Chasing My Joy

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Archives for August 2018

August 29, 2018

Emerald Catherine | 4 Months

I can’t believe how much this little girl has stolen my heart, she is so sweet and cuddly. Her personality is so different from what I remember Cannon being like at this age. Emerald is very sweet and sensitive, you have to earn her trust but once you do she will give you the best smiles and looks at you like you are the best thing in the entire world. Cannon was much more outgoing, he would give away smiles to everyone and was fiercely independent. It’s so fun to already see so many differences in these two special kiddos.

At four months Emerald is 25.25 inches long (83% although doctor said she is 94%) and 14 lbs 13oz (64%). Just like Cannon she is very tall.

EAT

Not much has changed in terms of eating for Emerald. We are mostly still breast feeding and supplementing with formula about 4 oz a day. Our pediatrician suggested we wait until six months to introduce food to Emerald at her 4 month appointment so we are going to go with her suggestion and start Baby Led Weaning in October.

SLEEP

Sleep is still going pretty well for Emerald. We have gotten into a good grove of going down for the night in her own bedroom at the same time as Cannon at seven. Most nights she sleeps well until four or five in the morning. Yes it’s an early morning but I am counting my blessings that we aren’t up every 2-3 hours to feed.

she is also starting to get into a nap schedule and napping more in her crib.

GROW

Emmy is doing so well on all of her developmental milestones, at her 4 month appointment she was ahead of all milestones. We are extra excited since we had a little scare with her eyesight at 2 months.

PLAY

So many fun new things this month for our family! Emmy got to cheer for Grammy at a triathlon, I am certain that Emmy’s support is what helped my mom win her age group.

We then packed up half the things we own and headed to Oregon to celebrate my Dad’s 70th birthday. Last minute we decided to skip the flights we had paid for and drive instead. It’s a complicated story, but it mainly centers around our dog. It wasn’t easy driving a baby, toddler and bulldog but the kids were SO good I was seriously shocked. we drove overnight so the kids would sleep in the car and stopped a lot at parks to play and eat. Emmy and I also became pros at nursing in stopped cars and park benches.

The trip was really tiring but I really loved showing Emmy some of my favorite parts of Oregon. We spent time in Portland, Cannon Beach and Sunriver (near Bend).

Emmy’s first time putting her toes in the sand.

It was so fun to take Cannon back as well, we visited when he was just two and a half months so this time he really got to enjoy the beach.

It was a good day

We also spent a lot of time with my Mom and Dad on this trip and that was so helpful for Emerald to really bond with them. She loves them so much.

This girl is getting all the snuggles from Grandma while on vacation .

It was such a fun busy month but it also marks the end of maternity leave and time to go back to work. I am feeling pretty emotional about it and want time to slow down!

Past Monthly Updates

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

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August 27, 2018

Weekly Rundown – First Week of Fall Semester 2018

After two weeks out of town it’s been a bit of a shock to come back home and jump back into working and a new semester. I will admit that I was a bit overwhelmed adjusting to working and getting two kids ready for the day but hopefully we will find a good rhythm soon. It feels good to start to get into a schedule and start thinking about what races I want to train for!

———–

Monday: I had planned to go to spin class in the morning but my gym was closed for the week so I took a rest day instead.

Tuesday: First day back to work, I left my run to the evening after the kids went to bed (thanks summer for still being light out). 3 easy miles with some strides thrown in during the last mile.

Dinking around taking photos before doing the “work” of my run (10×30 seconds fartlek efforts with 90 seconds recovery) my body didn’t feel great, but it was perfect weather for a run and it feels oh so good to have it done.

Wednesday: Early morning strength training and easy spin on the trainer. It felt so weird to be back on my TT bike.

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: 4 miles with 10 by 30 second intervals. I didn’t feel great on this run but having intervals kept things interesting.

Saturday: 3 easy miles pushing the babe

This little babe was so excited to go on my run with me today this run was sandwiched between fartlek efforts yesterday and tomorrow’s long run so it was just an easy three miles. It’s not my favorite to push the BoB up the hills in my neighborhood but it’s so worth it to hang out with my girl.

Sunday: Long run Sunday only clocks in at 6 miles these days but you have to start somewhere and this is just the begining.

It was hot and I was tired from 2am and 4am wake ups (thanks 4 month sleep regression) but I was stoked to run further than I have in a year…..progress.

Happy Running Everyone!

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August 22, 2018

Breastfeeding Doesn’t Help Me Lose Weight

I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked if I am breastfeeding my baby, here in Boulder there is a lot of mom-shaming if you aren’t. I actually got the feeling they might not let me leave the hospital with my baby if I wasn’t planning to breastfeed her (not REALLY but there was a lot of pressure).

