Lessons Learned + The Big Reveal

Tonight, I learned hard lesson #1 as a mom. What's best for them is not always what they want. Will has been on a nap strike lately. He'll get up at 7 or 8 and then be awake for the rest of the day. This creates the perfect situation for an incredibly unhappy, fussy, over-tired baby. So by the time 6:00 rolls around and Greg gets home, I've had it up to my eyeballs with the crying and the soothing and I just need a few minutes to get away by myself.

Yesterday I had my 6-week postpartum check and I was okayed to resume exercise. I've still got some baby weight left to lose and I've been SO ready to get active again. I really wasn't able to exercise from my second trimester on...so that's like 5 months of pregnancy + almost 2 months of post-pregnancy that I haven't worked out. Towards the end of my pregnancy, running again was something I seriously was looking forward to - I would get incredibly jealous of women I saw running on the street. So you can understand how much I was looking forward to being cleared for exercise.

Back to the story. So, today, Greg gets home and Will hasn't slept for more than 15 or 20 minutes all day. He's fussy. And all he wants to do is comfort nurse because it helps him fall asleep. But I needed to work out. I needed to work out for my sanity, but I also needed to work out for him. I passed a semi-sleeping baby off to Greg and promptly had a screaming baby. He was giving me these "how dare you leave me" looks that broke my heart, but I hurried into the office and started the workout DVD. I could hear him crying off and on through the entire thing. Try as he may to comfort him, Greg just doesn't have boobs ;) And that's all Will wanted! I wanted to stop so bad and go comfort him, but I had to keep telling myself that me losing the rest of the baby weight is what is best for Will. I can't stay overweight and inactive because of HIM. I want to teach him a healthy lifestyle - how to eat right, how to learn to love exercising, and how to stay fit for life. I never want him to have to struggle with his weight. And that starts right now, with me losing the weight that I put on during pregnancy and getting back into shape. He hated it - HATED it. But I had to keep telling myself that I was doing what was best for him, even though he wasn't too happy about that fact.

In the end, I got a great workout (two thumbs up for the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred...it kicked my butt!) and Will eventually calmed down and fell asleep. And the same thing will probably happen again tomorrow - but we're both going to be better for it.

And now for the "big reveal" that I was talking about in my last blog post...Libby Ann Photograhpy is up and running! I purchased a website last week, worked on it hard over the weekend (further adding to my sleep deprivation) and it went live yesterday. I'm so excited to have it finished - I'm one step closer to staying home with Will. Anyways, I'm running a special for the rest of the summer. Anyone who books a session in May or June (that will take place before September 1st) will receive 15% off the session fee, their print order, and a free 8x10 from the session. Feel free to pass this on to family and friends - all they need to do to redeem the special is ask about the Summer Special. Please be praying for me in this photography venture. Pray that God will bring business in, that I will get great clients, and really be able to jump start my business this summer. Anyways, here is the site!

http://www.libbyannphotography.com

Secret Smiles and Tub Baths

Will is having a fussy day today. It's almost like he's going through another growth spurt...although I know that can't possibly be right since he had one just a week or two ago! But he's wanted to eat nonstop today...Greg got home and he nursed all evening long. We had a really fussy stretch before he finally passed out from exhaustion. I hated to wake him up a couple hours later, but he needed a bath. To make it better for him, I decided to give him a bath in our tub (instead of the sink) and get in there with him. He loved it! We soaked for awhile before he pooped in the tub and everything had to be drained, rinsed, and scrubbed down before we could finish the bath. I think he's going to be a little water baby - he really enjoys floating (with help, of course!) in the water.

He's started giving us secret little smiles too. He rewards my mom with huge grins all the time, but he has yet to do that for Greg or me. We must be boring or something ;) But when we get him in a really good mood where he's not studying every detail of the room, we can sometimes coax a smile out of him...and that gummy little grin makes my heart melt! He was eating today and pulled away, looked me in the eyes, and grinned. I have no idea why or what I did to deserve it, but it was precious! He's started rolling up onto his side during tummy time...it won't be too long before he rolls from tummy to back, I think. He only does it when he's really frustrated and about ready to be finished with tummy time ;)

Tomorrow I go in for my 6-week post-partum appointment at my OB/GYNs office. Hopefully everything has healed the way it should and I can start really exercising again. I can't wait! I'm so ready to lose the rest of the baby weight and get my body back in shape. It's been a good five or six months since I've really been able to work out and I miss it a lot. I've got some big news coming in the next couple of days...I've just got to get a few more things together before the big reveal. I'm super excited about it, though!

Hopefully I can catch a smile on camera soon and share it with you all!