Weigh-In Wednesday

This was my best week so far! I think I'm finally getting to that "I'm ready to do this" stage as eating healthily didn't seem to be such a nightmare this week as it had been previously. I was even able to resist the many temptations of cake, cookies, brownies, candy, etc. at a baby shower this weekend! You cannot imagine how impressed I am with myself about this - I have NO will power. My will power starts and ends at the grocery store. I have the will power NOT to buy things I know that I do not have the will power to not eat once they are at my house - chips, candy, chocolate, etc. Thus, why I have a "cheat day" that allows me to eat some of these things without guilt so that I'm not neglecting my "fun" side. :) I always elect my weigh-in day as my cheat day as this gives me a whole week to get skinny before having to weigh myself again (totally makes sense if you ask me)! Exercise didn't go to well this week as the weather's been fairly crappy. On the days that it was sunny, I walked as usual but we had a few rainy days this week that kept me inside. I had Dan download me the Core Rhythms DVDs - basically a salsa-dance inspired series of exercise videos. They look great and are only like 30 mins each which is ideal. I will give them a try one of these days but with Jane only having a few short naps a day now, it's hard to use that time for exercise when I need it for other things - cleaning, blogging, RELAXING, catching up on my shows, etc. ha ha ha. Priorities I guess. I realize it's my picture week this week, but I didn't get around to taking the front/side view pics... here's one from Sunday with my little sweetie. I'll do it next time, I promise!

Here are my stats this week:
Starting weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 153 lbs
Pounds lost: 4 lbs
Pounds to lose: 16 lbs (that's almost 15, which seems like so much less than 20!!)

Jill did great as well this week - attributing her weight loss to her busyness with juggling a new job and her sweetie Jeremiah!

Here are Jill's stats this week:
Starting weight: 218 lbs
Current weight: 215 lbs
Pounds lost: 3 lbs YIPEE
Pounds to lose: 35 lbs

We're both very close to the 5lbs lost marker - which is awesome. Those first few pounds are always the hardest and then the motivation really kicks in. Five pounds is not really noticeable to the naked eye but you can feel it yourself - in your jeans, usually! ha ha ha. And if you were to lift a 5 lbs dumbell, there's some weight in that! That's significant!

Jen :)

PS - As my Facebook status says, "here's our plan for the day: bouncing, walking, bouncing, dancing, napping, bouncing, walking, cleaning, bouncing, napping, cooking, bouncing, bathing, sleeping". tee hee hee. :p

PPS - If anyone didn't share their story yesterday on how they told their hubby they were preggers, do it up! Even if it's not a "story", just tell us how it all unfolded! I loved hearing about it yesterday!

How I Told Him

I thought, after my "A Year" post last week, that I would share the story of how I told Dan we were having a baby.

When we were trying to get pregnant, it was kind of an unsaid agreement that, when we took a pregnancy test, we would do it together. Of course, as I said last week, I took the test alone, not thinking I was pregnant. So, I thought I'd better come up with a way to surprise Dan with the news so that I could make up for the fact that I didn't wait to take the test with him. :p

My story isn't super extraordinary - like some I've heard - but I thought it was cute. A good memory.

I had just gotten back from a weekend in Toronto on a Monday morning, Dan was already at work. So, after the four positive pregnancy tests, I called him. I told him I was too tired to cook after a long, fun-filled weekend and that I was going to take him out to dinner. Of course, I got no resistance on that idea. I went to the card store, picked out the perfect card, and wrapped up my four pregnancy tests in a gift box. When we arrived for dinner, Dan didn't think anything of the gift of the surprise dinner - I like to surprise him with gifts and dinners (or I did when I was working and we had lots of excess cash). I couldn't wait any longer, so as soon as we were seated, I told him to open the gift. He opened the card first (he's not stupid, ha ha ha. On the front there were baby pins and teddy bears and, on the front, it read "Little cuddles, little kisses, little coos". On the inside, it read "So many new-baby moments to look forward to" and I wrote "open the box". He just looked at me - half smiling, half shocked, half disbelief... ok, obviously those should have been thirds but when I started I planned on only having two halves and thirds just don't sound right! :p Of course, this was the moment our waitress decided to greet us and ask us what we wanted to drink! Great timing! Way to build the suspense! After she left, Dan just kept looking at me. I think he said something like "are you serious?" and I told him to open the box. Perhaps the FOUR tests was a little overboard as I suddenly realized that I had peed on those four tests and it was slightly gross! :p Regardless, I got tons of kisses and the biggest smiles I have ever seen out of my hubby. It was the best feeling to know that he was as excited as I was.

I'm sure we spent the entire dinner talking about what I had gone through that day - between trips to the blood work centre, trips to get more pregnancy tests, google searches, phone calls to and from my Mom, etc. It's so funny to think about the other things we would have talked about that night... all the things we were looking forward to, worried about, and were excited for that are now HERE. Gosh, time flies.

And it's true what they say, that things happen in threes as my best friend, my sister and I all got pregnant and had beautiful, healthy babies within 3 months of each other. How fabulous it was to go through this experience with my best friends.

Share your own stories - PLEASE! :)

Jen :)

PS - I attached my very first baby bump picture, taken at 14 weeks... sadly, I actually remember thinking I was really showing at that point! ha ha ha. Do you know how much I would pay to look like that NOW?!?! :p

PPS - Jane had her VERY BEST night's sleep last night, 8:30pm-5:45am!! Holy Moly, I was checking on her from 4:30am onward of course!!! ha ha ha.

I LOVE the Web

So no surprise, after all the parties, showers and BBQs, Dan and I appear to have a cold... of course, first thing this morning I was up searching the net for swine flu symptoms - I LOVE the web! How amazing it is to have information on everything you can think of, right at your fingertips! So far, with only runny noses and sore throats, we seem to be OK. Dan seemed to get it worse than me but that could just be the typical turn-into-a-baby male response to even the mildest illness.

Jane seems unaffected so far - is that possible? Is it possible that we'd both get sick and she'd be fine OR am I just dreaming? Regardless, as I lay in bed last night I realized I had no idea what to do if Jane got a stuffy nose - she can't blow her nose! How the heck do I use that nasal bulb syringe?!?! I LOVE the Web! I found this fab video that shows you how to use a nasal bulb syringe in your baby. Yipee!

I've used the net my entire pregnancy and since Jane was born to research everything from what I can/cannot eat to sleeping tips! It's saved me tons of money that I could have "wasted" on books full of info that I disagree with or already know.

