Happy Easter

Thank god I am returning to running this week because I have almost eaten more than Little A's body weight of chocolate! Am I the only one having chocolate for breakfast this Easter????

If you had asked me what my favourite thing about Easter was any other year it would have been one of these 3 things:

1. Cadbury Cream Eggs
(I love their TV ads too!)

2. Hot Cross Buns
(with fruit please!)

3. 4 day weekend
These days everyday is like a weekend but its still nice to have Big A around for 4 days!

This year however I am excited about easter for a whole new reason...

Easter egg hunts!!!!
For the next decade at least we will be enjoying the magic of waking up to Easter Egg hunts on Easter Sunday. I must be a big kid at heart but I think there is something so cool about finding chocolate hidden all through the house.

Anyhow Happy Hunting at your house. I wish you and your family a Happy and Safe Easter!

Treadmill Time

After a solid 10 hour sleep Little A wakes at 5.30am for a feed before settling back down for another couple of hours. Once he's down I slip on my sneakers and escape out the back door while hubby and bubby snooze. When I return I enjoy a nice hot shower, have breakfast with Big A and pack his lunch. Then a happy and well slept little A stirs from his cot... and so my day begins.

IN MY DREAMS!!!!

As much as I would like to fantasise about such mornings the reality is 90% of my mornings wouldn't resemble anything like this! Firstly newborns don't sleep for 10 hours straight but even if and when he does I doubt his waking and sleep times will magically align with my ideal training and showering times. At the moment I am just grateful for a shower time!

So that coupled with the fact that apparently you aren't meant to leave babies at home unattended while you go for a run means I am going to have to do some treadmill time.

Treadmills are not my favourite way to train by a long shot but a treadie run is better than no run. While Treadmill runs are a bit "boring" and speed workouts just aren't as good on them I am still grateful for treadmills and here's why:

1. I will get to run when I otherwise could not
2. Rain, hail, shine you can always run on a treadmill
3. You can watch trash TV and rest assured you are still being productive!
4. You don't have to wait for your Garmin to charge if you forgot to plug it in the night before
5. You can wear your ultra daggy comfortable training clothes in the privacy of your own home
6. You can lie down on the warm belt post run for your stretch...REALXING!

So even if I don't get many "ideal" mornings in the next few months I can still be clocking up the Ks thanks to the trusty Treadie.

5 sure signs you have a baby in the house

Time
You no longer tell the time by looking at the clock. Actually you couldn't really care if it was 9am or 7pm. The only time you care about is how many hours its been since the last feed.

Random animal noises
Strange noises emanate from your house... not just screaming but noises that resemble a duck, dog, kitten, horse and many other animals (or is this just my child? did I sing too much "Old Mcdonald" when I was pregnant???)

Washing machine
Your washing machine has worked more than a 38hour week

Conversation topics
Your dinner conversation is no longer intellectually stimulating topics such as world events and current affairs. Instead you discuss events closer to home... Poo frequency, which bum cream worked best, how many naps were had and what crazy new noise you heard today!

Feeling a bit cramped...
You seem to have twice as much stuff as you use to. Seriously how does something so little have so much stuff?!?!

4 weeks

Little A is 4 weeks old today and there are just so many milestones to mention. Firstly I can't believe what a quick learner he is...

He already knows how things work around here!!







Today he really earned his stripes when it poured down on our walk. Too bad they don't make mummy covers because while bubby was dry as a bone Mummy looked like a drowned rat. To add insult to injury I was wearing a white top too!

"I'm no "fair-weather walker"







The little guy is weighing in at 4.2kg now which is over a kilo more than his birth weight. We are also starting to see glimpses of his personality and he's a firey one!

Today also marks Big As return to work. So its just Little A and I now. Having relied on Big A for the last 4 weeks I was convinced I'd get nothing done when he went back to work. But we are doing suprisingly well today...Its amazing what you can do with only one arm... like type this!

Finally my thought for the day...

