Category: 7-9 Months
What To Expect {Giveaway}
| July 10, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 7-9 Months, Baby, Books, Family, GIveaway, Moms |
Being pregnant is scary. That is a fact that I realized the moment I found out I was expecting Emmalyne. The fear of the unknown, the path ahead, and the need to protect your baby is overwhelming. Lucky for me I was given What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
This book was a lifesaver and gave me access to so much valuable information whenever I needed reassurance. So when the awesome people over at What To Expect contacted me the other week I was beyond shocked and excited. They sent me three of their books and I have loved all of them!
I have been reading a lot of What To Expect: The First Year since I got it and I wish I had had it sooner! It details all the different stages and developmental milestones along with helpful advice for new moms. You better believe that What To Expect: The Second Year is going to be a well-read book come October 
The best part of all of this? What To Expect wants to share their goodies with you! They will be giving away all three books to two (2) lucky Food, Fitness, and Family readers! All you need to do is leave me a comment on this post about what you wish you had known when you were expecting. You can also send this tweet for an additional entry:
@FoodFitandFam is giving away a set of @whattoexpect books and I want to win! http://www.foodfitnessandfamilyblog.com/2012/07/what-to-expect-giveaway/ #newmom
The giveaway will start Tuesday, July 10 and close Sunday, July 15 at 5PM EST. Winner will be announce Monday, July 16 on the blog.
**What To Expect compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Post Baby Body: 9 Months
| July 7, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 7-9 Months, Baby, FitFluential, Moms, Month Updates, Post Baby Body, Postpartum |
Yesterday was all about Emmalyne and the rock star that she is. She is seriously the light of my world and my favorite, littlest person. However, today is about me and my progress in losing the baby weight and reaching my fitness goals! New to my updates? Here’s a blast from the past:
Whew … that is a lot of months of progress! Here’s a trip down memory lane …
3 Months Post-Baby Body
6 Months Post-Baby Body
9 Months Post- Baby Body
Still doing good! I think my stomach gets a little flatter and my abs slightly more defined as time is going on. My legs are definitely toning up also. My focus points in the coming months are my sides, inner thighs, and back. Any words of wisdom for shredding fat on your sides and inner thighs?!
MEASUREMENTS
I am excited to see some progress in the weight department. While I don’t live and die by the scale I do have a goal weight in mind. However a friend kindly reminded me that those are some vanity pounds which I don’t deny. However, my biggest indicator of progress is how my clothes fit and how everything looks in the mirror. I would happily be 150 lbs and toned/ripped any day. :) The number on the scale is just that … a number. I refuse to let it define me.
EATING
I came clean with you all this week and told you about my battle with my sweet tooth. It’s been a little difficult this week with company in town and so many fun things going on for the 4th of July. I would love to say I kicked the habit overnight but that isn’t the case. My other concern is that I am going home to Arizona next week for 2 full weeks and I am a little nervous about keeping up with my clean eating. My family are healthy eaters but it’s totally different when you’re not doing the grocery shopping. I am going to work hard to make good choices but I know this will be a hard month. Clean eating detox will ensue when I get home that’s for sure!
EXERCISE
I have kept up with consistently working out 5-6 days a week and it feels great. If there is one word that I would like to use to describe my fitness goals it would be STRONG. I want to grow and develop muscles. I want my arms, legs, back, and abs to be well-defined. I am still trying to figure out how to get there though.
SO any ideas for gaining muscle and cutting fat would be greatly appreciated! What I am doing has worked up until this point but I want to get to the next level. Maybe some fresh ideas and new thoughts are just what I need. :)
Emmalyne: Month Nine
| July 6, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 7-9 Months, Baby, Baby Led Weaning, Family, Moms, Month Updates |
When did my sweet newborn baby become 3/4 of a year old?!?! It’s no joke how fast time goes as a new mom. Before I know it she will be asking me for the car keys and then heading to college. Ahh!! Sweet Emmalyne Grace you are growing too fast for mommy to keep up! If you’re new to this game check out Emmalyne’s past month-dates:
Baby girl is a mover and a shaker and seriously refuses to sit down for our photo shoots now. I barely got photos this month! Any tips for photographing an active baby??
HOW IS EMMIE MEASURING?
Em recently had her 9-month appointment and her growth is right on track!