Here are a few of my fav, reliable sites that I search regularly:

• Baby Centre Canada or US
• Today's Parent
• MotherRisk - info on safe/unsafe drugs for Moms
• Elizabeth Pantley - No Cry Solution Writer
• About.com Parenting and Family

I know Mondays used to be filled with my stupid MB moments... fact is, the bigger, more entertaining ones have been replaced by smaller, more frequent moments like forgetting words and forgetting names (not so good seeing as we've had so many social things lately). :p

Jen :)

PS - Here's a few pics from our walk in the park this weekend :)

If Only...

If only all sports were like this... they could capture a whole new audience - WOMEN!!

From my new addiction, Glee.




Jen :)

Saturday Funny

This one comes from my best friend, Kristie -

As most of us have done or do regularly, if her little man, Parker, is not sleeping well, she takes him into bed with her. Well, one night last week, her fiance woke her up in a "what the heck are you doing?" moment. Apparently, she had found his arm in the middle of the night and started kissing his arm. At first, he says, he thought she was trying to be sexy... a thought that quickly passed as he realized these were not seductive kisses but purely affectionate kisses. When he woke her up to ask her what the heck she was doing, they quickly realize that she had thought his arm was Parker and she was kissing "Parker" in her sleep! ha ha ha.

I died laughing as I got caught doing something similar... Dan saw me kiss my own shoulder one day. I must have been looking sideways at something, felt the skin touch my lips and kissed myself! I swear to God, Mom's get a routing reflex along with babies - but we're not suckers, we're kissers!

It could be worse, I guess... cause if it's possible to kiss your baby too death, then I would have been convicted a day after she was born.

Jen :)

Fears of the Flu

Ok ladies, break out your Purrell... it's supposed to be a nasty flu season. If I wasn't a purse-packing-purrell-addict before, I'm converted now!

Apparently, H1N1 is supposed to wreak havoc this fall and, I gotta say, it scares the hell outta me. I'm not usually one to worry about this kind of "nonsense" but things have changed... I'm not worrying about me anymore, I'm worrying about my little ladybug!

I know down in the US they are recommending children older than 6 months get vaccinated for H1N1... God, it's scary from all sides! Do you leave your baby unvaccinated and risk the swine flu or do you vaccinate them with what seems to be a "thrown together" vaccine? I heard on the Today show Tuesday morning that the H1N1 vaccine is much like the other flu vaccine and considered very safe... but I always worry. In Canada, I haven't even heard what the plan is, if any, on vaccinations. Obviously Jane doesn't qualify as she is too young but I would assume this doesn't mean she's not at high risk, just too young for the studies. On the other side, it seems those who have reacted most severely to the swine flu are in their 20s. As a 26 year old new Mom, it makes me nervous as I know my immune system can't be working at 100% - I'm exhausted half the time from less than sufficient amounts of sleep.

I'm not writing this post to scare you - that's just stupid. However, I think we should be aware of what's going on and prepare as best as possible. I know, as usual, I'll be getting the regular flu shot this fall. I also found some tips on Dr. Oz's website about Swine Flu Prevention that seems pretty simple and non-Fox-the-world-is-going-to-end-esque. One thing Dan and I have done that's pretty simple is put a bottle of hand sanitizer by the front door. Seeing as I'm not really out and about that often with Jane, our biggest risk is that Dan or a visitor will bring home the virus... so, we figure, if they disinfect before they come into contact with Jane or I that's a good start.

I have found myself worrying about bringing Jane to social things where there will be a lot of people around or a lot of kids... I know it seems insane but I just can't imagine having her get sick, and die at the thought of her getting really sick! I know I can't keep her in a bubble all Fall but why can't I keep her in the house? ha ha ha. Obviously, I'm not totally serious and life will have to continue but as if a Mom's worries weren't bad enough... now you're throwing in deadly flu viruses. Awesome.

Thoughts? Any medical profs out there who want to share their recommendations?

Jen :)

A Year

Last Monday was one year since I found out I was pregnant. I'll never forget that moment - shock, excitement, anxiety, joy, worry, disbelief. Dan and I had only been trying for a month, it was a first go and BAM, success!

I didn't even think I was pregnant. I took the test because I'd never taken a pregnancy test before and thought I should practice! I came home from a trip to Toronto for the NKOTB concert (which was awesome btw) with a full bladder and thought "hey, why not give it a try now?". SO, I peed on the stick! I didn't even look at the legend to see what would indicate pregnant or not pregnant because I "knew" I wasn't pregnant... I mean, nothing had changed!

Obviously my mommy brain disability started as soon as the egg was fertilized as I had quite a few indicators that things had, in fact, changed. For two weeks before I took the test I had bad cramping in my lower belly, constipation (sorry, TMI) and insomnia. Three things I have rarely experienced. Two nights before I took the test, I was up the entire night at my Mom's house in T.O... I even woke up my Mom like a 2 year old asking her if she had something to help me sleep. THANKFULLY, I was thinking and didn't take any drugs but instead my Mom gave me a shot of brandy - apparently back in her nursing days that used to do it for the old folks! ha ha ha. My Mom's response immediately was "You're pregnant!" but we tossed that theory aside when she checked my belly and didn't feel any signs of little sweetie.

Back to the test... as I said, didn't check the legend. So when the plus sign came up right away, all I was thinking was "holy crap, what a poor design... what kind of test gives you a plus sign when you're NOT pregnant?!?! What happens if you are pregnant - streamers and confetti spew out the end of the stick?". Then I looked down and saw it... plus sign = pregnant. WHAT?!?! WHAT?!?! I mean, as much as you try to get pregnant, it's a totally different thing when it actually happens! So I did what any other respectable, grown-up woman would do in my situation and called my Mom who immediately said "go pee on another stick!". ha ha ha. Four "sticks", two different brands of tests and a google search on "false positives in pregnancy tests" later and we believed it. In case it isn't obvious - there is basically no such thing as a false positive on a pregnancy test (and definitely not on four of them).

I can't believe it's been one year. When I think about the excitement and fear that accompanied the realization that I was pregnant... I was a completely different person than I am today. I had no experience with babies. I'd never been one of those "got to hold 'um" type of girls who always seem to know what to do. People would ask me "are you ready for a baby?" and my response was always "I'm prepared for a baby, but how the heck can you be ready for a baby when you have never had a baby before?". Stupid question :p I don't even think you can be ready for a baby when you've already had one - they are all so different! But here I am. I look at Jane and it's hard to believe that she grew from a tiny cell inside my body! She's so perfect and beautiful and funny - I never could have imagined her in those first few days after "passing the test".

