Lately I have had quite a few people ask me what I have done to lose my baby weight. I thought that I would just blog about it for whoever wants to know. :) Being pregnant with Madison, I gained a total of 29lbs. I was very proud of this because my goal was to not gain more than 40. I ate a pretty healthy diet and continued crossfitting 4-6 times a week up until my due date. The last month of pregnancy is when I really ate the worst and crossfitted about 3-4 times a week. I was lifting decent weight despite having a belly. I think the week before Madison came was when I did 145lbs front squats!
The first few weeks postpartum I lost most of the baby weight just through breastfeeding and probably just through my body going through so many changes. I would like to say that I ate healthy from day 1 postpartum but that isn't the case. The truth was that I really didn't have an appetite the first 2 weeks. They were kind of a blur and if my mom or Cody didn't make me something, I would seriously forget to eat. I ate whatever they gave me and drank lots and lots of gatorade. My food consisted of soups, toast, crackers, candy but I would only eat like 2 times a day. At 3 weeks my appetite came back and I was feeling a little more lifelike. I was within 4lbs of my pre pregnancy weight and was excited because I had lost all that weight without trying so losing the last 4lbs plus a few shouldn't be hard at all. WRONG. I should also note that despite losing the weight, my body still looked differently. I still looked about 15 weeks pregnant. I started eating a healthier, clean diet at 3 weeks. I followed a modified version of one of my Advocare Meal Plans. The biggest benefit I honestly got from this is that it reminded me I needed to eat so I never skipped a meal. When I started back up with Crossfit at 5 weeks postpartum I was discouraged that I hadn't lost a single pound since 3 weeks despite eating a clean diet. I decided to drop my portions to see if that changed anything and it definitely did. What changed though was my milk supply. It had dropped a bit. When I realized this, I had to make a decision. What did I want more? To reach my aesthetic goals or to continue breastfeeding my baby? I decided that as much as I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to breastfeed more. I love the feeling of breastfeeding. The closeness I feel with Madison when she is eating, and I love knowing I am giving her the best I can…that liquid gold :) I continued eating a clean diet following a modified version of an Adovcare plan, but ate larger portions than I normally would for my weight. I also incorporated more carbs. I also continued with crossfitting and noticed that as long as I am eating a decent amount, exercise does not effect my supply.
Currently I am 13.5 weeks postpartum and am 2lbs under my pre pregnancy weight. What do I currently do? I have continued eating a modified version of one of my Advocare plans. I follow the plan but eat a portion size above what I should be. I workout at least 4 times a week but try to get 5 if I can. I drink a TON of water. AT LEAST a gallon a day, usually more. I do take supplements that are approved for breastfeeding and I eat clean non processed foods. I do have cheats occasionally, but since January 1st I have only had 2 cheats. I don't even consider them cheats because the way I see it is a lifestyle. I eat good quality foods 95% of the time. The 5% of stuff I have that isn't clean isn't going to hurt my goals. If I REALLY want something, i will just get it. Typically this includes dark chocolate or chai tea lattes from Starbucks. Occasionally I will crave wine but because Cody is on a strict 24 Day Challenge I have held out since I don't want to drink alone :) AND, drinking wine and taking care of a baby don't really go hand in hand ;)
On a daily basis I eat eggs, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, veggies, turkey, chicken, fruit, and every few days some greek yogurt. I eat beef about 1-2 times a week as well. The supplements I take are magnesium, probiotic, Advocare Omegaplex, Advocare Catalyst, Spark, Vitamin D, Multi Vitamin, Calcium, and Fenugreek (for milk supply). I do eat Advocare's Muscle Gain for protein because sometimes I would rather have chocolate protein than meat for that source :) I enjoy the foods I eat and love the way they make me feel. Knowing I am eating clean whole foods that is getting into Madison's system through nursing is very empowering. I want to give her the best that I possibly can and by eating clean, I feel I am doing that. I also want to say that while this is based off a meal plan, I don't plan on stopping after x weeks. This is the way I eat and will continue until I feel I need a change. For now, I am happy with it. It may take me longer to reach my goals, but I will eventually get there and am definitely happy with the progress I have made thus far. Some days are harder than others and I feel discouraged but I know deep down that I need to just continue because that is what is best for Madison.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Madison Whitney Grant-Birth Story
I wanted to take the time to document Madison's birth story so that one day she has it. Not that I will ever forget it, and I am sure I will remind her of it at EVERY birthday, but she is currently peacefully sleeping in her swing and I can't help but think back to that day. This will be a long post so bare with me!!
