Here I am. 6 weeks into being a mom of 3. Looking back now it's hard to remember the first 2 weeks of Sammi's entrance into this world - they seem so distant yet so close. Time really does go so fast. Each day is a blessing.
Let's talk Sammi first. She is growing like a weed! She loves to eat (exclusively nursing for now), sleep, look at pretty Christmas lights and poop - yes lots of it. She is a pretty low key baby though. She loves to snuggle, walk, talk and just chill - the best kind of 3rd baby :) Sammi is pretty lucky to have an amazing big brother and sister. Griffin and Millie are amazing siblings to their little sister. I haven't sensed much jealousy from them and trust me, I'm keeping a close eye on it. Even though Steve and I are outnumbered, we strive to give the older 2 a lot of attention with a new baby in the house. We try to do fun activities as much as possible on the weekends and work on fun projects around the house. Thankfully they love to be active. When we're not at hockey they love to play in the snow. It is no secret that getting them to use their energy and making sure they get enough sleep is crucial to keeping our heads above water. Speaking of heads above water; wine is tasting good again. It brings a big smile to my face. :)
What are the days looking like? Super busy - kind of. I love Maternity leave.
A little bit about me, since this is my blog :) I had my 6 week check up this week and was given the green light. You can sense my excitement! Although I am very excited to slowly get back into a routine, it is also bittersweet knowing this is my last baby and she's already 6 weeks. Like whoa?!? Slow down. I am excited for just a bit more sleep, maybe in a few weeks or months or years, who knows. I am feeling pretty darn good considering the circumstances. Weight wise I have about 7 lbs to lose to get back to 'me'. Body wise, I have a ways to go to get back to what I'd like to be. But it's all good. No rush. Hard work will pay off when I'm ready. I'm getting about 9 hours of interupted sleep at night - see what I did there? 8 hours sounds amazing right? I go to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and get up for the day between 6:30 and 7. I am up everynight around 1am, 3:30am and 5:30am for about 15-20 minutes. We co-sleep, gasp, so my sleep isn't terrible. Sammi sleeps right next to me, safely- (don't worry). I am a strong believer in co-sleeping with young babies. It helps me sleep knowing she is right next to me. She spent 40 weeks in my belly, I'm not going to put her in her own huge crib - yet.
7am: Get the kids up for school. Steve gets them to school. I have coffee in bed, nurse and watch Good Morning America. By the way there is nothing better than being able to catch up on these shows when I'm on leave. Que Ellen! Good belly laughs.
9am: Shower, pump, get ready for the day. From here I work for an hour or two (I sell TIEM cycling shoes to cycle studios in the midwest very part time). Snuggle, laundry, dishes, etc. There is seriously always something to do - like how does this stuff get done when I'm working full time? :) Steve will be in for a rude awakening when I go back to work. He's been working on the ice rink so much lately and the house duties are pretty much done when he gets home, but not for long. Haha, thankfully he's always been good about sharing the duties.
Afternoon/Evening: The days fly by. The kids are home around 3, we do school work - this has been so fun to be able to do with my kids. I'm always at work and they go to after school care. It's been fun doing homework and eating after school snacks.
Cooking/Food: the thought of cooking most days sounds like too much work still. I've been doing a ton of crock pot and instapot meals - they are pretty easy, inexpensive and still fairly healthy. I definitely don't eat enough because making food during the day is too much work, haha. I rely heavily on my protein shakes that I make at home and some small snacks until dinner. I also try to drink a lot of water - gotta keep that milk supply up!
Exercise: There has been no exercise besides a few small walks and nursing in the last 6 weeks. This morning I went for my first 1 mile walk with my dog. It was cold and it felt amazing. Thankfully my uterus is back to pretty small and the scar tissue has started to fuse together so I can do low intensity exercise (no bouncing yet). I am easing my way back in the cycling studio this month and I am so excited. I can't wait to sweat, but don't worry, you won't be seeing any dance moves on the bike. :) My running will commence in a few weeks. As much as I love running, I had major surgery and am taking baby steps getting back into it as I don't want to set myself back weeks for going to hard too fast.
Holiday Challenge? Absolutely. I will be putting together a FREE calendar of workouts to get us all through the holidays. It will consist of daily motivation and exercise tips to keep you going through January 1st. Do not wait until the New Year. 1 day of splurging will not break your routine, but if you let it it will. Follow the daily tips to stay on track. Easy peasy. I will post it this weekend.
In health,
Kristin