Skinny pumpkin scones

Happy fall, everyone! I have to say, I'm sad to see the summer end. I love the summertime. And with this being Camden's first summer it was extra special!! I tried to squeeze in as many "firsts" as I could with the little guy this summer. Needless to say, this was one fabulous summer! But now it's over and fall is upon us. The best part about fall, in my book, is hockey season starting! Football bores me half to death so I'm all about preseason hockey right now. And upcoming playoff baseball! But aside from that I have to say that I loooove fall foods! I already busted out the Crock Pot and made some turkey pumpkin chili. It's nice to work some comfort foods back into our weekly menu! Pumpkin flavored everything seems to make the end of summer a little more tolerable. For the past couple weeks I've been dying for a good pumpkin scone (I blame Starbucks) but I wanted a healthy, homemade version. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to bake homemade goodies! And scones have recently become one of my favorites. So I set out to find a good "skinny" pumpkin scone recipe. And you know what I found? Nada. Nothing. Well, nothing that passed my "skinny" test. I'm sorry but if a recipe calls for 6+ Tablespoons of butter it is not skinny. After the initial frustration I decided to make my own recipe! I looked up some basic skinny scone recipes then improvised one of my own. I was very pleased with the results! These scones are moist, almost cake-like as my husband described them. They aren't overly sweet or full of fat and they have the good pumpkin flavor I was looking for. I considered making a glaze for these but decided against it. Although I'm sure they'd be great with a pumpkin spiced fat free cream cheese glaze!

Now here's what you really came to this blog post for. The recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (more if you'd like)
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
• 3 Tbsp very cold butter, chopped up
• 1/2 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (make sure it isn't pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 brown sugar, packed (I didn't want these overly sweet but feel free to add more if you like your scones sweeter)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or more to taste, I used vanilla bean paste)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, OR silpat, OR spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a small to medium bowl blend together the buttermilk, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix the first 5 ingredients (flour through salt) thoroughly with a wire whisk. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Once the butter has been completely cut into the flour mixture, add the wet mixture to the dry. Stir until all the dry ingredients are absorbed (batter will be a little sticky). 

Lightly flour your surface and hands. Place dough on floured surface and knead six times. Move dough to prepared cookie sheet and press/shape into a large circle, about 3/4-1" thick. Use a sharp knife to score the circle into 12 pieces. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (more or less depending on your oven, keep an eye on it!). Once the scones are golden and the tops look dry and cooked (it can be hard to tell if they're "golden" because the pumpkin puree makes them a beautiful orange color) remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Separate scones along scored lines and serve. They're best enjoyed warm with a cup of coffee! Store leftovers in an airtight container. I hope you like them! :]

Nutrition breakdown:
125 calories
3.6g fat (2g saturated)
19.2g carbs
2.7g fiber
5.2g sugar
3.8g protein

Comparisons

This topic has been on my mind for awhile now and I finally found some time (while holding my napping baby, happy sigh) to write a post about it. I've noticed a huge trend on social media lately and witnessed it firsthand quite excessively since I announced my pregnancy last year, continuing through to the present with my five-month-old son. Comparisons. "Well she's due right around the same time as you but you're so much smaller..." I heard that one a lot since my baby bump stayed pretty small throughout my pregnancy. And this is just one small example of how our society loves to pit people against one another in an ugly game of comparisons. It isn't right and frankly, I think it needs to stop. You all know what I'm talking about, especially if you're new parents. I found this quote recently and thought it was a perfect way to sum up what I've been thinking- 