I can't believe it's been a year...

Jen :)

Weigh-In Wednesday

This week was a heck of a lot better than previous weeks and, thankfully, I lost weight again! WHOOPEE! I'm super proud of me too as Dan was away all weekend and you know what they say... when the men are away, Jen will eat everything in the house! But I did well - I ate smaller meals (and by smaller I mean not fit for a football player-sized meals) and healthier snacks. No Coldstone this week despite my sabotager of a husband who tried to convince me on Monday night - I had will power for the first time in a year! What I have been eating for desserts is fat free whipped cream (frozen) in an ice cream cone. May sound nasty but I love it - it's less calories than ice cream or frozen yogurt and satisfies my need for sweet after a meal. Last week, I took a container of the FF whipped cream, thawed it and mix it with a package of FF Chocolate Pudding, then froze it again. It was pretty good but too much work seeing as I like it as it is. My girlfriend, Kristie gave me this recipe for Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins that are to die for:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsn baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup splenda or 1/3 spenda brown sugar
4 rotten bananas (by rotten she means really ripe, ha ha ha)
1/2 cup apple sauce
3 egg whites
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
Mix flour, powder, soda and salt in 1 bowl
Mash up banana in another bowl, add spenda, egg whites and mix together
Add banana mix to dry mixture and then add choc chips
Cook at 350 for about 20 mins!

If you make small to medium sized muffins, they are about 140 calories and 1 gram of fat each.

As far as the dreaded exercise - I've been getting out for 30 min walks at least 4-5 times a week. The weather is a lot cooler lately which makes walking so much more enjoyable. I've also been leaving the stroller at home and putting Jane in the snugli so she can enjoy the sights as much as I do.

Here are my stats for the week:
Starting weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 154 lbs
Pounds lost: 3 lbs
Pounds to lose: 17 lbs

Jill had a stressful week - Jeremiah started waking up during the night again (he was sleeping through the night) and she's been job-hunting, not fun! She's been doing great with exercise, taking spin classes and such, but didn't lose any weight this week. Looks like we're alternating weeks! ha ha ha. She may start measuring inches as well which makes sense as sometimes when you start exercising after a hiatus your muscle gain offsets your "weight loss" because the muscle weighs more... so you're actually getting smaller but not losing pounds.

Here are Jill's stats for the week:
Starting weight: 218 lbs
Current weight: 216 lbs
Pounds lost: 2 lbs
Pounds to lose: 36 lbs (actually she had a MB moment and couldn't remember which made me smile)

So we're getting there, slowly but surely... every pound lost is one pound less to lose! Between the two of us we've lost 5 lbs now and it should only get easier as we're quickly learning what our "weaknesses" are - and with that, hopefully, learning how to stay strong! :)

Jen :)

PS - Jane had her BEST night last night... slept from 9-4:30am!! Of course, I slept from 9-3:30am and kept waking up to make sure she was still breathing! :p Am I still going to be doing this when she's 14?!?!?

Who COULDN'T Use $1000!

Hey everyone! I got sent this information today about a Top Blog Awards through The Bump. If you're a fan and think I'm deserving - click the button to nominate me! You all are the best! Today's regular post below :)

Watch Your Mouth

This is going to be a quick one!
It's a beautiful day and we're enjoying it! Jane's been awake most of the morning and I have a hard time justifying "ignoring" her for a half hour to write a post about being a Mom - just doesn't seem right. :p

Jane's just gotten to the age where EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. I've noticed the last week or so that instead of sucking on everything, she's starting to chew on things - does this mean she's teething? Or getting ready to? I hope not! I'm hoping we're in the typical 6-7 month-old teething range. I know my girlfriend's little man, Parker, started getting his first tooth at 4 months or so which is where Jane is now...

Regardless, if you've got a baby or a baby on the way, be prepared. Basically, if you have anything smaller than a plum in your house, get rid of it! ha ha ha. And have things on hand that are safe to chew and suck on! Everything I give Jane goes in her mouth... rubber ducky, blankies, toys, etc. I remember my Dad telling me a story about my step-brother and how he once choked (just so y'all know, I had to look up how to spell choke as for some reason I forgot and initially spelled it "chocked" ha ha ha - help me!) on a lipstick top... like seriously choked. I imagine someone gave him the lipstick to play with during a moment where they needed something quick to distract him - we've all been there or, perhaps, he just found it lying around. Regardless, you get my point. I'm sure everyone knows this but it's never a bad thing to state the obvious when it comes to the safety of our babes!

I'm not sure how you'd deal with this best too but in the Infant CPR course Dan and I took, the choking video they showed us on babies involved an older sibling giving the baby something "to eat" (obviously with good intentions). I can imagine this is a worry for all Moms of two or more babes - especially if you've got babes who aren't quite old enough to understand how fragile a baby is.

I've got to go! Jane has been patiently talking to herself in her swing for the last 10 minutes and that's about as far as my "neglect" goes!

Thought you'd get a kick out of what I "caught" her doing this morning - notice the obvious biting vs. sucking - am I in trouble here?!?!?! ha ha ha



Jen :)

Whining About Weaning

So, on the last crib update things were going great... here's the latest:

I was so tired come Friday that I set up camp in Jane's room. After that fabulous night #2, she went right back to 3 hour sleeping intervals... I think. By "I think", I mean that it's quite likely that, because I had to go into her room to give her her nummy (pacifier), I assumed she was hungry and fed her at 3 hour intervals when I could have just given her her nummy and gone back to bed. It's a catch-22 because I was thinking "well, I'm already in here - maybe if I feed her now, I'll avoid the 2 am feeding" and so on. Not the case.

I went to a house-warming party Friday night with Jane (and by party I mean I arrived at 6pm and left at 7:30pm :p). I swear to God I "cried" 45 times because my eyes were burning so badly from being exhausted that I couldn't open my eyes completely without them watering. Awesome.

I know what the issue is... Jane is dependent on her nummy fall asleep. It's my own doing and now I have to undo it. According to some books, I am using the nummy right as Jane will suck on it for 5-10 mins when she's first falling asleep and then spits it out. But according to other books, the ones I hate right now, because she needs the nummy to fall asleep, when she wakes during the night (as we all do), she wants her nummy so she can fall back asleep and, THUS, I am having to get up 4-5 times in addition to 1-2 feedings to give her her nummy - sometimes twice in 5 minutes as she'll start to fall asleep, drop the nummy and then get upset because she doesn't have it anymore!

