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The day before I had Patsy, I had a doctor's appointment. In the waiting room was a new mom (baby looked about 6 weeks old) and all the other women in the waiting room were oohing and ahhing at her cute baby boy. Some of the women in the waiting room were asking her about her life as a mom, if she had other kids, etc. She said she was a stay at home mom and the other moms in the waiting room seemed to ooze with glee and excitement. "Being a stay at home mom is really the best thing for your children." "Oh I agree. There would be less problems in the world if more women stayed at home to raise their children." "Who wants their child to be raised by daycare?" This is what the conversation was like for at least 30 minutes.

Patsy is currently: 4 months old! Wow, time has FLOWN by. I've been pretty bad at keeping track of things so I'm hoping to do these monthly posts!

Weight: unknown. We had to push back her pediatrician appointment because we are still figuring out our new schedule! I'll know her weight at some point next weekend.

Clothing:  finally she is fitting into 3-6 month things. Not that I want her to get too big too quickly or anything, I was just starting to get sick of her 0-3 month outfits. Is that bad to say? She is such a fashionista!

Nicknames: Patsy already is a nickname, but we also call her nugget too.

Health/Diet:  Still just on breastmilk! My goal is for her to be breastfed for a full year. As a year seems like a million years away (and I'm back at work full time), my interim goal is 6 months. I know some women exclusively pump and I'm not sure I could do it! I love nursing my little Patsy girl and the pump is just not nearly as satisfying, lol.

Loving a bottle while Mom is at work!

Sleep: She slept really well for the past few months, but now she seems to be getting up more. I think this is what is called the 4 month sleep regression. So now that she is 4 months old, her sleep pattern is changing. That means that she never wants to go to sleep and gets up a lot. Perfect for a mom just going back to work. :) She sleeps well if she is swaddled so we are still swaddling our little nugget!


Milestones: We can get her to laugh sometimes and it is the best sound in the whole world. She has also started fake coughing, which apparently is a thing. She is getting stronger each day! She rolled over once the other day but we haven't been able to replicate it. Also, she pushed herself up to the sitting position to look at Pepper while in her Snugamonkey. I think she used the Snugamonkey as support, but that is still kind of a big deal!

Likes: Being held, being tossed in the air, tubby time, mommy and daddy snuggles, kisses from Pepper, sticking her hands in her mouth

Dislikes: Her bouncy seat, the carseat, tummy time, not being held



Happy 4 months to my Patsy girl!

My running these days has been kind of sporadic. How is the weather? What do I have time for? When did I last feed the baby? Before I was pregnant, I was running more miles so it took longer to complete my runs. Every week starts off with the intention to run a few times... But then I look at the calendar, see how much time has passed and wonder where all the time went! Seriously, motherhood will do that to you! Since I'm base building at this point, it doesn't take me that long to go for a run. I always say I'm getting into a routine, but then something changes. I'm back to work now so we are trying to figure out what is the new normal... So my goal right now is to run when I can, hopefully 2 days a week. We'll see how things go.

Thinking back to 2013, I spent most of the year pregnant. However, that didn't keep me from having some fun!

• I attempted to run a half marathon but dropped out when things didn't feel right. On the plus side, I got to meet Tera Moody. (And Maggie made me a medal for a half half marathon)
• I got to meet Dathan Ritzenhein and be a track super nerd and huge fan about it.
• I ran/walked the Shamrock Shuffle, keeping the streak alive!
• I completed the 5k Quarryman Challenge with Pepper and had an absolute blast.
• I ran my last 5k of the year on Memorial Day Weekend, the Two Rivers Meet 5k
• I drove 9 of my best pals from Madison, WI to Chicago, IL as part of the Ragnar Relay!
• Oh and I gave birth to little Baby Wilson! 

