Harper is 6 weeks old already, that's just crazy. Boy time flies. I love how much more solid she is now and how she can pretty much support her neck. She is starting to smile at us too which is just golden. I love it.

The weather has been just beautiful lately here in these parts which is really helping with my mood and motivation. I was all set to do a 5 mile "long run" today, but unfortunately didn't realize the hubby was planning on leaving early today to go help his dad mow his lawn, so I didn't have enough time and only got to do 2 miles. I am going to attempt the long run tomorrow. I hope it goes well. I have only ran 3 miles at a time so far, but have walked 4 several times and on the days I run 3, I still walk the dogs, so I get about 5-6 miles in for that day. I think I can do 5, hopefully without too many walk breaks. I have no desire to run over 6 miles for awhile. There is a 10 mile race I want to do in July. I think I will stick with 6 miles for most of June and then try and get in one or two 8 milers before that 10 miler. The 10 miler is hella hard trail race and I totally plan to walk parts of it, so I'm really not sweating being "prepared" to run it.

Gary goes to work on Monday. So I will officially be on my own! I am a little scared b/c even though now I am doing the majority of the baby work, I could always hand the baby off to him if I really needed to get something done. Now I will have to learn to do it all with her. Oh well, at least he gets home from work between 3:30 -4, which is far better than 5 or 6. He's company allows true flex time so he can go in to work at 6:30. We have a lot on our plate next week too. Monday we are going to the zoo, Tuesday is breastfeeding group, Wednesday I am taking Harper up to my work to meet everyone, Thursday is new mom group and Friday Salty and I are trying out a babysitting run (I watch both kids while she runs and vice versa.) On top of that I hope to get to the gym for at least 2 Iron Pump classes. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend! I know I sure am, even though everyday is a holiday for me right now! My sister Tina and her husband Tim came to visit us this weekend, they stayed Fri and Sat night. Harper got to meet her aunt and uncle and she was especially smitten with Tim, check out this great picture! Priceless. I can't believe I got her smiling!

Exercise hasn't been going as well as I planned. I just haven't been making the time for it, so I started "over" on Sunday. I went out and ran 1.5 miles and did some abs and pushups. I got up this morning and ran 3 miles. Perfect weather. I just want to get to where I am consistently running 4-5 days a week even if I only do a mile. I am not worried about my overall mileage or pace until my weight is down about 20 lbs. At this weight, my knees hurt when I run, so I really can't push it. Gary goes back to work next week and Harper will be 6 weeks, so I can start going to the gym with her. My plan is to try and get to the gym at least 3 days a week for classes and run the rest of the week. For those of you with little ones, you know getting out of the house once a day is about as good as you can do. So I figure I will structure my week like this:

• Mon: Gym,
• Tues: Breastfeeding group or gym & run
• Wed: Gym
• Thurs: New moms group & run
• Fri: Gym or rest day
• Sat: Long run
• Sun: Gym or my rest day & run

For the days I go to the gym I want 2 of those to be Urban Iron classes which is an intense weight lifting class, tons of lunges, squats, pushups and abs. The other day or two will be yoga or spinning or the bootcamp class. If I do bootcamp, it can take place of one weekly run b/c you do a lot of sprints around the track, heck I guess spinning could take place of a run too since I am just focusing on losing weight right now.

Harper had her 1 month checkup and she is 9.5 lbs! Also, the doc told me to give her mylicon (6ml instead of 3) every 4 hours for 4 days to see if it helps. Before I was just giving it after feeding, but he wants to see if dosing it preventatively will help. Also, the swaddle has fallen out of favor already! Booo. I had such a nice week when that was working out. She spends half the night trying to break out of the sack! After an hour I give up and let her have her arms out. It's safe to say Harper hates to be swaddled, ugh. I am still going to try it for the first part of every night when she is most tired, hopefully sometimes I can trick her into sleeping swaddled. She did sleep 4 solid hours last night with her arms out. That's not too bad.

I have a lot swirling in my brain today, so this post will be all over the place.

First I can't believe I didn't blog that I ran 3 miles! 3 whole miles. It was the perfect weather and I was feeling good, so I "pushed" it a little bit. It was very slow, but gave me a lot of hope. I felt really good out there on that run along the neighboring tree lined mansion row. I felt like I was a runner and soon enough I would have my legs back. Not that I have ever been a great runner, but I just hope that I can consistently run 6 miles and one day be a back around a 9 min mile, instead of the 11ish I am right now. Sadly, that was last Sat and I've only been out to run one time since and ran 2 miles, but I have been on 2 -4 mile walks. I haven't been lifting much and that is going to be a tough habit for me to get into. I know good and well that if I want to get in shape quickly that I need to focus on weights and not the cardio. I think when G goes back to work it'll be easier for me to focus on weights b/c with him at work I can only go to the gym or do a DVD at home, the runs will have to be when he's home, until we are using the running stroller. I don't think I can use it until she's like 6 months old.... I need to look into that.