So, come Friday, I realized I couldn't let myself get more tired and I set up camp in Jane's room. It's actually quite comfortable - I took the down mattress topper off our guestbed and folded it on the floor. I'm sleeping great! ha ha ha. In fact, last night, I had my first DREAM (vs. nightmare) about "The Rock" (that hot I-used-to-be-a-wierd-wrestler-but-now-I'm-normal-and-hot-as-heck guy).

The last three nights I've focused on catching up on my sleep but, now, I need to start working on the nummy problem. According to the "No-Cry Sleep Solution" books, what I need to do is let her have the nummy when she's falling asleep, while she's sucking hard on it. Then, once she's almost asleep I should take it out and let her continue falling asleep without it.... apparently, eventually she'll be able to fall asleep without it. I don't know about this as this is kind of what she does on her own anyways. I'm not into the "let her cry it out" method, so as much as I love and respect those of you out there who have done it, I know I won't be able to do it so don't bother. :p According to "The Baby Whisperer", I should just go in and soothe her by patting her back (which makes no freakin' sense to me at all because this baby whisperer chick says to have babies sleep on their backs, then she says her solution to everything is to gently pat them on the back)!! Makes no sense. I tried to combine these methods yesterday during naptime... I took out Jane's nummy after a few minutes and she fussed for it so I tried to shhhhh her and rock her but she just got more and more worked up and I wasn't about to let her wake up over it so I caved and gave her back her nummy. And won't she get dependent on this if I start soothing her that way? I need help here.

Anybody got any suggestions? I don't need to wean her from the nummy completely, just to break the association she has with the nummy and sleeping.

Thanks and love you guys as always! I have the BEST "followers"!

Jen :)

Hilarious... Invented by Men, ya think?

Need I say anything here...



Priceless.

Saturday Funny

Read this in a book recently and cracked up at this line as it was too true...

"...when you get married, foreplay changes. You no longer get hot when a man wears a suit or brings you flowers. You get hot when you see him load the dishwasher, or run the vacuum cleaner... (and) that is nothing compared to watching men who are good around children"

misery loves cabernet, Kim Gruenenfelder

Cute book - brainless, entertaining, etc. All the things I like in good chick-lit.

Have a great weekend!

Jen :)

Nightmares

I thought nightmares ended when you became a teenager?!?!

Apparently, I was mistaken. I guess, thinking back to it... every "job" I've had has given me nightmares. When I was a waitress, I had nightmares that the restaurant was full and I was the only one working. When I was a drug-rep, I had nightmares about docs asking me question after question that I didn't know the answers to. So, I guess with my new "job" as a Mom, it should be no different. But it is.

I've probably had 4-5 nightmares to date about something heartbreaking happening to Jane. I can't even describe how they make me feel - there are no words. I, literally, have to go inside my dream and tell myself I can wake up and it will be over. The most horrible part is that, when I'm dreaming, it seems so real. So real, in fact, that I find myself waking up so tense, unsettled, upset, horrified that it takes awhile to fall back to sleep - and usually only after I've checked on Jane 45 times. I lay there thinking about the dream - how overwhelmingly upset (upset is not even a good enough word) I am in the dream and, of course, this leads to thinking about what would happen if something really did happen to Jane. I can't think about it now as it's left for those middle of the night thoughts that consume your mind not allowing you to focus your thoughts anywhere else... during the day, my mind can't even go there, thank God.

Honestly, now that I really think about it, I don't think I've had a good dream since Jane was born... if I dream at all, it's always a nightmare. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often! Is that common? I suppose it makes sens as I'm not getting the deep sleep I used to.

I guess this post is kind of a downer - sorry! My nightmares, thankfully not real, make me realize how lucky I am that Jane is healthy and that all is going well so far. I remember when I was growing up my Mom always telling me that she had a sister who passed away when she was 6 weeks old and that my Nan always counted her as one of her children. I'm pretty sure I used to think that was strange. I get it now more than anything. Had anything happened to Jane, even during the early weeks of pregnancy, I would include her as one of my children and there would never be another Jane. I can't imagine having lost her at 6 weeks or ever. My heart goes out to those Moms who have ever suffered the loss of their baby (at any age) or had to deal with health-scares... I can't imagine the pain.

I know the exponential increase in worries for a new Mom are common... I don't expect that my mind will ever be at ease again. Since having Jane, I've found a stronger attachment to having faith and, suddenly, find myself praying nightly again like I did when I was a kid. My prayers usually consist of a bazillion thank you's (literally, one after the other - "thank you, thank you, thank you..." ha ha ha), asking to keep Jane safe and healthy and asking that our family can have a long, happy life together. I feel like whatever I can do to increase the chances that she will have a good life, I will do it religiously (no pun intended).

OK, feel like this post has been too serious but wanted to share my thoughts, worries, everything in hopes that, as usual, someone out there will say they're going through the same thing and that eventually I'll realize they are just dreams.

xo
Jen :)

PS - Gotta go watch Vampire Diaries while Jane naps... it seems I am addicted to everything vampire these days! :p

Second Night in the Crib

TAH DAH! I did it!

Jane had her second night in her crib on Monday and we both did fabulously! She slept from 8:30-3am and I slept from 9-3 (obviously we went back to bed after this but this was the long stretch)! YIPEE! And, most importantly, I slept solidly... no reasonless (that can't be a word) check-ins, no freaking out over nothing, just pure, enjoyable, restful, sleep! What a relief.

I checked all the things that I had not thought of for the first night (fan, music, etc.) during the day and we were all set for the night. I heard her loud and clear through the monitor (no doors open, no post-its) when she would wake up. I was up twice to feed her and about 3-4 additional times to give her the soother back. That willl be a habit to break once we get this crib-sleeping down. She usually spits the soother out once she's deep asleep, after about 10 mins, but then she'll often half-wake up a few hours late, whimpering a little, and giving her the soother puts her right back to sleep. It makes no sense to me right now to avoid giving her the soother and risk having her wake up completely... my sleep is too important to me right now!

