5 Months and Helmet update

5 Month Update

I CANNOT believe that Grayson will be 5 months old tomorrow!!  Geez, time is flying by!  This month has been the month of accomplishments for Grayson.

Accomplishments:

• Sit up supported and tri-pod position (he is attempting to sit without support, but is still wobbly)
• Roll from stomach to back easily
• Roll from back to stomach (only when nobody is watching, but almost every time I leave him on his play-mat I find him on his stomach! Little stinker!)
• Eats cereal with a spoon (and makes a gigantic miss, but he is very cute while making it)
• Starting to lift up to his knees while on his stomach (just can't get that dang heavy helmet up for very long)
• Became Mr. Independent and wants to do everything by himself (put his pacifier in his mouth, grab the spoon, try to holds his bottle, even wipes his face with his bib/burp cloth)
• Went swimming in a big-people pool for the first time

Big boy sitting in tri-pod position by himself!!

Hates:

• Naps (this boy may sleep through the night, but he fights his naps with all his might)
• Having his nose wiped/suctions
• Being left alone for more than 5 minutes (like on his play-mat or in his crib while I do laundry; don't worry I don't just leave my baby at home by himself while I grab a bite to eat)

Loves:

• His momma (he is Such a momma's boy, and I am eating it up!!)
• Bath-time (remains his favorite time of the day)
• Water activities of any sort
• Putting anything/everything into his mouth
• Screaming (with joy, anger, or just to plain scream)
• His exersaucer (this has been an absolute MUST in our house!!)
• Eating (he is no long a momma's boy when it is time to eat and becomes a whoever-has-the-bottle boy)

 Look at how small that helmet looks!!

Grayson is such a happy baby, and I am SO blessed to have this boy.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for giving my the BEST family in the world!!  I can't imagine my life with out my wonderful husband and my perfect son! 


Helmet Update

Grayson got his second helmet last week.  Poor thing's first helmet was so tight, and he was such a trooper.  We did get to where we could take off his first one to let him sleep at night (because of how tight it was).  I really really really enjoyed all the cuddles I got that last week!!

Michael took him for his helmet scan last Monday, so I missed out on that ordeal.  I'm sure it was similar to the first time with the big white sock/hat and the fancy scanner stick that scans his head.  We practically have to hold him upside down so she can scan his head.  We just try to be quick and efficient to get it over with.  Michael said that he did good. 

I took him Friday to pick up his new helmet.  I let him be helmet free at day-care that morning to give him a little break.  He was so good on the trip down to New Orleans and back.  His new helmet seems so big!  Debbie (the most awesome orthotist [helmet lady] every) cut this helmet to be a little lower on his forehead and smaller around the ears.  She is hoping that this helmet lasts longer.  The new helmet doesn't seem to bother him at all!  It did make a little redness around his neck for the first couple of days, but I think this was only because he wasn't used to his helmet being so low, so that skin was a little more sensitive. 

I did decorate the helmet to look like a Mississippi State University football helmet.  Michael is an alumni of MSU, along with the majority of his family.  I saw pictures of some other "helmet babies" with their helmets decorated like football helmets, and I fell in love.  I think it is one of his cutest helmets!

I also need to tell a quick story about how awesome MSU is!  I began the search for a football jersey for Grayson a couple months ago.  I knew I was going to decorate his next helmet like a football helmet.  I wanted to find him a football jersey, so I could dress him up as a football player.  I looked high and low and could not find anything smaller than 12 months.  So, I decided to e-mail MSU and ask if they knew of a place to order one from (it couldn't hurt to ask).  I also told them a little about Grayson and why I was looking for the jersey.  I got an e-mail like 5 minutes later saying they weren't sure but would try to find out.  The next week I got an e-mail saying they found a 6 month jersey and wanted my address to mail it to us!!  They had ordered and paid for it just to be nice!  In all of their e-mails, they have said that they are praying for Grayson.  They want me to send them a picture of Grayson in the helmet and jersey (I secretly [or not so secretly] hope they put it on their website or newsletter or something, hehe).  I was just in awe of how nice this school was!!  I was an Ole Miss fan before I married into an MSU family.  Now, I have definitely converted!  (Don't worry all my rebels black bears, I still like Ole Miss.  But, I have to pull for MSU now)  Hail State!

Hiatus

So, I took a little hiatus from the whole dieting/exercising thing. Not because I was being lazy, either!

You see, Michael is about to start his fourth year of medical school. This is when he does his "audition rotations." So, he picks his own places to have his clinicals. He is going to spend 2 months in Largo, FL, 1 month in Tulsa, and 1 month in Jackson. So, that means 4 months in a row with just me and Grayson. He leaves Tuesday. So, I took full advantage of my last few days with Michael.

We went to a fancy restaurant and to the movies for our anniversary. We stayed at home and played with Grayson and watched some Netflix. Michael had to work all weekend, so I got some practice of being alone with Grayson.

This isn't an excuse for why I didn't work out. It is simply an explanation. I didn't work out because I had other things in my life that were more important at the time. As much as I WANT to be skinny and fit, I am not going to let it rule my life. However, I plan to get back to the grind on Wednesday (and finally see how much of a bump in the road my hiatus caused).


