Postpartum Weight-loss Update

Hello everybody!! I have not fallen off the face of the earth... I have had A LOT going on in my life in the past few months. Other than the obvious of having the baby we also bought a house! Leave it to Hubby & Me to try & conquer two Huge Life changing events within the same month! I was literally laying up healing from my C-section while he was unloading the U-haul, painting and cleaning the new house. It’s been two & a half months of chaos.

With the help of family & some awesome friends we got it all done. Without someone passing out from exhaustion and/or stress. We’re settled in officially (still have work to do on the house but we have forever to do that). Now I’m just trying to get used to the new baby routine while keeping the other 3 kids satisfied.

I have not done a update on my weight because along with some other weird items that went missing, like the vegetable peeler... my scale was one of the items that decided to be lost during the move! I think my husband tossed it so I would stop driving myself crazy. But he says he doesn’t know what happened. I have yet to buy a new one which, I’m OK with! It’s been kind of nice not jumping on the scale every few days. 

My last blog post, I weighed in at 227lbs. The last time I weighed on a scale was at my mother-in-law’s house about a week ago, and I weighed 215lbs! That's a significant loss! I reached the goal I set out in that post by mainly watching my carbs, with no major workouts other than some dumbbells here & there.  Nutrition > Exercise.

Please ignore dirty mirror, it's the perfect height for toddler hands.

I am trying my best to stick to a low-carb diet. It's not always easy when you have kids who snack all day, and have 7 kinds of Ice Cream in the freezer. We had a convention to attend out of town, before the convention I did great with my eating! Wanted to make sure I didn't feel bloated while there.

There's this place we love to go in Columbia, SC called Kiki's Chicken & Waffles, we're only in Columbia once a year for the convention so we always go there, and this year, we went twice! Yes, it's that good! Worth every mighty carb! So since then for a week I have fell off the Carb wagon. Started back full force yesterday! Thankfully I was only off track for a week. I am however, so tired of starting over. I have stopped and started my whole life. Never consistent. I'm sure I've probably even said the same thing in previous blog posts! Tired of hearing myself say out loud the same things over and over “I’m gonna do this”... “I’m going to do that”... I actually do, do it, for quite a while but then it stops. I come from a long line of people who love food and I inherited that trait for sure. I wish I could be one of those folks who LOVE to workout & view food as fuel. But I’m not. Food is my friend. Food is fun & amazing!

I don’t hate working out but these days I’m wore out from Mommin'. So adding in workouts seems almost impossible. I telling myself it’s my “me-time” and hoping it gives me a boost of energy to deal with the day to day. So for now I plan to start back by doing some walking around my new neighboorhood & sprinkling some Zumba & light weight-lifting in. 3-4 days a week, as my energy allows. As you have seen, my most important factor is my food, so I have to make sure I stay on top of that, more than the workouts. 

I’ll check back in with a weight update every month or so. My first goal is to hit 200lbs when I see that on the scale I’m throwing a party! I haven’t seen 200 or less in 12 years! That’s so crazy! I’ve never calculated that until this moment! I have seriously struggled my whole life, 32 years, with my weight. Minus a year or so when I was a toddler haha! I highly recommend folks to do a low-carb diet. Not nose-diving into Keto, which I tried for a couple years, before it was cool! It was too restrictive for me to be happy with long-term. I have found that Cutting Complex Carbs is something I can live with. It’s time for Momma to get fit. I gotta keep up with these boys!

Momma's Top 10 Newborn Must-haves!

Hello New Mommas, & Repeat Mommas! We all know from our searches there are hundreds of thousands of things that the Baby Market pushes on us as if we HAVE to have it or we are gonna fail at motherhood. So many options & the prices can be out of this world for something that will only be used a few months to a year!  This is my second baby & I am by no means no baby expert but this is what I know that I could not in anyway survive newborn life without! 

I'm not going to state the obvious, like diapers & wipes, because they're necessities. How many of what size you need all depends on how fast you're newborn is growing & how quickly they fill them up. Also you will learn what brand works the best for your baby. You know you're going to need bottle & pacifiers. What kind your baby takes also varies, I will suggest if you're breast feeding to only use a slow-flow nipple... forever, you want the baby to have to work to get the milk out of the bottle so that it's not easier than the boob. Or else they will favor bottle over boob cause the milk flows faster.

(The links below are affiliate links, which means if you click and purchase the suggested product, I would get a percentage of the sale.)

Momma's Top 10

• Swaddle Me Baby Swaddles Newborns are used to being tightly bound in your womb, coming out they like the same, some for a few weeks, some for months. The design of these are genius, a lot easier than using a swaddle blanket and perfecting your baby wrapping skills. This is a no-brainer and trust me that's what is needed for late night changes When you can just slide them in here feet first then close them up with the Velcro! It's a 3 step quick process! Make sure you get a small & large for the best fit.
• Burp Cloths Newborns love to spit up & drool, and you will want these slung over your shoulder 24/7. Go for the style you like most but these are long and fit right in the danger zone of the spit up when you're carrying baby! They have saved many of me & hubby's shirts!
• Activity Mat There are many kinds of activity mats. This one was awesome my son loved it, and still plays with the piano that's detachable! From about a month old I would lay him on it he'd look around at the colors of the mat and the toys hanging above, soon he was able to kick the piano and when he figured that out there was no stopping him! You can also do tummy-time on this mat.