One thing we have gotten down pat, that's supposed to be a "good sleep habit", is putting her down while she's still awake but drowsy. I thought she would struggle with it as I used to nurse her to sleep or rock her but she transitioned to this easily, which is awesome. It's supposed to help them learn how to get themselves back to sleep on their own which is good for those middle of the night wake-ups. So, once I ween her off the middle of the night soother, we should be on our way to "good sleeping habit" heaven! I just recently read about this weaning on Elizabeth Pantley's website... she's the author of the "No Cry Sleep Solution" (a concept I am sold on from the title alone!). She says:

"When your baby wakes, go ahead and pop his pacifier or his bottle in his mouth, or nurse him. But, instead of leaving him there and going back to bed, or letting him fall asleep at the breast, let him suck for a few minutes until his sucking slows and he is relaxed and sleepy. Then break the seal with your finger and gently remove the pacifier or nipple."

Seeing as I'm not getting a full night's sleep as it is - I might as well give this a try. As Elizabeth says, it may "complicate night wakings" for a little while but in the long run it will be worth it!

All I can think about today is when I first bought the cradle for her to sleep in the room with us. I knew she'd only be able to sleep in it for 3 months but that seemed like so long! And here it is. Time is flying!

Thanks for all your support and advice! As always, it helps me get through the challenging days when I know I'm not alone in my crazy, worried-ways as a new Mom!

Jen :)

Weigh-In Wednesday

This week started out perfectly - I ate so healthily, was doing great with my walks, I felt great! I actually cheated a little and weighed myself on Saturday and I had lost a pound! YIPEE! Then, the weekend came... my Mom visited and we immediately went to the grocery store and got some frozen yogurt (her fav). That would have been fine, however, then we went to McDonalds on Saturday morning for breakie... Mom wanted to be the first to bring Jane to Mc-D's for breakie as we used to do this after church growing up. Once again, that wouldn't have been too bad, except then we went to the Keg for a steak dinner. Lastly, we could have stopped there, but instead we went to ColdStone for dessert... could it have been worse?!?! :p I have to say, I enjoyed every bite of all of it! I likely could have recovered after those few days except then I had the "first night in the crib" experience that resulted in pure exhaustion... and you know what that means for me, eating everything. AND, of course, I had that stupid frozen yogurt in the freezer. So, after fifty thousand servings of frozen yogurt, I am even again this week. If I keep up at this pace, one pound lost one week, none the next, it's going to take me 36 weeks to lose 18 lbs. Anyways, instead of posting pictures of myself, which would just depress me, I'm posting a picture of the yummy ice cream treat that is heaven and hell - the Founder's Favourite! :p This is so much harder than I imagined. I'm struggling. I think, like everyone, I always struggle with losing weight but usually I'm only trying to lose 5 lbs, so no big deal and when I finally set my mind to it, it disappears in a couple weeks.

Here are my stats (why am I even bothering this week):
Starting weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 155 lbs
Pounds lost: 2 lbs
Pounds to lose: 18 lbs

Jill did great and lost another pound! Her hubby signed them up for a gym membership so she's been doing fun classes and hitting the cardio machines. As with me, she says she's struggling most with eating. "PORTION CONTROL STINKS" according to her, and I agree!

Here are Jill's stats for this week:
Starting weight: 218 lbs
Current weight: 216 lbs
Pounds lost: 2 lbs
Pounds to lose: 36

Today is a new day and the start of a new weight-loss week. I am hoping that I'll have the will power and motivation to really stick with it this week and see what results I can get. I've always been the type of person that is motivated by results - so I'm hoping if I can have a good week and lose a pound or two, that'll be the kick in the a** I obviously need to get in gear. I keep thinking about Jenny McCarthy, who lost 60 lbs of post-baby weight in 6 months. I know she has tons of dough, trainers, etc. but I like her and even more so for not losing all that weight in 6 weeks like most celebrity Moms. If she can do that in 6 months, I can lose 18 lbs before Jane is 6 months! That's December 5th, which gives me almost 12 weeks.... just in time for the holidays so I can put 5 lbs right back on ;) ha ha ha. With 12 weeks, I'd need to lose 1.5 lbs every week, which is a little unrealistic but worth a shot. I think I have to set a date-goal for myself to add a little pressure to the situation... something to work towards. Wish me luck! :p

Jen (and Jill!) :)

PS - As always, join us! Although, at this point, you're probably thinking you're better off on your own! :p Contact me (link on homepage)

First Night in the Crib

So I decided last night that Jane would have her first night in her crib that night. We had slept fabulously the night before so I thought it best to give it a go after a previous night's great sleep... I was a MESS!

First off, I thought I had everything set up and prepared... her IPOD to play her "sounds of the sea", the fan, the monitor, the nightlight, etc. After I got her to sleep, I turned on the IPOD player and the IPOD was dead. Apparently, that IPOD would not charge in that player or some crap, so I scratched that idea which sucked as the white noise usually blocks out any noise Dan and I make coming and going, so she doesn't wake. Then, I turned on the monitor, turned on the fan, and closed the door to leave my "big girl" in her room for the night. As soon as I turned on the parent-monitor, all I could hear was fan. I hadn't checked if I could hear her over the fan! So, I turned off the fan. Then I turned on the air conditioner in my bedroom. I hadn't checked if I could hear her over the loud AC in my room. So, I turned off the AC. Then, I realized that this was the first time (more than 15 mins) that I'd be using the monitors. I worried I hadn't set them up properly or that they were defective. So, I locked Miko (devil-cat) in the basement so I could leave Jane's door and my bedroom door open - backup in case the brand new, highly rated, monitor failed! :p Then I realized that with Dan not being home (at frisbee) he would likely come home, make noise and turn lights on, not realizing her nursery door was open. So, I started with the post-it notes. I left one on the basement door saying "do not open, Miko is locked in here", three on the light switch to the livingroom (where I purposely left the lights on) that explained why Miko was in the basement, why our doors were open, why the fan was off, why the AC was not on, not to turn on lights or make noise and, lastly, to not pester me for being so freaked out about everything in the morning because I knew I was being ridiculous! I am very self-aware and completely realized I had lost my marbles over this little milestone. I also left a post-it on the fridge saying not to turn on the tv loud, just in case he didn't see the four other strategically placed, bright-pink, post-its. When he got home, the garage door woke me up anyways because I didn't have the "sounds of the sea" and AC noise to drown out the regular house noise. It also made Jane "stir". So, now, here I am in her nursery, it's 3 hours since she went to sleep, an hour since I fell asleep, she's whimpering but still sleeping and I'm thinking I might as well feed her now so maybe I'll avoid the 3am feed and she'll sleep until 5ish. She ate, we all went to bed and, then, I had a nightmare that something bad happened to her. After that, I checked on her anytime I heard ANYTHING through the monitor. Once, I heard the soother drop out of her mouth and onto the floor (a great sign because it means she's so deep in sleep she didn't need the sucky) and I got up to check on her! It was brutal, but I stuck with it. As much as I wanted to just bring her back in my room and put her in the cradle, I left her. And we'll do it again tonight. It has to be done eventually and, since I'm the only one suffering, it's not like it's going to get any easier if I try next week!