When I respond that, yes, I am breastfeeding my baby often times the response is oh great, the weight will just FALL off. When this is said I can’t help but feel my eye twitch and blood pressure rise a little. This is decidedly not the case for me and many other women I know. Serena Williams has talked openly with her struggles with weight loss and breastfeeding. Here is another article explaining some of the reasons.

It was harder the first time when breastfeeding wasn’t helping me lose weight and in fact seemed to impede my weight loss attempts. I had heard for so long how it helps so much and how the baby weight would just melt off. I did struggle with my supply with Cannon I worked hard to get my supply up enough to feed Cannon and have a freezer supply for him for when I went back to work. But no matter how I ate or exercised the weight barley budged. By the time Cannon was 10 months old my supply was drying up and Cannon didn’t care too much about nursing, he was happy to take a bottle. I was emotional about stopping, there was guilt about not making it to the one year mark but I had a freezer stash and it just wasn’t working for us anymore.

Breastfeeding

All the pumping…..

The one lucky thing was that I didn’t have any trouble weaning, we just stopped and my supply dried up, no need to slowly taper our feedings. That’s when things shifted, my hormones changed, I had much more energy and the weight literally did fall off. I was able to run further and I felt better than I had in months.

Happy boy, didn’t mind taking a bottle or his mommy running the Colorado Marathon

This time around is a little easier, I have tempered my expectations. Again the weight is not falling off but I don’t expect it to until we stop breastfeeding.

I did some research and found that the most important macros for creating breastmilk are protein and fat. After my research and talking to my Midwife I decided to try cutting out all processed carbs and raising my fat and protein percentage.

It’s not my easy but it does seem to be working, even if I have to fight for every pound. After eating this way for a month I have lost about ten pounds and my milk supply has stayed the same. I also have been increasing my exercise volume so I try to focus on lots of healthy fats and staying hydrated.

First real trail run since having the babe. It kicked my butt and lit my soul on fire.

My point in writing this is not to complain, I know how lucky I am to have had two healthy babies and to be able to nurse them at all. My reason for writing this is to hopefully shed some light on women’s’ different experiences so maybe one new mama won’t be so caught off guard like I was. Everyone has a different experience, for some women the weight does fall off and I have even heard stories from women where they put weight back on when they stop nursing, Serena explains that she couldn’t lose weight at all, for me it just makes it that much harder. And for now, that’s okay.

 

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August 16, 2018

Emerald Catherine | 3 Months

In typical second child fashion this post is really late, but here is a little update on our princess peanut at 3 months old:

3 months old, baby, baby girl

At two months Emerald is 24 inches long (73%) and 13lbs 11oz (70%)

EAT

The eat portion of these updates will likely get pretty boring until 6 months when we start introducing solids. We plan to do baby led weaning like we did with Cannon. For now we are still breastfeeding with the occasional supplement as needed 2-4 oz a day.

 

SLEEP

Sleep is getting better and better. Little girl is still sleeping in a cot in our room but is sleeping 6-10 hours straight. She also goes right back to sleep after eating if she does wake up over night so I can’t be more thankful for that.

Napping is still mostly on the go and not really predictable hoping to try to get her sleeping in her crib on more of a schedule in the next month or so.

Sleeping in the stroller

baby girl, baby

And asleep in her car seat…

GROW

Emmy is doing a great job in tummy time holding her head up and flipping to her sides from her back. She has flipped from tummy to back a couple times on accident but you can tell she doesn’t really know how she did it yet.

At Emmy’s two month appointment the doctor was concerned about Emmy’s lack of eye contact. It wasn’t anything too concerning but she recommended we take her to pediatric eye specialist just to be sure there wasn’t anything wrong. In the couple weeks between appointments she really started to focus and smile a lot but we took her in to be safe. Everything looked fine and we were so relieved.

Baby girl was an ANGEL at her eye appointment and her eyes look great! She’s a little farsighted and has a slight stigmatism but that is normal for her age. Very happy to get a good report.

Emmy’s favorite thing right now is assisted standing.

PLAY

This last month we had some fun events. First Emmy helped Cannon celebrate his second birthday at his Wild Things party.

And the 4th of July

Kisses from Humphry brother.

Past Monthly Updates

1 Month

2 Months

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Baby Tagged: Baby, Baby Update

August 1, 2018

August Run Streak

Well hello August!

Running, sunrise, trail

So much is going on this August, so much change, and so much to throw me out of my routine (on which I thrive). To help me stay committed to my health and fitness goals I have decided to do a run streak for the month of August. With a bunch of travel and heading back to work it would be so easy to let exercise slip off the priority list, having the extra motivation of keeping a running streak alive will help a bit.

