Baby Smile :)

Gemma has been smiling for the past week or so but I haven't caught it on camera...until today!

The battle of losing the baby weight...

Last pregnancy (Ellery) I gained 30 lbs and I don't remember having a hard time losing the weight. I remember leaving the hospital in my regular (non maternity) jeans that buttoned. Maybe it was a struggle and it took time to get back down to my pre pregnancy weight but I just don't remember it.

This time (Gemma) I gained 34lbs and could NOT get into any of my pregnancy jeans. Some of them I couldn't even get past my hips. Others that I got past my hips/butt, were no where near buttoning. Since it is spring, I have been trying to get outside and walk everyday but everyday I try on an old pair of shorts and they don't fit, it crushes me. Everyone says losing weight with baby #2 and so on always gets harder...but it's not impossible. The scale was going down (slowly) and then got stuck, but today went down again! :)

Prepregnancy, I was always around 135lbs. When I went into the hospital the scale was at 169 (I was so happy to never see 170!). Today, finally I hit 149.8! Yes I realize it is dang close to 150, but seeing anything in the 140s is HUGE! Last week I fit into my "fat" jeans and today I fit into my "normal" jeans. Don't get me wrong, they didn't fit great, but they did button. (Just left me with a large muffin top) It has been a battle, and still is (more even emotionally than physically) but I will be back to my goal weight before school starts (August!)

20 lbs down-14 to go! 

My plan: keep breastfeeding (major calorie burner) and continue to walk 3-4 miles at least 3 days a week!

Earrings

I have been waiting and we finally did it! We pierced Ellery's Ears! I wanted to do it right away when she was still an infant (hoping that she wouldn't be as afraid or focus on the pain as much) but Chad always said no. He always says when he sees babies with earrings it takes away from how cute they really are. Well I don't know what go into him today but he said if we wanted to do it, today was the day. So we went to Claire's and we did explain to Ellery it would hurt a little bit. Luckily they had 2 girls working so they could do both her ears at the same time. I was worried they would do one, and then not want to do the other because of it hurting. Then what do you do???

They pierced them and she went from all smiles to SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER! They looked great but she could careless. She just screamed and screamed...for about 10 minutes straight.

Now a few hours and a nap later she is happy as can be. She still cries a bit when we clean them because they are a bit sore but hopefully the more we clean them the less of a big deal it will be in her eyes.

I do have to say she looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I am just loving how they sparkle in her ears. My little girl is clearly growing up!

No time!

What can I say, we are surviving with both girls...but we are busy. Not as busy as I expected, but busy enough that I don't get to blog. Chad is still on his paternity leave for a couple more days, but Monday he goes back to work :( That is when the real adventure will begin. I have only gone out with the two girls by myself once and it was to Target for an hour.

Ellery is in love with Gemma. She wants to hold her constantly. She is always asking to hug and kiss her. Gemma is still so little (I would say between 8-9 lbs) and is eating a ton! She eats about every 2 hours-3-3.5oz. She is sleeping great and has since the beginning. She sleeps about 3-4 hour chunks through the night. That is nice because it is still enough time for me to fall back asleep after I feed her and pump.

Pumping sucks, I feel like my life revolves around it and I can never do anything because of it. We go for walks or out to dinner, and I always have to plan to pump before we go and then monitor the time while we are gone to make sure I get home in time to pump again. I have been able to space out my pumping about 3-4 hours. My milk definitely came in and has been productive (like with Ellery). That definitely keeps me motivated to keep going. I know when I pump I get 16-20 oz each time and that is more than enough for Gemma plus some extra to save to build my "daycare milk stash" up for the fall when I go back to work. I am already filling boxes with bags of milk in the freezer downstairs.

Chad seems to really be enjoying his time at home with the girls. He loves feeding Gemma and playing with Ellery. He keeps talking about how he wishes we could win the lottery so he could stay home permanently. :) **I wish**

As far as how I am doing...I am taking it day by day. I have a breakdown each day. Apparently it's the BABYBLUES in full force. Chad has noticed I am much happier and less likely to fall in my funk if we stay active and get outside. So we have been going for walks or just making it a point to go have a drink outside most days. It really makes a big difference. I am mostly frustrated with the weight and body shape from being pregnant. I always just expect to be my old self and size again right after I have the baby. Well I am not! I am still close to 20+lbs heavier than I started and I can't get most of my jeans (except my fat jeans) past my hips/butt area. My stomach is flabby and has no shape at all. We have been walking almost daily (1.5-3 miles depending on weather). I am hoping that by my 6 week check up I can be back in my reg clothes completely and much closer to my pre-pregnancy weight. We will see!