Despite having a very easy going pregnancy, there was a minor issue with only having a 2 vessel cord which caused me to have weekly NST's (non stress tests) and growth scans starting at 30 weeks. Madison was measuring smaller than average and at 34 weeks was only at the 15th percentile. My Dr told me that at 38 weeks if she didn't show improvement in her growth, we would induce so I should plan for that. That appointment came, and I mentally prepared myself to potentially be induced that day. However, she showed progress and was now at the 38th percentile so no induction. Her due date came and went and there was no sign of Madison wanting to make an appearance. I was starting to get nervous because my dr was leaving the country on the 17th of October and the only day she was working between the 11th and the 17th was the 16th. I spent all this time trusting and getting to know her that I didn't want someone else to deliver Madison. I went to an appointment 4 days past my due date and we scheduled an induction for the following week. I was sad that it was going to be another week before they would induce and that she would not deliver Madison.
On October 15th, I was working from home and went on an hour long walk midday. It was sunny and warm for October and I remember thinking that if my water broke while walking I was going to have to call someone to pick me up because I wasn't close to the house. When I got back I decided to do a WOD (workout of the day) in the garage. This was all merely to help get my mind off the fact that I still had a week to go and who knows, maybe it would kick start something. :) I did 3 rounds of 400 meter walk on treadmill and 20 sumo deadliest at 75#. Then that evening I went for another walk and did 100 air squats. Cody made us a nice dinner of chicken on the treager and grilled veggies. That evening about 10:30 I was starting to feel something kind of weird. I was trying to time how often these weird feelings came but I was never good about timing any weird feeling. I never knew if they were contractions or just something to do with pregnancy. I told Cody I was feeling off and if I was timing correctly I was feeling this weird thing about every 5-6 minutes. He told me I should call the dr but I decided not to since they weren't painful. Oh, I should also note that while laying on the couch my dog started sniffing my stomach like crazy. It was like she was looking for something. SO WEIRD!! At 12:30 AM I told Cody I was still feeling those weird feelings but they were every 3-5 minutes. They still weren't painful but I decided to just call the on call dr just in case. She told me that if they got painful to just go in but otherwise just wait it out because it could be braxton hicks since I wasn't feeling pain. I decided to just go to sleep because I was tired of timing them and really didn't think it was anything. Well, at 1:50AM I woke up due to my water breaking. I remember running to the bathroom yelling at Cody that I think my water broke. It was all so surreal. I called the dr back and told her and she said to come in. I called my parents to let them know (they wanted me to call even if it was the middle of the night) and quickly jumped in the shower. Meanwhile Cody was in the bedroom CLEANING THE CARPET. LOL Only Cody…I still laugh at that. About 30 minutes later we gave Mia food and water and headed for the truck. I was sad leaving Mia and it was weird to think the next time we were home I would have a baby. I was finally starting to feel actual pain when we got into the truck.The pain came on quick and was all in my back.
When we got to the hospital and checked into triage they told me I needed to go walk around. This was at 3AM!! Were they serious?? We walked outside around the hospital in downtown Seattle with contractions at 3 AM!! The contractions were getting so bad and they were only in my back. I never felt any pain in the front. After our walk we sat in triage for a few more hours and then at 6:30 they got us our room. The pain was getting worse but I was holding out on getting the epidural. At 9:30 the nurse gave me some type of medication that was suppose to take the pain away but basically just put me to sleep for an hour. I woke up and the pain was unbearable but when they checked me I was only at a 3! I felt like such a wuss but the nurse did say back labor is worse then normal labor..maybe that was just to make me feel better. :) I wanted to hold out until a 5 or 6 so I still turned down the epidural. At 12:30 the pain was soooo bad that even trying to walk I would hunch over and the nurse and Cody would put pressure on my back. It was too uncomfortable to lay because again, all the pain was in my back. I decided to get the epidural at that time and OMG why didn't I get that sooner??? That stuff is AMAZING!! Getting it was super painful, especially since I had a contraction right when they put the needle in but it quickly disappeared. My dr told me I was still only at a 4. A 4?? That pain felt way worse!! She said I probably wouldn't have her until that evening. We prepared ourselves for a long day. I tried to get some rest and around 2:15 Cody went to get some food. My Dr came in at 2:30 to check me and I told her I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom and what I should do since I couldn't walk. She said I couldn't do anything and then when she checked me she told me I was a 10 and a +2 so I was having a baby within the hour! I couldn't believe it! I told her she had to find Cody and she had to leave to cancel some afternoon appointments. At 3:15 she was back and they were prepping me (Cody was back by then). I started pushing at 3:30 and Madison Whitney Grant was born at 3:50PM on October 16th, weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz and 20 inches long. She was beautiful and perfect.