I'm pretty nervous about being alone (with Grayson) for 4 months. I mean, Grayson has only been around for 5 months, so that will be almost half of his life (at the time). A lot happens in these 4 months. He starts eating baby food, sitting-up, crawling, standing, walking, talking, etc (he is a baby genious and is going to be WAY ahead, by the way, lol). What if I teach him wrong and he becomes a "toe walker" (you all know what I am talking about). Thank goodness he has a helmet in case I drop him on his head/the dog knocks him off the couch he hits his head learning to crawl. So many things could go wrong!! And not to mention, poor Michael is going to miss so much! As scared as I am to be by myself, I think Michael has it worse! I can't imagine leaving my family for 4 months.

Weigh In --- Slowly but surely

Ugh I am so ready to start my cleanse in August and start seeing some results faster!!  This weight is coming off SO SLOW!!!

Weight on Monday: 165.6 lbs (-4.4 lbs total; -1.2 lbs since last week)

I did pretty good last week as far as exercise went.  I ran my first week (3 days) of the couch to 5K (C25K).  It was a 5 minute walk then alternating 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking 8 times, then a 5 minute cool down walk.  It doesn't sound that hard, but speeding up and slowing down is actually harder on your heart and will increase my stamina.  It about killed me, but I did it!  I'm working towards doing a "mud run" with my bestie in October!  I also did some ab and arm workouts last week.

My eating was OK last week.  I did pretty good during the week and managed to only drink 1 coffee and more water.  Last weekend, however, was just plain bad.  I ate hamburgers with gluten-free bread Friday and Chinese with the best on Saturday.  On Sunday hubby and I went with Sarah and Rico to a new restarurant (to me), Georgia Blue, and I got to discover another gluten-free friendly place!  They had an appetizer and a few entrees to choose from!  I could have done worse here, but I did manage to get some grilled chicken (topped with cheese and ham), sweet potato, and steamed veggies.  It is so hard to eat healthy when you travel!

I am starting this week off right though!!  Yesterday morning I ran week 2 day 1 of C25K (5 min walk; alternate 90 sec run 2 min walk for 6 times; 5 min walk).  Then, yesterday after work I did my first Zumba class (you read that right, 2 workouts in 1 day!).  I also ate a salad yesterday.  Today after work I plan to run week 2 day 2 and then to a yoga/pilates class.  I am DETERMINED to feel good about myself again!

Weigh-in and Gluten Free Recipe

So, I am very disappointed in myself for the past couple of weeks.  I only went to the gym 2-3 days each week, and I definitely did not stick to my diet!  I did not go back to my old habits of Starbucks in the morning and Reese's for my snack everyday.  But, I did eat cereal a few times for dinner.  Then, my mom really messed me up by buying me 4 DELICIOUS gluten-free cupcakes!!  I mean, they were like $15, so it would have been rude not to eat them!  I did share 2 of them and accidentally let the last one get stale and only ate half of it.  It could have been worse! 

Somehow, despite my cereal and cupcakes and baked potatoes (did I mention McAllister's deli? oops), I still managed to not gain any weight.  My weigh-in on Monday was 166.8 lbs (down 3.2 lbs from my start).  I'm not happy about it, but that is more motivation to do better this week!!

So far this week, I have done really good!!  I started the C25K, so I can try to run a mud-run with my bestie in October!  I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday.  I have also eaten pretty good so far.  Sunday night I made a FABULOUS Turkey Ragu over baked Butternut Squash (see recipe further down).  Monday night we had baked chicken and salads.  I am eating these gluten free healthy frozen meals for lunch (similar to lean cuisines) because I have been too lazy to make my tuna.  I miss my tuna though and plan to start that back up!  Tonight I am going to make some quinoa and chickpeas that I'm pretty excited about!!

Turkey Ragu over Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
--1 lb ground turkey meat
--1 yellow onion
--3 green onions
--1 package of baby bella mushrooms
--1 tsp minced garlic
--1 can diced tomatoes
--1/2 tsp cumin
--1/2 tsp paprika
--1 butternut squash
--dash olive oil

Directions:
--Peel and dice butternut squash and toss in a bit of olive oil.  Cook in oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until squash is soft.
--While squash is cooking, brown ground turkey in a big skillet.  Add diced onion, cut green onions, mushrooms, garlic, and spices and cook on medium heat (measurments are just an estimate, I really just add a little then taste then add some more).  Once onions and mushrooms are a little softer I add the tomatoes (next time I plan to add a small can of tomato paste) and turn down to medium-low heat.  Cover and let cook until squash is finished.
--Serve the Ragu on top of the squash.  Enjoy!!  This is pretty healthy and YUMMY!!  If you have never had butternut squash, it taste like a mix of pumpkin and sweet potato to me.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures :(. 

Challenge!

So, it's official. I SUCK at this diet thing. I did really good the first week and loss 2 pounds. Then, I started slacking and giving in to holiday temptations (those ribs were fantastic)! I only lost 1 pound (no clue how I even managed that). I need more motivation (apparently my belly shaking like a bowl full of jelly is not enough).

