Eight weeks postpardum

 Me (on the right, holding Nolan) with a girlfriend at my Open House/BabyShower

Breastfeeding and continuing to make healthy meal choices has paid off in the past two weeks...

I have lost 22.4 pounds so far!!

That's almost two and a half pounds in two weeks.

So, what are these "healthy meal choices" I speak of?

I have only been eating 100% whole wheat bread (toast), wraps, english muffins and pasta, at least one serving of one of these every day. Usually it's scrambled egg whites on an english muffin for breakfast but I also love peanut butter on toast, grilled chicken & spinach or tuna & sliced tomatoes in a wrap, roasted vegetables and fresh mozzarella with penne, roast turkey and cheddar panini, and turkey meatballs with spaghetti. I've rid my and my family's diet from white rice, white tortillas, and all white bread products. Between breakfast and lunch I eat a 300 calorie snack, which is almost always a combination of fruit and cheese or fruit and a glass of fat-free milk. Between lunch and dinner is another 300 calorie snack. And I always have two cups of freshly steamed vegetables with dinner, like peas, green beans, zucchini/squash, mushrooms, bell peppers, and spinach. After two bad days of gas and green poopy diapers, I figured out that I cannot eat broccoli or Brussels sprouts while breastfeeding. I drink only caffeine-free iced-tea and water throughout the day and treat myself with a snack-size ice cream bar, small brownie, a lemon bar or some small something I have around the house only every once in a while. I basically just try to eat five times a day, about 300 calories at each meal and stay away from pre-packaged, processed foods as much as possible.

I'm also still taking my prenatal vitamins and plan to do so as long as I'm breastfeeding.

And that's it folks, just eating healthy and breastfeeding.

My milk supply has regulated well to Nolan's demand, I'm no longer suffering from any engorgement when he goes an extended period of time without nursing, and there's just no time to pump! Nolan's daytime naps are unpredictable and can range anywhere from 25 minutes to four hours, I never know when he's going to wake up and want to nurse and, because he's still refusing a bottle for the most part, I can't pump.

Unfortunately, there's just no time for working out right now though I am trying to find small ways to work things into my day, like alternating plie squats with calf raises while bouncing Nolan off to sleep. David and I are consumed with getting our home organized (like putting up the family calendar I just ordered), getting Emily prepared for Kindergarten (I'm waiting to get her backpack and lunch bag back from being embroidered and we are still lacking some school supplies), and getting us all on a very strict routine of getting up in the mornings to be out the door by 8:00am and in bed by 9:00pm. I'm hopeful that once Nolan is closer to four months old he'll be on a nap schedule and I can squeeze in a workout in the mornings while Emily is off at school.

David has been back at work full time with no days off in the past two weeks and life is good! We have hosted a few play dates here at home and play with the neighborhood kids in the front yard most afternoons. We have started leaving home a little more, just the three of us, now that Nolan is content to be awake, looking around, in his car seat; Pump It Up has open jump from 10-11:30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Emily has a Kindergarten Readiness class on Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30pm. But for the most part, we stay pretty close to home, playing "I, Spy", Uno, and catch (with a balloon) while I'm nursing, playing board games and baking any time Nolan is asleep, and trying to take a walk once a day (Nolan sleeps in my Ergo). Weekends are special time for David to take Emily swimming, to the park, or to the Aquarium and also for me, as I have been leaving David with Emily and Nolan for up to an hour at a time. Talk about exciting! I nurse Nolan and make sure he's good before I take off to run errands like going grocery shopping as well as to get a pedicure and do some shopping.