Kendall - 5.5 Month Update

Seriously....how fast is time flying by?! Kendall turned five months old on April 30, and is just growing up so quickly! I wanted to do this update closer to then, but she's already 5.5 months so I guess that's just how it goes. It seems like she became a lot more interactive in her 5th month of life. She babbles happily, and loudly, and loves when we acknowledge her and talk back. She studies her big sister all the time, and likes to be held by Avery now.

Avery also asks to hold her several times a day, so it's lucky Kendall is so easygoing. She is becoming a lot more "grabby" and she's great at holding things and even switching items between hands. She finally found her feet and loves to look at them and play with them. She's still so happy and just such an easy baby to figure out her needs.

Even transitioning her from being swaddled to no swaddle at bedtime and naps was a breeze, unlike her big sister. I was beginning to stress about it once she started rolling because I knew we couldn't swaddle her anymore. When we stopped swaddling Avery, it was very difficult because she would wake up and not be able to sooth herself back to sleep. However, I started putting Kendall in a breathable, wearable blanket with her arms free in the beginning of April, and she did great! She really didn't wake up and actually has now started sleeping longer again - going from about 8 pm to 6-6:30 am and eating, then right back down until 8 am, when her and Avery both get up. I still occasionally use the pacifier if she's being fussy before a nap, but she has a little lamb lovey (comfort object) and that seems to help her go to sleep easily.

She is mostly wearing 6 months size clothes, but can wear some 9 months things too. While she has her own, I do put her in a lot of Avery's old clothes. It's amazes me because I feel like Avery was just in them! The outfit she's wearing above was actually Avery's. It's good that we've had a warm spring because Avery wore most of these sizes in the summer.

Speaking of the weather, it's been nice to finally be able to take her outdoors and let her get some fresh air. Both of my kids love being outside, and so do I, so I love when the temperatures start to warm up, but we aren't in the dead heat of summer just yet.

A few more things about Kendall:

• Her hair started falling out, and she looks like she has a toupee/mullet combo...which only a baby can pull off as stylish!
• She can almost sit up on her own, and sits up really well supported.
• She finally likes tummy time and will reach for her toys by rolling/going on her side or tummy, and then going back onto her back...still her preferable position for playing.
• She is chewing on everything, and makes me think she's teething, but not showing too much pain yet, so who knows when her first teeth will cut. 
• She loves when I tickle her belly and has a very cute laugh.
• She is only in the 16th percentile for weight, but close to the 50th for height.
• She does not currently have the stranger anxiety Avery had at this age, and I'm so glad!
• She is still 100% on breast milk, and we'll be starting solids right around 6 months. She definitely watches us eat though, and is becoming more interested in food. 
• She started doing an adorable "fake cough" I can't seem to get enough of...I love it! She'll start coughing, then I'll cough back, and she'll give me a huge smile!

Kendall is just such a happy and "chill" baby, and I love her to pieces! I'm looking forward to what the summer will bring!

21-Day Fix

About 2 weeks ago I was contacted by a Beachbody coach to see if I was interested in the Beachbody program as either a participant or coach. Since running hasn't been working out for me very well, and I know my eating habits could use an overhaul, I decided to give the 21-day fix a try. My main concern before signing up was that I'm still breastfeeding Kendall, but I was told I could go up one calorie bracket, and other nursing moms have been successful. I figured I might as well give it a shot!

I signed up, and received all of my things on Thursday. My package included food containers, eating guidebook, 3 workout dvd's with about eight 30-minute workouts along with a 10-minute ab workout, and chocolate Shakeology (meal replacement drink) with lots of add-in ideas. I'm also part of a Facebook group which gives tons of support, ideas, recipes, and information to help you along. The Facebook group started a week before the actual program and gave lots of ideas about eating clean and grocery shopping, etc. I got really motivated and started eating clean for a few days before I received my containers. As soon as I got them, I started using them, even though the actual program didn't start until yesterday. Basically each container represents different foods - proteins, veggies, fruits, carbs, cheese, nuts, and a few teaspoons of fat (oil/nut butter.) I get a set number of portions of each container to use throughout the day, and the goal is to fill them with foods on a specified list, and it's really simple after you get the hang of it.