WEIGHT: 18.1 pounds (45%)
HEIGHT: 29 1/4 inches (92%)
Emmie is definitely longer and leaner. I was a little nervous that her weight percentile dropped so much (at 6 months she was in the 85%) but our pediatrician said it’s likely due to her build as well as the fact that she is completely mobile. Baby girl is still a tall one!
PERSONALITY
Holy cow does this girl sparkle! She is seriously such a firecracker. If you can tell by the above photo her facial expressions are endless. She is quick to let us know exactly what she wants. She is also a MAJOR flirt. Emmalyne is also quite the love bug and loves to give me kisses. Lately, she has been reaching in for hugs too. My heart melts every single time. Some words I would use to describe my daughter I would say: fun, laid back, flexible, funny, and sweet. Chris and I say over and over we are nervous for whenever kid #2 comes because Emmie has seriously made parenthood a breeze and I feel like she is a false advertisement.
BREASTFEEDING
Still. Going. It is hard to nurse an incredible active and inquisitive child. We are currently nursing 4 times a day and 1 bottle before bed. So far she hasn’t decided that biting is fun and is still interested in the process. I am hoping that we can hold on for 3 more months (or more … more on that in another post) and then seamlessly transition to cow’s milk.
BABY LED WEANING
Baby led weaning is still our method of choice! It has been a lot of fun participating in #MunchkinMeals and sharing Emmie’s eats with her cyber-baby friends! Her recent loves are mandarin oranges, toast, whole-wheat waffles, and spaghetti. This week she tried some artichokes and loved them! I can’t get food on her plate fast enough. She loves eating and hasn’t found a food she doesn’t like. I know that I am really lucky and I am hoping that she stays like this for the rest of her life!
PLAY
Each month play time gets more and more fun with her. We recently got her a stand-up piano toy that she absolutely loves. It speaks in English and Spanish and she thinks it is so funny. When we were pregnant we picked up the stuffed soccer ball with the hopes to instill athleticism from an early age. However, in her toy basket in the living room there is also an empty baby bottle, remote control, and little purse that are her other favorite “toys”. She also loves to read and has started “reading” books on her own. LOVE IT.
TEETHING
Still only two bottom teeth. Her top ones are getting closer and closer to the surface and her finger is always in her mouth to the side. Teething is rough in our house so I would rather we just get it over with!
SLEEP
*Knock on wood* … still going 7PM-7AM consistently. Luckily she can be pretty flexible if we are out and about past her bed time and goes down easily once we get home. She is also taking about two naps a day. Her morning nap is normally around 10:30 and lasts until 12-12:30. Her second is around 3 and last until 4:30ish. If she is busy and misses her nap she is also quite the champ. This has happened a few times at the beach because she was just too busy to sleep!
Being Emmalyne’s mom gets better and better every single day. I know that this first year is just the beginning of a lifetime full of memories, laughter, and happiness. I never knew how it felt to love someone so much it hurts until Emmie came along. She is the light of my world and my favorite person ever. I consider myself incredibly blessed that my “job” is to be with her 24/7.
I love you baby girl … You are my sunshine.
Fitness Friday + Finding My Stride
| June 15, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 7-9 Months, Family, FitFluential, Running, Weekly Workouts |
I keep thinking today is Saturday because Chris is off work today but nope, it’s FRIDAY! That means it’s FITNESS FRIDAY! Here is what my week looked like this week:
My Monday yoga class is just what I needed and I can tell a difference in how my legs felt on my runs this week. I LOVE yoga and it feels good to be getting back into a structured class again.
Wednesday’s leg workout was inspired by one of Lindsay’s 100 workouts. I kept 100-70 but changed the rest. This is what mine ended up looking like:
Thursday’s run was in one word … amazing. I set out to do a 20 minute tempo run with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. My legs felt heavy and my breathing off. 17 minutes into my tempo run I was counting down the seconds until the end. Then something awesome happened … right around mile 2 I found my stride. My legs suddenly felt great and my breathing normalized. I decided to keep going and ended up doing a 3.5 mile tempo run at a 9:30 (goal pace). I did 4.1 miles total in 40 minutes and felt great. It was a lesson to remember that sometimes it can take a couple of miles to find your stride. I think this lesson applies to a lot of things in life. It reminded me to work hard and be patient and it will come.
