At least this is a post!

Where does the time go?  Seriously...where does the time go during the day?  I just looked at my blog here and realized it's been days since I've posted.  And I can't honestly recall why.  I know yesterday I was out and about, but still...I had time to write a post.  At least a small one.  But nope, nothing.  I've got nothing. 

 

 

I think it's the sleep deprivation.  And the demands of this adorable six week old...

 

 

 

Don't let that adorable smile fool you.  She is not always that easy going.  I caught this smile while she was checking out her ceiling fan.  (She LOVES looking at the ceiling fan)  But during that day, those smiles are out numbered by the cries for food, attention and dirty diapers.  (Of course, the smiles do make it all worth it.) 


But what I'm trying to say is it's hard to find time to have my hands free so that I can type.  Most of the comments I write on other's blogs are typed out with one finger as I hold Aubrey in my other hand.  It takes a lot longer than normal typing, let me tell you...but at least I leave comments!  I would like to blog a little bit more.  Maybe I should find time to do it when she's napping...we're still working on that sleep schedule thing, so maybe once she starts doing a little better with that I'll have some spare time on my hands to write?  Or sleep?  Which should I do?  I'm going with sleep. 


Sorry for this rambling post here...this is Nain at 6:00 in the morning coming up with not much to say.  But...I did a post!  So that's important, right?


TGIF everyone!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
 

Confessions

Short on post ideas yet again today :-)  (Sorry!) so I'm going to be random here and enterain you with some Nain confessions for this week...enjoy!

 

• I have had more than my fair share of Easter candy these past few weeks.  This doesn't help the whole Motivation Monday thing.  I can't very well lose weight if I'm eating this stuff!  I know I can chose NOT to eat it, but it's so damn good!
• I sing to Aubrey, but the songs aren't always appropriate...the one I seem to sing the most is LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It."  I hope I'm not scarring her young mind already.
• As much as I treasure the time that I am having with Aubrey...I miss work.  I feel like an awful mom for saying that, but I miss going to the office and doing my job. 
• The fact that we don't know when her daycare spot will be open is killing me.
• I'm not sure how much more of daytime TV I can take.  Dr. Oz is on twice a day.  Who knows why?  And he talks about poop an awful lot.  What's that about?  Yet I continue to have it on in the background.  That and Dr. Phil.  (Did I mention I'm ready to go back to work?)
• I actually enjoy watching Kathie Lee and Hoda on The Today Show.  I am not afraid to admit it either.  I find their honesty and candor refreshing.
• I sometimes laugh when Aubrey is crying.  Not because I find her misery entertaining but because she is just so darn dramatic.  (Not sure where she gets that from...)  It's just too cute.  I can tell I already have a drama queen on my hands.  Lord help us...
• I miss the alone time Tim and I used to share.  I know it gets easier once I get Aubrey on a schedule sleeping and what not, but I do miss it.  And eating dinner slowly and enjoying a conversation instead of eating quickly and trying to race so that she doesn't start fussing again.
• I've gone back to caffeine.  More than I should, too, with my blood pressure and heart condition, but I can't help it.  Mommy needs to get through the day. 

I hope you guys don't think I'm too awful with some of these confessions, but...I try to be as honest as possible in this blog, so...too bad!  Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

 

Who wants to see pictures?

Things have been busy with my work stuff last week, trying to get Aubrey on a sleep schedule and well...sleep deprivation.  So I'm not really wanting to write much.  Instead, I thought I'd share some of the pictures from Aubrey's newborn photo shoot.  Nikole Riggins of Kole Photography took these, and she's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  The shoot was tiring, and she was super patient.  Here's some of what she got:

 

 (It took us 3 hours to get Aubrey calm and sleepy enough to take the pictures.  I believe this is right after a crying fit and right before she peed on me :-)

 (My Christmas present from T - it's foot prints with Aubrey's name and birthstone on them)

I love her.   

Motivation Monday!