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt 

Isn't that the truth? When we compare ourselves to others more often than not we end up feeling subpar. Like we have failed in some way because we are different or have done something differently than someone else. Why is that? We're all individuals and as such we have the right to do things our own way. Don't we? Comparisons steal the joy we would otherwise experience through our own unique lives and situations. 
Whether we willingly subject ourselves to comparisons or find them thrust upon us by "well meaning" individuals, they are not fair. Comparisons serve no further purpose than to plant seeds of self doubt in our minds. Minds that, as new parents, are already plagued by questioning one's own ability and competence. Comparing how you choose to raise your child to someone else's choices and ideals is futile and frustrating. At best it will cause you to rethink your parental instincts rather than trust the intuition that God instilled within you for your child. At worst it will destroy your confidence in being a parent, forcing you to give up altogether. You see, each parent is remarkably blessed with a child that is thoroughly unique. Sure, some look alike and may have similar temperaments; however, no two are exactly alike. I'm sure every parent of twins can attest to that truth! Every baby is his or her own person. To look at your child and compare it to another is not only unfair to you but also to your child. You can't expect your baby to be someone he or she is not. 

I think one of the best examples of trying to fit every baby into an idealistic mold while simultaneously undermining the confidence of every parent comes from the infamous baby sleep predicament. For reasons baffling to me, I quickly learned after Camden's first month of life that the favored question among friends and strangers alike was "how does he sleep?" Everywhere I turned I was asked this petulant question. You see, my baby doesn't fit the "sleeping through the night at 6 weeks" mold. However, our society has come to view a baby's nightly sleep habits as the earmark of good parenting. So the question is asked over and over again until I am blue in the face from long winded, albeit defensive, explanations. No, Camden does not sleep through the night. No, still not yet. And again, no. Most strangers would shake their heads in disgust at my answer. Some would snicker or make sympathetic remarks. Others would offer their undesired advice. At first these questions and responses rattled me. I began to question everything I was doing with Camden, especially as it related to his sleep habits. Should I change his bedtime routine? Should I change where he sleeps? Do I nurse him too much? Do I hold him too much? Will he ever sleep through the night? Why does this baby sleep through the night and mine doesn't? Self doubt flooded my thinking surrounding my sweet boy's delicate upbringing. I found myself exhausted and defenseless. I started to become bitter over my loss of sleep and jealous of all the parents who continued to boast of their baby's wonderful sleep patterns. I was caught up in comparisons and it wasn't fair to me or to Camden. Then one day I decided enough was enough. I called a dear friend who asked me a question that truly changed my thinking. She simply asked me that if I wasn't hearing these things and feeling this pressure from other people, would I still want to change what I was doing? My answer was no. My maternal instincts were guiding me and I knew I had to trust them. Comparisons were stealing away my confidence as Camden's mother. Never mind what this friend or that stranger had to say about my parenting. Camden is my responsibility. My boy is not like anyone else's child. That's why he is MINE. 

Once this realization dawned on me I resolved to ignore all comparisons and revert my focus to the amazing baby I held in my arms. Sure, he doesn't sleep through the night yet but is that truly a problem? It certainly inconveniences my sleep but overall the difficulty is of a selfish nature. Camden is growing and developing perfectly! He's reaching milestones when he should, if not earlier. He is a very happy, active, curious, and delightful boy. When viewed under the lens of all these other matters, his lack of sleep at night becomes less of a problem. But the root of my battle with this issue was comparison. I allowed someone else's experience to cloud my own. I let societal ideals interfere with my reality. 

As I read more on the issue of baby sleep (thanks to the amazing work of Dr. Sears) I soon learned that the way a baby sleeps is immensely different from adult sleep and, moreover, the variations between babies alone is staggering. Easy going babies tend to go to sleep easier and stay asleep longer. Well, my precious Camden is not of the easy going nature. He is a high need baby. That isn't to say he's a "bad" baby and easy going babies are the "good" ones (although most parents of easy going babies would judgmentally claim this). Camden simply needs more attention and more help falling asleep and staying asleep. It is my responsibility as his parent to take the time to learn my child's temperament and parent him accordingly. After all, this is about him. Isn't it? This parenting thing is about our babies. It isn't about so-and-so's baby or even the perfect baby we envisioned during gestation. It's about raising the child you have been blessed with. Yes, it can be helpful to seek the advice of fellow parents and baby experts but we must never stray from the heart of parenting. We are responsible for these little miracles. We have the parental instincts needed to raise them. No, we are not perfect and neither are our children. We shouldn't expect perfection. We should simply love them, follow our hearts and instincts, and always do our very best to raise them as we see fit. 