When little A wakes or wont go to sleep when I am trying to get something done I remind myself that he is not an interuption to my day but rather the purpose of it. Motherhood inspires patience on a whole new level. As someone who was previously addicted to being busy and productive I am learning about the wonder that exists in every moment and sitting back and enjoying each and everyone of them.

Turd Time

Also known as Witching hour "Turd Time" is when our adorable little munchkin acts like a monster. It generally looks something like this. . .

This can carry on for 5 minutes or the full hour. If it happens at the right time of day the monster can get chucked (not literally) in the pram and silenced in a short amount of time. But if like last night he decides to have it at bed time its all about patience and endurance as you sit in the dark nursery rocking, patting and trying to ignore the piercing screams. Honestly its a great time to make mental lists, plan your meals for the week or generally just zone out. Lets face it, he's been cleaned, fed and burped and the last thing I want to do is engage with him while trying to get him to sleep so I might as well be productive!

Last night was particularly painful firstly because it was the first one we had endured at bed time (when he is usually at his best) but also because about a minute before he started I was in the kitchen about to get desert. So the whole time I sat in that rocking chair I was thinking about Neopolitan ice cream in a waffle cone. . .

The amazing thing about "Turd Time" once its over its over. In the blink of an eye you have your angel back. . .

Smiles and Celebrations

It started like any other morning as I handballed Little A to Big A so I could jump in the shower and get dressed before we had to race off to an appointment in 15minutes (so yes Makeup is given the skip these days. . . clean self, hair and clothes is all I aim for anymore!).

I stepped out of the bathroom with hair and body wrapped in towels, tooth brush in mouth and putting on deoderant (This kind of multi tasking means I can get a load of washing on too in that 15minutes) and found little A and Big A having cuddles on the couch. Not a second later we got what every parent longs for from the moment they are born... His first smile!!!!

I wasn't convinced I would even recognise his first smile because he has been doing this gummy smile like thing since birth. We were told it was him passing gas and to be honest he didn't look particularly happy when he was doing it so not hard to believe it wasn't a smile.

Today our little guys face lit up like a christmas tree and his smile stretched from ear to ear. It was the most amazing site and we have been smiling since... and eagerly awaiting the encore. This time I will have the camera ready!

Celebrations were in order... so the three of us trotted off after our appointment to Uncle Alberts for brekkie (2nd brekkie for me!). I thoroughly enjoyed some foods I had to avoid or be careful of during pregnancy....

CHORIZO & BACON!!!!

Even though I am still being sensible while breastfeeding it is great to not have to be as careful. Leftovers, soft cheese, processed meats are all back on the menu. Whoever thought a ham sandwich could bring me so much joy.

Anyway all this excitement has worked up an appetite again. Time for lunch and an afternoon stroll with Little A. I will have the camera strapped to one hand all day and all night until I capture this smile.

How long until you captured your babys first smile on camera????

Melting Moments and Moments that Melt You!

Its been non stop visitors since we arrived home from hospital and today bubby, hubby and I are enjoying our first day home together just the 3 of us with no visitors and no appointments.

I have enjoyed sharing our little man with all our family and friends but I have especially enjoyed all the yummy treats theses visitors have brought with them. I am one of those people who finds something she likes and keeps buying it. So when it comes to sweets and cakes and I don't generally stray from my trusty favourites. But thanks to all our visitors I have discovered (or re-discovered) some new scrumptious treats...

Melting Moments - Buttery goodness!
Carrot Cake - Yummo! Move over banana cake.
Slab Cakes - Chocolate, Coffee & Walnut, Caramel ..... I've devoured a few in the last few weeks

So Little A is now 3 weeks old and I don't know what I did to deserve this but our little guy has a good comprehension of day and night. He is an angel at night waking only to be fed and nodding off without much ado. During the day he is much more vocal and awake. We are making the most of this and enjoying the time for interaction and watching him develop. Every day he discovers something new and it is so exciting to see his progress.

Here are some moments that have melted me in the last 3 weeks...