• Boppy Pillow These Pillows are truly a necessity! I nurse and without this pillow it would've been back breaking! It supports your with different nursing positions. The baby can be propped up on it to sleep (with supervision), and can do tummy time on it. They're amazing!They're also well made I've machine washed mine a few times and it's still in good shape will be using it for the new baby!

• Bottle Warmer Even if you exclusively breastfeed there will be times you're not around your baby and a bottle is needed. Some husbands like to feed the baby as well because they feel like that's their way of bonding. These bottle warmers are so easy! You pour some water in, turn it on, sit bottle in and 30 secs or so the bottle is warm. No waiting for water to boil & you cannot microwave breast milk!
• Bottle Sterilizer I found this to be the easiest way to get the job done. YOU HAVE TO WASH & STERILIZE BABY BOTTLES & PARTS! I used bags, but this is just better cause I can fit more in it. You wash your bottles, pacifiers, pump parts, & put in here with the recommended amount of water & put in microwave. Easy.
• Automatic Baby Rocker When it's nap time during the day these are blessing! Spend the extra money to get one that rocks, bounces or vibrates automatically unless you plan to sit and bounce it with your foot for the whole nap! These are also great to just let the baby chill in during the day as well.

• Baby Carrier There are TONS of different types of carriers (wraps, ring slings etc...) you have to find what works for you. These by Infantino are great, quick to put baby in, comfortable & easy to use. Their price tag isn't a deal breaker either! It's so much easier sometimes to have quick access to a carrier if you're at the store or outdoor events. Strollers are not always the most convenient. I am all about ease & comfort.

• Teething Toys I love Nuby for their teething toys. And your baby will start teething before you even realize it.  There are all sorts to choose from & their prices are amazing. My son really loved these keys easy to clean & freeze, they stay cold for a while too. We also had the Teething Blanket, Teethe-eez Teether & Bug-a-loop Teether all lasted through my first sons teething great products!

• Travel Changing Pad These are easy & convenient. The last thing you want to do is lay your baby on a nasty changing table in the bathroom. I am not a diaper bag person (although with 2 under 2 I'm going to have no choice). When I can just grab this and go into the store quickly instead of taking my whole bag, or throw this under the stroller, at the park it makes sens & makes life easier! 

You may want to stock up on your favorite coffee & protein bars for energy as well (totally not kidding!) Momming is the hardest job I've ever had. I hope the things in my list make it a little easier for you, as they did me!

My C-Section Story

When you're a first time mom, you have this ideal picture in your head of how the whole pregnancy should go. Mid wive tells you to write out a birth plan, you sit and think hard about how you want everything to go, every single detail. Who's allowed in the room. What medicine you will or won't accept, down to if you want the lights on or not. I had it all planned out. I knew that I was gonna push this baby out!! Why not, that's what God made my body to do! 

But come Aug. 9, 2016 aroubd 5pm, my ideal birthing plan came to a screeching hault. I was told for the second time that I had to have a C-section. This time there was no other options, my son's life was at risk. So in I was wheeled for an emergency C-Section to bring my baby boy into this world. I now know that things could have went differently.  I will never forget that moment, ever. A C-section was never a thought in my mind. I was so not ready.

So, here's the details of how it ALL went donw! Where do I begin? Hmm... Oh yes, at the beginning. I carried my son 41+3 days when scheduled for  NST (non-stress test) and an ultrasound. The NST went fine, So I went to the next doctor for my ultrasound. This was a more thorough one than I had gotten previously. More in-depth to check him out to make sure everything was looking good and working properly. She got everything except the reading on the lungs that she needed. But my stubborn baby boy decided not to move around proper for the ultrasound. She could not get the reading and told me if she called my midwife back they would probably admit me because they'll see it as too risky to not go ahead and deliver...

So she called her, and admitted I was. Now you may wonder if I was worried for baby boy? Nope, not at all, because the WHOLE pregnancy he was stubborn, and for some reason he wouldn't move for other people's touches. He would be kicking up a storm, let dad touch my belly, boy would play opossum. Seriously. He was moving in the waiting room. But he just wouldn't move for that ultrasound, Even with a cup of coffee. My boy was stubborn, & still is 9 months later. So to the hospital I went, and here starts my motherhood journey, I was actually scheduled to be admitted later that week, but at this particular moment I was not ready, none of us were. We were in a bathing suits, heading to the beach after my appointment. Or so we thought...

Thinking back on this makes me question so much, and wonder if the staff would've handled things differently if maybe my body would've had time to do it's job. My Sis in law is a Labor & Delivery nurse and she was there, and frustrated by the way they were handling stuff (we were not at her hospital)  Now after researching I know that next pregnancy I will stand up for myself more. First time around you're clueless as to how things are supposed to go. You have trust in your midwives and doctors. You're supposed to be able to trust them. I should've questioned more. Next time you can bet I will have my voice strong!

