The New Mom Highlight Reel

We've all heard about the highlight reel. Basically, Instagram is the best of the best of your good times, potentially projecting zero amounts of discontent or hard times. This article goes into it in a bit more detail. Mr. Miller and I were discussing this in reference to having a new baby, and how it must seem all bliss filled and easy based on social media posts. I really felt like the below pictures was a "highlight reel" post:

The problem with this picture is that I don't think I really look like the right side picture. Not yet at least. Somehow it was the perfect angle and outfit to hide my extra love that Henry left behind. I even tried to  hoist Henry up to not hide my stomach. The comments came in and I felt like a faker. I'm not trying to hide my extra weight, it's a reality that I'm tackling daily. So, here are some highlight reel photos attached with a healthy dose of reality:

Highlight reel: I am running! YIPPEE!

Reality: This is 3 weeks after the previous photo where my belly appeared to be nonexistent. Not an ounce has budged in six weeks. In related news, I stubbed my toe SO badly that night (Runner's high excitement???) that I haven't run since. Ouchies!

Highlight Reel: Henry's first trip to the beach! He slept the whole time!

Reality Reel: I had a really rough week with barely any sleep and  Mr. Miller brought me to my happy place to help me relax.

Highlight Reel: Henry was a champ on his first plane rides, sleeping the whole time!

Reality Reel: Mommy was stressed out days before, and was stressed the whole flight too.

Highlight Reel: Cute baby alert! Bath time is fun!

Reality Reel: a) Henry JUST started liking baths, he used to cry the whole time and b) he had a messed up sleep schedule and was up a TON that night. 

Highlight Reel: Hello adorable two month photo!
Reality Reel: I had taken the the BEST *smiling* two month photos in his cute swim outfit, only to send it to Mr. Miller who said "Where's the sticker?" I couldn't believe I had forgotten it. Also: there is spit up under that sticker.

Highlight Reel: Henry's hilarious steps to putting himself to sleep.
Reality Reel: He had spit up on me several times. I sponge bathed my chest because I was too tired to shower. 

Highlight Reel: First BOB stroller run! Made it 0.65 miles!
Reality Reel: Wow slim waistband shorts make my stomach look AMAZING. NOT. Also, we went to the park because we had such a bad night I needed nature to soothe me.

Reality Reel: I love my son and I love being mom. Instagram makes it look like all butterflies and unicorns with baby snuggles 24/7. I'll take the hard times because when those butterflies, unicorns, and baby snuggles happen, I forget about the tough times. Despite IG being all feel good moments, I think it's way better than Facebook. I find too many posts about controversial topics, complaints and excessive photo sharing to not be as enjoyable as cute babies, puppies, nature and funny happenings that I look forward to on IG (Often at an ungodly AM hour!)

How about you? Do you ever post a bad picture on Instagram? Are you following the trend of being anti Facebook? Who are your favorite Instagrammers? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Postpartum Workouts: 8 Weeks

I decided I will try writing a new series. I'm going to try to log my weekly workouts. I have NEVER, repeat NEVER been good at this (Mostly because during marathon training I'm balancing the beginning of the school year), but I want to keep a record of this. It will serve as a pseudo accountability if you will. I wrote about my postpartum fitness plan here. Since I had a c-section, things are definitely moving a bit slower, and I'm okay with that. Here are the keys to my workouts as a c-section mommy:

1. Respect my body. I have never been a runner who ran through pain. If I felt a twinge that scared me a bit, I would rest. I only freaked out if I missed more than a week of runs or two consecutive long runs. In this process, being in tune with my body is ESSENTIAL. Feeling any sort of pain (which is different than being sore from a fabulous workout) will be respected. Case and point: I was SO stoked about my mile run on Sunday, and that night I stubbed my toe so badly that it's still swollen. So guess what? No more running this week. 