I have to say...so far I am loving this program! I was worried about going on a "diet" and I had already told myself if I was hungry, I would eat more because I didn't want to jeopardize my milk supply. However, I realized in just a few days, that this isn't so much of a diet, but more making sure that what you are eating every day is balanced for optimal nutrition. It's definitely changed my eating habits, and I've eaten more protein than I probably have ever eaten in my life! Using my running as an excuse, I kind of turned into a carboholic, and while I tried to eat vegetables, I definitely wasn't eating enough. I was also worried because there isn't much dairy on this program, but honestly, I haven't missed it too much in the week that I've been eating (relatively) clean. 

As far as my milk supply, it's better than ever, and probably the healthiest it's ever been for Kendall! I feel like a fabulous mom knowing that I'm doing my best to eat a well-rounded diet, and she's getting all the good nutrients from me. It's also having the domino effect of Travis and Avery eating healthier meals, because that's what I'm making! The only "cheats" that I'm allowing are a cup of coffee every morning with milk and sugar, which is down from my normal 3-4 cups per day, including a daily latte from Starbucks. I've been replacing my afternoon Starbucks fix with my Shakeology, and if I need caffeine, I can actually add iced black coffee to it...guilt free! I also had a beer on Friday night, but I'm going to really try to limit that for the next few weeks, or have a glass of wine a few nights...which I can sub for one of my carb containers. 

In just a week of eating clean, and using my containers for 5 days, I can already see a difference in my body (mostly my post-baby belly haha.) I am waiting to weigh myself for now, but I can tell that my clothes are already fitting better and I'm feeling like my old self again!

I did have a minor hiccup - I did my first official workout yesterday, and I figured the workouts would be the easy part for me. It went pretty well...as I expected, but it had a lot of new exercises I had never done. Later in the day, I stood up with Kendall after a nursing session, and felt shooting pain in my back...bad enough to have my husband come home early from work. We're pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my back. I limited my movements yesterday, and it's still sore today, but much better than yesterday. I'm probably not going to do my workout today, because I don't want to injure it anymore, but maybe I 'll do two tomorrow to catch up (we'll see.) I guess that's just something that happens sometimes when we get older...reminding me that I'm turning 33 in just a few short weeks!

I'll keep posting my thoughts and progress along this little journey, but so far I'm really pleased and hopeful that I'll see some great results!

Our April

Our last month has been an interesting one, and it's hard to believe it's already May! Kendall had her 4-month doctor appointment, and Avery had her 3-year appointment at the same time. I'm thankful for two healthy girls.

I, however, was not doing too well, and on the weekend after their doctor appointment, my breastfeeding issues came to a point where I almost gave up. I had been dealing with clogged ducts on and off for many weeks, and then all of a sudden, I was having bleeding issues too, and Kendall was ingesting a lot of blood. I was feeling really frustrated because it was painful to nurse, and I was sore between nursing sessions. Also, my "go to" to alleviate stress is to run, and running seemed to be causing some of the problems.

I spoke with a lactation consultant a few times, and also ended up going to my doctor to make sure there wasn't a more serious problem (which there wasn't.) I started taking a lecethin supplement several times a day and trying my best to avoid foods with a high saturated fat content. Both seemed to really help and after about a week I finally didn't have any clogged ducts! I stayed clog-free for almost 3 weeks until I tried running a few times again, which definitely does seem to cause problems, so I'm done running for a little while. Breastfeeding seems to be going well again now (knock on wood.)

In the meantime, Avery finished her first year of pre-school...which was actually mommy-and-me preschool. She had a great year, and I'm looking forward to when she goes three days a week next year. She helped me make lollipop flowers the night before to give to her friends on the last day. She also got her teacher a nice flower that she could plant outside this spring.

I also got all of my pictures together of her at school, along with all of the crafts she made throughout the year, and I made a nice scrapbook for her to keep. It was a good way to keep all of her things and not have them floating around our house or thrown away anytime soon, which leads me to my next point.

I have started working on Avery and Kendall's Baby books (finally.) I have partially worked on Avery's before, but I'm trying to finish hers and keep up with Kendall's. They take up a lot of time, which has been cutting into my blogging time, but I'm working on making time for both.

Hopefully I'll post more in May than I did in April...we'll see.