I got up this morning and, once she was chatty, tested the fan and monitor to see if I could hear her and it was just fine. I switched the IPODs so that I can now play her music for her again which will avoid me waking her when I'm checking on her hourly. :p Come 4am, I felt comfortable enough with the monitor that I started closing our bedroom doors so that will also help with the noise. I'm also thinking that the white noise in her room from the music and the fan will help drown out her smaller sleeping-noises which, of course, made me run into her room last night. So, we'll giv'er another go tonight. I know eventually I will be fine.

Anyone want to tell their outrageous stories similar to this to make me NOT feel like such a freak?!?! If you don't have stories, make something up! ha ha ha.

Jen :)
PS - Here's a pic of one of the post-it "stations" from last night...

MOmMy bRaIn Mondays

Here's a few MB Moments to make you feel better about your own screw-ups this week!

1) My sister has switched to formula-feeding her baby and has "weened" off the pumping so her breastmilk has "dried up" (what's the right way to say that?). Anyways, she told me that she'd gained 4 lbs since she stopped producing milk. I immediately started rationalizing it so she wouldn't feel bad by explaining that when one of my boobs is full, I swear it weighs 2-3 lbs vs. an empty boob... so it's likely that it's just extra weight from her boobs. God love Nancy as she listened to me explain for 2-3 minutes before she said "yeah, Jen, that would explain why I would LOSE weight when my breastmilk was gone, but doesn't make sense at all when rationalizing why I gained weight". What the hell was I talking about?!?!

2) I try to avoid eating foods that make me gas-y because it ends up in a gas-y, restless sleep for Jane. Stupid me went and ate a veggie burger on Wednesday last week... worked out to like a full night without sleep. Awesome. On what grounds did I think a burger basically made out of beans and vegetables would be a good idea?!?!

3) If you check my blog early Friday morning, you likely saw a post that consisted of this "bf-ing doll"... that's it. ha ha ha. Sometimes, to make sure I get them done, I pre-write my posts when Jane is sleeping and then schedule them throughout the week. I thought I had written Friday's post on the breastfeeding doll, apparently not. My hubby emailed me at 10am asking what that post was about... thank god, because I probably wouldn't have noticed that there was actually no content in the post. Genius.

4) My Mom visited this weekend from Toronto. She called on Friday before arriving and left me a message as Jane was sleeping on me and I couldn't reach the phone. Later, I retrieved the phone and actually remember typing in the codes to pick up my message... however, I couldn't remember listening to the message but, for whatever reason, I deleted it! I called my Mom back and left her a message that sounded like this:

"Hi Mom, it's me. You called and I think you left me a message. If you said anything important can you call me back because I don't think I listened to it... I remember checking my messages but I must have deleted it before listening to it. I don't know why I did that but.... Hmmmm... wait, maybe I did hear it? No, I think I'm just remembering your email from earlier today. Oh my God, I'm losing it..."

So there you go... nothing outstanding but a week's full of stupid, worse than Jessica Simpson-style moments that confirm to me that my MB is NOT getting any better.

Jen :)

Anyone got any stories to share from the last few weeks?

Beautiful Post By Fellow Mommy-Blogger

Read this post on my blog-friend, Jessica's, blog Adjusting to the World.

The post is called "Smiling Eyes" (click to check it out) and it's all about her beautiful, 8 month old, daughter Leah. Worth a read for everyone, not only the Moms and Moms-to-be.

Even though Jane is only 3 months, I can so related to what she talks about as I'm already reminiscing about the days when Jane was so tiny and fragile... the difference in her between her first few weeks and now is unbelievable. She went from this tiny, balled-up, drowsy newborn to this full-of-life, smiling, entertaining little monkey! So much to look forward to!

Jen :)

AWESOME!

If you didn't catch Oprah on Thursday, you missed, what I thought was, the COOLEST thing I've seen in awhile!

Check out the video...basically, Black Eyed Peas performed and the entire crowd, it was like a bazillion people, did a choreographed dance routine and it looked amazing!



It cracks me up how excited Oprah is! Next to Ellen, she's probably one of my favourite people (OK, that's like ruling out God, my daugter, my Mom, my Husband, etc. etc. OBVIOUSLY). :p

Enjoy! Hope this made you smile!

Jen :)

Weird Stuff Warning

There's not a whole lot I can say about this...

They've actually developed a breastfeeding DOLL for little girls to play with! Supposed to develop their nurturing side... Seriously.

Apparently the doll comes with a little vest with flowers where the girls boobs would be (if she wasn't SIX) and the baby sucks on the flowers or something creepy! What the heck?!?!

As if it's not bad enough that we have dolls that teach little girls how to potty train and put on diapers, now we have one that teaches them how to feed a baby - does it come with some sort of cream that makes your nipples hurt like hell and puts little wet stains on your shirt at the most inappropriate times as well?!?! WICKED!

Click here to read one of the many articles on this one. Super creepy if you ask me - I think it did come with good intentions, but it's just going WAY too far!

Jen :)

What are your thoughts?

PS - Lots of love to my American friends who are remembering with sadness the horrible events that happened 8 years ago today. How different the world seems.xoxoxo.

Mini Me?

When Jane was born, everybody said she looked just like Daddy... and people often said this with hesitation, like I was going to get mad at them or something?!?! Personally, who Jane looked like wasn't really a concern of mine. I just thought she was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen and, still, everyday I am in awe of how much I love her and how gorgeous she is. Dan and I often find ourselves watching her sleep together and it's easy to read each others minds as we are always thinking "Oh my God, she's so cute!". ha ha ha.

As she's gotten "older", I do notice that she looks like me sometimes... she's at least got my lips! It's so amazing to see traits of yourself in your children. On the other hand, there are traits that I HOPE she does not get from me - most of them personality traits! :)

Anyways, thought it would be fun to post pics of Dan and I as toddlers (hard to come by baby pics for some reason) with some recent pics of Jane and let you decide who she looks more like! Vote below!

Jen :)

Who does Jane look more like?