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2. Build STRENGTH. Working with Jenni from Fitzala is great. She is so knowledgeable! I will be focusing my efforts on building strength, not just cardio per my usual M.O. Since I'm still on a no ab work regimen, I made up my own little workout. (NOTE: I am NOT a personal trainer in any way shape or form. I've been to a million classes, done research, and know this can work for me! Try it out if you want!)

Adjustments: I did modified push ups and didn't do the plank just yet to ease the use of my abs. A "row" is where you lift one arm up after you do a push up.

3. REST. I will not be doing the same workout two days in a row for a while. I am slowly getting my muscles back into shape, waking them up if you will, but I won't overuse them in the process.

So, here's a look at my week while incorporating those keys!

Weekly Workouts: 8 Weeks Postpartum

• Sunday: 1 mile run with a 1 mile walk.
• Monday: REST. Toe injured. BOO HOO! Walked the dog.
• Tuesday: Swam 600m

I love that my pool as official etiquette posted!!!

• Wednesday: Strength Workout + 2 mile walk pushing the stroller (Still felt toe)
• Thursday: Canceled swim. I was going to go swimming, but I was celebrating my friend's new journey with a glass of bubbly, then decided that I would rather sit with my boys than swim for 20 minutes. Listening to a Johnny Cash cover band and eating a picnic dinner with these guys was good for the soul.

I stroll the line...

• Friday: Walked the dog. My toe was still sore and I was STILL sore from Wednesday's strength workout! Lesson learned: I should have done one circuit instead of two!
• Saturday: 700m Swim. The day got away from me, between packing to come to CT, traveling, and spending time with family, I didn't get my swim in until 9:15pm. SO glad I did. It felt GREAT!

Summary: Three strong workouts! I am putting zero pressure on myself and I'm determined not to over do it. I am proud to have gotten three quality workouts in with a two month old!

How was your week? Any great new workouts? Did you have a stellar long run? How do you avoid over doing it? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Henry: Two Months

Reality: time FLIES! I can't believe it's been two months since we were blessed with this little boy. Heck, I can't believe it's AUGUST! Here are a few things that made this month memorable:

• Henry took FOUR planes!!! He was a champ, barely cried, and was only a bit fussy when it was his crankiest time of the day. (Note: Fly with young babies when they still sleep a lot!)
• He is still in 0-3 month clothes, but some pajamas are getting rather tight! Love a baby in tight jammies!
• Henry met tons of family in Wisconsin! He also got his first Packers jersey #gopackgo
• We had to get some reflux drops for poor little baby, but it has helped him tremendously with napping and sleeping.
• Speaking of sleeping, he's doing much better at cycling through the day (3 hours with eating, play time, then a nap), and we're working on going longer than 4 hours between feeds at night.
• Mommy can function on 6 hours sleep, contrary to her previous theory that she could not.
• He has begun to smile more! It's still not consistent, but he will do it in clusters, which makes me SO happy.
• We have gotten together with lots of expectant mommies...all expecting girls! Henry will have to be fielding calls from all these adorable ladies!
• We have gone out to lunch together. One day we had some work being done at the apartment which we couldn't be home for, so we went and ate al fresco! Mommy got a sangria. It had been a tiring day ;-)
• Henry is the BEST at bath time now! He just sits there (total 5 minutes) and barely flinches while we scrub the chubs. I love it.
• Mr. Miller has been getting cute quality time in with him while I go swimming at night! He loves spending time with daddy.
• He weighs 11lbs 10oz, which means he's growing at a very good rate!

We can't believe how he continually grows. Even in a day or two we see subtle differences. It is truly amazing and a privilege to watch! 

Happy Two Months Little Lion Man!

Mom, you forgot my two month sticker!!! Also, I'm a swimming champ! (Insert fist pump)

Postpartum Fitness Plan

The time has come. It has now been 8 long/short/wheredidthetimego weeks since my little boy entered the outside world. That means that it's time for this c-section mommy to get moving again! I have a tentative plan to get myself started on the journey back to my fit self. Total disclosure, I have 20lbs of extra Henry love that seems to be clinging to me for dear life, and I'm getting pretty tired of it. There has been an eviction notice served. Here's my plan to get to where I want to be:

Swimming:

My swim bag was packed and right where I left it last September.

