{Grooving, or not as the case may be...}

I'm linking up again this week with Kate on Thin Ice for her weekly #groovingmums Blog Hop. This is week #6 already, and we're now into November... where has the time gone? Grab the badge that features above and check out Kate's blog if you fancy joining in.

I've had a bit of a mixed week if I'm honest.

My dad was here last week which was lovely to catch up with him and his wife. My son adored having his granddad around - we went to the garden centre and you could here my son shouting at the top of his voice from all corners of the store... 'Granddad, where are you?'. My sister also came down for one night and we had a mini-celebration for my dad's 60th (which is actually in November, but we won't see him again until April). I enjoyed being the hostess (I used to love hosting dinner parties b.c.) and I prepared a few nibbles for our friends & family which went down a storm (big thanks to my friend Claire for the inspiration for all the canapes). We also had a day trawling round some fabric shops and I'm feeling inspired to get the sewing machine out to make some curtains for the house (watch this space!). My sister has already made a cushion amongst other things with the fabric she purchased (she's child-free so can get things done much quicker than me!).

Some nibbles.... healthy-ish!!

On Thursday after my dad left I had a 'Keeping in Touch' day at my work. I'm due to start back in January, but had a day of training organised. I have to admit it was nice being back, even though I spent the afternoon reading Standard Operating Procedures! I wore my new Gok Wan dress (size 10!) and got a few nice comments about my new slim figure.

At work.... 

I also had a lovely night away in a 5 star hotel with a friend. We had a day of pampering at the spa followed by a lovely dinner that we got all dressed up for...

Dressed up for dinner in my new Wallis spotty dress

For Halloween on Monday I took the kiddies in their pirate outfits to visit granny & grandpa and they had a lovely day. My sister-in-law also came along with her two little ones so my son had great fun playing with his older cousin.

Last night, my friend Becky and I went to a flower arranging course. It was a one-off 2 hour course at a local florist and I had a great time and learnt loads. I'll do a separate blog post on this, but here is a quick photo of my creation:

However, here are the negatives (thought I'd start with the positive, up-beat bit!)...

Sticking to the healthy eating has been difficult now that Maria, my personal trainer, has said I can ditch the food diary. I've had too many nice cakes with my dad when he was here followed by a weekend of indulgence... must try harder this week.

I've also not been feeling great. I've had a bit of a cold and my tummy has been a bit sore too. I've been a bit of an idiot when it came to my Crohn's medication. With my weight loss I should have really reduced the dose of my medication, so I've technically been taking an overdose and I've been getting some not-so-nice side effects! My own fault really. My dose has now been lowered, but it's going to take a wee while for things to settle out. 

I've also not been doing much exercise... partly because I've been too busy and partly because I've been feeling a bit rubbish. I'm finding it difficult to go out running in the evenings now as it's so dark and it's not really safe to go on my own. I would go in the morning before hubby & the kids get up, but again it's too dark. I'm finding it really tricky to keep to the exercise plan at the moment and I'm feeling sluggish and a bit bleugh...

I feel like all I do is go round and round the house picking up stuff all the time and don't actually get anything done... dirty nappies, messy clothes, toys, more toys and even more toys...

Here's hoping the week picks up!

{Weight Loss Inspiration}

I've reached my target weight, and my personal trainer has now featured me on her list of success stories on her website! Here are the before and after pics:

3 July 2011

3 July 2011

11 Oct 2011

I have achieved the following results:

• lost 6 inches from my waist
• lost 5.75 inches from my hips
• my body fat % has dropped 11%
• lost 33lbs (however I've lost in total 3 stone since having had baby 5.5 months ago)
• dropped from a size 16 to a size 10

All in just 3.5 months!!

The key has been to eat healthily, no crazy diets, and to do a bit of exercise.

A number of people have asked how I've done it, so I want to share with you some of the tips I've learned from Maria.

• Keep a food & exercise diary, and be honest with yourself
• Eat little and often
• Watch portion sizes
• Have something to eat as soon as you wake up in the morning to get your metabolism going
• Choose the healthy option where possible
• Limit bread, pasta & potato intake (I had no bread or pasta to start with)
• Choose wholemeal where possible (brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholewheat noodles, seeded brown bread)
• Avoid or limit bananas (as far as I'm aware they slow metabolism - not sure if this is true or not. This is the only fruit that I've been told to avoid)
• Avoid or limit red meat 
• Eat lots of fresh fruit & vegetables
• Eat lots of fish
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day (I struggle with this one!)
• Avoid Coke & Diet Coke
• Avoid alcohol (I'll have a soda & lime when out)

Here's what I would eat in a typical day:

7am - couple of spoons of low fat natural yoghurt

8.30/9am - museli (one with nuts and seeds rather than dried fruit e.g. Jordans Nut & Seed) with skimmed milk & lots of blueberries & raspberries or porridge