For the record, Camden still isn't sleeping through the night at five months old. Do I remain bitter about this? Absolutely not. We have good nights of sleep and bad nights of sleep. Some days are more coffee-dependent than others. But I continue to work with his temperament, finding ways to help him sleep better. We take naps together and I've learned to ask for help when I need it. We're making it work. And I must admit that I didn't reach this state of surrendered acceptance until I let go of the comparisons. Once I stopped expecting unrealistic goals from my high needs baby I found myself to be a much happier momma. 

Friends, please take the time to realize how unhealthy it is to continually compare yourself to others. And parents, think about what you are doing when you compare your children to other children. In this day and age it is all too easy to get caught up in the destructive path of comparison. Everywhere we look we see ideals. The "good stuff" abounds. We rarely see the raw truth and struggles of everyday life. Everyone is quick to share the good and hide the bad. What we are left with is a never ending series of highlights, devoid of the bloopers that make life real. We're striving for an unattainable goal. We're reaching for perfection as it is defined by our selectively sharing society. Please, it needs to stop. All we are doing is making others doubt themselves and feel as though they are the only one who doesn't have it all together. We aren't helping each other. We aren't building each other up. We're only setting ourselves up for defeat. Life is messy. We all struggle at times. We all walk through valleys to get to mountaintops. We all have our own journeys. Why should I compare my life and experiences to yours? Our stories are vastly different. So lets stop comparing ourselves in every aspect of our lives and start embracing the beauty of our own uniqueness. I believe that when we do this we will find our happiness, for happiness is not contingent upon measuring up to others but in enjoying the life that you were blessed with. 

Individuality is beautiful. Comparisons are not.

Another fitness update

I completed my Pretty Fierce Lean Out program!! I have to say, I feel pretty good! I'm not where I want to be yet but I've come a longgg way in these past 9 weeks! I've pushed my limits, worked my muscles hard, and not given up. I worked out 6 days a week most weeks and only missed ONE workout. (And the only reason I missed it is because I was out of town and I remembered the DVD but not a laptop or anything to play it on. Fail. But it was just my 13 minute yoga routine so I don't think I missed out on much there.) Overall, I'm really happy that I made it all the way through this program. It was definitely tough for me. The workouts really made me work hard and test my boundaries. Some days I hated it, other days I loved it. I didn't lose as much weight as I hoped to, but I certainly lost inches and improved my overall fitness! On day 1 I struggled through my Full Body Endurance workout, modifying moves and taking mini rests because I was exhausted. Last week when I did the same workout again for the first time since week 1, I was able to do every move without any rests. I powered through it! I felt like such a beast! So even though the scale doesn't show it, my body has really changed from this program! And I feel good about that. Here are my final results: 

Measurements Day 60 (Day 21, 0)

Shoulders: 39" (39", 37")

Dominant arm: 10.5" (10.5", 10.25")

Chest: 36" (36.5", 37.75")

1" above navel: 27" (28", 29.5")

1" below navel: 30.5" (32", 34.75")

Hips: 32" (33.5", 35")

Dominant thigh: 21.25" (22.5", 22.5")

1" above dominant knee: 15.5" (15.25", 15")

Weight: 125-126lbs (126-127lbs, 128-129lbs)

Fit Test Day 60 (Day 21, 0)

Push-ups: 58 (48, 30)

Squat jacks: 77 (68, 40)

V-ups: 50 (42, 24 all modified)

Switch kicks: 64 R&L (60, 45 R&L)

V02 Run Day 60 (Day 0)

1.5 mile run time: 14:22 (16:11)

VO2 Max calculated: 37.1194 (33.3762)