If there are any folks that read this blog and don't want to hear/read about breastfeeding, then this post isn't for you. When I was pregnant, I made the decision that I wanted to breastfeed Baby Wilson. I did some research but most of what I read said that it is hard to prepare beforehand. The best way to learn was with your little one already here. As someone who likes to plan and prepare, this made me nervous. I always like to "keep it real" on this blog so I'm going to tell you some of my thoughts. There are a few things I didn't realize beforehand and I thought I would let some of you all know of how things have worked out for me.

1) Breastfeeding is hard. Moms that say that it is "easy" have it pretty lucky. The actual act of breastfeeding isn't difficult; it is all the other things that go along with it. You really have to be committed to it and want to make it work. There is lots of overthinking and worrying that goes along with it (just like with pregnancy). The first few days (and week) are kind of painful as your body adjusts to this new task. There are things that help with the pain and it subsides. The pain is never excruciating, just discomforting. I just would tell myself "Let's try one more day" everyday until things got easier... Kind of like running a half marathon. "Just one more mile.. I can do this." And then it got easier, just like everyone said it would.  Thankfully there was a support group at the local hospital as well as a wonderful Facebook group that are always discussing all things breastfeeding. They helped me get through those first few days/weeks.

Patsy and I at the Nursing Moms group Halloween Party

2) Newborn babies need to eat every 2 hours during the day (3-4 hours at night). Babies also can eat for about 40-50 minutes. So, if they eat every 2 hours, and it takes them 40-50 minutes to eat, that means I have 1 hour and 10 minutes to get anything done before she needs to eat again. I think the first time I left the house without the baby was to go get ice cream for me and the hubs. I think I was gone for about 15 minutes. Patsy is slowly starting to go 2.5-3 hours in between feedings during the day. That extra 30-60 minutes makes all the difference! Here is a little example of a real life scenario and part of the reason I started to ask for help while Christmas shopping...
Start feeding baby at 12:00, finish at 12:45.
Put baby in car seat, finish packing diaper bag, start car, put baby in the car.
Finally pulling out of the driveway at 1:00.
Drive to the mall 25 minutes away. Get out of the car, unpack stroller, load diaper bag onto stroller.
Get into the mall at 1:35. Get to shop for 25 minutes before it is time for Patsy to eat again.

Hanging out in the backseat after one of our many backseat nursing sessions

3) Everyone has a different opinion about breastfeeding. I am extremely lucky to come from a family where all of my relatives nursed their babies. I spend a lot of time with my in-laws and they all nursed their babies as well. My husband is also hugely supportive of breastfeeding which makes things so much easier. Without such a strong support system, things would have been a lot more difficult. Thanks to my trusty Boppy nursing cover, I've been able to nurse Patsy around friends, relatives, and in public. (Patsy has eaten at Panera, Bakers Square, TGIFridays, Portillo's, and all around the Michigan City Outlet Malls) I've gotten a few stares here and there while using it, but I don't really mind the stares. I'm not going to feed my baby in a bathroom. I wouldn't want to eat in there, why would I want to feed my baby in there? :) I know every mom has to make their own decisions as to what works best for them, whether that is formula or nursing. I'm pretty lucky that breastfeeding has worked out for me. I hope to breastfeed for 6 months and eventually a year. Right now we are just over 3.5 months and still going strong! :)

Nursing Patsy Rose at Ann Taylor LOFT!

4) Breastfeeding isn't just putting your baby by your boob and hoping for the best. There is the latch (is it good? Is it strong?) and the transfer (how much milk is baby getting?). Since the milk is coming from the source, it is hard to gauge how much the baby is getting unless they are weighed before and after feedings. I left the hospital feeling confident in my breastfeeding capabilities. After a few weeks, I started going to a Nursing Moms Network at the local hospital. There, I started doing weekly weight checks and Patsy wasn't gaining as much as we would like to see. I was able to take some milk supplements, eat some oatmeal and my supply increased! Patsy started to gain more weight and we were on the right track. I feel lucky to have had such a great support group for help! I think I would have worried myself sick if not for other moms who have gone through something similar.