10.30am - snack (handful almonds; crudites & hummus; oatcake, fruit salad, yoghurt & berries; sugar snap peas or handful popcorn)

12 noon - vegetable soup; chicken, tuna or prawn salad (with salad leaves, beetroot, pine nuts, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and drizzle of dressing); ryvita & cottage cheese or Food Doctor pitta bread with chicken and salad

3pm - another snack

5pm - fish with lots of vegetables; chicken stir fry with brown rice/noodles or homemade chicken curry (tomato based sauce) with brown rice

8pm - another snack

If I'm feeling hungry at any point I'll grab a handful of Food Doctor seeds or Munchy Seeds or a handful of cherry tomatoes or sugar snap peas.

I still have the occasional cake (there is no point trying to cut out everything 'bad' - it's got to be a realistic diet so that you can stick to it), I'll also still eat chocolate occasionally (80% cocoa dark chocolate and I'll only have 2 squares) and if I do have a take away then I will have a chicken kebab (salad, no sauce!).

In addition to the healthy eating I've been exercising approximately 5 times a week. I've joined Maria's running club which meet on a Sunday morning and I've started a Pilates class too which is a Monday night. In addition to this I do a Davina workout DVD at the house (Davina's are the only DVDs that my personal trainer recommends by the way). I've also been trying to do a run when I can, but at the moment it's becoming difficult as the nights are getting really dark, as are the mornings! To start with I went out for brisk walks with the kids in the buggy and I'm now able to run (I did 5.37 miles this morning at running club, and before August I had never really run before).

Davina Fit DVD

Hope this is helpful? Any questions, do let me know.

{Getting Your Groove Back Tuesday}

Kate on Thin Ice has started a new Blog Hop/Linky/Meme called "Getting Your Groove Back"...

I've been working on getting my groove back for about 3 months now. I decided enough was enough and it was time to make some changes. Out with the slummy mummy (no energy, lack of confidence, negative thinking...) and in with the yummy mummy (or at least somewhere in-between)!

Two questions have been set this week...

1. What song would be best to play a lot whilst attempting to get your groove back?

Kate's song choice is Revival by Annie Lennox. Funnily enough, my song choice is also Annie Lennox! I've got a jogging playlist on my phone and the one song that gets me to up the pace a bit is Annie Lennox 'Little Bird'. Think the image of Demi Moore's amazing body in Striptease when she dances about to this song must give me a boost of motivation!!

2. What can you do to make your body feel better this week?

Here's what I've been doing to get my groove back...

Diet & Exercise...

I have hired a personal trainer and lost a considerable amount of the post-baby flab. I was 13 stone 10lbs after my daughter was born 5 months ago, and I now weigh a trim 11 stone 1lb. My trainer Maria would like me to get to the 11 stone mark, so I have 2lbs left to lose. We've also been keeping track of my body fat % which has dropped dramatically from 39% to 29% (target is 25%). I feel great, have a lot more energy and it hasn't felt like hard work. My advice - ditch the diet, eat regularly, choose the healthy option, drink plenty of water and do a bit of exercise. It's been an expensive way for me to get in shape but I'm very glad I did it as Maria has given me the motivation that I so badly needed. The key now is to get a bit more toned. I'll get some better before and after photos soon (Maria wants to feature me on her website) but here are a quick few:

3rd July 2011

23 Aug 2011

My Wardrobe (or lack of!)...

I've booked myself in for a session with a Personal Shopper for November. It's a complimentary service at House of Fraser and I'm very much looking forward to it. At the moment I have one pair of jeans that fit me well and I also bought an amazing dress from M&S (in a size 10... a first for me!), which I am yet to have an occasion to wear it to, but I couldn't resist it!! The majority of my wardrobe is ill-fitting, shabby & worn out. One item that I am very happy with is my new glasses which I purchased fairly recently - I love them.

On Saturday I did a 1 hour power shop in my local shopping centre and bought some new boots, a new belt (size small!!), a new little black dress, a grey tunic/dress and some new underwear... What a difference it's made having some clothes that actually fit properly.

Socialising & Me-Time...

Last week I had my hair coloured & cut all ready for the weekend as I had a big Saturday night out planned with my girlies! My first in a long, long time! We had a lovely dinner out (I chose the healthy options for started and main, but did indulge in some sticky toffee pudding - yum!). I also had a lovely Sunday morning with the girls at Blysthwood Square Hotel for a cupcake masterclass with Naked Bakes.

This evening I have booked myself in for a lovely relaxing facial... heaven! I've also got a night out on Friday planned with hubby... a chance to wear one of my new dresses!

Good luck to the other mummies that are also working on getting their groove back...