Throughout the course of this program I have lost 12.75 inches total around my body! I lost 7" in the first three weeks (hellooooooo!) and 5.75" in the final six weeks. That is serious business!! I'm not as toned as I want to be but that is a fabulous start and I'm clearly headed in the right direction! I fully believe that I'm on my way to being in even better shape than I was pre-pregnancy! I'm proud of my body. It's far from perfect but it's quite amazing. And I don't mean that in a "hey look at me, my body looks amazing!" kind of way. I mean it in a "my body has done some amazing things and I'm proud of what it can do!" way. I'm not a supermodel. I'm not a fitspo star. But I am a happy mom who is trying to take the best care of her body and set a healthy example for my son. 

So what's next for me?! I've toyed around with the idea of doing P90X again or even giving P90X2 a try. But I don't think I could fit those long workouts into my busy mom-life quite yet. Instead I think I'm going to do this program through a second time. I don't expect results as huge as with this first round but I think I'll see more improvements. I love that these workouts are designed for moms. I think that's awesome and super effective! I'd like to try something new but I really want to see how far this program can take me first. Another 9 weeks of PFLO and then I'll find something new to do. Here's to hoping I can reach more goals with this round! I may or may not post an updated progress picture on here. I can't decide if I want to... We'll see! In the meantime, I'm going to take it easy this week then hit the ground running with round two on Sunday! Wish me luck! :]

Almost 4 Months?!

Man, I'm so bad at blogging nowadays!! I had sat down to write 2 and 3 month updates but I inevitably got pulled away by my sweet boy and just never got around to finishing them. So if this post ends up being short or disorganized, you'll know why ;]

I cannot believe that Camden is going to be 4 months old on Tuesday!! The time has seriously flownnnn by! It's crazy. He's gone from a tiny little 6lbs 12oz squishy, sleepy, totally immobile newborn to a 14ish pound smiley, super active, rolly-poley, happy little guy! I love watching him grow and change. I was looking through some of his newborn pictures last week and it made me a little sad that he's grown and changed so much so quickly. But at the same time I LOVE being a part of his daily development. I love spending my days with him, getting to know him better and watch him learn so much about the world around him. He's such a curious baby. It's fun to expose him to new things and watch his adorable expressions and reactions. I love everything about being this sweet boy's momma! It's the most tremendous blessing I've ever received.

Over these past couple months Camden has had a lot of firsts! I've forgotten to write down dates for some of them (shame on meeee) but they're all photographed in my mind. I'll just share some of his recent developments...

• He smiles all.the.time now! It's awesome. He'll crack these big, gummy smiles constantly!
• He knows who I am, as well as Jake, my parents and my brothers. He'll smile at us when we talk to him. 
• He knows his name and he'll look at me when I call it out. Most times he smiles when he hears his name, too. 
• He's great at bearing weight on his feet. He loves to be held in a standing position a lot. He'll stomp his little feet around and wobble back and forth. So. Cute. 
• He also laughs now! That's an amazing sound! He started with little giggles here and there and now he'll have some real belly laughs from time to time. 
• He loves to bounce! He has a bouncy chair that he plays in everyday and it's his favorite. He loves to put on a show with it, such a little ham. 
• He can blow raspberries. I blow them on his tummy when I change his diaper and he's started to learn to do them too. It's so cute! Usually they result in baby spit everywhere, haha. 
• His motor skills are improving like crazy! He can grab, pull, push, turn, flip pages, and so many other things! He loves to put everything he can reach in his mouth. He also enjoys grabbing his binkie out of his mouth and throwing it, haha. He's a champion hair puller now as well. 
• He rolls from his belly to his back (did it for the first time May 22nd) and his back to his belly (first time June 13th) now, too! He doesn't hate tummy time anymore, which is nice for everyone. He usually rolls right to his back as soon as I put him on his tummy. Lately, though, he's been trying really hard to crawl! He can schooch around in circles and move forward a little. I have a feeling he'll be crawling before we even know it!
• He's much more aware of his environment. He loves looking at everything around him. Now that he can see so much better he's become very curious. Obviously any movement captures his attention but he especially likes seeing plants/leaves blow in the wind, and he likes watching Phineas and Ferb (yes, seriously! Though we don't watch much TV at all with him around).
• He's leery of strangers. I've read this is normal for his age but he's really developed an aversion to people he doesn't know. He's not unfriendly by any stretch of the imagination! He just gets quiet and gives funny looks like he's grilling them, haha. He has his favorites now. 