5) Despite the difficulties, bumps in the road, and worries along the way, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world! The bond that I have with my child through breastfeeding is something I really can't describe. I won't go into more mushy details, but it really is quite amazing. :) I feel that this is what our bodies were meant to do. Even if I don't meet my end goal, I am grateful for every time I get to nurse my child and for every ounce of milk she gets from me. As I go back to work, I know the challenges will only increase, but I'm about as ready for them as I can be! :)

As I mentioned in a previous post that the most important thing I've learned about being a mom is that you have to think beyond your original plan. Babies don't always do things according to plan so you have to be able to roll with the punches when the changes come (and they will come). I hope some of you found this post helpful!

I've been a bit removed from the blogging world for the past month. I've been trying to thoroughly enjoy my maternity leave as it comes to an end. We also hosted my family over on Christmas Eve (about 40 people) for a nice homemade dinner. Needless to say, I was quite busy while also running around with Patsy! The Christmas season started before Thanksgiving when I took Miss Patsy Rose to go see Santa at Macy's.

Apparently I forgot to ask them to zoom in. Patsy looks so tiny! Oh well, new mom mistakes! I'll know better for next year! We also christened our baby girl in early December and she received lots of really cute Christmas clothes that she was able to get a lot of use of during the month of December.





In case you can't tell, our girl is pretty happy. We are pretty lucky we have such a wonderfully happy and adorably baby girl!

Her weight gain had been a little slow so I was nervous how things would go between pediatrician appointments. Turns out I was worried for nothing and she is gaining weight just fine, along her own curve. (She is in the 5th percentile for weight.) For those of you that don't know (I used to not know at all), all things baby are compared to these percentile rankings. These are data sets put together on a global basis, looking at babies' weights across the board. So, it is basically a system for moms to go crazy comparing their babies to others. :)

After hearing that our little Patsy Rose is doing just fine, I was able to stop worrying so much and enjoy the rest of my maternity leave! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my entire family so there was lots of planning, prepping, and cleaning that needed to be done. It was really wonderful to host Christmas in our home as a new family. We were able to enjoy the evening with our little girl without needing to run all over town at all hours of the night. :) Patsy's dress was PRETTY adorable. Carter's has some of the best baby clothes out there, seriously.



Now that Christmas has passed and the new year is starting, I have lots of big goals for 2014. I hope you're ready to follow along for the ride! :)

Run-ning? What's that? Oh yeah, the reason why I created this blog in the first place! So, let's talk about running for a change. I got the chance to run with the FNRC last night. Looking at the calendar, I hadn't had the chance to run in almost 2 weeks. Oops! I guess that's what happens when you're busy working part time while being a mom. (I don't know how I'll do it when I'm back at work full time. I guess I'll have to figure it out!)

Bathroom Selfie (the only area with a light)

Amanda and her boyfriend Derek slowed it down and hung back at my pace during the run. I have been feeling that my pace is about 11:00-11:30 these days. I don't really like to focus too much on pace on my Garmin at this point, but I thought it was funny that my average pace for the run was 11:09... Right on target with how I was feeling. Little by little, I'm getting back into shape. I'm enjoying the journey along the way! I'm trying to get back into the habit of taking photos of myself (instead of just the baby). I finally got the chance to test out my Oiselle Flyte top on a run. (I bought it while I was pregnant and I've been looking forward to wearing it!)


And just for good measure, here is an adorable Patsy photo of her in her pjs... complete with bunny slippers.

I said before that I thought I was having a boy, but Patricia has totally rocked my world! I absolutely love picking out her outfits pajamas included) every day.

Thanks so much for all your kind words and support on my post from last week. It really is great to open myself up and be honest with all of you, and to hear all your kind words of encouragement and support!

It really is quite crazy how quickly the time goes by. Pregnancy and raising an infant is kind of a weird time vortex. Things seem to go extremely slowly yet very fast all at the same time. It really is hard to explain. I've been trying to run 3 days a week but it seems like 1 or 2 days a week seems to be much more normal. I'd like to get back to my 3x per week runs, but that will take some time. Patsy isn't really on a routine just yet and I'm doing some part time work for my job while out on maternity leave (this will allow me to take more leave time off).

