Thursday, April 29, 2010

Semi Terrified Mr. Mom...

Yesterday morning was my first time away from Aubrey for more than an hour. I was so nervous! I left Bryan with two bottles and a list of helpful tips. Bryan was so scared! It was honestly kind of cute to see him not acting like he could handle anything for once! I told him to relax and breathe. He has always so great with Aubrey. I knew he'd be just fine.

I, on the other hand, was such a nervous mommy throughout the three hours. I texted Bryan just 30 minutes after leaving the house. Of course, everything was perfectly fine. They were playing together in the living room. Throughout my entire appointment (which seemed to take a life time), all I could think about was Bryan and Aubrey. I just wanted to get home to my family and potentially save my husband from a mental breakdown. I had texted him a few more times but hadn't received a response. I had no idea what was going on.

On my drive home it seemed like every slow driving tourist would pull in front of me. It took me forever to get home! The moment I finally made it home and walked in the door, I was greeted by and smiling husband and happy baby. I couldn't believe it! I was so relieved....then Bryan invited me upstairs. Not only had my husband nervously cared for our baby girl for more than three hours, he had also cleaned everything! Laundry was washed and folded, bottles were washed and reassembled, carpets were vacuumed, beds and crib were perfectly made....everything was in it's place. Bryan just looked at me with a huge smile on his face. He was so proud! I was beyond impressed and entirely speechless. I couldn't believe how much he was able to accomplish while caring for Aubrey. He proudly told me how he'd mastered folding with one hand! I laughed. I was so incredibly proud of my sweet husband. I have a feeling I'll be setting quite a few more appointments so I can leave Daddy in charge!!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Workout Routine Re-orientation...

Ugh, my legs hurt already!!! Thanks to Tyron, I am truly in for it but am oh so very ready for the challenge. It has been seven weeks since Bryan and I welcomed baby Aubrey into our lives so I have had just enough time to rest and recover and am now ready to get back into bikini shape. Tyron and I decided to start out slow by working out only twice this week. Today was my first day!

I met Tyron at MegaFitness this morning at nine ready to go. He had planned on putting me through a 30 minute high intesity workout by completing several different exercises five times with only a minute rest in between. Well I didn't make it through five times...I only made it through three times in almost an hour. I was exhausted!! Tyron jokingly called this workout my re-orientation to training, haha. Even though I hated the feeling of being weak, it felt great to be back in the gym.

Thursday is my next training session with Tyron. In addition to training, we are taking photographs of my post pregnancy shape and also documenting my measurements and weight. I'll be posting them hopefully within a few days if Aubrey allows. :-) She is quite an attention grabber but that's perfectly okay with me!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Almost Gym Time....

Tuesday morning Bryan, Aubrey, and I headed to my six week check up with Dr. Gerber and were actually on time! Bryan and I are still getting used to getting the family ready rather than just the couple but we are quickly learning the ropes. We absolutely love having Aubrey with us as much as possible.

The semi violating once over of an appointment went as well as to be expected. Ugh, I am so over being poked and prodded for quite a while. Dr. Gerber is amazing though! She is quick and to the point and makes you feel as comfortable as humanly possible. She quickly gave me the news that I've been anticipating hearing since the day Aubrey arrived. I now have the green light to head back to the gym to work on getting back into shape. I truly cannot wait!

The moment we were all buckled in inside the car I texted Tyron letting him know I was ready to start training. Part of me wanted to start working out right away, but I knew waiting a few more days was probably smart. We are starting back next week! Along the way I'll be posting info about my journey back and as promised, no secrets! Photos, measurements, diets, workouts, and just miscellaneous stuff will all be posted.

Below are some pictures of us heading out the door to the appointment on Tuesday. (Emma is always close and wishes she could tag along.) We had to feed Aubrey as we finished getting ready. Everything worked out perfectly though. She was a sweetie at the doctor and of course, everyone oohed and ahhed over her. The entire office just loved her! Enjoy the photos...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Big Girl Baths...

Bryan and I have heard so many stories about how long it takes for a baby's umbilical cord to fall off. We heard as early as three days and were just hoping Aubrey would that lucky. Well, as we rolled into week four with Aubrey's umbilical cord still very much intact, we were bummed. That little thing was hanging on for dear life and it was starting to smell just awful! Anyone holding Aubrey would have thought we never cared for her or bathed her. Poor baby. Those little cat baths we were giving her were getting difficult too. Keeping the center of Aubrey's body dry was not the easiest task. Thank goodness bathing her is a dream. She is an angel in the tub and just relaxes, not making a peep. She is such a sweet girl.