 

It's another Monday, and you know what that means...another motivation Monday!  I actually momentarily forgot I had restarted this meme, which is sad because that means I would have lost my motivation just one week after starting it back up.  Yikes.  But I remembered...so all is well in the world.  It's super easy to do this...just write up a post about what motivation you need this week (anything at all - so long as it's legal!), link back to this post in yours and then leave a link to it in a comment to this post.  And then I'll link you up!  

 

 

So, I was released last week to start exercising at my post partum OB visit.  I've been itching to do it again because it's one of my stress relievers and I'm one of those sick people who actually enjoys exercise.  So, that next day, while T watched Aubrey for me, I went out and did a 45 minute speed walk around our neighborhood.  And that kicked my butt.  My leg muscles aren't as strong as they were pre-baby...and neither are my back muscles, for that matter.  But it felt good to get out.  And I've tried my best to walk and exercise as much as possible since then.  Of course, being out of town this weekend, I couldn't do that.  And I had every intention of waking up this morning at 5:00 to walk, but somewhere around when I was feeding Aubrey at 4:00 a.m., I changed my mind.  So I need to figure a way around those difficulties because it's much harder to find time and energy to really exercise with a 6 week old baby. 

 

 

However, last week I did get more motivation to get  my butt into gear.  With the conference I attended, I needed to dig out my professional work clothes and see what fit.  Well...pretty much nothing fit.  Despite the fact that I'm pretty much at my pre-pregnancy weight, my body isn't there or didn't get that memo.  Things have....well...how do I put this?  Shifted.  I was so frustrated and sad when I tried on dress after dress and nothing fit.  Of course, yes, I am aware that I just had a baby and I should probably give myself time to get back to normal.  Who knows, maybe in the back of my mind I convinced myself I could be like those women who have babies and walk out in their pre-pregnancy clothes.  (I'm not, by the way...)  But it was a bit of a knock to the ego.  But it did give me even more motivation to really get myself going. 

 

 

So that's my motivation, what's yours?  Can't wait to read all about them! 

  

A day apart

This week I go back to work, so to speak.  Well, not full time but for a full day on Friday.  I'm still technically on maternity leave (unpaid maternity leave, mind you), but I was invited to join in on this all day conference regarding access to justice in Indiana.  It involves a select invite list so when I received the letter in early February, I couldn't say no.  It should be an incredibly interesting conference, and I'm honored to be asked to be a part of it.  However...this is my first full day away from Aubrey.  And Mommy is more than a little nervous. 

 

 

T has graciously offered to come with me to downtown Indy while I'm at the conference and spend Friday with Aubrey at the hotel where we'll be staying.  Saturday I have an all-day Mary Kay conference downtown, too, so it made more sense to just stay downtown.  So it's not like Aubrey isn't with a parent or anything.  But it's going to be hard, as she and I have spent every hour together pretty much since her birth on February 15th.  She's become my little sidekick.  Sure, she does drive me crazy, especially when she refuses to nap during the day like yesterday or has multiple dirty diapers in a thirty minute span.  But, she's my little cutie, and I do enjoy spending my days with her.  How could I not?  Could you say no to this face?

 

 

 

 

 

Nevertheless, maybe these two days apart will be good in transitioning me back to work.  That way, when my maternity leave is up, it's not such a harsh change.   But that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss my little girl. 

 

 

And I'm pretty nervous about getting back into work, too.  It'll be good for me, but...still nervous.  I do think I'm ready, though.  And I'll be ready for sure when my maternity leave is up.  I just won't want to say good bye during the day to my little girl. 

 

 

Such a dilemma, right? 

  



Real love

They say having a baby and starting a family is one of the best things a couple can go through, but also one of the most stressful.  It's certainly an adventure...one that I'm so happy we're on, but one that definitely has tested our relationship over the course of the past month.  But I am happy to say we are coming out stronger, more so than ever, in our relationship.  I've grown a lot this past month and I believe T has done so, too.  And I've learned a whole new level of love and what it means to truly be there for someone.  Let me give you the best example I can think of....

