be. The change must be working because I lost 3 lbs. just this week!

Time is flying by way too fast. Isabella starts pre-school next month, then she’ll be 4 and next thing you know, Cora will be 1 year! Yikes! I’m tryimg to hold on to every moment while I can and not take anything for granted!

18Jun2013

Time Flies When You’re Up Every 2 Hours

Posted in Body A.D., CJ, Cora, Family by teamtradermom

Or “How the last 5 weeks got away from me.”

I can’t believe I haven’t posted anything in 5 weeks. Here I thought that I would be blogging at least once a week during maternity leave since I’d be home and have so much time on the computer.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Boy was I wrong!

Free time? What’s that? I definitely have less of it now than I did before. It’s so much harder to schedule and plan for things when you have an infant who eats every 2 hours. Just when you think you’ve got a few minutes to get something done, she wants a bottle or to be held or have her diaper changed.

She’s, like, so demanding…

And of course the moments when Cora is sleeping quietly and I start to think “Here’s my chance!”, her big sister wants attention. Gees kid, make your old meals would ya!

Seriously though, it has been challenging at times but we’re getting it figured out. Sure, there are 2 of us here but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier. We each have our own agenda of goals to accomplish. Sometimes they align and sometimes they don’t.

As of this week I’m back to work so we’re adjusting to a whole new routine. CJ is figuring out the intricacies of being a Stay At Home Dad to 2 little ones while I get used to sitting at a computer all day and having to think about things besides spit up and play dates.

It’s all good though and establishing this new routine will help us in the long run. Fortunately Isabella is pretty adaptable and old enough to help out.

Both girls are doing great. Cora had her 2 month check up a couple weeks ago and is up to 10 lbs. 8 oz. and 23” long. Other than a bad case of cradle cap and dry skin, doc says she’s doing great. She’s very alert now and likes to “talk” a lot.

It’s so much fun to sit with her and just “chat”. Those moments are priceless.

And when she smiles at me…fuhgeddaboudit!

In terms of my recovery back to normalcy, it seems to be taking longer than I had hoped. Sure, I’m all healed up “down there” but there are other things. My tailbone got bruised during labor and delivery and it’s still sore. Sitting all day at work has aggravated it all the more so I’m using one of Cora’s tummy time Boppy’s to sit on and provide relief. I also have to ice it a couple times a day. I tell ya, I have sat on more ice bags in the last 3 months than anyone should ever have to…

My weight is still an issue too. I haven’t lost a single pound or inch in these last 5 weeks since I posted. I’ve been working out 6x a week and watching my calories but it’s not working.

My “Before” pic – it’s a silly one but you can see my belly pretty good. Ugh. (FYI this was taken at Morrill Hall in Lincoln, NE)

So, last week I joined Weight Watchers. I had hesitated for a while because I was worried about the cost commitment but enough is enough. I know several who have done it and had success, and group support tends to work well for me anyway so I figure, why not. It’s still too early to have results but I’m hopeful this program will be what I need to drop these pesky 20 pounds.

Also, we are officially done having kids. CJ had a vasectomy last week. We’re both getting too old to go through this all over again. We’ve been so blessed to have two beautiful, HEALTHY, girls and I’m very content with that. So instead of going on birth control for years to come or not using anything and risking a pregnancy, we went this route. CJ is feeling pretty good, with occasional soreness.

That’s about it from the Team Trader camp!

8May2013

Life A.D.–Month 1

Posted in Body A.D., Cora, Family by teamtradermom

It’s hard to believe that a whole month has gone by. Where does the time go?

A lot can happen in 4 weeks.

Babies get bigger and Mommies get smaller.

One of those is true and the other is a big fat lie. Can you guess which is which?

Yeah.

Funny thing is, I feel smaller but the scale says otherwise. Here’s how I looked just one week after delivery, to refresh your memory.

I think the belly has shrunk down a little bit, but not enough for my liking. Then again, as everyone says, it took 9 months to put it on, it’ll take 9 months for it to come off.

It doesn’t help my cause that I can’t exercise yet. Things are still sore “down there” (though getting better) and it’s another 2 weeks before I see the doctor and (hopefully) get the all clear.

In the meantime, I do what I can. I do my nightly pushups and ab work. I’ve added in some leg moves that can be done on the floor. I think once I can add in some cardio, I’ll start to see some change.

I’ve also started tracking calories again, just to see about what I’m eating a day. I think I’m doing pretty good with that, making healthy choices most of the time. It’s hard but not as hard as it’s been for me in the past. I think I’m more determined this time around.

Oy do I look tired.

As I said, I’m healing up slowly but surely. That too is taking longer than I had thought it would. For the most part I feel fine and have stopped taking any kind of pain medicine. But I do start to feel it if I overdo it, by walking too much or being too active.

CJ has actually had friends come over to “baby-sit me” because I’m not very good at asking for help. At first I was embarrassed but it ended up being a good thing and I’m grateful he made me accept the help.

CJ’s sister even came in from Michigan for a week, which was awesome. Isabella has loved all the playtime and attention she’s been getting from all the visitors too!

Cora is doing great.

She’s eating more and staying awake longer throughout the day. That first week or 2 she pretty much slept ALL THE TIME – day and night. Now she has more periods of being alert, which is fun. She still wants to eat every 2 hours or so, which kind of sucks during the night. We’re hoping she starts stretching it out here soon so that we can get more sleep.

Big sister Isabella has come around to loving her little sis but is still trying to figure out how to interact with her. Isabella wants to play with her like she does her dolls, not quite understanding that Cora is a little more fragile than they are. We have to constantly remind her not to jump around her or poke at her. It’s a fine line to encourage her interaction while at the same time teaching and sometimes scolding.

But we’re all still getting used to everything and the changes that come with a new baby. I think in this next month we’ll really start to settle in and get our groove!

Check out these links!

A day in the life: baby edition | Cora’s Birth Story | Body A.D. – Week 1