Run, Running, trail running, trail, sunrise

I have done short run streaks in the past and they have been helpful to get back into go habits with running. I specifically decided to go with a running streak because I won’t have access to my usual spin classes while traveling for two weeks but I can take my running shoes with me.

I know some people don’t like the idea of run streaks because they can promote unhealthy habits or push people to develop injuries. I feel comfortable with doing a streak now for a few reasons:

  • A month is not that long of a time
  • I am not brand new to running, I have had some time to come back to running after giving birth and have ran a lot in the past.
  • I am not requiring much to keep the streak alive, just 10 minutes or a mile counts and walking is allowed

I will be posting about my daily runs on instagram and Strava if you want to follow along. Ever tried a run streak? How long did you streak for?

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Filed Under: Running Tagged: run streak, running

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Happy Earth Day 🌎 we hope you find time to go e Happy Earth Day 🌎 we hope you find time to go enjoy nature and do just a little bit more to protect this planet we call home ❤️ #earthday #protectourplanet
Birthday week continues with a trip to the aquariu Birthday week continues with a trip to the aquarium. The kiddos loved it and it was a nice break from the snow 🥶 #denveraquarium #familyadventures
Dinosaur National Monument was a great place to vi Dinosaur National Monument was a great place to visit for Emmy’s birthday adventure. She loved all the dinosaur bones and hikes. Our baby is now officially three #emmyisthree #dinosaurnationalmonument #familyadventures
Last day of being two was epic. Happy Birthday Swe Last day of being two was epic. Happy Birthday Sweet girl, you are a dream come  true 💗 #Emmyisthree #happybirthday #dreamcometrue
Lunch with a view 😍 #familyadventures #birthday Lunch with a view 😍 #familyadventures #birthdaytrip #emmyisthree
Birthday adventures are the best 🥰 #dinosaurnat Birthday adventures are the best 🥰 #dinosaurnationalmonument #familyadventures
We like to hike! #1000hoursoutside #familyadventur We like to hike! #1000hoursoutside #familyadventures #52hikechallenge #gohike
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter (if you cel I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter (if you celebrate 🐰 you can’t tell behind the masks but the kids were ecstatic to go to an egg hunt.
✅ adventure ✅time outside ✅family time ✅d ✅ adventure 
✅time outside
✅family time
✅dirty hands
✅full hearts 

Spring break well spent! Where will we be off to next?!? 

#familyadventures #1000hoursoutside #52hikechallenge #springbreak
The kids getting to find and touch real dinosaur f The kids getting to find and touch real dinosaur fossils was such an amazing experience for us. 🦕 Now the journey home. Sad that it’s over but very excited to see family and friends. #trailthroughtime #familyadventures #springbreak
Our plans had to change due to snow and low temps Our plans had to change due to snow and low temps in Bryce Canyon and Zion. We spent the day enjoying Goblin Valley State Park. We loved this stop so much. The best natural playground for the kids! We are sad to miss a couple stops on our trip but that just saves something new to come back for! Already dreaming of our next visit to Utah 💗 #familyadventures #goblinvalleystatepark #springbreak
Capitol Reef doesn’t get as much press as other Capitol Reef doesn’t get as much press as other national parks in Utah but we loved it. Great hikes for kids and amazing views! #capitolreefnationalpark #familyadventures #utahsmighty5  #springbreak
My favorite two little campers 🏕 on our way to My favorite two little campers 🏕 on our way to Capitol Reef! Anyone been? Suggestions on things we must do? #springbreak #familyadventures #capitolreefnationalpark
A real life wishing tree. The kids loved our after A real life wishing tree. The kids loved our afternoon hike at  White Rim Overlook Trail. It was nice being in the park later in the day with less crowds. We didn’t get to see as much as we wanted so we are headed back in the morning for one more hike before heading out to Capitol Reef National Park. #canyonlandsnationalpark #springbreak #familyadventure
The views here in Canyonlands National Park can’ The views here in Canyonlands National Park can’t be beat but my heart is at home with my family and friends. News of another mass shooting so close to home is heart breaking. Things must change.
A magical day in Arches National Park! We loved it A magical day in Arches National Park! We loved it all and Cannon hiked the entire hike to Delicate Arch that is rated difficult 🤩 #familyadventures #springbreak #archesnationalpark
Utah trip day 2 Fruita > Moab. Woke up to amazing Utah trip day 2 Fruita > Moab. Woke up to amazing views 🤩 feeling grateful and excited for our adventure #familyadventure #utahsmighty5
First night camp site #notbad #utahsmighty5 #sprin First night camp site #notbad #utahsmighty5 #springbreak
Enjoying our blizzard conditions stay at home day. Enjoying our blizzard conditions stay at home day. Gotta love Colorado in the spring ❄️ #snowday
Weekend not wasted #1000hoursoutside Weekend not wasted #1000hoursoutside
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