 

 

Recovery from my c-section was definitely not easy.  When we were in the hospital I was in a great deal of pain, and doing pretty much anything, let alone getting out of my bed, was a painful process. That first day I couldn't do anything, and T had to pretty much take care of everything with respect to Aubrey.  Every cry, every feeding, every dirty diaper, it was all him.  And he did so without any complaining at all.  And without ever doing it before.  I was amazed by how he just clicked into high gear, never having cared for a baby, and he did it so naturally and with ease.  Instinct, I guess, but it made me fall in love with him even more than I already am.  There's truly nothing more attractive in a man than watching him care for his child. 

 

 

But that's not the aha moment I'm trying to describe.  It happened the second day in the hospital.  They removed my catheter, and I had finally been cleared to get out of bed and shower.  Of course, I couldn't bend at all, everything hurt, and I was given nearly impossible instructions to shower.  I couldn't use my right hand because my IV was hooked up there and I couldn't get it wet.  I had to shower with my back to the shower to not get water on my scar.  So here I am (right-handed, mind you) washing my hair with my left hand, back to the shower, and I couldn't wash anything below my waist because I couldn't reach.  So T had to help me shower.  He held my  hand as he walked me to the bathroom, watched me change (which isn't exactly flattering considering I was bleeding, had a huge scar, smelled awful because I hadn't showered in more than 24 hours...), and he stood there with me in the bathroom and bathed me.  He washed my scar, helped me climb back into my clothes, and then he helped put the dressing back on my scar.  And he did so without any question or getting grossed out or anything. 

 

 

I've been through the ringer in terms of relationships and in love, and it hit me when I got back into my bed, how much he must truly love me.  And unconditionally, too.  It was so unselfish, so caring, so full of love that he took care of me those four days in the hospital.  It hit me just how much he loves me and how much I love him.  And yes, I'm aware of this fact on a daily basis, but it was like we had reached a new level in our relationship, like we had matured in how much we loved and cared for each other.  Without a doubt, I would do the same thing for him.  No question at all in my mind. 

 

 

I have a good one, ladies.  Just saying....

  

Motivation Monday

 

Good morning!  I'm bringing Motivation Mondays back, starting today!  I hope you all can join me.  It's super easy...just write a post about anything for which you need motivation...whether that be to lose weight, finish a project at work...whatever.  Write the post, linking it back to my blog and then leave a link to your post in a comment.  And I'll add you to the list!  I'll have this going all week so if you don't have a post today, don't fret...you can add one any day until Friday.

So my motivation is getting back into shape.  Since I've been recovering from surgery, my physical activity has been pretty limited.  But today I go to my post partum visit where I get checked out and hopefully released to start doing exercise and getting back to normal.  I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be given the okay to do that.  Of course, I'll have to start off slowly and kind of work my way back up to where I was before, but at least it's something.  For right now, all I've been able to do is take slow walks with Aubrey during the day, not pushing myself too hard.  It's been good to at least get out, but I do miss the exercise. 

I was pleased to find out on Thursday at my family doctor's visit that I'm pretty much back to my pre-pregnancy weight, only off by about 3 lbs.  Of course, I had wanted to lose weight before I got pregnant, so I do want to lose about 10 lbs, but at least I'm not fighting a whole bunch of additional weight from pregnancy.  I guess I was "all baby" during the pregnancy.  No complaints here!

I will have to adjust my exercise from before I was pregnant.  We were working out with a personal trainer prior to me getting pregnant, and I was doing some weight lifting along with aerobic exercise.  Well...after my scare at the cardiologist and after talking to him about what exercise I can do, apparently I wasn't supposed to be lifting weights ever.  Oops.  Luckily I didn't do any damage, but I need to be smarter about it.  I will be speed walking, which I've always loved to do, but eventually I'd like to work my way up to jogging, too, as exercise.  And perhaps trying out the Zumba thing.  I'm excited to start!

So that's my motivation...what's yours? 

Robin @ Find Good in Every Day