I have successfully swaddled Harper the past 4 nights and she has slept much better. Out of the 4 nights, she had 2 nights with a 5 hours stretch, one with a 6 and then the other was just 3. Just now she was lying next to me on her boppy lounger snoozing and she startled herself awake, poor thing.

The hospital I gave birth at has a weekly breastfeeding support group and a new moms group. For the past 2 weeks I have gone to both and I LOVE it. I am so thankful they offer these free groups. The breastfeeding group is ran by a lactation consultant and you can weigh your baby before and after you feed to see how much they are taking in. Harper is already over 9 lbs! She is chunking up nicely. The new mom group actually has some ladies in it I could see myself hanging out with. It's nice to have these free things to look forward to weekly.

Question for you moms. Harper wants to eat constantly, CONSTANTLY. I am lucky if she goes 2 hours and in the evening it's more like 45 mins. She eats so much that after awhile she can't even latch on b/c my milkers are too squishy for her to get a hold of. Did you guys go through this phase? When did you start getting tough and not feeding on demand and trying to make your little one wait longer? Sorry to my triathlon peeps who have to read my boob questions.

Harper - today is your one month birthday! I can't believe I've only had you in my life for like 30 days. I don't remember who I was before you came around. You are such a little monkey and your dad and I are enjoying every moment with you....well maybe not the ones where you scream bloody murder in the car seat! You have changed so much in the past month. You are starting to follow voices with your eyes and turn your head when someone says something, you can hold your head up like a champ and love to suck on your fist. You haven't been the best sleeper, but we are working on that. You love to eat and you eat a lot. You gained a lb in the last week and now weigh over 9lbs! You smile a lot, but it is mostly gas related and boooyy do you have some gas. We are glad to know that even 1 month olds find farts funny, we sure do. Your pretty red hair is growing like crazy and you are already rocking a baby mullet. I can't wait to see what the next few months hold.

I find that I am struggling a bit. I am a very regimented type A personality. I like to make a list and check off things as I get them accomplished. Of course my logical side knows that when you have an infant everything goes out the door, your job is simply to keep them alive. I adore my little Harper, but the kid doesn't sleep much. I am finding it ridiculously hard to get anything done. Take today for instance. Last night I put her down to sleep at 10pm, she was half asleep and woke up immediately when I put her in the crib. I let her fuss a little, rubbed her belly, but left her in the crib. She finally passed out around 11. She slept well until 3am. At this point I got her up and fed her, changed her diaper and put her back in her crib. She would not go back to sleep, after almost an hour of trying, I climbed into the bed in the nursery and slept with her on my chest. She slept on and off the rest of the morning and I finally peeled myself out of bed at around 9:30am after several more short feedings and little actual sleep. We had a date to meet our cousin for lunch at 11:30, so I knew i needed over an hour to get myself and her ready. I handed her off to Gary and got myself ready, then gave Harper a bath. She slept a bit while I was getting ready. We headed to Chipotle and she slept in the baby Bjorn the whole time we were there (until about 1), but I couldn't very well take a nap could I! So, when I got home she wanted to eat, and was wide awake. So, I got some things done on the computer and played with her. At around 3 she started acting tired, so I took her upstairs and put her in the cradle in our room, for 30 mins off an on she would fall asleep, wake up 5 mins later and fuss, then repeat. So, I never really fell asleep. When I finally did around 3:40, my dogs charged into the room and woke me up, so I gave up. From there I took one dog for a walk, but have one more dog to walk. Gary is working on the front porch, so he can't watch the baby. I need to walk Mushi, vacuum, make dinner and run. I just want to scream. I have to readjust my day. Starting tomorrow I am going to try and just peel myself out of bed at 6ish am. I don't get any real sleep those last few morning hours. So maybe if I get up and put Harper in the sling I can get whatever housework needs to be done done, then take a nap when she really goes back to sleep around 10ish.... If I have time left over I can get the dog walks over with. As far as my days go I think taking care of Harper is of course number 1, then walking the dogs, then getting a nap, then getting my workout in, then house work. I need to remember that and do things in that order.

In a few weeks Harper will be old enough to take to the gym daycare. I am not pumped about leaving her there, but the gym is small and they will come get me to change her diaper or if she gets fussy and I can leave her there for 2 hours! If I can time it with when she is sleepy, like early morning 9-10ish, then hopefully she will just sleep while I work out. Once a week my friend L and I are going to try and rotate houses. I will watch her son and Harper while she runs, and then she will watch them while I run. Hopefully that will not be too much trouble for us and we can keep that date up. I just want to get back in shape at this point. I don't care if I can run 10 miles or if I can run fast. I just care if I see a 12 or 13 at the beginning of my weight so my clothes fit.

Happy Harper

Wow time flies when you have a newborn. The days just seems to disappear yet I feel like I get nothing accomplished. Good times... I did make it out to a breastfeeding group on Tuesday and a new moms group on Thursday. I enjoyed both & plan to go back.

