Saturday, June 30, 2012

Saturday Slim-down - Week One

I made a goal to lose 15 lbs in 15 weeks.

A new mom blogging about her weight loss goals, real original, right?

Honestly, week 1 could have gone better. As I was doing some exercises this week, I realized just how out of shape I am. I mean, I got a stitch on my side doing jumping jacks! And really? A breastfeeding mama shouldn't be doing any jumping jacks in the first place!

I did much better in the food department  though. I am not cutting out calories, since I am breastfeeding. Instead, I am simply cutting out junk and trying to eat "healthier." It's pretty vague, but it works for me. 

A huge thing for me is, water, water, water. Once again, especially because I am breastfeeding.
This week I took a few "before" pictures in my bikini from last summer. But for now those are for my eyes only!

According to my extremely-unreliable-at-home scales, I am down a few pounds!
It is probably water weight, but it had to come off sometime too!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Play Time!

Logan had fun on his play mat today!

I missed some of his best excitement, but luckily I was able to capture this.

He even tried to hit the toys himself a few times!

Enjoy!


Good Morning to Me!

I love iced coffee! But I don't want to pay $4 for it, or really have to leave the house either.
There are so many recipes on Pinterest for iced coffee and frappuccinos. I wasn't 100% satisfied with any of the ones I came across.
I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands! This is what I came up with:
I brewed an extra strong pot of coffee, and added sugar and caramel while it was still hot.
After it cooled a bit I poured the sweetened coffee into two ice trays, and popped those bad boys in the freezer.
Come the next morning I had two trays full of frap starters. 
I put 7 coffee cubes and 3 ice cubes into the blender.
Then poured in a little milk and a splash of water, (these measurements are very scientific, don't mess around!) and blended away!

The end result was icy and delicious! 

However, after having almost zero caffeine while I was pregnant and now that I am breastfeeding, I have quite the caffeine buzz going on today. I think tomorrow I will only use 4 coffee cubes! So far it doesn't seem to be affecting Logan. *fingers crossed*
The best part? I have enough left in my freezer to make five more frappuccinos! 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Confessions of a New Mom

Big Hands
  • In the middle of the night when Logan wakes up, I stumble into his room, change his diaper, then sit down to feed him. It is at this point that I realize just how bad I need to tinkle, but then I am stuck! Every night I have to use my mental powers to control myself until he is done eating and back in bed. Maybe one night I will remember to go first!

  • I have not been doing the best job of eating like a breastfeeding Mama should. Last night I got in the kitchen and threw together a nice little supper for myself! Sauteed bell pepper and onions, then added in some tomato chunks. Over that I poured whisked egg, then added some cheese. I put it all onto a whole wheat tortilla, and had myself a breakfast burrito for supper!

  •  Back before Logan was born and I was building my diaper stash, I bought a package of micro-fiber towel in the auto section at Wal-Mart to use as nighttime doublers. They were MUCH cheaper than buying something that was made for that purpose, and they will do the same thing. However, so far the only one using them for nighttime doubling is ME! They work great in my bra! He eats ever 1-2 hours during the day, then at night he sleeps about six hours, leaving my body very confused!

  • I think my husband believes the paci has magical powers. If Logan is crying and he is full and dry, Matt immediately starts asking, "Where is the paci!?" Sometimes Logan will take it, but more often than not he will gag like you just put the most terrible thing in the world in his mouth. 

  • A few days ago I was reading through old posts on my sister's blog, and it made me excited about the future. I am looking forward to being able to share cute things Logan says and does. At the same time, I am cherishing these sweet baby days.

  • I started this post yesterday morning... and I just now finished...
*all pictures are from my phone. wahmp-wahmp.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Our Cloth Diaper Laundry Routine

I wash a load of diapers every other day. 
When you have a baby, what is one more load of laundry, really?

We do not have a fancy high-efficiency washer, just plain jane. (aka: the cheapest Lowe's had to offer)

I take the pail liner from the pail and dump all of its contents (diapers and wipes) into the washer, and throw the liner in with them.

The diapers run through two cycles:

The first is high, cold-cold, and heavy, no detergent.
The second is high, hot-cold, regular, detergent.
If I am washing any covers that day, I will throw them in with the second cycle.


We use a homemade detergent for our diapers.
It was super easy to make. One bar of Dr. Bronner's soap. One cup of Borax. One cup of washing soda.
I got the recipe here.

I actually put in more than one cup each of Borax and washing soda.
I am also planning on using Ivory soap instead of Dr. Bronner's next time.
As you can see, we are almost out!

I use two tablespoons per load.

After they run through the two wash cycles, I hang them out on the line to dry.

If it is raining, extra humid, or night time, I throw the diapers and wipes into the dryer with a couple of fluffy towels and hang the covers to dry.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. The little bit of extra work is worth it for all of the benefits!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Saturday Slim-down

After I had Logan 30 pounds fell off of me in three weeks. It was awesome, and I felt so slim! (Until I made the mistake of trying on a pair of my regular jeans!)

Unfortunately, when I was pregnant I gained 40 pounds though. So that leaves me with ten extra. Also, I gained a bit last summer before I was pregnant also.