My midwife got us checked in and told me my options. She said it was up to us if we wanted to be admitted or if we want to go home. After talking, we stayed. I mean I was 2 weeks overdue, let's do this! So they started me on Cervadil, that's a little strip of paper they insert inside you that is supposed to help induce labor, get you dilated... I was 3 CM when admitted. I wasn't making much progress, so here came the second round of Cervadil (Why the second round, if the first wasn't making good progress, why not Pitocin?) I started to contract around 4am on the 9th. First contractions I had ever felt, my whole pregnancy. WOAH!! & of course mine were all up in my back! Still 4cm dilated after all that, no progress made. Every time the nurses came aroudn they were offering an epidural like it was candy. They say the drip can make you and baby feel drunk and tired so they don't recommend... Around 9am when them contractions was strong, that epidural sounded beautiful so I got it. And I probably would again, I'm not one to sit there and battle pain when I don't have to.

Around 10am they broke my water, and baby boy's heart rate dropped. That has to be a shock to a baby's system right? You just interrupted his whole cozy environment he was in for 10 months, thankfully the heart rate bounced back & all was well. For now. Let me go ahead and fill you in on this important detail, do you know the monitors they put around your belly to monitory the baby's heart rate and contractions? 

Look like this: 

They are garbage! They would not stay in place. I can't tell you how many times they had to adjust them, or me to try to get readings. So they opted to put 2 monitors inside me, one attaches to baby's head. After epidural they inserted them, you would think this would be better, right? Wrong! They had to keep removing those as well and reattaching, to my poor unborn's head, once when taking it out of me, the end of it had his hair attached to it! They couldn't get it on him to stay properly because he had a full head of hair! These monitors plagued me & baby for hours!

Ok, so back to after the water breaks, his heart beat calms down, and we just wait. Wait, some more, and be adjusted, moved from side to side, sat me up, laid me down. Checked his position once, and the midwife (not the one I worked with for 9 months) said that he was positioned wrong, she couldn't tell what she was feeling, thought it was his neck and he was positioned with his head held backwards, so picture his face facing my cervix instead of top of his head. After she feels this she starts telling me I'm going to have to have a C-section. Now this is coming from someone who is supposed to do everything she can to avoid a C-Section. Thankfully she couldn't make the decision and had to call a doctor in. The doctor, to me, pretty much looked at the midwife like she was dense. She said to her "he's fine, this is the top of his head, it's his hair you're feeling." 

Really though, his hair. 

HIS HAIR LADY!

All my confidence was lost at that moment. The midwife tried to say he must've re-positioned by the time she got there. Yea, ok.  So here we go waiting some more, more moving me from side to side, sitting me up, which made me vomit & my blood pressure drop, way low. FINALLY giving me Pitocin, around noon or 1pm I believe. More of them pulling out the monitors and sticking them back to my son's head. There's a shift change, and now here we are at 5 pm where the new doctor on duty, is saying once more that I have no choice but to get a C-section because my baby is stressed, (They caused all his stress with those stupid monitors) and because I haven't dilated anymore, body made it to 5cm, even with all the meds. If they would've started me on Piticon when admitted this would've probably been different. They wasted so much of my time, and I was the bottom of their pregnant Momma totem pole, there were 5 other women there a few in active labor when I was admitted. I cried, so much I was so scared this was never a part of my plan. I knew that I was gonna die on that OR table, told my husband I loved him. He kept assuring me it was going to be ok. I felt like my body failed me.

Thinking about all this angers me. My midwife that I had done centering group with, and that was there for all my appointments, who knew me, wasn't on duty for my delivery. I feel like things would've went a lot different if she had been. I feel like they rushed me through everything. I sent her a message that they were talking C-section, but I didn't see her reply until the next day, when she was telling me to tell them no, give me time.  My son wasn't ready to be born yet, that's why he was nice and cozy over 41 weeks.  Next pregnancy I will make sure I give my baby the time he/she needs and not let anyone rush us. Especially if I feel like they're incompetent like the bunch I had then.

Around 6pm I was rolled into the OR, it was so bright, and so cold. My body was shaking uncontrollably, the anesthesiologist said that it was from the extra medications, son't worry I was ok, and that it's normal. Sure didn't feel normal it was super scary. It all happened very fast, next thing I knew I was handed this gorgeous dark-eyed, dark-haired baby.  All the nerves, all the anger, none of it mattered in that moment, he is healthy, and he was birthed. So what if by C-section? At the end of the day it doesn't make me any less of a woman. Or mom. Every time I feel that scar, I smile. I was cut open, and a life pulled out of me, I'm pretty freakin' fierce!!

In another post I will write about the Recovery. Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, or want to share your experience please do, I'd love to hear about it!!

You can follow my Mom Journey on my Instagram (www.instagram.com/momma.ape)