Eat, Move, Rest

Eat, Sleep, Move

Our mommy lives are always going to be VERY busy. We need to keep up with little people that have unlimited energy. Actually, we work hard to keep our babies healthy so they do have energy for physical and brain power. It just makes sense that we do the same thing. Here's what I do to for my energy levels.

Eat

After T was born, I had some serious explaining to do. I'd gained almost forty five pounds during my pregnancy. Because of the Addison's Disease and being gluten free, gaining and losing weight has always been difficult for me. For T's first three months, I ate the same way I did when I was pregnant. Cravings turned in to emotional eating because of the stress of having a newborn. I gained a bit more on top of my pregnancy weight. When T hit his four month milestone, I threw out all the junk food in the house. This wasn't easy. I'm a junk food junky. I salivate over potato chips and love gummy sugary candy. I also love soda. The only way I get caffeine is by drinking full-strength Coke. But it's not practical for my life anymore.

I started eating only healthy option foods and didn't worry so much about dieting. I chose Coke-Zero, which took some getting used to. I filled my grocery cart up with fruits and was proud to walk through the junk food aisle without dropping anything in my cart. Then I slowly started eating less and less until I got to my pre-pregnancy daily intake. I've lost almost thirty pounds in two months.

I don't particularly care what shape I am these days. M and T love me the way I am and, frankly, so do I. But with fifty extra pounds, I wouldn't be able to keep up with a crawling or walking child. And I'd have to live in my maternity clothes forever.

My son NEVER stops moving. He's always squirming and wiggling his way across the floor and his body is only idle when he's in a deep sleep. I still need to eat a lot of food to keep up with him, but they are all healthy choices. I even still eat chocolate, just dark chocolate – and it's usually a once-in-a-while treat. Key word = usually. :s

Move

I HATE exercising. I know 'hate' is a strong word but I friggin' HATE it. Mommyhood made me realize that being healthy is more important than it ever was before. T is certainly not going to be happy with a mommy who takes him to the playground and then parks her lazy ass on the bench to watch.

Since T never stops moving, I figured I should keep moving too. I've decided to start by walking. I live in a great neighborhood that has everything I need within walking distance. There's really no point in taking the car half a block to pick up some fruit. If I'm being honest, every walk I have to take, I go kicking and screaming. I'd RATHER take the car, but I have to convince myself that there's no point. After I walk, I always feel glad that I went because I'm rejuvenated – even invigorated. Those are big bonus words for any mommy. I'm hoping, in the next month, to upgrade to jogging.

Rest

Sleeping/Napping is a very important part of my day. When T goes down for a nap, and I'm tired, I'll put him in the bed with me and we'll sleep for two hours. If I'm not tired, I'll lay down in a quiet room and watch a movie or read a book. As long as I'm resting, I know I'll feel refreshed when T wakes up. I try not to let the 'To-Do' list nag when T's sleeping. If I start cleaning the playroom or tweeting while T is sleeping, I'll completely miss my opportunity for resting. In some cases, I start to resent T because I didn't get a nap when really it was my own fault. So I like to stay refreshed for T.

I go to bed when T goes to bed. I chose a ten o'clock bedtime for both of us. T sleeps from ten until four, has a bottle at four, and goes back to sleep until seven or eight a.m. I'm pretty lucky that he sleeps well at night.

I use a routing for bedtime. T gets a bath, a walk around the block with daddy, and a full bottle fed to him in the dark before bedtime. The bath is his cue that it's time to wind down. By the time I get to the 'dark feed', his eyes are pretty squinty. I'm hoping to start a different routine for nap times. Right now, T's nap times are all over the place but he seems to get tired and fussy at the same times during the day.

The routines and habits will always change, but the main life elements don't. I need to eat, move, and rest to be at my best. Being at my best for T is all I ever want.