Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Change of Plans

I'm planning on returning to work around July 1st and it feels like it is fast approaching! Thats only 7 more weeks I get to be home with Carter.


That was the beginning of a post I started writing a few weeks ago. How things have drastically changed!! As of mid May I planned on returning to work in July, and Ralph was going to go on parental leave. We also planned on putting our house on the market this year with the hope of returning to British Columbia within the next year or so. We anticipated that it would take about a year to sell. With this in mind, we listed the house on May 14th. There was one viewing that day and they bought it!!! We were shocked and happy to say the least. We move out July 31st. I will be flying back with Carter, while Ralph drives back with a trailer.

That same day we got some bad news. We got a call that Ralph's dad was very sick, and we packed our bags and were on a plane back to BC within 5 hours! It was touch and go for a few days but he pulled through, and got to meet his newest grandson for the first time. If you're reading this.... WE LOVE YOU!! Even though the circumstances were not ideal, it was nice to see family and friends. It also made us realize just how much we have missed BC; it's home and it always will be. We cannot wait to move back!

It's times like this when you reflect on your own life and it's fragility. Life can change in an instant. Ralph and I have been saying we are going to eat better and exercise for quite a while now, but never got around to actually putting those words into action. Well, recent events have pushed us to change our unhealthy habits. We started Simply For Life (SFL) on May 26. SFL is basically a nutrition program tailor-made to each individual. There are no gimmicks or pills, just good wholesome food. You are given a meal plan and a list of foods you're allowed to eat. I like that I know exactly what I am going to eat each day. I'm not used to eating healthy, so I have no concept of what foods are actually good for me other than the obvious fruits and veggies.

I'm still battling to lose 24 pounds of the 50 I gained during pregnancy. I also want to lose an extra 8-10 pounds on top of that. When I started SFL I was 162 pounds, and my goal is to lose 32. At our first weeks weigh in, I lost 5 pounds. So as of June 2nd I weigh 157 lb. I'm extremely happy with this, as we have only been loosely following the plan so far. We are used to eating out at restaurants frequently so it's difficult to break those bad habits. We have definitely cut back significantly, and plan to cut back more and more as the weeks go on. I've been cooking up a storm these past couple of weeks. It has been a little overwhelming at times when I'm home alone with Carter and have to make soup from scratch... I have never been a huge fan of cooking so I rarely did it in the past. However, with each new recipe I tackle I'm beginning to actually dare I say it... enjoy?!?! cooking! Haha! I'm hoping this feeling continues.

I also started running a couple of weeks ago, and what a slow start it has been! I haven't participated in any real exercise in over a year and a half. I'm running about twice a week right now, but I would like to go more often. I'm only able to go about 1.5km at this time. I plan on returning to soccer when we move back to BC so I really need to get back in shape. I just downloaded a couple of apps for my iPhone that I'm hoping will help motivate me to get out there more often. I downloaded "Zombies, Run!" and "Couch-to-5K". I just got them so haven't tried them yet. From what I can gather, Zombie, Run! is sort of  a game that motivates you to run by having you run from zombies . There's a storyline and missions along the way. Couch-to-5K is a training program designed to get you off the couch and be able to run 5km....eventually. Ha! I've briefly looked at the app, and it looks like the program is 9 weeks long. You are expected to run 30 minutes, 3 days a week in that time. The program starts of slowly, gradually getting more difficult with each week. I'm hoping to give these apps a try in the coming weeks, and I'll let you know how I like them.

Another iPhone app I've been using is the Calorie Tracker by LIVESTRONG. I can track my daily food intake and exercise with this. You tell the app your height and weight and how much you want to lose (or gain...) and it will calculate your daily allowable calories. When you add any exercise it will subtract the burnt calories accordingly. I'm finding it very helpful so far and highly recommend it.

I'll keep you all updated on my progress. Oh, and Ralph's doing good too! He's already down 8 pounds. Yay!

Carter is now 11 weeks, and his personality reveals itself more and more each day. He smiles ALL the time now and looks like he is SO close to laughing. He will stare at you for ages, and looks like he's really studying your face. When we hold him he is constantly trying to lean forward or stand up. He can fully weightbear on his legs and loves to do so all day. We do tummy time with him each day, but he still hates it!! He will tolerate it for all of a minute then he face plants and screams bloody murder til' we pick him up. He tolerates it a little longer if we lay him over the boppy pillow, but he's still not a huge fan. I had been getting a little anxious that we weren't getting in enough tummy time with him, but we are doing the best we can. Also, I'm sure they weren't pushing tummy time 50 years ago and people seemed to turn out ok.

His torticollis is MUCH less noticeable now. He fully turns his head both ways no problem, and no longer favours looking left. The back of his head still has a little flat area, but its not that noticeable. It may resolve with time, or it may not... either way he'll be fine.

I am officially done with breastfeeding. There had come a point a few weeks ago where Carter was only feeding for about 3-4 minutes then he would scream and scratch at me. Each feeding would end in him crying and me extremely upset! He was getting increasingly fussy too, so I suspected he wasn't getting enough to eat. So, I decided it just wasn't worth the struggle anymore and I am now exclusively pumping the milk and feeding it to him in a bottle. I'm not going to lie, it's hard work pumping 5-7 times a day, then feeding him, and cleaning all the bottles, pump parts, etc. I also have to bring the pump with me if I'm going to be out for a long time. However, I am MUCH happier and feel Carter is too. He no longer screams at me and he is eating more. I'm not sure how long I will stick with the pumping, but I'm happy to say that he has received breast milk for 11 weeks so far. That's quite the achievement considering all the problems we've been through.

I'm not exactly sure how much he weighs, but I'm sure he's at least 13 lb now. I think he's going to be tall and skinny. He's growing out of his clothes so fast! I had him in a 6 month onesie the other day. Although, the sizing for infants clothes is ridiculous because he also fits into a newborn diaper shirt from another brand.

Ok, I don't want to jinx a good thing but this little guy has been sleeping fairly well the past few nights. We put him to bed around 11pm (hoping to push that to an earlier time in the near future) and he usually sleeps til around 4-6am. He usually falls asleep within a few minutes. Tonight's been an exception however, as he took quite a while to get to bed and I can hear him fussing on the monitor as I type. Yikes! I hope this is just a one off night!!


I had a wonderful mothers day. We spent the day at home, and what more could I ask for?! Carter got me a photo frame that says mommy's little monkey on it. Isn't he sweet :)

I'll leave you with some recent pics:


























- Amy