I will do my best to get to the pool 2-3 times a week. Although it's close by, dragging myself away to the pool is quite a task (Usually involving driving, parking, swimming, driving, parking...it's a process.) Combine that with being a human milk dispenser, and, well, three times in a week will be admirable!

Running:

 I made it one mile without stopping!

Henry celebrated my first run without him in my belly! His BOB is a lot smoother than riding inside me...

I will do my best to run 2-3 times a week. Running, seemingly, is easier in the sense that you can throw on your sneakers and go out the door to begin. I was smiling ear to ear while I ran my mile and was SO tempted to run more but calmed my overzealous self. But I live in the real world, and running is going to be a challenge. I felt great, but I only ran a mile. I plan on making a slow and steady comeback here, avoiding injury and building endurance in a healthy way.

Fitzala:

I won an online personal trainer subscription from Lean Green Bean! I am really excited to work with Jenni. I always shed my winter skin around April/May, combining a protein/veggie diet with exercise. I usually have had anywhere from 5-8lbs to lose. This time? No. This time it's about triple that number, and completely overwhelming to me. Having guidance and accountability is definitely going to help me. First step? No more desserts. Oreos and I are breaking up, because we were hot and heavy for a while there.

On to incentives! I plan on giving myself incentives to celebrate progress! (No they won't be Oreos...hopefully...) Here is a tentative plan:

- 8 week start! I bought myself a new workout tank from Target. Can't wait to wear it over and over and over. 

Aaaaaaand I see it's on sale online, so naturally I need to go buy it there...okay maybe two.

- First 10lbs: Massage! I haven't really had time to get one, so I figure that will be plenty of motivation to get me moving and stick with it.

- Next 5lbs: Go to a yoga class! I plan on doing at home work outs since I have the tools, knowledge, and online personal trainer! Going to an in person yoga class will be a nice retreat to Ohm things out.

- Last 5lbs: Some sort of girls night out/special date night. I'll have to figure out an event or something I normally wouldn't be able to go to and make it happen!

Here is what I really look like. Post run glory! I  posted a picture on Instagram a few weeks ago that made me look a lot slimmer. More on that later. Although many will say "You look great!", I don't feel great. I'm sure you can understand that feeling. I'm excited and motivated to get myself back to where I'm comfortable, healthy, and happy!

How about you? Have you faced a weight loss that intimidated you? Do you give yourself incentives? How is marathon training in this BEAUTIFUL weather?! TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Starting at Square One

It has been a season of firsts! Henry has enjoyed some travels to visit family, including Connecticut and a plane ride to a family reunion to Wisconsin! Here are a few of his first moments:

 #HenryLittleLionMan was unimpressed with the beach ;-) He slept the whole time!

 Henry's first trip to Central Park! We recreated one of our maternity photos.

 Henry's first (of FOUR) plane rides! The pilot was so smitten she invited us into the cockpit...and the copilot offered us his seat because he has an 18 month old named Henry #BestNamEever

 Henry's first Wisconsin trip! We enjoyed our time with Mr. Miller's family by the Mississippi (You know I spelled that out loud as I typed!) River celebrating his grandparent's 65th Anniversary! 

Henry's first swim! The face is all "Why mommy WHHHYYYYYY?!" 

Which leads to mommy's first today. Today marks 8 weeks since this little guy came into the outside world. 

My skinny boy now has a double chin and arm rolls! sob....especially since the Johnson's Baby "You're doing okay mom" commercial just played....

I've been given the okay to swim, so tonight, I will be starting at square one with my fitness. It has been a struggle to recover, be limited, and respect c sections as a major surgery. I'm ready to get back at it with a swim tonight at my favorite summer spot.