{Lunch-time}

Miraculously, both my son and daughter have an afternoon snooze at the same time, 12 noon - 2pm. I'm so chuffed that I was able to get them into this routine as it means I have 2 hours to myself to get housework done, sort through the mounds and mounds of laundry (where does it all come from!??!), make a start on dinner or fanny about on the internet with a nice hot cup of tea (Pinterest, online shopping, blogging...) or even have a sleep myself if I'm feeling particularly lazy! Another favourite activity during these 2 hours is to catch up on my TV... the joys of Sky+. I've been recording ER on Sky Atlantic - I was never really into ER before and didn't really get the whole Dr Ross, Dr Carter & Dr Greene thing - but I'm loving it now! I'm also looking forward to catching Grey's Anatomy which is being shown from the beginning on Really from Monday. Again, another show that I missed first time round.

I'm not sure how I managed to get the kiddies into such a good routine... With my son I was quite strict about his sleep times and I rarely drove or walked anywhere when he was supposed to be awake as the movement sent him to snoozeville rapidly. He had three naps daily to start with - one around 9am, another longer sleep from 12-2pm and then another shorter nap at 4pm. So if I was going anywhere I tended to travel between 9-10am, 12-2pm or 4-5pm. He also settled really easily in his cot and I put him in his cot for daytime sleeps as soon as it arrived (he was 7 weeks early so we weren't organised at all for his arrival!). I also introduced a bedtime ritual (bath, baby massage, milk, story, bed) as soon as we got him home from the neonatal ward and he always settled well in the evening.  

Sometimes he was so exhausted he'd be asleep before I even got him into his cot!

I've heard numerous stories of parents who have to drive about in the middle of the night to get their children back to sleep, or have to pound the streets during the day to get their babies to take their daytime naps. One trick I did use with my son, that I've not had to do with my daughter, is use white noise. I used to have my iPod dock near to his cot and I had downloaded some womb music, wave noises, hairdryer sounds and the hum of an untuned radio. I played these on repeat (his favourite was the untuned radio!?) until he settled at which point I would turn it off. Eventually we didn't use it at all. Swaddling also helped and we have been using a swaddle pod with my daughter. 

Staying asleep was another matter and my son did wake frequently until he was about 14 months. For a while it was because he would roll onto his front and we'd have to go in and turn him over, then as he was older it was because he had lost his dummy (I was advised by health visitor to try a dummy strap and it was a great help). Now he only wakes up if he's ill or teething. 

My daughter has been an angel. She has slotted into her brother's routine so easily. She similarly has a morning snooze around 9am, then a longer lunchtime sleep at 12-2pm and another shorter nap in the afternoon about 4/4.30pm. I've not been out and about as much with my daughter and so her one downfall is that she doesn't seem to settle well in the car seat - she much prefers her cot. It's also a bit tricky on the days when my son is in nursery and I have to collect him, normally about 4pm, which coincides with her nap and so she tends to be a bit cranky on these days. She crys herself to sleep and we leave her for 5-10min until she settles. We've made the decision not to use a dummy and she sleeps through from 6.30/6.45pm until 7am without a peep (we do wake her at 10.30pm for a feed and she settles again in minutes. We did the same with our son and didn't drop this feed until he was established on 3 solid meals a day). A lot of people have commented that 2nd babies tend to be easier because you're more relaxed, but from a few mums I've spoken to that's not been the case with their 2nd babies so I think I'm very lucky.

{Beginning, Middle & End}

Every story should have a beginning, a middle and an end.

So it seems sensible to start this blog at the beginning and give you, the reader, a very quick overview of my story thus far.

I'm a 29 year old wife & mummy living in Glasgow, Scotland. My son is nearly 2 years old (where has the time gone?!) and he is a proud big brother to his wee sister who is just 2 months old. It's been a tough journey into mummyhood... My first pregnancy was plain sailing until I reached 28 weeks. It was at this point I developed a horrendous itch that kept me up most of the night (I was subsequently diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis, OC). I then unexpectedly went into labour 7 weeks early and gave birth to a tiny but otherwise healthy baby boy. My son spent the first 3 weeks of his life in the neonatal unit at our local hospital as he was unable to suck properly and so had to be fed via a nasogastric tube. When we eventually took him home with us, he ended up back at hospital after a few days due to constant vomiting. He was then admitted to the children's hospital for an operation for pyloric stenosis and was there for a week. He suffered from reflux, colicky symptoms for what seemed like forever... It wasn't until he was 13 months old that things became more manageable and he suddenly became content rather than cranky. So far things have been easier with my daughter. She was born at 37 weeks following induction as I developed OC symptoms (the dreaded itch!) again.

The middle, well... you'll just have to watch this space! And the end... that's yet to come.

(Phew, first blog post complete!)