Yesterday was a crazy day with Chris’ Change of Command and preparing all the food for the reception following the ceremony. I managed to squeeze in an early two mile run while my mother-in-law watched the Emster.
The humidity here in Georgia is no joke. I swear I sweat 1000 times more living in Savannah. I was DRENCHED coming into the house. Holy cow. However, my run was great. My Garmin is acting weird so I had to resort to a weird app on my phone. It did the job but I need to figure out why my Garmin currently hates me.
Any-who … not sure what my workout plans include for today or this weekend. Tomorrow is my 25th birthday! Chris has to work in the morning but I think I might drag him on a family run before we go meet Victoria and her husband for dinner. The rest of the weekend will be spent studying for my GRE … which is MONDAY. EEK!! Have a safe, healthy, and happy weekend friends!!
Any fun plans this weekend??
WIAW
| June 13, 2012 | Posted by Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family under 7-9 Months, Baby, Baby Led Weaning, Breakfast, Dinner, FitFluential, Lunch, WIAW |
So excited for it to be the middle of the week already! Why? Because we are counting down to my BIRTHDAY!! WOO. AND since it’s Wednesday, it means it’s time for another “What I Ate Wednesday“!! Thank you to the fabulous Jenn of Peas and Crayons for hosting the coolest part on the blogosphere.
This month is all about “sensible snacking” … but I didn’t do a very good job at taking photos of my snacks! Next week I will do better, I promise
I thought it would be fun this week to do a mother-daughter edition of “What I Ate Wednesday” so you can see what a typical day looks like in eats for both Emmie and I! Keep in mind, homegirl nurses 4-5 times a day still too. And also eats snacks. Which I failed to picture. FAIL.
BREAKFAST
Emmie: bananas and oatmeal mixed with applesauce
Me: baked banana and blueberry oatmeal with coffee
Work Out
Yesterday I ran an easy 3 miles on the treadmill. I felt pretty good overall and did around a 9:45 minute pace. Crazy how that’s “easy” for me now … I used to be such a 10 min+ mile runner! It’s amazing what hard work and training will do 
I also lifted back/biceps and worked my core. Pretty sure I am going to be sore
LUNCH
Emmie: roasted butternut squash, turkey, and avocados
Me: turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread with spinach. A nice Georgia peach on the side!
DINNER
Emmie: Happy Bites Veggie Tots
Me: Chicken in lightened up mushroom and sage sauce over whole-wheat noodles
Overall I was happy with both mine and Emmie’s meals. I am working hard and putting on my creativity cap to think of new meal ideas for Emmie. If any of you have found something your tot loves let me know!! I am trying to add some more variety to her life
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
So excited for it to be the middle of the week already! Why? Because we are counting down to my BIRTHDAY!! WOO. AND since it’s Wednesday, it means it’s time for another “What I Ate Wednesday“!! Thank you to the fabulous Jenn of Peas and Crayons for hosting the coolest part on the blogosphere.
This month is all about “sensible snacking” … but I didn’t do a very good job at taking photos of my snacks! Next week I will do better, I promise
I thought it would be fun this week to do a mother-daughter edition of “What I Ate Wednesday” so you can see what a typical day looks like in eats for both Emmie and I! Keep in mind, homegirl nurses 4-5 times a day still too. And also eats snacks. Which I failed to picture. FAIL.
BREAKFAST
Emmie: bananas and oatmeal mixed with applesauce
Me: baked banana and blueberry oatmeal with coffee
Work Out
Yesterday I ran an easy 3 miles on the treadmill. I felt pretty good overall and did around a 9:45 minute pace. Crazy how that’s “easy” for me now … I used to be such a 10 min+ mile runner! It’s amazing what hard work and training will do I also lifted back/biceps and worked my core. Pretty sure I am going to be sore
LUNCH
Emmie: roasted butternut squash, turkey, and avocados
Me: turkey sandwich on whole-wheat bread with spinach. A nice Georgia peach on the side!
DINNER
Emmie: Happy Bites Veggie Tots
Me: Chicken in lightened up mushroom and sage sauce over whole-wheat noodles
Overall I was happy with both mine and Emmie’s meals. I am working hard and putting on my creativity cap to think of new meal ideas for Emmie. If any of you have found something your tot loves let me know!! I am trying to add some more variety to her life
What’s your favorite healthy snack?