I'm sure there are some things I'm forgetting- like I said, he's growing and changing so fast! It's incredible. My perfect little almost 1/3 of a year old baby boy! Nutso. Strangers love to talk to him. They always ask how old he is and say that he's a cutie. I've noticed that the second most popular question I get about him (more than his name!) is "how does he sleep?" And honestly, it really irks me. Why do people make it seem like sleep is the most important thing? No, my baby doesn't sleep through the night. I'm not ashamed to say it. He isn't a naturally good sleeper. But you know what? He's extremely happy, healthy, and very well bonded to me! Anyone who sees us together can tell that we share an incredible bond. To me, that's the most important thing. I would rather my baby fully trust me and know he can rely on me to meet his needs even in the middle of the night then have him sleeping through the night. That will come eventually. And even though it might not seem like it when you're overtired, sleep really isn't the most important thing. Camden is a very active baby. He has a hard time settling. He's also been a champ at nursing since he was born and his appetite wakes him up. No big deal. We're learning how to care for his extra needs at night. So please, stop asking me if he sleeps through the night yet and giving me a sad reply when I tell you no. It's okay! My baby is happy and healthy! He'll sleep through the night eventually. In the meantime, I'm soaking up all the nighttime snuggles I can get because he'll outgrow them sooner than I'd like! Okay, rant over. 

Camden is the most amazing baby ever. He's sweet and lovey. He's fun to watch and interact with. Being his momma is awesome. Simply awesome. I love that boy more than I could ever express! <3 

Lifesavers

I wanted to share a little list of a few items that hubby and I have found to be rather indispensable over these past months. There are many, many items that we use on a daily basis. I mean c'mon, babies require a lot of stuff! But these items are particularly useful. At least for us!

1. Dreft Laundry Stain Remover. One of my very best friends (and Camden's Godmother!) gave me a bottle of this as part of my baby shower gifts. She told me that it's the best stain remover ever. And she was absolutely right! I discovered this for myself when I found a white onsie covered in bright yellow baby poo. I sprayed it down, let it sit a few minutes, then washed it and voila! It looked just like new. I'm not even kidding! I'll never buy a different stain remover again!

2. Palmer's Tummy Butter. This one comes from my pregnancy days but it's definitely worth a mention. I slathered this thick, somewhat waxy, tummy butter on my growing baby bump ever night. Every. Single. Night. And guess what? Not a single stretch mark! I know everyone says that stretch marks are genetic (if your momma had 'em, so will you) but I figured I would do everything I could to prevent them instead of leaving it to fate. Yet I wasn't about to spend an arm and a leg on the more expensive stretch mark creams. This one was affordable and worked like a charm!

3. Little Tummys Gas Drops. Since he was born, Camden has had a difficult time with gas. He'd get bubbles in his belly (even with lots of burping, changing my diet, and keeping him upright after feedings) and he would just scream and scream over them. It was reallllly rough. His pediatrician told us that it was because he was such a big eater. He'd get so much milk in his system that his little body would have a hard time processing it all. He recommended gas drops around the clock and it made a huuuuge difference! Camden has gotten much better with his gas and doesn't need the drops around the clock anymore but when we hear his gas bubbles cry we're quick to give him a dose of these to ease his pain. I think every momma should have these on hand just in case!