Harper is doing good. We are still having night time issues, although last night she slept a glorious 5 hours straight, but I won't get my hopes up that that will be the trend. She is getting cuter every day and more aware. She is very good at holding her neck and head up and she has learned how to cry....but reserves it mostly for her car seat. She does not like to be confined! Strap the girl in if you want to hear her cry. The one thing that she is doing that I hope is just a phase is eating constantly. It seems like she wants to feed every hour and I worry that she is starting to use me as a comfort pacifier. Those of you who breastfeed, do you feed your baby every single time they seem to want it? I've tried to soothe her other ways and it never works and she does eat when I finally feed her.

I started making more of an effort to work out this week, although I still struggle to fit it in even though i am home all day. I ran a mile twice this week and plan to later today. I am able to do it w/o stopping, but hate that it feels so tough...I have also been doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred workout and level 1 (of 3)kicks my butt. I have a lot of work to do...sigh. Weight is still stuck, hopefully adding in these workouts will help.

Speaking of Jillian, how great did the Biggest Loser contestants look! And the Lost finale was amazing, I hate that I have to wait until 2010 to see how it all ends.

Need some advice moms out there. Harper is a good sleeper, during the day....but at night for the past week it's been a different story and it's killing me. I get up to feed her, she falls asleep, usually after about 20-30 mins of feeding. I sit in the chair and rock her for a few mins, and then I attempt to transfer her to the cradle. Usually she will go down for just a few mins, but then she'll wake up and fuss and carry on for like an hour before she finally falls asleep. Usually her eyes aren't open. If they are open, I usually pick her back up until they are closed again. I've tried rocking her, rubbing her, leaving her alone, etc, but none of it seems to make any difference. I am starting to wonder if she is having belly troubles b/c a lot of time she will work out a few farts as she grunts and carries on in her cradle. So my question for you ladies is, when your baby was this young, did they always seem to be kicking and grunting around working a fart/poop after they ate? I am just worried she's having digestion problems. During the day she is rarely laid right back down after she eats, but at night of course she is. She very rarely cries when I put her down and if I hold her or lay her next to me in bed she doesn't fuss nearly as much. She is pooping a few times a day and its normal, so its not like she's constipated.

i'm sitting at my desk holding Harper in my arms (well across the desk, her head leaning on my arm) after she had a bath. She really likes the water I think, she doesn't really fuss. I wash her in the sink, she sits in a big sponge with a cut out, it works well; I decided to avoid a baby bathtub, no where to put it. Here's hoping she doesn't poop/pee on me as I let her dry out. I feel so bad that their little junk sits shut up in a diaper all day, so try and give her naked time at least once a day. I just nursed as well, so am enjoying a half of a nice local unfiltered micro brew beer, it's been a long day! But a very nice one.

I got my hair cut today. I really like my hairdresser and the other people that work there (CUt on Lee rd), so it's always more of a social visit. The cut turned out cute (just got a few inches trimmed off and more of a bob) and I walked home from the salon, it's about 1.5 miles. Okay, I meant to walk, but decided to try a really slow jog. It felt okay. I manged to go about a half mile straight, then ran/walked the rest of the way b/c I got a side stitch. Boy I have a long way to go. I got home and Harper ended up sleeping a 5 hours stretch between feedings (she just grubbed to make up for it) and I laid on the couch watching Rob & Big with her on my chest. I love Rob & Big, I wish I could be best friends with them. I am definitely watching more tv than I should be! I need to get a book. On that note, how funny are the AT&T rollover min commercials? They make me laugh every time. Also, the new Sonic one with the middle aged women in the car eating sundaes, that is laugh out loud funny(yeah let's boil some eggs or something!).

Harper's awake moments are definitely becoming longer. She has 2-3 periods a day where she is up for a few hours at a time. I need to get some more videos. Her new thing is to grab my hair and put it in her mouth and then make a disgusted face, it's really cute. SHe loves my hair.

Tomorrow Harper is 2 weeks old! On one hand I can't believe she's already that old and on the other I feel like I have had her forever. She is just such an easy baby, she gives us a 5-6 hours stretch of sleep at night, she took to breastfeeding just fine, she never cries, she loves just staring at us. It's been a lot of fun. I have been a little tired, but not the horrible sleep deprivation I imagined. We took her for a weight check today and she is up to 7lbs 6 oz! She does however seem to have her first cold :( Lots of snot coming out of her little nose, I hate that! I can't believe how much I love the little monkey.

So as far as me 2 weeks post partum, I feel pretty darn good. I thought it would be harder than this. I have been walking the dogs 1-2 miles a day. I am not really supposed to do much exercise until I get cleared at my 6 week appt in June. But starting tomorrow I am going to work in some light calisthenics each day, you know lunges, squats, push ups, upper body weights. In another week or so I may just hit the gym and do some light cardio on the bike or ET, nothing major I promise. My stomach, if I suck it in, is pretty much gone, other than the spare tire, which is not as bad as I thought it would be. I can't wait to be able to do crunches. I am down 25 lbs from my highest pregnancy weight and have about the same to lose. I thought I'd be famished, but I'm really not very hungry, that will likely change I am sure.