5 days late but she decided to come when our dr could deliver which was perfect and 20 minutes of pushing was all I needed to get her out. I was definitely blessed with a great pregnancy and birth. Crossfit up until my deliver date definitely helped! It was so surreal. It felt like she was never going to come and then all of a sudden it seemed to happen so quickly. It was the best hour of my life when they laid her on my chest and I will never forget that feeling of seeing her for the first time. I love that little girl sooooo much! And to the women that choose not to get an epidural….WOW you are some TOUGH WOMEN!!!
Despite having a very easy going pregnancy, there was a minor issue with only having a 2 vessel cord which caused me to have weekly NST's (non stress tests) and growth scans starting at 30 weeks. Madison was measuring smaller than average and at 34 weeks was only at the 15th percentile. My Dr told me that at 38 weeks if she didn't show improvement in her growth, we would induce so I should plan for that. That appointment came, and I mentally prepared myself to potentially be induced that day. However, she showed progress and was now at the 38th percentile so no induction. Her due date came and went and there was no sign of Madison wanting to make an appearance. I was starting to get nervous because my dr was leaving the country on the 17th of October and the only day she was working between the 11th and the 17th was the 16th. I spent all this time trusting and getting to know her that I didn't want someone else to deliver Madison. I went to an appointment 4 days past my due date and we scheduled an induction for the following week. I was sad that it was going to be another week before they would induce and that she would not deliver Madison.
On October 15th, I was working from home and went on an hour long walk midday. It was sunny and warm for October and I remember thinking that if my water broke while walking I was going to have to call someone to pick me up because I wasn't close to the house. When I got back I decided to do a WOD (workout of the day) in the garage. This was all merely to help get my mind off the fact that I still had a week to go and who knows, maybe it would kick start something. :) I did 3 rounds of 400 meter walk on treadmill and 20 sumo deadliest at 75#. Then that evening I went for another walk and did 100 air squats. Cody made us a nice dinner of chicken on the treager and grilled veggies. That evening about 10:30 I was starting to feel something kind of weird. I was trying to time how often these weird feelings came but I was never good about timing any weird feeling. I never knew if they were contractions or just something to do with pregnancy. I told Cody I was feeling off and if I was timing correctly I was feeling this weird thing about every 5-6 minutes. He told me I should call the dr but I decided not to since they weren't painful. Oh, I should also note that while laying on the couch my dog started sniffing my stomach like crazy. It was like she was looking for something. SO WEIRD!! At 12:30 AM I told Cody I was still feeling those weird feelings but they were every 3-5 minutes. They still weren't painful but I decided to just call the on call dr just in case. She told me that if they got painful to just go in but otherwise just wait it out because it could be braxton hicks since I wasn't feeling pain. I decided to just go to sleep because I was tired of timing them and really didn't think it was anything. Well, at 1:50AM I woke up due to my water breaking. I remember running to the bathroom yelling at Cody that I think my water broke. It was all so surreal. I called the dr back and told her and she said to come in. I called my parents to let them know (they wanted me to call even if it was the middle of the night) and quickly jumped in the shower. Meanwhile Cody was in the bedroom CLEANING THE CARPET. LOL Only Cody…I still laugh at that. About 30 minutes later we gave Mia food and water and headed for the truck. I was sad leaving Mia and it was weird to think the next time we were home I would have a baby. I was finally starting to feel actual pain when we got into the truck.The pain came on quick and was all in my back.
