Jacob: 7 months!

Jacob is seven months old!

7 month picture

He is still small for his age. Measuring in (a week ago) at 14lbs 15oz, and 25 and a 1/4 inches long, he's actually on the percentile charts now!
Jacob is learning new things so very fast, it's hard to keep up with.
He had just barely learned to sit up on his own when he started rolling over, now he is learning how to grab onto things and pull himself to standing. We had been practicing for one day - we were letting him grab our fingers and we would help him balance while he stood - and that same night during bathtime he grabbed onto the edge of the bathtub and stood up on his own! The side of the tub was short enough that he would have kept going right over the edge, but Alex was right there to catch him. We were both surprised! We hadn't expected him to start trying on his own so soon. Now Jacob is seldom content to just be sitting. He loves having someone there to pull himself up on, and he's even getting really good at taking steps. I don't know how much longer it will take him to figure out how to balance on his own, he might just completely skip crawling.

Sleep is going much better now. At the recommendation of a friend I bought the book The Sleepeasy Solution and started putting some of the ideas into practice. Most of the suggestions in the book I had already started doing, so it has been a rather easy progression into weaning him from night feeding and starting new habits. Jacob has been two weeks sleeping without his pacifier at night, and almost not at all during the day. (Except for the night of the wreck, he slept with his pacifier in) Over the week he's gone 6 then 7.5 hours at night without eating, and last night he slept over 10 hours straight with no feeding! I'm so very proud of him. Nap time can still be a struggle, especially when we're not at home, but I think I'm learning what will or won't work.

Jacob eats very well, finishes at least one 4oz jar of veggies in the evening, and one jar of fruit in the morning. He also loves eating little Gerber graduates cheese puffs. Today he even figured out how to eat a whole one, rather than biting off the end and throwing the rest.

He's making progress in learning sounds. This week he's been saying "dadada" and grunting a lot. he also mimics people talking, he watches them and opens and closes his mouth as if he's trying to talk. It's adorable!

We also think he is starting to seriously teethe again. His smile has changed and now instead of a big open-mouth smile that lights up his whole face, he has a wide, cheesy grin. Besides that, he bites down hard, on everything, and drools like crazy.
Jacob also gives me kisses now. Big, wide-open mouthed, drooly kisses. On my nose, or mouth, or forehead, or whatever his mouth can reach.

Trying a new hair-do

I'm loving this stage of life. I'm loving Jacob's amazing personality, the pride Jacob has every time he learns something new, his belly laugh, his smiles...I love being a mommy.

The wreck

If you're bothered by hearing/reading about automobile accidents, you should skip this post.

It had been a busy day. We had been out of town visiting Alex's parents at their ranch, and then helping some friends pack up as they prepare to move out of state.

It was late. We were tired, but happy. We felt like we had accomplished a lot. Jacob was exhausted -he still doesn't nap well when not at home- so we had worship music playing in the background to help soothe him to sleep. Alex and I were daydreaming, talking about the future, excited about possible opportunities. There was a lull in our conversation and we both started singing along with Chris Tomlin's "Famous One".

Everything happened so fast after that, some of it is just a blur, and some of it is clearly engrained in my memory.

Alex said "Oh my!"
I looked up and saw a gigantic bull elk standing in the road. In that split second I processed that the bottom of it's hindquarters were at about the height of our car, it's head was a different shade of brown from it's body -just like my mom's painting of an elk that I grew up admiring- and that it had a very large rack of antlers. Immediately after noticing all that, I knew we were going to hit it.

The world exploded.

