hiking

Since Andy and I have lived in Colorado, we have looked forward to every summer. The time off is nice, but what we really enjoy is taking advantage of the outdoors. Camping, hiking, and just overall exploration of the great state that we live in.

This summer we have been a little down in the dumps as it is a lot more challenging to do the activities that we so enjoy. We already knew it would be extra work with a little one, but Calvin's condition makes it extremely hard to get any sort of mountain fix in this awesome state. Of course, I have been doing some research and looking into the elevations of each and every city and campground in the state and have found some potential spots that we will hopefully be able to check out at some point this summer.

Recently I was able to scratch my mountain itch just on the surface. My active mama friend, Carlie, introduced me to an awesome Meetup group of moms that go hiking with their babies once a week. I was a little nervous about this because Calvin cannot go above 8,000 feet, which definitely limits our options. But, the other day, they did a hike that was near Chatfield Reservoir and it fit our requirements. Still, I was quite nervous and brought plenty of extra oxygen and all of the "necessities" for the little guy.

So, we headed out on Waterton Canyon trail, which is a super wide path that made it easy for our stroller and all the baby goods to come with us as we blazed the trail. There were about 9 women with their babies. I was super impressed because many of the mothers were only 6-10 weeks out from giving birth! Thinking back to my condition at that point, I was definitely not in the mindset or physical shape to do a hike.

We started out in our new forward facing position in the stroller with all of our toys in position. He's either tired in that picture or already bored with hiking! Similar to my Stroller Strides class, this hike was a great chance to be with other moms and talk about our kids. I have realized in my 7 months of being a parent that this kind of community is quite important and necessary for my sanity and well-being...you could say this is a little thing, but I will get to that later!

We were trucking right along on the path, actually going at a pretty good pace, when all of a sudden we met these little fellas...

Colorado is amazing! Even in a lower elevation, there are beautiful landscapes, flowing water, and furry creatures that you are able to enjoy!

We made it a total of 5 miles by the end of it and were both extremely hot and exhausted. It was a great time and we will definitely do it again sometime soon. The only tragedy was that somewhere along the route, Calvin's bunny fell out and is now gone forever. Maybe we will have to go back and hang up some of these signs...

In the end, we had a fabulous morning enjoying the outdoors, chatting with amazing mamas, and smiling at some adorable new babies (and a few older ones). These are all little things that I relish about summer vacation and am so thankful that I have another month to enjoy!

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mobile child, seriously?!

Most of the time, I find myself extremely anxious for each new milestone that is on the horizon for Calvin. I see older babies and think, "I can't wait until Calvin is able to do ___. That will be so fun!" I think it is a healthy anxious though, rather than a nervous anxious that Calvin isn't doing something. I remember these thoughts going through my head when his older friends started smiling, rolling over, waving, etc.

The one milestone that I have thought, "Maybe we could wait a bit on this one," is crawling. Seriously, this is something that changes EVERYTHING. I can leave the room for a minute and know that Calvin will, for the most part, be in the same spot that I left him. But, once he is crawling, he could be in the kitchen from the living room in the blink of an eye. Don't get me wrong, I am excited about this milestone just like all of the others. I just didn't think it would come this fast.

It all started a few weeks ago...Calvin always loves being in his exersaucer so that he can stand, turn around in circles, and bang his toys together. It looks something like this...

A few weeks ago, he wanted to spend less time standing and more time on the floor. Once he got to the floor, he would barrel roll his way across the living room rug to get from one place to another. He was fascinated and obsessed with picking a direction and getting there as fast as he could and by any means he was able. His farm and the animals in it became his new favorite toy.

One day, and for several more days after that, he got up on all fours. He was super wobbly and you could tell he wanted to just take off in the direction of whatever toy was in front of him (or piece of lint). Usually, he would get mad that his arms and legs weren't cooperating and either plop back on to his stomach or do a side sit situation.

Today, all of this changed. For him and us. Check this out!

Even though I could have handled Calvin waiting a bit before mastering this milestone, it is a true proud moment to see it happen and marvel at the process he took in order to get to this point. This process of growing and taking risks is a little thing that is one of the joys of parenthood. Now, we better start child proofing the house because he is a curious little guy and it won't be long before he is cruising through the house, grabbing everything in sight. Yikes!

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the s-word, not to be confused with sh*@

Once again, I am faced with something that, in my head, I thought would go so smoothly. And then it didn't. I had expectations that weren't met and now I'm sad about it. Most of the time Sometimes parenthood is so hard.

Why do I keep doing this to myself? I was coasting right along, feeling like things were "normal", and then I got let down...again. I did my research, I talked with friends, I met with Calvin's doctors, and I was ready to start Calvin on solid foods (s-word) right after he turned 6 months.