When we got to the hospital and checked into triage they told me I needed to go walk around. This was at 3AM!! Were they serious?? We walked outside around the hospital in downtown Seattle with contractions at 3 AM!! The contractions were getting so bad and they were only in my back. I never felt any pain in the front. After our walk we sat in triage for a few more hours and then at 6:30 they got us our room. The pain was getting worse but I was holding out on getting the epidural. At 9:30 the nurse gave me some type of medication that was suppose to take the pain away but basically just put me to sleep for an hour. I woke up and the pain was unbearable but when they checked me I was only at a 3! I felt like such a wuss but the nurse did say back labor is worse then normal labor..maybe that was just to make me feel better. :) I wanted to hold out until a 5 or 6 so I still turned down the epidural. At 12:30 the pain was soooo bad that even trying to walk I would hunch over and the nurse and Cody would put pressure on my back. It was too uncomfortable to lay because again, all the pain was in my back. I decided to get the epidural at that time and OMG why didn't I get that sooner??? That stuff is AMAZING!! Getting it was super painful, especially since I had a contraction right when they put the needle in but it quickly disappeared. My dr told me I was still only at a 4. A 4?? That pain felt way worse!! She said I probably wouldn't have her until that evening. We prepared ourselves for a long day. I tried to get some rest and around 2:15 Cody went to get some food. My Dr came in at 2:30 to check me and I told her I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom and what I should do since I couldn't walk. She said I couldn't do anything and then when she checked me she told me I was a 10 and a +2 so I was having a baby within the hour! I couldn't believe it! I told her she had to find Cody and she had to leave to cancel some afternoon appointments. At 3:15 she was back and they were prepping me (Cody was back by then). I started pushing at 3:30 and Madison Whitney Grant was born at 3:50PM on October 16th, weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz and 20 inches long. She was beautiful and perfect.
5 days late but she decided to come when our dr could deliver which was perfect and 20 minutes of pushing was all I needed to get her out. I was definitely blessed with a great pregnancy and birth. Crossfit up until my deliver date definitely helped! It was so surreal. It felt like she was never going to come and then all of a sudden it seemed to happen so quickly. It was the best hour of my life when they laid her on my chest and I will never forget that feeling of seeing her for the first time. I love that little girl sooooo much! And to the women that choose not to get an epidural….WOW you are some TOUGH WOMEN!!!
Monday, January 19, 2015
A Baby Changes Everything
Looking at my last post, I can't believe it has already been a year! A lot of the goals changed for me pretty early on in 2014 because…I found out I was pregnant! February 4th I found out we were expecting. We were pretty surprised and it was the best news I have ever received! I remember the date because I am weird about dates AND it was 2 days after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl! I was feeling off during the Superbowl party we were at. Alcohol wasn't tasting that great to me for some reason and I chalked it up to overdoing it on our vacation in Mexico :) Two days later I decided to take a test and BAM I was pregnant! Turns out I was 5 weeks pregnant at the time. We were pretty shocked because we just assumed it would happen in the spring/summer. It was so hard keeping it a secret but we wanted to wait until the 1st trimester was over when the chances of miscarriage decrease.
Looking back on the year, it was such a whirlwind. Just watching my body change and learning about pregnancy and trying to prepare for a child gave me so much more appreciation for my body, life in general, and brought a whole new perspective on things. It is funny thinking about preparing for a child. I had all these goals for when I was on leave like working out at noon at the Crossfit Gym while she naps, doing an extra workout when she is home sleeping, getting projects done around the house, etc… Now I know why people with kids of their own kinda laughed and smirked when I would say that! Taking care of a newborn is LITERALLY a full time job! I never realized just how hard it would be. As a new mom you question everything you do, every choice you make. Am I feeding her enough? Am I producing enough milk? Is she sleeping enough? Too much? When should I start a schedule? Am I horrible for bed sharing? Will she ever leave our bed if I let her sleep with us now? Is something Im eating giving her gas? Does she have a temperature? and the list goes on and on and on! I am constantly questioning something and have tried really hard to stay off Dr. Google to avoid freaking myself out. I bought just about every baby book and realized they all say something different on what is right for sleeping, schedules, feeding, etc… and am FINALLY coming to the realization that I just need to go with the flow for now. What I thought was going to work didn't and what I thought I would do didn't happen.
So what has worked and what do I do? Well, what I can say, is that I have not gone to the gym at noon once since Madison was born, I have done an extra workout maybe 5 times and this is when she is still sleeping if I can get myself out of bed early enough. I mostly WOD when Cody comes home in my garage. We try to make it to the gym at least 2 times a week but it is solely dependent on if Cody can leave at 4 AND on how Madison has done during the day as far as napping or fussiness goes. If we can't make the 4:30 class, we don't go because we would just be stuck in traffic and that is a prescription for a screaming baby in a carseat. Some days, a shower is all I fit in. My goal every day is to have the kitchen cleaned and her stuff picked up by the evening when Cody gets home and I try to dust/vaccum at least once a week. I am just starting to try and get a routine going for Madison at 3 months since I will be going back to work next month. I am not sure exactly what will work and what that routine will be but am just going to do trial and error. She is getting better about being on her own playing so maybe I will get more done around the house but who knows. If it isn't rainy I always try to take her for a walk to get outside and I usually don't go anywhere except MAYBE the store when we need to. I go to a New Mom's Group every Friday which allows me to be around moms that are in the same boat as me.