4. Brice Day & Night Light Musical Mirror. I'm the type who freaks out if I can't see my baby so a mirror for the backseat of the car was a "must have" for us. I particularly love this mirror because it has a little light and it plays a couple jingles. We found the light to be especially useful when we were on a little road trip when Camden was 6 weeks old. It was nice to be able to push a button, have the light come on, and make sure that Camden was okay. Admittedly, the mirror can be very distracting- who doesn't want to peek at their little cutie nonstop?! Haha. But I wouldn't want to do without it! Plus, the musical feature has come in handy when Camden gets fussy and the country radio station just isn't doing it for him ;]

5. Moby Wrap. If you have a baby who loves to be held and you ever plan on doing things around the house again, get a sling/wrap/carrier. I love the Moby because it's nice and snuggly and, once you get the hang of it, really easy to use. No buckling things behind your back or fumbling with rings. Camden seems to love being cozied up close to me while I get some chores done. And I love keeping him close to me instead of leaving him alone in his pack 'n play. 

6. JJ Cole Pacifier Pod. You know what stinks? Losing pacifiers. You know what's perfect for preventing that from happening? This little gadget. We have one snapped onto Camden's carseat with one binkie with a clip and one binkie without a clip inside. This way we are NEVER without a binkie when we're out of the house. And we always know where to find one! No searching through my diaper bag or wondering where to find one. They're always right there, not getting lost. It's such a simple thing but we really love it.

7. Disposable Multi Use Pads. As I've mentioned before, I'm somewhat of a germaphobe. I'm not about to put Camden on a public changing table without one of these. I don't care if the plastic is "anti-microbial", they gross me out. I keep some of these in my diaper bag and use them whenever I change him in a public space. I've heard other moms say that these are useful to put on your lap when holding baby to avoid being soaked in case of leakage. But who really does that? Haha. I use them strictly for diaper changes. I even put them on his changing pad at home sometimes (mostly to avoid having to wash his changing pad cover multiple times a day, haha). If you're overly concerned about hygiene like me, do yourself a favor and get a box or two or three of these.

Unexpected things

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile. Oh, the unexpected things. Jacob and I were planning and trying to get pregnant so Camden wasn't unexpected. At all. If you've been following my blog since the beginning you know that I was almost entirely convinced that baby was a boy before we found out for sure so that wasn't unexpected either. But there were a few things along the way that I did not expect. I want to blog them here for any of my momma-to-be friends who might find this info useful. Remember, every pregnancy and labor is different, so your experience might be nothing like mine. But here's a heads up incase you encounter these things!

I can't really think of anything during pregnancy that threw me for a loop. I had a textbook pregnancy- no complications and no real surprises. The one thing I can think of that I didn't expect was the shooting hip pains I experienced at the end. They were spontaneous and startling. The only thing I found to alleviate them was squatting down with my knees wide (which ended up being useful to get used to doing since I did this a bit during labor to help ease my back pain too). Other than that, I felt very well prepared for all that I encountered during my pregnancy.

Most of my surprises came during labor and postpartum. Some of it no one could have predicted- like the fact that l&d would be super busy and I'd be stuck in a triage room for awhile, haha. Or that I would have grueling back labor. But other things I think I could've been prepared for...