I am going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding of a dear friend of mine on October 6th. I am choosing to use that date for my weight-loss goal. 

15 lbs in 15 weeks!

That is do-able, right?

After pinning way too many workouts on Pinterest, I have finally settled on a plan that will work for me. I am feeling pretty good about it. I just have to stay motivated!

Sweets are my weakness. I always feel the need for dessert and candy and sno-cones and much more! 

This is the beginning of week one, wish me luck!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Our Cloth Diapers at One Month

We are one month into cloth diapering, and I have to say that so far I am a fan!
The very first time I tried to put one on Logan I had a panic moment, but after a few more times it wasn't as hard. Matt does plenty of diaper changes, and is a pro.

We use prefolds and covers. I don't have any fitteds or pockets or all-in-ones. I kept it simple. (and cheap)
Every diaper we have came from http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/ If you spend over $50, shipping is free!

We ended up spending $210 total. Disposable diapers average 15 to 25 cents each. 
If you calculate 10 diapers a day at 20 cents each, our cloth diapers will pay for themselves in 3.5 months.

What we got for $210:
24 Infant prefolds (6-16lbs)
6 Baby prefolds (14-30lbs)
10 covers
4 snappis
1 diaper pail liner

We will obviously need more of the next size of prefolds, but I have found a local place that I can buy them for even cheaper than my website!

Prefold with a snappi:

We also use cloth wipes. At first I thought, ok, I can do cloth diapers, but cloth wipes too? Really? I'll just buy wipes. In actuality it is just as easy or easier to use cloth wipes instead of the disposables. 
I made my own from receiving blankets that I bought at garage sales, and spent a maximum of $2. 
All you do is spritz with water then toss them into the diaper pail with the rest of the diapers. If you used disposable you would need a separate trash can for your wipes.

Excuse me while I climb off of my soap box please.

We have four different kinds of covers, 10 total. They all fit from day 1.


Thirsties Duo-Wrap Size 1 (6-18lb)
These are probably my favorite covers. We currently have them on the smallest setting.


Lil' Joey's Newborn cover (4-12lbs)
These will be the first ones he will grow out of. I wouldn't recommend buying any newborn size covers, unless you are expecting an especially small baby, because all of our other covers fit from the beginning and will last much longer. We have these on the medium snap-down setting.


Flip cover (8-35lbs)
We have the Flip set on the smallest setting. I only have one of these, because I thought I wouldn't like it very much. As it turns out it isn't that bad at all. He has worn it some today.


Rumparooz G2 (6-35lbs)
These are our bulkiest cover at this point, but I really think they will grow nicely with him. We have these on the smallest setting also.


I prefer the covers with velcro, but the snaps aren't terrible to deal with. (even at 3a.m.)
Plus, the snaps will be nice when his little hands learn to open velcro!

Of course, when it comes to cloth diapers, everyone wants to know, "But what about washing them!?"
Stay tuned for a separate post that will answer that question!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask! I could talk about cloth diapers all day!

Friday, June 15, 2012

One Month Old

It is hard to believe it has only been a month and it seems like he has been here forever all at the same time.

Logan had a rough start to life, when he was admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital at five days old. Everyone there was so wonderful to us. We went to the emergency room because he was refusing to eat and dehydrating very quickly, like babies that age will do.
Feeding my baby poor little baby, with an iv in his head because his hands were too dehydrated. 
They ran a wide battery of tests and discovered a heart condition called PDA. It is common in preemies, but rare in full term babies. And Logan was 5 days past his due date! I am so glad that I was not induced on May 10 like my doctor wanted me to be. He needed those extra days in the womb!
Holding Daddy's thumb with one hand and the tech's with the other during an echo.
He got a lot stronger in the hospital and has continued to do so once we were home.
As a result of his heart condition, we stopped nursing and switched to pumping and using bottles. Last Wednesday we visited a lactation consultant and started working on going back to nursing.

Our first successful feed was Sunday morning. I was very impressed with how quickly he was able switch back over. He would still get very frustrated in the middle of the night and I would end up pumping. Last night was our first night to not pump! Success! He still fights at the breast some, but I have to remember that we aren't even a week in yet!
At Wal-Mart - "You took me WHERE!??"

We have had a few firsts in the past month.
First tummy time

First bath
He wasn't too crazy about it, but I am hoping that after a few more he will become a fan.
We have seen lots of smiles, but are still waiting on that first deliberate one. Mostly sleepy ones like this one:

As far as sleeping goes, it could be better. We have good nights and bad nights. I can't even imagine how productive I could be on a solid eight hours of sleep! Or even six! 
However, I know this won't last forever and remind myself that daily, or maybe nightly. ;)
Just because I'm not sleeping doesn't mean he isn't!










Logan also met his two girl cousins this month! One from each side of the family.
We learned that he has some big ol' feet!
Below, Logan's foot (on the left), compared with his eight month old cousin, Brooklyn.

Below, Logan's foot at two weeks (on the left) compared to his cousin Aubrey's at seven weeks. 

We are having a lot of fun with our little man, and we are looking forward to all of the fun developmental stages along the way!