At the hospital, the nurses gave us tons of information on how to care for Aubrey in the first few months. We were given a book that talked a little bit about her umbilical cord. In the book it suggested we clean the area with alcohol until that little stinker fell off. However, the nurses highly advised against it, stating we should keep the area dry and allow plenty of air to hit it instead. They said it would heal up and fall off just as fast. We listened....until the forth week. I finally decided to clean it with alocohol. Oh I was so tempted to just try and nudge it a little. As I cleaned it, I realized it really was just hanging on by a thread. I was afraid of hurting Aubrey or a possible infection though so I just let it be. At least cleaning the area with alcohol made me feel a little better. It certainly looked better!

That afternoon Bryan came home to check on his girls and to grab some lunch with us. I had been so busy with Aubrey all morning that I hadn't been able to finish folding the laundry. Bryan took over and went straight into changing her diaper. As he was changing her he let out a huge gasp and started asking me what had happened to it, where was it, when did it happen, why didn't you tell me, how did I miss this.....Haha. I had no idea what he was talking about! Then all he could do was point at her tummy and stumble over his words. Silly silly. I stood up to look at Aubrey's tummy and finally realized that the umbilical cord had just fallen off. Yay!! It was stuck inside her little brown onesie so it was hard to see. Bryan was ecstatic to say the least, as was I!! We were so wrapped up in the moment we forgot to take pictures to document the moment. I was so upset that we forgot.

Below are some photos of bath time a couple weeks ago and also some more recent photos. Hope you enjoy!! Promise more photos soon!



Thursday, April 8, 2010

Tummy Aches, Daddy Time, & Hearing Tests...

As I mentioned in previous posts, Aubrey has been hurting from her horrible tummy aches. She has been such a trooper putting up with Bryan and me! We have been trying so hard to figure out everything we can to keep her comfortable. We have altered the way we're feeding her just slightly, but it seems to be helping tremendously. Thank goodness!

Bryan ended up working a little later than normal last night so when he finally got home we had quite a bit to do before bed. I was already upstairs tidying things up and getting things ready for Aubrey's bath. Bryan and I hadn't eaten yet, but decided to go ahead with Aubrey's bath first in hopes that it would tucker her out and she would go right to sleep. Ugh, not a chance. We started her bath in her little bath tub, but didn't finish there! She had quite a blowout mid bath!! She was obviously relaxing, which we were excited about. Bryan quickly hopped into our bathtub and filled it just enough for Aubrey to finsih getting cleaned up. She is four weeks old and still has her umbilical cord attached so we have to be careful not to get her tummy wet. We can't wait for real bath time! We quickly finished round two of her bath in the big girl bath tub and wrapped her in her towel. Daddy is always in charge of holding Aubrey in her towel as I rub lotion on her already so soft limbs. Aubrey decided it would be funny to do a mini blowout in her towel on daddy's lap! The quick bath before dinner was turning into a very long process, which also was upsetting our baby girl.

Aubrey cried and cried for the longest time while Bryan tried to console her. He truly is amazing with her. I sat on the edge of the bed folding laundry admiring how sweet my husband was being to our wailing daughter. He could have easily been so frustrated. He rocked her close in his arms and had full blown sweet conversations with her the entire time. It was so adorable. I can't believe I didn't get the camera out! He'd kiss on her and smile and respond to all her little coos and faces. Everything he did worked to calm her down. I love that he has such a special touch with her. Shortly after she went down, Bryan and I finished up our to do lists and got ready for bed. It took us a little while to unwind and just as we did, Aubrey started talking...telling us she was ready for a new diaper and a full tummy. Bryan and I laughed and started the cycle once again. She was amazing this time and ate and went right back to sleep.

This morning was a big morning for all of us. A little more than four weeks ago we welcomed baby Aubrey into our lives. Bryan and I begged the hospital to release us early so we could get home and relax. In doing so, Aubrey was still too young to pass a mandatory hearing test before we left. They scheduled a follow up appointment one month following her birth date. Today was that appointment. Bryan and I both have encouraged eachother along the way that Aubrey was perfectly fine. It definitely tested our faith at times. As we sat in the office looking at our daughter with sound machines stuffed in her ears and a monitor with colorful dots and lines tracking her results, we each said a little prayer. When we finally heard the words spoken that her hearing was perfect, we were beyond thrilled. We were just so happy to hear everything 100% ok.

Aubrey is now home sleeping heavily in her swing as I finish up this blog. I should be resting too, but wanted to fill everyone in. Hope everyone has been enjoying this amazing weather! We can't wait to enjoy more of it! More pictures to come very soon!!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Personal Posts...

I have struggled back and forth with how personal to make these posts. Originally MegaMommies was dedicated solely to my getting back into shape after Aubrey was born. I planned to include all sorts of fitness related tid bits along the way. However, Bryan has mentioned to me on several occasions, that many people are bummed that I have not updated the site more often. Bryan and I have had a ton going on...just not really related to fitness at all. I have decided though to open up a little and share more about the Pallone Family's day to day experiences. I still plan on writing often about my MegaMommy transformation once I'm finally able to get back to the gym. Hope everyone enjoys!