Check out my post on lap swimming etiquette 

I have zero expectations. I'm so nervous to get back to working out because I feel so loose and unfit. I love listening to Coldplay's Square One, it's definitely how I'm feeling these days! My body is hanging on to 20lbs of baby love, so taking this first step is really exciting. I will report back with the good, the bad and the ugly! ;-)

How about you? Any advice for starting over? TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Henry: One Month

Yea, we did it! Henry is one month old! This is a bit late (Really he is 5.5 weeks old), but we were in CT all last week and (new) mommy forgot his one month sticker!!! Here are a few highlights for this little baby we love and adore:

• Henry went from 5lbs 12oz when we left the hospital to 8lbs 4oz! (Tonight we get an updated weight!)
• He just moved from newborn size to his vast collection of 0-3 months clothes!
• Mommy and daddy are TRYING to cope with the ever changing sleep patterns; 2 hours between feeds, then 3 1/2 hours between feeds....then back to 2 hours?! We'll even out eventually (*I HOPE)!
• Henry has been to Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn...all in one day! 
• He met ALL 13 of his cousins last week!
• Puppy brother Lambeau is slowly accepting him as part of the family...no licking yet, but he certainly checks on him and naps nearby.
• He is finally getting used to baths....he was NOT a fan at first.
• We read to him a lot...he often looks at the books with interest...unless he is falling asleep. Current favorites are Goodnight Moon, Little Lion (From the Central Park Zoo), and a pattern book with no words. 
• I have finally been cleared to walk with him, and Henry has become more and more comfortable in his BOB stroller. 
• He loves his Rock and Play. Plain and simple, that thing is a Godsend (Yes mom and Kate, you told me so). 
• Henry is a great baby; he doesn't often cry unless something is wrong that we can fix.

We love this little guy so much. Despite all the tough stuff (recovery, sleep deprivation, etc), he is 100% worth it! 

Happy One Month Little Lion Man!

He was really excited about being a month old!

Embracing Seasons of Rest

We all go through different seasons in fitness life. Sometimes, we're in marathon training season. At other times, we are in maintenance season. Right now? I'm in the *REST* season. This was an easy season to be in at first, when I was extremely sore and could not think of doing anything beyond feeding my newborn and drinking water. But now? Now I'm under the delusion that I'm ten times better! Yea! Let's get crazy and walk all the miles! No. That's the next season. This season?  I like to call it the "Rest, Relax and Enjoy" season. Here is what has been helping me embrace this season of (forced) rest:

 How I feel

Reality

Take things slowly. I am finally able to leave my castle. Castle, you ask? That would be my nickname for my third floor walk up apartment. Once my doctor gave me the okay to "casually take the stairs" and to carry Henry up and down the stairs, we broke out the BOB stroller. I love this thing and can't wait to log some serious miles in it, but for now we will be taking short walks to enjoy our neighborhood.

We taught Lambeau Puppy to go into the "basket", he LOVES it!

Do something special that you enjoy. Brian's mom was visiting, so we took the opportunity to go on a quick date to one of our favorite restaurants. It was such a mood booster to break out of the monotony of three weeks of feeding, burping and napping! I also left Mr. Miller with the boys for some guy time while I met a girlfriend for a pedicure. Having pretty toes is like drinking ice cold water on a hot and humid day! All these little outings made me feel a bit more like myself again. 

Pictured: the most delicious salad and drinks!

Said delicious drink, I went with cucumber!

I got Borrowed and Blue on my toes! Love it!

Relax, this season won't last forever. I have to be reminded of this daily. Passing by mirrors, seeing runners enjoying the PRISTINE NYC weather, all make me anxious to get back at it. I have to choose to relax. I have to choose to focus on recovering, even when I'm feeling great, because there are good days and bad days still. The body is funny like that; it can trick you into a false sense of complete wellness. So for now, I'm enjoying this little guy and our easy walks, snuggles, and sitting on the balcony on cool summer nights.

Henry has a hard time relaxing after bath time...his straight jacket, AKA sleep sack, is a great resource!

How about you? What are your survival tips while in a period of forced rest? Have you been sidelined recently? Any fun summer plans? Tell me about it!