This brings me to the challenge. The advocare 24 day challenge, to be exact. This is a cleanse/diet that I REALLY want to do! So, I'm gonna do it!! I haven't gotten the ok from Michael yet, but he is happy when momma's happy, right? ;)

I want to start in August. This will be great, because Michael will be out of state, and I'll be tempted to binge eat in my loneliness! It does cost a good bit, but you get SO much more than any other diet I have seen. It helps to clean your gut of all the yucky sticky stuff we eat, so it will be ready to absorb all the nutrients you will eat after the cleanse portion! While you eat all the healthy nutrients, your body is getting everything it needs and starts shedding all the fat it stored up for the winter! You see, the way I have been eating lately, my body thinks I must be trying to store up for a very long hibernation and has been holding on to all this fat. Hello body!! It is summer time and swimsuit season!!

My challenge for you?! I really want an accountability partner to do this with! I'm scared I will back-slide! Who is in it with me? We can talk everyday about our meals/exercise and make sure we stay on track!

By the way: I'm definitely not an expert on this product! This is just my understanding of it! But I can point you in the direction of somebody who knows a lot more about it if you are interested!

4 Months Old!!

I don't plan to do a full monthly update on Grayson.  I mean, not much changes every month.  And, I don't want to bore y'all (I know how interesting ALL of my other posts have been).

But, I just can't help bragging on my cutie!!

Grayson is officially 4 MONTHS OLD!!!

Accomplishments:
----Screaming (not like a mad scream, but the sweetest happiest scream you will ever hear)
----He is officially the loudest baby at daycare (I think it is adorable now, but I have a feeling I will not be so proud of this one day)
----He can sit in the tripod position really well without his helmet (sitting with the support of his hands)
----He can say mama (only it sounds a lot more like aayhhhgggaaahhmmeeaah; I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that can understand him) hehe
----He is teething (I'm not sure I would call this an accomplishment so much as evilness; he is drooling and pooping and chewing a TON)
----He is still sleeping through the night!! (Ok, I talk about this way too much, but it really is the best thing ever; Mommy NEEDS her sleep!!)

This little boy is my whole world, and I wouldn't change a THING about him!!  Everything we have been through has just made us appreciate and love him that much more.  He is my little warrior!!!

This is the scream I was speaking of!

They really do love each other!

I have a confession to make...

I have been bad.  Very bad. 

Anybody who is friends with me on Facebook or has read my blog knows that I gave birth to my little miracle on March 1, 2013.  As much as I am absolutely in love with this precious boy, my life has not gotten easier since then.  He had surgery on May 6, 2013, and now he has a helmet to wear for a year.  And, on top of all that, I believe he is currently teething.  So, needless to say, I have been stressed lately.

What do I do to handle my stress?  I eat.  I eat a lot.  So, for the past few weeks I have been going to Starbucks on the way to work and drinking a very delicious, sugar filled, coffee drink almost every day.  I have been eating sodium filled, gluten-free, frozen meals for lunches.  I have had a candy bar for a snack almost everyday.  And, I usually ate a huge bowl of cereal for dinner.  Not only have I eaten tons of unhealthy food.  But, I have also willingly had some gluten-laden items.  It can be hard to turn down free, delicious food (my gut has been VERY upset with me about this)! This is all on top of a very sedentary lifestyle.

This is bad y'all.

So, I have decided to change!!!

Step 1:

I joined a very good gym about 3 weeks ago.  So far, I have been going everyday that I get off work and don't have other errands to run.  I plan to go at least 4 times a week.  After 2 weeks of the gym my weight had not changed (actually, I lost 1 pound and then gained it back).  I was weighing in at a steady 170lbs.  I was 151 lbs before baby. 

I was still having too many of these!!

So, on to step 2...

Step 2:

I am making a complete lifestyle change in my eating habits!!!  Today is actually my 3rd day.  I am cutting out all sweets and eating a diet full of lean protein and fresh veges and fruit!  And obviously, NO MORE GLUTEN!  The types of healthy meals I have been eating so far: plain oatmeal with fresh blueberries or strawberries, tuna salad (with pickles, mustard, and avocado instead of mayo), fresh fruit mixed in low-fat Greek yogurt, salads (spinach, lean turkey, grapes, blue cheese, pistachios, tomatoes, dressing). 

I know my diet isn't perfect, but it is SO much better than it has been!  Since eating healthy, I have already lost 2 lbs!! I really want to keep this up and feel better about myself!  I would really love for my friends to help encourage me to continue on this path! Also, any ideas on variety of healthy meals would be appreciated.

My Stats:

Weight: Started at 170 lbs.  Currently 168 lbs.

Height: 5'9"

Pant size: Started at a size 12 pants.  Currently can wear some size 10 and some size 12.

Shirt size: Started and currently at a size M shirt.

My Goal:

Weight: 150 lbs

Pant size: 6

Shirt size: S or M (I think shoulder width really dictates shirt size a lot of the time)

A happy, healthier me!!