• I did not expect that I would reach a point in labor when I literally wouldn't be able to talk. This happened sometime around transition for me. When I was on my second dose of penicillin, my IV/entire arm was burning and stinging. At this point, I was laboring on all fours hoping to relieve my back labor and flip Camden if he was OP as we suspected. I remember staring at my arm and thinking about how much it burned and wanting to say something. But my mouth just couldn't form the words! By the time I was able to say something and have the drip turned down I was almost done the bag. A little later I was sipping on some water with Emergen-C in it (for a little boost) but the flavor started making me nauseous. I didn't want anything flavored at that point but I wanted to keep drinking water. Again, I couldn't seem to get the words out so I continued drinking that until I could finally request plain water. Even now I don't remember what I said in either of these situations but I can imagine it was short and caveman-esque ("no flavor! Plain!" Hahaha). Then, when I was ready to push, I lost all ability to form words. I couldn't muster up a single word. Jake sat beside me nomming a protein bar while the nurse set everything up for me to start pushing. The smell was making me feel soooo sick but I couldn't say anything. I tried. No words would come out. Luckily when I was ready to start pushing I was able to just look at Jake and he knew that I felt another contraction coming on and needed to push. It was awesome that he was so tuned into me at that point that I didn't even need words. Good thing because I couldn't have talked if I wanted to! I suppose my inability to talk came from my intense concentration on each contraction. My mind was so preoccupied with my labor that it literally wasn't able to do anything else! I guess I should've suspected that this would happen since I went completely drug free. But, for whatever reason, I didn't and it surprised me.
• I did not expect my butt to hurt so much. Sorry if this is TMI. I know everyone says that you'll feel pressure in your bottom when you're ready to push. But what they don't tell you is that the pressure will be so intense that it might actually distract you from your contractions (for a few seconds, haha)! Granted, that isn't a bad thing. I just didn't know that I'd feel so much of my labor in my bottom. It's hard to explain this feeling unless you've experienced it. I understand the anatomical explanation and I did expect the pressure, just not the intensity. And on the same note, I didn't expect that my butt would be so sore for the two days after delivery! Now I didn't tear so the pain wasn't from that. My whole butt was just sore to the touch. And it felt all loosey goosey. Seriously, I was a sore wiggle bottom, haha. Strange stuff.
• I did not expect to shake uncontrollably after delivering Camden. I'm not talking the I'm-overwhelmed-with-emotions-and-trembling kind of shaking. I'm talking intense, uncontrollable shaking throughout my legs. It was so bad that it really looked like I was doing it on purpose! The shaking didn't hurt, it was just a little startling and annoying. I don't know if it was because of hormones or due to all my blood loss but I didn't expect this to happen. It was kind of weird and freaked me out at first but it went away after a couple hours. I remember asking the nurse what was wrong with me and she said the shaking was normal. I didn't know that! 
• I did not expect to spike a fever my first night home. I don't know if this is normal or it was one of those things no one could've predicted. But my first night home I ran a fever of 100.4 (if it got higher than that I was supposed to call my doctor). I know everyone says the first night home is a doozy. And it was with Camden cluster-feeding every 45 minutes to an hour and barely sleeping in-between. But aside from that I was feeling like total crapppp. It was basically miserable. Again, this might not be normal, but then again there has to be a reason the going home paperwork says to call if you get a fever over 100.4. Maybe this low-grade fever is common a few days after labor. Either way, I didn't expect it. On the bright side, every night after this I could tell myself, "it won't be worse than the first night home!" and so far that has held true, haha.
• I did not expect to feel sharp pains in my lower stomach every time I peed for the first month. Obviously you expect to have pain *ahem* down there. Duh. A baby just passed through. Torn or not, that sucker is gonna hurt for awhile. Duh. However, I had no idea that I would have shooting pains in my lower stomach from peeing! They started happening maybe a week after birth and lasted until I was about a month postpartum. They weren't unbearable but they did make me cringe and not look forward to peeing (which was a lot thanks to extra fluid and my copious water drinking!). I'm still not sure if this is normal but I assumed so since they went away and I haven't had any complications. I guess it's safe to expect all sorts of weird aches and pains for the first few weeks/months postpartum. It comes with the territory. 
• I did not expect to retain my keen sense of smell from pregnancy. I know it's common for your sense of smell to heighten drastically during pregnancy. And that definitely happened to me. What I didn't know is that my sharpened sniffer would stick around way postpartum. I still have the nose of a bloodhound. Maybe it'll go away eventually. Hopefully before the stench of real food diapers arrives! But for now, I smell everythingggg.

