Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Four Months Old

Currently: 
14lbs 9oz
24.5 inches
Mostly bald and blonde hair, blue eyes but they can be grey

Likes: 
Laughing
Your giraffe that you got from Nadege
Blankets, in your mouth and over your face!
Anything that makes noise
Sucking your thumb

Dislikes: 
Going to the doctors
Loud noises
Tummy time, unless you're on me

Sleep: 
Waking up every 2-3 hours, still :(
You're getting better at napping during the day, though!

Best Moments: 
Caught a few great laughs on camera!!!
You're showing interest in crawling
Eczema is finally getting better

Worst Moments:
Scratching, scratching, and more scratching!!!
There are scabs all over your poor head :(
You got your first cold

Favourite Pictures:













Saturday, March 15, 2014

My Post Pregnancy Body

I struggled with being overweight for the majority of my child hood and early teens. It was followed by lots of bullying to the point of dropping out of school. Fast forward to 16 years old; I moved to Victoria and my mom and I decided to join Weight Watchers. It was one of the BEST decisions I've made! I ended up losing 45 pounds in two years. Not a whole lot, given the amount of time, but I was only eating healthy and not exercising. I decided to join a gym when I was 19 years old thanks to my now ex boyfriend, who encouraged me and worked out with me. Soon enough, I became a gym rat. I was going to the gym 6-7 times a week and ended up losing an additional 25 pounds. I was feeling good, looking amazing, and finally loving my body again. I even got a four pack! The gym was my life... until I got pregnant.
38 weeks 5 days
Just after my water broke

The gym and I had to part ways for my pregnancy due to my stupid ex boyfriend/baby daddy. So, that resulted in me putting on 65 lbs. I went from being 131 lbs (what I weighed the day I found out I was pregnant) to a whopping 195 lbs! That's 6 pounds more than the heaviest I'd ever been. Honestly, I was depressed. Yes, I'm able to conceive a baby. Yes, I'm able to carry a baby to full term. Yes, I now have a beautiful son. However, that doesn't mean I don't have the right to be upset or depressed about the changes that my body endured. My hips went from being 36 inches to 47 inches! That's just freaking ridiculous!!!
1 day post-partum

Anyways, I weighed myself when I got home from the hospital (two days later) and I was 175lbs. Not terrible, but it's definitely not 130 lbs. My stomach looked a lot better than most, the baby bump went away in under 24 hours. But, it left behind some loose skin and my gigantic hips. Thankfully, I know how to work out! I was so anxious to return to the gym and get my body back. I was determined to work out 3 times a week minimum and would stick with it! I did really well for a few weeks, but then my mom (who was watching Baby T) started getting busy during the evenings so I eventually stopped going. Looking at these photos, though, motivates me to find another way.
2 months post-partum

I love my post-pregnancy body and I hate it at the same time. It provided nutrients for my little guy to grow and it did pretty damn awesome with only allowing a few stretch marks! (I think it's because I used to be heavier). It also gave me quite the butt! I used to have a nice booty, but now I have a fantastic booty! I guess I need to take the extreme positives with the slight negatives. Plus, bodies are something you can change with the gym and eating right. I'm down to 168 lbs, but I've got a lot further to go!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Power of Breast Milk

I was battling a pretty ugly case of cradle cap with Baby T. It was frustrating and so painful for both babe and myself. I won't go into too much detail, but it was so bad that it was oozing (not pus). I had tried EVERYTHING to heal this damn thing, even asked two different Mom groups for tips. I tried olive oil, coconut oil, baby oil, Polysporin, and even a $19 cradle cap shampoo. Unfortunately, all of the different oils made his cradle cap worse and caused him to develop severe eczema (my opinion is because of the stress due to the cradle cap).

Thankfully, one momma sent me a link to two articles* about breast milk and it's magical powers. I have heard about using breast milk to cure heat rash and eye infections, but my brain didn't connect the dots. Anyways, I figured what do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing! So, I tried it. It was a little tricky to get boobie milk on a moving head, but I managed to do it before bed and the next morning I noticed a huge difference. I put more milk on his head the following morning, evening, and morning once again. Now, a week later and it's almost gone.

His eczema is still there, unfortunately the boobie milk hasn't helped much for that, but oh well! The grossest part of it over with! I have been using an eczema wash and lotion to help heal the rest, he's so close to being back to normal! It was so hard dealing with an upset baby and knowing the only way I could sooth it was to run his head under cool water. Thank god for boobie milk.


*http://www.babble.com/baby/how-to-cure-your-babys-cradle-cap/
*http://breastfeeding.about.com/od/commonquestions/a/Interesting-Uses-For-Breast-Milk.htm

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Name

Picking out a name for your child can be a very interesting experience. There are so many names out there and it can be hard to agree with your significant other on what to name your child. I've heard stories from friends about how they decided on a name, with or without a little fighting. Some involve hours of looking up names, others chose to write their top five down and see if any are the same. You win some and you lose some, but it all works out in the end. I was able to chose the name for my child all on my own, one of the perks of being a single momma.

However, that didn't make choosing a name an easy-breezy experience. Like I said in a previous post, I had my girl name picked out very early in my pregnancy. I simply went on Baby Gaga and searched up names, for some reason the letter "M" really stood out for me, so that narrowed it down. I found the name after 20 minutes and fell in love with it. Choosing the middle name was a little more complicated, but I wanted to name the baby after my best friend as well as my sister and the three names fit together perfectly. But, life didn't work out that way because I ended up being pregnant with a beautiful baby boy. So, off to search the depth of the internet once again for the perfect name.

It took me a few websites and a few days to decide, but mostly because I was a little concerned about what other people would think... until I realized that I really don't care! Like with the girl name, I knew I wanted a name that started with a 'T' and I wanted a unique name, as well. So off I went to google! I was looking at 'Ta' names, but nothing really stood out. I decided to try out 'Ty' and there it was... last one on the page! I said it a few times out loud, typed it out to my sister, wrote it down, and then left it at that. I knew it was going to be a name that people would have an opinion on, but thankfully my friends and family were supportive.

The name got some funny reactions, though. A few people asked, "is the father black?" and a friend of mine joked that he would come out wearing a du-rag and rapping TuPac (I listen to a lot of rap music). I thought the reactions were pretty funny and it had no affect on how I felt about the name. Plus, it sounds like a great name for a basketball player! However, I decided to keep the name mostly a secret, except for those close to me.

Now that my babe is here, random people often ask what his name is and the reactions are still pretty funny to me. I've seen some funny expressions, but the common response is "I've never heard that one before" which is EXACTLY what I was going for. There's nothing wrong with being unique or having a unique name.

Tyrus means to be strong and that's what I hope for him. I hope he is strong mentally, physically (afterall, he's going to be a basketball player), and emotionally. I hope he stands up for himself and those around him. Overall, I hope he becomes a daddy. A man that knows how to treat his girlfriend/wife and can take on the extreme responsibility of raising a family. His name holds a lot, but I know he's capable.