Tag: Parent Life

PPB Update/ Baby News

I started off determined to stick to a primarily plant-based (PPB) lifestyle. I had meals planned, groceries purchased and was off to a great start. I slowly became forgetful, thoughtless then down right turned off by anything that wasn’t tacos and french fries. Alcohol, even my precious red wine, seemed unbearable. Well a few days later I figured out why. I’M PREGNANT!!!

I won’t know the gender until my husband reveals it to me because I want to be surprised like I was with our son but this time I haven’t given him a timeline. Being a great husband he agreed but said it might not be the same day he finds out. I’m fine with it because I already have the boy I hoped for so any additional babies are a wonderful bonus.

Pregnancy Highlights:

  • I haven’t gained any weight
  • Food aversions change daily sometimes even meal by meal
  • Nausea is still a thing depending on what baby decides
  • I’m exhausted way more then with my son
  • Eating feels like a chore
  • No swelling!!! this was a problem with my previous pregnancy
  • Sleeping sucks because our son still likes to sleep in our bed
  • Despite everything listed above, I often forget I’m pregnant
  • Due to the things above, this baby will have less things written and more videos

PPD Goals:

  • Return to PPD as soon as my appetite improves
  • Eat chicken and seafood until after delivery
  • RESEARCH how to switch to PPD the healthy way i.e. making sure to get enough protein from plant/ nut sources
  • Use my treadmill especially when I feel like eating all the meats

Convertible Crib

I finally did it! I converted his crib to a toddler bed. The link to my video is below along with a picture that should’ve been included in the video but my phone died.

Helpful notes for the Storkcraft Portofino 4 in 1 crib with changer:

  1. Check step 11 (crib to day bed) rather than going straight to step 12 (crib to toddler bed)
  2. Dust the crib BEFORE putting everything back together
  3. You can order any missing parts from the company. Make sure they send everything you ordered within a day or two of receiving your items
  4. Keep instructions and all parts together for future conversions😀

March Update

Well things went south… Details would be boring so here are the highlights 🙂

Parent Life

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  • breastfeeding beyond one
  • trying solids
  • teething
  • tantrums
  • clingy mommy only times

Food

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  • too much so I’ll show the healthy ish ones and avoid pics of pasta, buttery shrimp, fried stuff, cookies and muffins… (avoids eye contact)

Life Changes

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  • Weight: 230.2lbs
    • it is 6:38pm PST and I’ve been drinking lots of water but it’s still bad…
  • Health/ Fitness: exercised 4 out of 10 days (3/26 – 4/4)
    • big accomplishment considering I haven’t been this consistent in years!
  • Note: I was going to write “before pics” as the caption but I already started the journey so these were rightfully captioned “IP (in progress) pics”

Self Care & Balance

Life happened and I wasn’t being balanced. I haven’t been on the diet in weeks, was eating everything in sight (thanks Pinterest not so healthy food pins) and my weight showed it. As of Sunday March 26th, 2017, I stayed awake (son still wakes 2+ times per night), drank coffee possibly ate breakfast then prepared to walk. I didn’t let my son getting back up stop me. I dressed him in his track suit and strapped him into his stroller and off we went. This started a chain reaction which included exercising intentionally, weekly pampering, drinking more water  and eating meals with more attention to health. For now life seems to be all over the place but those are little things I can do no matter what.

What I learned:

  • Don’t forget about yourself
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff
  • Appreciate the present even if it isn’t ideal
  • As long as you’re alive you can change things but it is up to you if it changes for good or for bad

Baby Book Expectations

What I said:

  • I need a baby book
    • reasoning – it’ll help me keep track of all of his firsts
  • I love this one; I’ll add it to my registry
  • Yay I have it!
    • I’ll fill it out regularly

What I did:

  • Brings to hospital
    • forgets it exists because baby
  • Pulls out once during unusually quiet moment
    • imagines all the cool things I’ll be able to fill in
  •  Fast forward to present
    • rushes to fill everything in
    • extremely thankful for pictures and videos that have a date 🙂
      • haven’t actually printed any of the pictures to put in book…

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What I learned from this experience:

  • I don’t (didn’t) need a book
  • pictures and videos on cell phones make up for the book
  • I haven’t printed pictures in years so what made me think a book would change that
  • I’ve forgotten lots of stuff so some things only have the month
  • I don’t check it every time he hits a milestone

To all of you first time parents who might be considering a baby/memory book ask yourself these questions before purchasing one or adding it to your registry:

  • Will I remember to fill it out
    • most start off with basic info and hand/ foot prints
  • Am I honestly going to print out accompanying photos
    • do you have a printer at home or will you need to have them printed elsewhere
  • What am I going to do with it later
    • Will I keep it in a box filled with other keepsakes for that child
    • Do I plan on giving it to them when they’re old enough
      • Will they care
      • What will I do with it if they don’t want it

With that said I plan on finishing his entire book and apologizing to future children because I doubt I’ll do this again… I hope this is helpful to someone who is considering adding one to their registry or buying one.