That's all I can think of right now. There are probably a few other things. Oh well this is one right here- I didn't expect my memory to suddenly become awful after I had Camden! Haha. But for real, I can hardly remember much of anything these days. I guess pregnancy brain just evolves into mom brain. Even with all of these things that caught me off guard, every single one is worth it to have my little man. He's the most incredible blessing I have every received! I'd gladly endure (and I'm sure I will) many more unexpected things for Camden! :]

Fitness update

I am 22 days into my Pretty Fierce Lean Out program! Yesterday my schedule had me retake my measurements and fit test. Even though I was only 1/3 of the way through the program it was the moment of truth. I won't be taking my measurements and fit test again until I am finished the program. I think it was a good time to check on progress and get a little extra motivation to continue working hard! I know I haven't blogged since my first "operation lose the baby weight" post (and I promise I'll get better with the blogging! Eventually ;) but I want to record these now so I don't forget to later. Here we goooo! 

Measurements Day 21 (Day 0)

Shoulders: 39" (37")

Dominant arm: 10.5" (10.25")

Chest: 36.5" (37.75")

1" above navel: 28" (29.5")

1" below navel: 32" (34.75")

Hips: 33.5" (35")

Dominant thigh: 22.5" (22.5" ugh!!)

1" above dominant knee: 15.25" (15")

Weight: 126-127lbs (128-129lbs)

Fit Test Day 21 (Day 0)

Push-ups: 48 (30)

Squat jacks: 68 (40)

V-ups: 42 (24)

Switch kicks: 60 R&L (45 R&L)

I'm very proud of my progress so far!! I've lost 7 inches total around my body! (Although I'm not really sure I should count the 1.25" from my chest since that fluctuates a lot due to milk). I am most excited that I've lost 2.75" from my lower stomach!! Obviously, that's the most troublesome area postpartum. I'm so glad to see my momma pooch shrinking, haha! I'm most disappointed to see that I haven't lost even a fraction of an inch from my thighs :[. That's definitely the spot I lose fat from last. Unfortunately. But I am certainly working hard to lose it!! And luckily my legs are pretty strong so that is mostly muscle. But still. I want to trim down my thighs a bit. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I don't have much actual weight to lose to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 124. But I did lose 2ish pounds in these past three weeks! I say "2ish" because it really depends on when I weigh myself, since weight fluctuates so much depending on time of the day, hydration, etc. I would like to get down to my goal weight of 117 but right now I'm just aiming at getting back to my pre-preggo weight. I'm pretty confident that will happen in the last six weeks of this program. Even though I haven't lost much weight so far my fit test results definitely show that I have improved my strength and endurance! I'm happy with my increases in every exercise of the fit test. I've really been busting my butt with this endurance section! The first week was rough- I had to do a total body endurance routine three times and I hated it. The routine made it blatantly obvious that I was not in the best shape ;] haha. I liked weeks two and three much better. Those weeks had me doing "endurance splits"- upper body endurance (twice a week), lower body endurance (twice a week), core endurance (three times a week), aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity and yoga. I was on a 6 days on 1 day off rotation. I liked these workouts because they challenged me in a new way. I'm not used to doing the endurance thing with weight training- lifting maximum weight, doing all the reps, and going as fast as possible without compromising form. It was a little frustrating at times but I stuck with it! Anaerobic capacity was definitely the most difficult for me. It's 36 minutes of HIIT, which doesn't sound bad but man, is it killer! Granted, I go into beast mode and seriously push as hard as I can during the intervals. But, in my book, there's no other way to do it. I actually got my heart rate up to 204 on my anaerobic capacity workout on week 2! I felt like I was going to die. Technically my max hr should be 196, buuut I proved that I can go beyond that and still finish my workout. That might be dangerous, though, haha. 

Overall, I'm enjoying this program so far and I'm happy with the results I'm starting to see! I feel more fit and energized. I sleep better (that is when Camden allows me to, aha). I'm motivated to eat healthy all the time. It's just an all-around win. I'm excited to take this next week to rest and recover before hitting it hard again with strength portion! Can't wait to see what these next six weeks will bring! :D