The first time, we tried some rice cereal and he did not let me put the spoon in his mouth. He ignored my airplane noises, my distractions, and pursed his lips every time I got close to his mouth. "This is just the first day," I thought and tried again the next day. Same thing. I tried again and again and again, all ending in the same result.

It has now been almost a month since we started this process and it has not progressed at all what-so-ever. I did some more research and talked with friends and right now I just feel so defeated and frustrated. I mean, I've cried about it like 5 times...just today. That is not ok.

I know that much of my stress and anxiousness about Calvin and food comes from all of his doctors being concerned that he is under weight. Every time we get him on the scale in their office, it is never as much as they would like him to be. They all mention the dreaded feeding tube if he continues to not gain weight, which of course makes me cry every single time those words are mentioned. His doctors must think I am a basket case (it could also be from my multiple weekly emails, but who can be sure)!

So, I did some more research and lots of thinking today. Whenever I have stressed out about something and cried about it, it is because it doesn't feel right. I am confident enough in parenthood to trust my gut at this point. I feel like I know my child very well and my intuitions are screaming at me at this point to listen to them.

With all of that said, we are packing up the spoons for now and heading in the direction of Baby Led Weaning or Baby Led Solids. Calvin seems to want his independence to feed himself, so we are going to give it to him (still feeding him super high calorie bottles to boost that weight up). We are going to take friends' advice and make it fun. We are going to get messy. We are going to try everything. What we are not going to do is stress about it and there will be no more tears from me (maybe).

A little thing I need to remember is to trust my momma intuitions. Even though I have only been at it for 6 months and 28 days, I know a thing or two and I definitely know my son. I am still hoping that one day not too far in the future, this picture will be of a messy, food-filled face instead of this pristine, clean one.

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calvin lately...

The summer has been amazing so far. We are having a BLAST! Here are some snapshots to give you a glimpse of what we have been up to lately...

//hanging out during stroller class//

//meeting friends//

//hanging out in just a diaps//

//denver aquarium// 

//first baseball game// 

//pool time//

//playing with new toys//

//showing off teeth// 

//starting to eat solids...kind of//

I am loving this time that I get to spend with Calvin and it sort of feels like a "do-over".  I struggled with the last month of my maternity leave and felt like I got gypped with hospital stays, oxygen, and overall worrying for our little guy.  The time Calvin and I get this summer is a little thing that I will cherish FOREVER.   

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getting fit...

Any woman who has had a baby knows that it can be extremely difficult to get back into shape after being pregnant and going through labor.

First, there is the sleep deprivation and literally not enough time in a day to get even essential chores completed (daily hygiene also goes out the window). Then, there is the pain and discomfort that comes with everyday movements like walking or sitting. To top it off, you are desperately trying to figure out how to keep a new human alive. I won't even mention trying to navigate your relationship with your husband, family, and friends, which also adds to the delaying of any semblance of a workout routine.

A couple things have happened in my life recently that have allowed me to welcome fitness back with open arms.

The most obvious is that I am on summer vacation and I have loads of time to fill each day. Yes, taking care of Calvin fills up a great amount of my time in a day, but at 6 months, I feel like we have many things figured out where it can allow for a workout. Another major factor I have going for me is a huge drive to get my body back. I know that it isn't realistic to get my pre-baby body back and I've come to terms that my body is just going to look different now that I have had a baby. But, I am determined to tighten up areas that as of late are a little saggy and loose.

The major thing that has been a life saver for the new endeavor of getting fit has been Stroller Strides, or SS for short. My friend, Libby introduced me to it and I tested it out during my maternity leave when Calvin was about 8 weeks old. For those of you that are thinking, "How hard can a stroller exercise class be?" Let me tell you, I get my a** kicked every day in this class and am sore most days afterwards. The instructor does NOT take it easy on us and all of us that are there appreciate it. After all, we are there to get in shape, not mamby pamby around with our strollers...we can do that on our own time and for free. I was pumped to attend the class while I wasn't working, but Calvin had other plans, which if you don't already know about you can catch up here and here.

So, summer is here and Calvin and I aim to attend class every day (Monday-Friday), but usually it looks more like 3-4 days a week. My body is getting tighter, but best of all, I feel great about myself and like how I look. No, I'm not back to a pre-baby size and there is still about 7 pounds of baby weight, but I have more energy during the day and I am happy with the results. The other amazing thing about this class is that the attendees are all moms with their kids. Many are first time mothers like myself, but some of them are on their second or third child. So, whatever question is burning in your head and keeping you up at night, you have an audience of at least 20 women to help you every day. It's like a mommy support group!

My little thing, although it feels bigger, is that I feel great in my own skin. It feels good to be back in this place. I know that any woman can relate to how amazing that feels, but definitely all those mommas out there can relate to the time of adjustment after having a baby and just feeling unlike yourself in more ways than just our bodies.

Thank you Stroller Strides for helping me love ME again!

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