I've been able to meet up with the folks on my Thursday night group a few times. The group is so amazing and I love that there are some people willing to hang out and go my speed. Definitely a "pay it forward" type of thing; no runner left behind! It is starting to get a little too cold to bring Patsy out on runs in the BOB so I've been out with Pepper. I'm hoping to make this a part of my weekly routine. I had to wipe the dust off my head lamp and find my reflective stuff all over again!

While some of my friends were running the Naperville Marathon on Sunday, I was going for a leisurely jog around my neighborhood. My SIL came by to watch Patsy and I went out for another run with Pepper!
The temps were beautiful! I had a lot of fun out there in some nice weather. I also loved wearing all my running gear again. I have lots of stuff that I still need to take the tags off of. Oops! I think I have a bit of a shopping problem. I only went for a mile but it was a fun mile!
This is what a mother runner looks like. I wanted to post this photo also as a follow-up to my post from last week. Looking at this photo, all I can see is my little pouch. I totally get why many moms hide behind flowy tops and capri pants. I'm working on getting my confidence back and posting this photo is taking me down the right road. :)

And because she is smiling all the time, I just had to post my new favorite photo of my little angel, Miss Patsy Rose. She was kicking up a storm (the hubs calls it "riding a bicycle") and smiling like a big ham for the camera. I just had to share this photo with all of you. I hope it makes you smile just like it makes me smile all the time.

It really is quite amazing how quickly the time goes by when taking care of a small child. I can only imagine how fast the time will go by when I'm also running and working too! I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite things from Patsy's first few weeks of life!

1) Wubbanubs - these came recommended from Michelle at Crazy Running Legs. I saw them and thought they were so adorable, I needed to register for a few. In addition to being adorable, they are pretty functional too. They are much more difficult to lose than the normal pacifier. When Patsy spits it out (which is often), it sits on her instead of rolling onto the floor.


2) Aden & Anais Swaddle Blankets - These were recommended to me by several different folks. I love that they are muslin and breathable. It makes me feel better about using them and the lessened suffocation hazard. They are also pretty large which is great for the novice swaddler. Last but not least, the patterns are absolutely adorable. They are a little on the expensive side but they occasionally go on sale at Babies R Us and are also available on the Kohl's website. I highly recommend you pick up some!


3) Fisher Price Rock N Play Sleeper - This was something that I didn't register for but my SILs bought for me because they thought I would love it. Oh my goodness, this is the best thing ever! It pretty much is a portable crib that is super easy to maneuver around. We live in a ranch and this sleeper is pushed around to the kitchen, living room, bathroom... wherever! I'm so glad we have this little piece of furniture.


4) Summer Infant Swaddlers - These are fantastic. The nurses at the hospital are able to swaddle your baby for you beautifully. Then you come home and no one in your house has the same amazing swaddling skills. Therefore, the folks at Summer Infant created swaddles that use velcro to keep in place. We put Patsy in them just for sleeping and she loves them. Babies are only supposed to be tightly swaddled for the first few months so I didn't get a ton, just a few. These swaddles are currently available at TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores for much, much cheaper than Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby.


5) Honest Company Diapers - I heard about this company from a friend and I liked that they had diapers that were plant based and biodegradable. I consider myself to be semi-crunchy-granola and I thought that these diapers were a good fit for us. They are delivered to my house as regularly as I want them to be (and wipes are included in the package). The patterns are also super adorable. The only downside is that they don't come with the blue/yellow line that says whether or not the diaper is wet. As often as she is peeing and pooping, I'm not too worried about it at this point. The company doesn't just do diapers. They also offer cleaning products, baby care products, and even vitamins. All of their products are organic, plant based, and uber-enviro-friendly.



