No More Sitting On My Ass

It seems like everyone has physical fitness on the brain these days.

The FLYLady (aka Marla Cilley) is right in the middle of a Body Clutter challenge on Facebook. Kristen from Motherhood Uncensored is hosting the Shredheads for the month of March. Christina of A Mommy Story is once again hosting Hot by Blogher this year -- even her husband Aaron is aiming for a goal of his own.

Independently of all this --I swear, I've been thinking about this for like a month! -- I've also been thinking more about my own health and fitness. I'm coming to the realization that although I may not need to lose weight (come on, I want some boobs to speak of), I'm waaaay out of shape. I have no muscle, no tone, and no endurance whatsoever.

My husband and I are also starting to think about planning for baby -- and pregnancy -- number two (nothing solid yet, just starting the conversation). I am not at a place where I am happy with my body -- not that I've tried very hard to fix that. And before I get pregnant again, I'd at least like to be mostly satisfied with the shape I'm in. That way it will be easier to get back to a place I like after the fact (or at least not harder).

Plus, you know, I should probably start thinking about setting a good example for my kid(s) in the matter of eating habits and staying active. So they may be motivated to do the same.

So, here goes: my two, very general goals are: A) to eat better, and B) to be more active.

As far as my eating habits go, I want to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and fewer simple carbohydrates. I'd like to eat when I'm hungry -- no more, no less; and eat appropriate portions for my caloric needs.

As for increased activity, I'd like to have a basic level of fitness, and then add endurance, a bit of tone, and possibly a little more strength and flexibility. Oh, and it has to be fun. I know myself by now, and I won't stick to it if it's not fun or if I can't find a way to make it fun.

So maybe I'll try some walking or jogging, swimming in a few months, maybe even basketball or something. I have three great places to work out: the Jewish Community Center, my apartment complex facility, and the Power Shack gym -- all of which are free! But they're not doing me any good if I don't go.

So tell me: are you in good shape? Do you have room for improvement? Do you have any plans for improvement, and if so, what are they?


*Remember: healthy weight loss is defined as only about 1 to 2 pounds per week. If you're fairly inactive like me, start slow and build up. Don't work the same muscle groups every day -- every other day is plenty. Most importantly, get a buddy! If you have someone going for a goal right along with you -- even if it's a different goal -- it's sooo much easier! Plus, if you have to be accountable to someone other than yourself, it's more likely you'll actually follow through.

And don't forget to stay hydrated!




Hmmm... also I can't seem to find my camera-uploader-plugger-inner-thingy. So, I will post the "before" pictures at a later point in time. After all, what's the point of planning to post "after" pictures if there's nothing to compare it to?

Boob Talk

A few months ago, I mentioned that I was trying to start weaning my son. Well, here we are, it's nearly mid-November, and I'm still trying. This is seriously getting old.

Once I decided to stop taking the breast pump to work, neither Adam nor I had a problem with skipping over the hours of 8 to 6 during the week. The weekends -- or my days off when the center was closed for Jewish holidays -- were are another story altogether. If we were at home with no company, Adam noticed that I wasn't nursing him; if we went somewhere else or there were other people around, he was sufficiently distracted. He doesn't seem to mind whether he's drinking breastmilk, formula, or juice, and he doesn't even mind the sippy cup (he refuses bottles of any kind; he must think we're trying to trick him into taking a nipple other than these two). He just misses the sucking, the comfort, the bonding.

At this point, I'm pretty much down to two feedings a day: once when I get home from work, when he's super needy, and once when I put him to bed for about five minutes before I switch him to the pacifier and pat his back until he's asleep (actually doesn't take that long anymore -- and I'll tackle the issues of him falling asleep on his own and in his crib when I get to them).

It's taken this long and still isn't there yet for one simple reason: I'm working full-time. Yes, that's the reason I was actually able to start, since I'm away from him for 10 hours every day. But because I work, I've just been too tired to figure out when I can push feedings back gradually to eventually cut them out -- let alone actually implementing that.

I'm kind of stuck here at the two, but I'm trying. Yesterday I had a painful clogged milk duct at work and was looking for a kind of hot pad to massage it with, and a coworker advised me to get cabbage leaves. Apparently since they're already a nice cupped shape, you just stick them in your bra, and they dry up your milk pretty quickly. So I asked Brandon to pick up a head of cabbage at the store. I'll let you know how it goes.

You may wonder why I want to wean my son, if I've breastfed him for this long. I didn't even mind when he started teething, getting those two little pearly whites on his bottom jaw. He bit me accidentally a few times before his medicine kicked in and he was in too much pain to latch properly. But it wasn't a habit. Well, now that he's got four more teeth on the top as well, it hurts almost every time. He's just so eager to nurse, he sucks really hard and his teeth can't help but get in the way and I end up with bite marks on my precious boobs. Ow. That, and he's also been pinching them when he wants to nurse, or outstretching his hands and saying, "Mamamamam" -- I can thank my mother for teaching him to say that.

Guess it beats "mommy's numnums" or "me eat". I don't think I could nurse this boy to toddlerhood, and I heartily applaud anyone who is brave enough to complete such a journey. Actually, I got the same kudos from that same coworker who recommended the cabbage leaves. She went back to work quite a bit earlier than I did, though. She had this job to come back to; I had to find it and spent a few months doing so.

Ah well. I'll keep everyone posted.

Haiku Friday #6: So Far, So Good

It seems that I have
Successfully cut out the
Midday pump session.

No more lugging the
Breast pump to work and cleaning
Pieces on lunch break.

It's still not perfect:
I still let down a little
In the afternoon.

Overall I'd say
It's going well; next up is
Overnight feedings.

Actually, this started because of a mistake: earlier this week, I was running a little late on my way out the door (but by a stroke of luck there was very little traffic that morning and I still made it to work on time), and I forgot my breast pump. I wasn't howling with (engorgement) pain, so I decide to try it again the next day. Still seemed okay, so I did it again. No apocalypse for me -- or Adam; he seems to be doing okay with Brandon or my mom, he drinks from a sippy cup (only the one, mind you; we'll have to buy another of that same brand), and he seems to have the same reaction whether it's breastmilk or formula. He misses the nursing, though. We do that as soon as I'm home from work, to get him to bed, and when he wakes up at night.

We've been sharing a bed since he was around 6 weeks old and the gas started keeping him up at night. I've been making half-assed attempts to get him to sleep in a crib for about 4 months now. Not that the individual attempts are pathetic, I just have a problem with consistency. This parenting thing may kick my ass yet -- I'm told that consistency is the most important part.

But for now, the weaning seems to be going well going at all. Thank [insert your personal deity here] for small favors.

Edited to add: For my readers who are unfamiliar with the joys of parenting, sorry for all the boob talk! I'll post something more interesting next week. :)