Dan Jen

Weigh-in Wednesday a.k.a. Operation Bringing Sexy Back

This week was much better for me... although, after the mess that was last week's "healthy" eating, it could only get better! tee hee hee. It's been a lot easier this week as I've found foods that I enjoy eating, are healthy AND, most importantly, don't make me or Jane gas-y. Previously, I was living off of peanut butter and frozen yogurt - peanuts and dairy being the two biggest culprits of gas from breastmilk! :p Anyways, I've found alternatives to these two favs and now it seems to be going well. Thankfully, although just a pound, I lost weight this week and feel great about it! I really do think I'm getting to that ready-to-do-this phase as opposed to a few weeks ago when I was just feeling like I needed to do this. What is hard - and Jill and I are both struggling with this - is that we are "emotional eaters" and we eat when we're stressed or tired. I've written many emails to Jill about wanting to eat everything in my cupboards because I'm tired! Actually, I'm a bored eater too and have become addicted to sugarless gum in an attempt to keep my mouth busy in other ways. :p

Anyways, Here are my stats this week:
Starting weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 155 lbs (YIPEE)
Pounds lost: 2 lbs
Pounds to lose: 18 lbs - which seems so much easier than 20!! :p

Jill had a great week too - losing a pound as well! :) According to her research, it's safe for breastfeeding Moms to lose 1-2 lbs per week, so we're right on track. Although her running took a bit of a backseat because of the weather, she ate well most of the week. Jeremiah had his first shots this week and, very typical, was a little unhappy for the few days afterward. Like most of us, Jill said her eating "went to pits" because she was emotional with her little one being upset... we're all alike! It's her week to post pictures, so here they are. We completely realize there is no noticeable difference right now, but eventually we're going to be dramatically hotter Mommas - hotTER being the key term as we're obviously still hot now! ha ha ha! I won't start posting before and after pics together until you can see a difference.

Here are Jill's stats for this week:
Starting weight: 218 lbs
Current weight: 217 lbs
Pounds lost: 1 lb (WOOHOO)
Pounds to lose: 37 lbs

So, we're on track again for this week. Jill has set a goal to lose 2 lbs and I want to take her up on that challenge... although my Mom is in town this weekend and we will likely eat out a bit, I will try to stay within a healthy calorie range (pray for me cause I have no will power). :p

Join us any time you're ready!! Contact me (link on homepage) to let me know you want to start - no "skinny bitches" allowed! ha ha ha. I say this because I had two girlfriends who look like supermodels say they wanted to join us (you know who you are). :p

Jen :)

PS - Gotta go clean bathrooms as Jane is asleep and, like I said, Mom is coming on the weekend... these days it takes me the full week to clean the entire house, a few projects a day during nap-time, and then I have to start all over again.

So Long Swaddle?

Now that Jane's three months, I'm going to be transitioning her from her cradle to her crib in the next few weeks. I'm definitely going to miss having her sleeping next to me but she's "growing up" and, fact is, if it weren't for the fact that the cradle can only handle so much weight - I'd probably keep her there until she was 25!

Before I move her to her crib, I was hoping to get her out of her swaddle. I don't think there's any negative to the swaddle, however, it would give me more comfort if she could have her arms out while she's sleeping - now that she's moving around a lot more and able to flip over.

So, on the weekend I tried to begin this transition and I left one of her arms out of the swaddle. Well, to make a long story short, I'm going to wait another couple of weeks before trying to make the change again... both nights she went from sleeping 5-6 hours straight to sleeping 2-3 hours straight! It was brutal. I'd look over at her and her little arm would be helicoptering around while she was sleeping! Also, when she woke every few hours, she would actually wake herself up versus her usual way of eating with her eyes closed and passing out again within 10 minutes. I stuck with it after the first night, hoping it might get better, but it didn't. Right now, getting a good night's sleep is too much of a priority for me to sacrifice it over something this small.

I'm setting next Monday as her first night in the crib - I know she'll be fine, it's me I'm worried about. I'll likely spend quite a few nights in the rocking chair, sleeping, so I can make sure she's OK... which, like I said, is more for me than her. :p Ultimately, I think this is going to work out great as I think the sun wakes Jane up when she's sleeping in my room (we have a huge bay window in our bedroom). However, in her room, the window is much smaller and the blinds block the light a lot better. I think this might help her sleep-in a bit longer... maybe! :p I'm going to use the Sleep-Rite positioner until she's out of the swaddle to keep her from flipping which will give me some more peace of mind.

Does anyone have any advice on transitioning Jane from the cradle to the crib? And, also, for moving her out of the swaddle without sacrificing a good night's sleep? Help is always appreciated!! :)

Jen :)

PS - We had a beautiful day yesterday and went to the Public Gardens... here are a few pictures!

Labour Day-off

Hi Everyone,

Usually today is Mommy Brain Monday, however, I'm taking advantage of the long weekend to hang out with my hubby and baby girl... as a result, this is all you get today. I know, what a rip-off eh?

I posted some sweet, sweet pictures of Jane (taken at three months) on my Facebook profile... add me as a friend and check them out if you want!

Oh - here's one Mommy Brain moment for you... I posted yesterday that Jane was turning three months today, the 7th of September. Only... she was born on the 5th of June. Figure that one out cause I can't, for the love of God, figure out why I thought it was today.

Jen :)

Jane @ 3 Months

Here's my girl - she's 3 months tomorrow! Everyday she's growing and learning new things... she's talking more and more, smiling all the time, laughing at everything and sooooo inquisitive. Inquisitive is my big word for the day - sadly, I actually double checked and looked it up to make sure I was using it correctly! :p

Weekend Funny

Heard this on TMZ and it cracked me up - perhaps it was a Mommy Brain moment but, regardless, thought I'd share:


What kind of bees make milk?

Boo-bees! tee hee hee


Enjoy your weekend!

Jen :)

Sleep Suggestions #2

Continued from yesterdays post...

Here are some tips that are supposed to help your baby sleep longer:

(1) Bedtime routine - huge supporter of this. Our routine is bath-boob-bed. We go upstairs at 8-9ish, no lights, no tv, just quiet. After a bath, Jane gets a massage and then her boob. Usually she falls asleep on the boob or I'll rock her to sleep... apparently big no-nos when it comes to creating good sleeping habits - pick your battles. I'll deal with the consequences of those actions when I'm not a zombie, thank you very much. I think the most important thing about the bedtime routine is that it establishes the difference between day and nighttime sleeping.