Being a mom has been the toughest job I have ever loved and I can't even put into words the love I feel for Madison. Every rough night or day is immediately worth it when I see that beautiful smile. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her and every day that love grows. It is an indescribable love and feeling that I have. It is a take my breath away, powerful, aching love that increases on a daily basis. She has changed my perspective and outlook on life; my identity, tested my willpower and patience, humbled me to my absolute core, impacted the way I see life and what my values are. It is always going to be hard but I am learning to manage my new role and gaining confidence every day. Of course that role will change as we grow (and when I go back to work next month) but I am excited for our growing family and the future we have in store! I am the happiest I have ever been and am just filled with so much joy and count my blessings every day! God is so good!
Sorry, this was a way longer post then I anticipated and who knows if I will keep up the blogging. This is the first one since LAST YEAR :) BUT maybe it will be one of those things I can do the rest of my leave at least..who knows…time to go feed that little girl now :)
Looking back on the year, it was such a whirlwind. Just watching my body change and learning about pregnancy and trying to prepare for a child gave me so much more appreciation for my body, life in general, and brought a whole new perspective on things. It is funny thinking about preparing for a child. I had all these goals for when I was on leave like working out at noon at the Crossfit Gym while she naps, doing an extra workout when she is home sleeping, getting projects done around the house, etc… Now I know why people with kids of their own kinda laughed and smirked when I would say that! Taking care of a newborn is LITERALLY a full time job! I never realized just how hard it would be. As a new mom you question everything you do, every choice you make. Am I feeding her enough? Am I producing enough milk? Is she sleeping enough? Too much? When should I start a schedule? Am I horrible for bed sharing? Will she ever leave our bed if I let her sleep with us now? Is something Im eating giving her gas? Does she have a temperature? and the list goes on and on and on! I am constantly questioning something and have tried really hard to stay off Dr. Google to avoid freaking myself out. I bought just about every baby book and realized they all say something different on what is right for sleeping, schedules, feeding, etc… and am FINALLY coming to the realization that I just need to go with the flow for now. What I thought was going to work didn't and what I thought I would do didn't happen.
So what has worked and what do I do? Well, what I can say, is that I have not gone to the gym at noon once since Madison was born, I have done an extra workout maybe 5 times and this is when she is still sleeping if I can get myself out of bed early enough. I mostly WOD when Cody comes home in my garage. We try to make it to the gym at least 2 times a week but it is solely dependent on if Cody can leave at 4 AND on how Madison has done during the day as far as napping or fussiness goes. If we can't make the 4:30 class, we don't go because we would just be stuck in traffic and that is a prescription for a screaming baby in a carseat. Some days, a shower is all I fit in. My goal every day is to have the kitchen cleaned and her stuff picked up by the evening when Cody gets home and I try to dust/vaccum at least once a week. I am just starting to try and get a routine going for Madison at 3 months since I will be going back to work next month. I am not sure exactly what will work and what that routine will be but am just going to do trial and error. She is getting better about being on her own playing so maybe I will get more done around the house but who knows. If it isn't rainy I always try to take her for a walk to get outside and I usually don't go anywhere except MAYBE the store when we need to. I go to a New Mom's Group every Friday which allows me to be around moms that are in the same boat as me.
Being a mom has been the toughest job I have ever loved and I can't even put into words the love I feel for Madison. Every rough night or day is immediately worth it when I see that beautiful smile. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her and every day that love grows. It is an indescribable love and feeling that I have. It is a take my breath away, powerful, aching love that increases on a daily basis. She has changed my perspective and outlook on life; my identity, tested my willpower and patience, humbled me to my absolute core, impacted the way I see life and what my values are. It is always going to be hard but I am learning to manage my new role and gaining confidence every day. Of course that role will change as we grow (and when I go back to work next month) but I am excited for our growing family and the future we have in store! I am the happiest I have ever been and am just filled with so much joy and count my blessings every day! God is so good!
Sorry, this was a way longer post then I anticipated and who knows if I will keep up the blogging. This is the first one since LAST YEAR :) BUT maybe it will be one of those things I can do the rest of my leave at least..who knows…time to go feed that little girl now :)
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