"Who turned off the lights?"

"Ahhhh-choo"

Cute sleep poses

"Privacy Please!!!"

My all time favourite.... sleeps on mummys chest!

Twilight walks with Tata (Check out those legs...he'll be a runner for sure!)

Out and About

Ok, so I never thought getting out and about with a newborn would be easy but our first attempt to get out of the house was a complete disaster...

The day after we got home from hospital we decided to bite the bullet and put the little guy in his little red wagon and brave the real world.

Before I tell you about our adventure out let me tell you the number #1 rule I learned that day about leaving the house:

As soon as baby is fed, drop everything, get in the car and GO!!!

Do NOT put on a load of washing, make the bed or generally fluff around tidying the house because in 2 hours (3 if you are lucky) you will be feeding again and then you will never leave the house!

Anyhow when we finally got out the door (after 3pm!) we headed to the local shopping centre with a list. We needed a few groceries and a few bits and pieces for the little guy from the baby store.

30mins later we proudly strut the little guy (fast asleep) into the shopping centre in his hot little red ride. As we walked through the food court entrance of the shopping centre we realised we hadn't had any lunch and decided to grab a quick bite to eat to tie us over.(Lesson number #2: as soon as baby is clean and fed your first priority is to clean and feed yourself... not housework. An unexpected guest wont necessarily see the unmade bed but they will smell the unshowered mummy).

At 4 O'clock we were FINALLY about to start our shopping and decided to do the groceries first in case we ran out of time to do everything on our list - getting food in to the house was the first priority!!! No sooner had we walked into the supermarket, grabbed a trolley and loaded in a loaf of bread did we hear the first wail from the little red wagon. At this point we decided that we would just grab bread, milk and absolute essentials to get us through and get out of there before the little guy demonstrated his vocal skills. But before we could get to the milk fridge the wails turned to demanding screams. The little guy was wide awake and he wanted to be fed... RIGHT NOW!

In what I thought was a clever move I decided to head to the parents room and let the Big A do the shopping with direction from me over the phone. So I wheeled my screaming child back out of the shop. Thank god the parents room was only 20meters away from the supermarket....

At the entrance of the parents room I was met by a "closed for renovations. Please use other facilites" sign (!?!?) realising that I had to embark on a 5 minute trek accross the shopping centre with a screaming child I called for back up. Big A abandoned trolley and we fled to the "other" parents room.

After a feed, change and cuddle we finally emerged at 5pm to see the roller doors coming down on the shops. So Big A, Little A and I packed up the little red wagon and trundled off home...empty handed! Even though we didn't achieve a thing it certainly was an eventful afternoon out.

It was two days later before we got the courage to venture out again. Luckily this time was much more sucessful!

I'm back...

9 days ago we welcomed our little boy to the world. Now we are settled in at home and finding some kind of a routine... well as much routine as you can have with a newborn. In between spending hours just gazing at out little wonder and the rigourous feeding and changing routine I have started my journey back to runner.

Since our return home I have enjoyed daily walks with hubby and bubby. Even thoush I am dying to pound the pavement these walks are quite the workout after more than a month of only "waddling", not to mention the addition of a pram (which is quite the workout up the hills!!)

As far as strengthening the body I have been doing my kegels religiously and have also started some light core exercises (and I mean light!). Hopefully next week I can step it up another notch if all is going well. All in all I feel great to be on the build back and am not going to risk injury by rushing it.

So there wont be a whole lot of running for the next few weeks but there will be a whole lot of mummy stuff so I will use this space for now to share some of my "new mummy" experiences.

Stay tuned....

I'm Here!

Our gorgeous baby boy was born on Monday 5th March at 6.11pm.

Weighing 3.18kgs and measuring 48cm this amazing little boy has forever changed our lives. We are completely in love and spend hours just gazing at him.

Here is a photo of "Little A" at 4 days old

He is one week old today and we are now home and enjoying getting to know him and adjusting to this whole "parenting" thing.

Baby is stiring.... must go!