(2) Choose a well-lit area for your baby's naps - In line with a bedtime routine, I think it makes sense to have a separate sleeping area for daytime naps and nighttime sleeps. This way, once again, baby knows that nighttime means longtime! :p

(3) Increase daytime feeds - I tried this and - what the heck?!?! How the heck am I supposed to make her eat more than she wants? I tried this for a day with two results - (1) she was pissed at me when I tried to feed her and she wasn't hungry and (2) she didn't sleep any better that night. So I gave up!

(4) Ensure baby empties your boob - This is an important one. The milk at the "end" of your boob (hindmilk) is fattier and thicker than your foremilk. My hindmilk is like cream and my foremilk is like watered-down skim milk. When baby drinks the hindmilk, it keeps them fuller longer and, thus, asleep longer.

(5) Keep the evening calm - duh. See my routine re: no lights, no tv, etc. If you are overstimulating your babe in the evening and during nighttime feeds, you're not helping your cause - you're just extending the time it takes you to get them to/back to sleep.

(6) Feed baby in a darkened room at night - I did this without knowing it was a known tip (obviously, I'm a genius :p). Just use your common sense. Do you get tired in a bright room with the tv on? Scratch that, did you get tired in a bright room with the tv on pre-baby?

(7) Avoid nighttime diaper changes (unless necessary - i.e. poop) - it took me 8 weeks to figure this one out on my own. In the beginning, I was changing Jane's diaper every time she woke up at night and, never fail, she would fully wake up vs. the "I'm hungry and my eyes are barely open" wake up. It was taking me an hour to feed and get her back to sleep because of this. Now, I don't change her unless she poops her diaper and she doesn't poop her diaper until she wakes up in the morning. It takes me 15 mins to feed her and put her back down - which sounds better to you?

A lot of the above tips are common sense but sometimes our Mommy Brain prevents us from catching on right away.

Hopefully this tips will help you get a few extra minutes sleep or will confirm that you're on the right track for getting there eventually!

Jen :)

Sleep Suggestions #1

Jane will be 3 months next week, it's hard to believe so much time has already passed! Regardless, it's about this time that babies start "sleeping through the night". Pre-baby, I would have taken this to mean sleeping from 10pm to 7am. However, apparently, post-baby "sleeping through the night" means for 6 hours straight or so. As I always say, every baby is different so don't take this as a rule and get depressed if you're still at 3-4 hours and definitely don't start bragging if your baby is one of those 10-7 babies. No one will like you. ha ha ha, joking (kinda). :p

About a month ago, Jane went through a short period where she was sleeping 9-4 - aside from the painful, engorged boobs in the morning - it was fabulous! However, it ended quickly (I have no idea why as I changed nothing) and now she's back to a 5-6 hour sleep followed by a 2 hour period.

What I'm learning quickly is that (1) you should expect NOTHING and (2) you can do everything "right" and still get a crappy-night's sleep! To clarify, never expect that you'll get a good night's sleep as you'll just be grouchy with yourself when, all of a sudden, your babe is waking every 2-3 hours. Go to bed without expectation... or better yet, expecting the worst! Secondly, you can follow all the "expert" tips on how to get your baby to sleep longer and some nights they will work and some nights they're useless.

Jane is still on and off when it comes to sleep. On the nights I think I've done everything "right" and that she will sleep 6-7 hours, she's up every 3 hours (remember - no expectations) and on nights when she's barely eaten before bed, she'll sleep forever! The hardest part nowadays is that she doesn't nap very long during the day so sleeping when she sleeps is nearly impossible. So, I stick to my 9pm bedtime. Some nights I'd love to stay up later and watch tv with Dan and have some baby-free time, but right now, it's not worth the potential exhaustion the following day if she's having one of her 3-hour nights.

I highly recommend early bedtime to new Moms. My first week with Jane I waited until after the midnight feed to go to bed and I was running on fumes. I also found that the 9pm sleep interval is the one that's been extended to 6 hours now. So, if I want to get a few solid hours of sleep, I have to take advantage of that period and hit the sheets early. Eventually, once she's sleeping 8-9 hours straight, I will bump her bedtime back to 8pm and then I will stay up with Dan for a few hours before heading to bed myself... that's the plan anyways!

Check back tomorrow for more tips that are supposed to help your baby sleep longer - and my thoughts on them!

Jen :)

Weigh-in Wednesdays

This week was HARD for me and the results of not losing any weight reflect that. Jane was on and off with sleeping basically from last Wednesday until Sunday. Naturally, being exhausted, I ate everything in sight and barely got out for a walk. But, as my new favourite person, Jill, told me in a much needed pep-talk (pep-email actually), it's a new day and all you can do is start fresh! So, I'm back at it - walking and eating healthily... I've cut myself off frozen yogurt as I realize I don't have the will power to just have a little vs. having a little - five times a day :p tee hee hee. This is so much harder than I imagined - mostly because I'm used to being able to drop weight quickly by just cutting calories and exercising. It's always motivating when you lose that first few pounds quickly and that's what used to drive me in previous weight-loss challenges. However, with breastfeeding, cutting calories isn't really an option as staying healthy and eating nutritiously for Jane is my priority. On the plus, I guess I can count on extending my Weigh-in Wednesday posts for a while and I'd probably be on everybody's sh*& list if I dropped 10lbs in two weeks... ha ha ha. Of course, as I said I would, here are my pics for this week...

Here are my stats:
Starting weight: 157 lbs
Current weight: 156 lbs
Pounds lost to date: 1 lb
Pounds to lose: 19 lbs - crappy deal

My BSB (Bringing Sexy Back) buddy, Jill, started running this week and described it like this - "... my thoughts were as follows: Just make it to the next tree, thirty seconds left... gosh thirty seconds feels like forever! I was in labor for 12 hrs... I can do anything for 30mins, Yipee I can see the stop sign by my house. Yea! I dont have to do this again until Monday :)". ha ha ha. Point is, she was out there and I'm sure she did awesome. She even had a date night and managed to avoid dessert - the woman's on fire! Jill's focusing on portion control and avoiding desserts by munching on fruit after meals to kill any sugar craving. Just so happens Jill didn't lose any pounds this week either, however, I'm sure we'll both have better results next week!

Here are Jill's stats:
Starting weight: 218 lbs
Current weight: 218 lbs ("Boo" - her quote not mine!) ha ha ha.
Pounds to lose: 38 lbs

So, this is real world folks... there aren't going to be any celebrity-style "I lost all my baby weight in 2 weeks" type of stories here. We're going to stick with it, of course, and we will succeed! Thankfully, Jill and I are really using each other for support and I'm sure it is going to help us in the long run.

Jen :)