And just because, here are some more photos of my adorable baby girl. I might be having a bit too much fun picking out her outfits every day. Headbands are pretty much a necessity.



Note: I was in no way compensated for the reviews of these products. These opinions and views are my own.

It really is amazing how much time has passed since my last post. The days seem to go by fairly quickly, even though I feel like I'm not doing much. Our little Patsy is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3+ hours during the night (at least on good nights) which has worked out alright thus far. I can usually tell when she is getting fussy, like clock work. We are trying to keep her up before bed time so she sleeps better during the night. Not every night is perfect, but we're getting there.

We've had lots of fun visitors this week, some of which may be familiar to you!

Amanda (Get to Goal) came by on her day off on Monday, after another marathon finish at Fox Valley on Sunday. Like a bad blogger, I didn't take any photos of her visit. Oops!

Amanda Too Tall Fritz also came by with her kids. As we plan on having more than one child, I always love when kids come to visit. It gives me a glimpse into my potential future, chaos and all.

Kim and Bobbi made the trek from the far north suburbs all the way out to visit me! It was so nice that they came all this way! Kim brought along some delicious Fake Meats Meals (complete from the monthly meal plan that I keep talking about signing up for).

Bobbi and I both wore orange... Unexpectedly

So far I'm loving maternity leave and I'm not looking forward to going back to work in a few weeks. Thankfully I won't be going back until after Thanksgiving so I still have some time. :)

I've been taking a few walks a week and been feeling good. Hoping to get the all-clear to run at my 6 week appointment! I've been feeling much better since the surgery so we'll see how the next 4 weeks go. :) Thanks for following along!

My favorite walking buddies!

Well, Patsy is now over a week old and we've been home from the hospital for just over a week. We have had lots of visitors at our house and I love all the company. It really helps the day go by faster with other people coming by. Pepper also really loves all the visitors. This is Dad's first week back at work since Patsy was born and it has been off to a bit of a rough start (very late to work his first day back and a horrible night's sleep the night before). I'm excited that things seem to be healing well with the incision. I'm happy for when I can take my little nugget out and about (I really dislike being cooped up in the house all day). After 2 weeks, I'm cleared to lift things heavier than the baby, so I will actually be able to pick  her up in her carseat.

Get ready folks. Here comes some of the TMI stuff of what it has been like at home. I had a plan to exclusively breastfeed my baby and I'm happy to report that Patsy has really taken to it. She is eating (and pooping and peeing) like a champ. It isn't easy and it is very tiring being the only food source. But I think it is worth it and I would do it all over again. I hope that things continue to work in the future, so we'll see how it goes! Sometimes the hubs and I will have a conversation strictly about what color poop the baby has. Yes, we've turned into THAT couple. It is kind of hard not to when we are both completely enthralled with our adorable baby girl. All in all, she is pretty much just eating, pooping, peeing, and sleeping these days.  She is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. At times when she is awake and alert we try to do some tummy time or something. We also try to keep her awake right before we go to bed (only letting her sleep for no more than an hour between 7pm and 10pm). This has worked out fairly well so far. I would like to get into more of a bedtime routine with story time and such when she is probably about a month old.

There are some products that we've liked so far and I'll be sure to do a product post in a little while, once I take some photos of her using the various things. :)

As I mentioned before, I have been pretty much stuck in the house most days, but Patsy has already been out to dinner, out to breakfast, and even made her first trip to Kohl's. I really can't wait until I'm feeling better to take her out and around! As I'm typing this up, I'm contemplating going for a walk around the block, just to get up and out of the house. (And I want to give her stroller system an inaugural trip.)

And here is my new favorite way to spend Sundays.

Since I don't really have much to blog about, I thought I would just post photos of my adorable baby girl! She actually has her own hashtag if you're looking for more photos. Check out #PatsyRose on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!

Carseat snuggles on the way home from the hospital

Wearing Mom's favorite color

Stealing a smile!

Whatchu lookin at?

Momma and baby during our first night out for Daddy and Uncle Dan's birthday