Grow Baby Grow {Paige} - 18 Months

Holy smokes! We have an 18-month-old! Paige is most definitely a big girl and not a baby - it is so amazing how much she has grown and changed in the last few months. She continues to just be the most joyful child, and we couldn't love her more.

Stats:
Weight: 20 pounds, 15 ozs. {25%}
Height: 31" {25%}
Head circumference: 45.5 cm {30%}
Diaper: size 3, 1 snap down in cloth and 2 or 3 across
Clothing size: 12-18 months in everything but some things are too big
Shoe size: 5 or 5.5

-Let's start with the most amazing thing that has happened - Paige is pretty much potty-trained!!! She has been wearing panties whenever she is awake for over a week with maybe 1 accident/day. She tells me when she needs to poop, but she isn't always so good with pee. We've even gone in public in panties! This AMAZES me.

-She says close to 50 words and signs a lot too. She just started showing interest in Baby Signing Time and went from no interest to obsessed really quickly!

-Paige eats and eats and eats. She loves food! She has a great diet - loves fruits and veggies but has also been introduced to Babs' suckers and loves those too. {grin} The only food she doesn't like is pickles. She REALLY loves ketchup, ha.

-She is obsessed with her siblings and says 'Sis-ser' or 'Bubba' a million times a day.

-Paige knows who all her people are. She likes to point out her people or their things {she'll point to my car and say 'Mama'}.

-She can name a handful of body parts {hair, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, toes, head}. She likes to poke me as she says them - I have to be quick to get my eyes closed!

-She LOVES to be sung to and she loves dancing. She dictates what songs I can sing - Trent did that at this age too. 2 nights ago she said 'happy' about 10 times {'If You're Happy and You Know It'}, so cute.

-Paige is a little artist. She draws all the time and holds a pen/pencil/crayon with the correct grip which is very cool to see. Unfortunately, we have evidence of her artwork on a few walls.

-She has 12 teeth with 4 poking through {her vampire teeth as Drew calls them}.

-Paige still loves water. Some days she'll take multiple baths in one day. She also scares the crap out of me at the pool - I bought her a life vest because she won't stay in the float and will literally just walk off the side of the pool.

-She's been sleeping through the night for about 6 weeks solidly. AMAZING! Sleeps probably 12 hours/night and goes down around 7:30. She takes on average a 3-hour nap.

-We are still nursing, but she isn't obsessed like Drew. She nurses around sleep - going down and waking up.

-She loves to be outside - blowing bubbles, playing with balls or her water table, riding in the wagon {or really more pushing it}.

-She still doesn't care too much about books. A lot of times she will just hold them herself!

-Paige does the cutest thing when we ask 'where...' - like 'Where is Daddy?' She'll scrunch up her arms and look around. SO CUTE.

I say all the time we should have named our little love Joy instead of Paige because she is just pure joy. She is so happy, so fun, so sweet - we are all smitten with her! She is one lucky little girl who has so many people wrapped around her little finger. I can't wait to see who she grows up to be! XOXO

The FASTer Way to Fat Loss

I don't want to be one of those whiny women that complain about feeling fat and gross as she eats donuts, but if the shoe fits... {grin}

Within about 8 weeks of Paige's arrival, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight - which was about 15 pounds heavier than I wanted to be - but that was largely due to my post-partum anxiety. I was so anxious I couldn't eat. Brent would bring home anything he thought might entice me to eat, but it would take me hours to force anything down. I don't recommend PPA as a weight loss plan since it is the worst experience I've had the pleasure of repeating 3 times, but it certainly took the weight off!

Unfortunately, when I started Zoloft, the side effects caused me to gain weight. I didn't really care when I first started gaining weight because I was so happy to feel better, but 30 pounds later, I wasn't happy anymore!

It's been 9 months since I realized how much weight I'd gained, and I fluctuate between having lost 10-15 pounds. That's IT. Yes, I'm happy to have lost weight, but I'm definitely NOT happy with my weight. 

Food, as always, is my problem.

I've been exercising at Orange Theory Fitness for about the same 9 months and jogging some at home. BUT bad food is my downfall. I honestly believe I know more than the average person about food and what is good for us and what is bad. I just have no ability to execute - I do not know how to teach myself moderation. Alcoholism runs in my dad's side of the family, and I think food, and really sugar, is my vice {and I don't say that in jest}.

All that to say...I've joined a 6-week program - this week is a prep week -  that combines:

• intermittent fasting - I'll eat 8 hours in a 24-hour period
• carb cycling - some days are low carb, some days are regular
• macro counting - I've never done this before and hate tracking food, but I've heard once you get in a habit of it, it becomes really natural. And we're using the My Fitness Pal app which has been really user-friendly and easy so far
• variety of exercise - some days are interval training, some are heavy weight days, all depending on the type of food day we're having - I do plan to continue with Orange Theory, so we'll see how that all works

Yesterday was my first day to follow the low-carb rules, and I didn't hit my categories for anything - too few carbs, too little fat, too little protein - but I know it's a learning curve, and I'll get there. I was really hungry at bedtime which is NOT supposed to be the norm, and I'm excited that there are only 2 low carb days - definitely makes it feel manageable. It's also cool because the creator talks a lot about how there are no foods that are off-limits. There are days you can't have things - like no/very little fruit on low carb days - but if you want a donut on a regular day, you can have it. The saying is 'if it fits my macros' ha. I'm hopeful that this is how I can finally learn balance...eek, time shall tell!

The program ends the day before my 38th birthday, and I hope to see really good results. And that I don't let my birthday derail me, ha! I will probably give an update at the halfway point and the end, so we shall see!