The Bounce Back | Week 1 Update

Today marks 7 days into my Bounce Back from pregnancy plan - I was determined to get back to feeling fit and healthy as quickly as possible, but this week alone has been enough to show me that it's not going to be anywhere near as easy to get back to peak fitness as it was to get there. How did it go you ask? Shit. It just went shit. I lost 3lbs, but that's not really a plus right now, given that I achieved that from eating all but nothing during the day and stuffing my face with Haribos at night time when I can relieve my arms from the baby I've cradled for the best part of 13 hours. The whole point of my bounce back from pregnancy plan was to regain health - getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight is great and all, but ultimately, not worth an ounce of effort if I still feel as unfit as ever.

Christmas Gift Guide | The Memorable Presents for Baby's First Christmas

I made no secret of the fact that I didn't want to go crazy on Christmas presents for Harrison; at 2 months old he's not exactly going to remember the gifts he receives, no matter how extravagant. I talked about it in depth in a recent post, but essentially, I don't think wasting money on toys, or clothes, or anything else along those lines would be worth doing. I won't lie, the thought of it didn't quite sit right with me - christmas is christmas after all, no matter how little, I didn't want Harrisons' first Christmas not to be a special one. I don't believe gifts are the be all and end all of Christmas, but there is no denying that nowadays - because of that, and because of the twinges of guilt I was feeling at the thought of Harrison being presentless on Christmas morning (not that he'd notice, he will no doubt be in a milk-coma...), I decided to find gifts that could be used for the rest of his early years. The things that make you know it's Christmas.

I've found a good few that I've added to my list for Harrison, some of which if I buy this year I'll use for the rest of his childhood, others that I may have to repurchase in years to come. Either way, everything in this gift guide has more sentimental value than a passing trend.  Somehow though in my bid to save money I've managed to amass a list that would probably cost more than I'd spend on the latest range of Fisher Price goodies, but at least with these I know we'll be using them for years to come, and not just for the three weeks following.

H is 1 Month Old

 

Harrison is one month old today. I've started every single one of these updates off saying how terrifying it is that we're another week down, and this week is no different.  It is terrifying. It's terrifying that I no longer have a baby that I can describe as weeks old; from here on out we're into the months, and I can only imagine how fast time will fly from here. I keep on wishing away the days - I can't wait for him to smile, to laugh, to roll over and to crawl, but I can't bear the thought of losing the newborn days. Everyone said it would go quickly, but I didn't quite imagine it would go this quickly. He's doing well, I can't say that enough. Sleeps not great, but it never was going to be, he's a newborn, he doesn't know the difference between night and day. I've gotten used to being tired, if that's the only struggle we have to face in these first few weeks then I'll be forever grateful. Babies aren't easy, I expected it to be difficult, not easy, but worth it in the end. He definitely is worth it.

Finding What Works For Us | NUBY UK

It's taken us a month, but we've finally settled on Nuby bottles. Harrison is a Nuby brand rep', but that didn't stop us testing a few other brands until we found what worked for him.  I'll be honest, I'm completely clueless as to what brands are good for a baby. Whilst pregnant, I decided I'd use Avent bottles, Pampers nappies, Johnsons Skincare, SMA milk... The list goes on. Harrison is now one month old, and with the exception of the Johnsons' skincare stuff, we've changed them all. With Harrison's dry skin I'm ready to fling Johnsons' out the window also. Everyone told me to wait and see what suited my baby when he arrived, and I now understand why.

The Bounce Back #1 | 6 Steps for Losing The Baby Weight?

I'm under no false allusions here - being healthy and fit as a new mum is going to be a lot harder than it ever has been before. I've had a pretty healthy lifestyle for the past few years - I love the gym, I like plain food and was happy to live off of egg whites, chicken, rice (and chocolate), and I probably got a little bit too much joy out of making diet and exercise plans. It's just the way I've always been. I have plenty of training plans from before I fell pregnant still on my computer, printed in a folder, lying around my room. I have my diet plans, my macronutrient aims, my calories, an almost daily weight for the past  2 years at least. It would be easy enough for me to go ahead and try and fall back into any one of these - but it would not work. I have a baby now, it's not realistic for me to food prep three times a week at this stage, I can't make it to the gym six times a week, and I won't be getting up at 5am, so I'm setting a few goals for myself that I'll actually be able to stick to, and that will still get me the results I'm looking for.

Baby Style: Mama Et Moi

Mama Et Moi is a mother, baby and child boutique with a range of brands that are original, unique and affordable. By the time Harrison was a week old, he had every single item in the Next Autumn/Winter collection, pretty much for up until he is 9 months old. I always knew he would, so when I was pregnant I started looking for less popular baby clothing companies - not less popular, that's not the right word, just less well known.

The Bounce Back

During my pregnancy, I struggled majorly with body image throughout. I posted about it various times, but could never quite explain the effect it had on me. I hated my pregnancy, but had none of the symptoms that would normally make a pregnancy difficult, I just hated the changes my body went through. It wasn’t just the way my body looked - I knew that part was necessary, weight gain and adaptation is a large part of pregnancy, but I’ve never felt so unfit or unhealthy as I was during the last trimester. I've always been very active, and I've always been on some sort of diet, and I suppose as a result, I'd always been pretty small. At the time,  I'd never have thought so, but I look back now and can't help but wonder how I thought I was fat, or big, or chunky, or any of the other words I'd use constantly to describe my body. Following my pregnancy, I gained exactly 3 stone/42lbs/19kg depending on how you work it. I'd say that's probably a normal amount for pregnancy, but it definitely wasn't a normal amount for me, and it's not an amount I was comfortable with. I guess it's just my selfishness coming out, which is obviously a trait that does not go hand in hand with motherhood, but I resented gaining it, and the sooner I lose it, the better I'll feel.