It seemed deafening, the squealing brakes, a thunderous sound of impact, shattering glass. My eyes were closed and I could feel myself being peppered with the spray of something. It stung and I thought "So this is what a serious crash feels like" I think I prayed for protection. It all happened so fast.
I know that I didn't scream, but Jacob did. I think he had just fallen asleep when the noise of it all woke him up.
We came to a stop in just moments and I started processing noises again. Cars driving by, the smell of dirt and heat, grit and grains of glass in my mouth. I spit and then looked at Alex. He was okay, but two of his fingers were bleeding, he was dazed, and trying to remember where his hazard lights were. I had spots of blood on my left arm and everything was stinging still.
I can't explain why I did what I did next, but I stopped my ipod and turned the radio off. Maybe I just didn't want any other noises to overwhelm me. I fumbled in my purse for my phone then dialed 911 and handed the phone to Alex. Jacob was still crying and I needed to be sure he was okay. I turned around and saw one of the most terrifying sights in my life. He was sitting in his car seat crying, covered in glass. He had little pieces of glass in his hair and on his head, and big chunks of it just filling every space in the seat around him. I unbuckled him and slowly picked him up and over the seat. As soon as he was standing in my lap he stopped crying and I made sure he was okay. He had some blood smeared on his face, and a drop on his onesie, as well as a few scratches on his feet, but he seemed fine. Most of the blood on him was from my arm.
Alex was just finishing talking to the emergency operator when another car pulled off the road in front of us and a man came over. He asked if we were all okay, and what had happened. We assured him that we were fine and told him about the elk. We made a few jokes about it. I said that I prefer my elk meat cooked, and we all laughed a little. Alex was shaking like crazy and I grabbed his hand. It was such a relief to be alive, to be okay, to be holding my baby -who was covered in glass and had blood and scratches, but who was displaying his beautiful smile to a complete stranger despite it all.
The car was still running and we followed the man, Ben, off the road a bit more. I wanted to get all the little pieces of glass off of Jacob, but knew I shouldn't touch them, he looked like he had glitter poured on him, as did Alex and I.
I noticed that the windshield was shattered, but still holding together, and that the roof was dented in too. It looked like a giant, heavy ball had landed on our roof, then been removed, just leaving the round indentation. The windshield was low enough it was practically touching us, I had to keep Jacob from grabbing it. I noticed that the hair tie I had used as a temporary fix to hold my visor in place had snapped. Such a silly, minor thing to notice.
Ben asked us if we had dogs. I thought he was just trying to keep us talking to be sure we weren't in shock. Alex told him we had a cat at home, but had just left some friends who had dogs. Then we looked around. What I had thought was dried grass was elk hair, and we were covered in that too. It was stuck around the edges of the window, scattered across the dashboard, on our pants, in our hair...we talked about how crazy it was. Ben walked down the road a little ways to see if he could find any sign of the elk, and Alex called one of our friends from church. I noticed that the back window was blown out, and realized that it must have been the glass on Jacob. I saw our skid marks and shattered glass on the road, and then the police and medics were arriving. Ben told us he was glad we were all okay, mentioned again how crazy it all was, and left.
The medics came and asked us how we were, amazed we had so few injuries. They asked if we were cold. I was shaking now too. It had taken that long for my nerves to set in. Jacob was smiling at the medics too.
After telling us how to rinse the glass off, the medics left. They had a lot of other calls to take care of.

Everything after that just seemed to take forever. The policeman had me sit in the back of his car, and Jacob was fussy, so I nursed him. I was nervous though because there was glass in my bra. He did fine, but because he was so tired he kept squirming. I had to hold him off of me, because I didn't want him rubbing in the powdered glass that was all over me. We were like that for the next 20 minutes or so. My left arm that was holding his head up started to burn, the muscle was so very tired. I just kept rocking and Jacob finally closed his eyes. Right then was when Todd, the friend we had called, arrived to give us a ride home. The tow truck had already come and taken Alex's car.
Alex told me later that when the tow truck operator arrived he said that the thought we had rolled, and that the car is almost definitely totaled.

When got home and we all showered, very carefully. Jacob was having a meltdown by this point we put him to bed. Alex and I took longer to unwind, go over what happened, trying to figure out where we'll go from here.
I'm a bit overwhelmed now. Everything that was in the car is covered in glass and elk hair. I despise elk hair. it's thick and dark, and I keep finding it in everything. I've already done a load of our laundry, but there are still so many things. The diaper bag full of toys, Jacob's exersaucer, bumbo seat, my purse...everything is on our front stoop right now.

Alex went to the towing shop today and got everything out of the car, and took pictures. We are both in awe of how God was protecting all of us. Seeing the damage in daylight, and from the outside of the car just made us realize how very badly we could have been injured. Praise the Lord for his mercy and protection!

I think the hole is where the rump hit, you can see dents on the front from the legs

From the inside we had no idea the roof was this bad

The windshield wasn't quite this low before, being towed made it shift.

The glass around where the carseat was.

It took off the side mirror too, and see the brown fuzz at the edge of the windshield? Elk hair.

My diet, a little more in depth.

I had a few comments on my last post asking if I could be a little more specific about what my diet entailed. I'm going to do my best to explain, but if you want the clearest understanding of it I recommend reading the book, The Metabolism Miracle. The book contains not only detailed descriptions of how and why the diet works, but also has the food lists, recommended supplements, and some recipes.

The basis of this diet is that some people have an abnormal metabolism, metabolism B, a hormonal imbalance that causes their body to over-process carbs and release excess insulin, which causes fat storage in the blood and body. The diet is made to help retrain your body (and you!) so that you can start processing carbs normally, and maintain a healthy weight.

The metabolism miracle consists of three steps.

Step one is an eight week period in which you allow your pancreas and liver to essentially "reset". In this step you eliminate all sugar, and are limited to a very specific timing, type, and amount of carbs. (5grams of low impact carbs only once every five hours) However, you are allowed to eat freely of most veggies, lean meats, low-fat cheeses, nuts, etc. It helps to have prepared a menu and completed a shopping trip before just jumping in. I felt like I spent the first week eating nothing but salad, tuna, and cottage cheese. You are also supposed to exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. This way you will be using your muscles, and only the unused, stored fat will be lost.

In step two you re-introduce carbs. Again having very specific timing, type, and amount; but with a much broader choice. This step can last anywhere from eight weeks to however long it takes to reach your healthiest, happiest weight. Having new food options, and a bit more variety in allowed carbs, I found this step easier to maintain long-term. Continue with the exercise, but don't feel limited to only 30 minutes a day! I find that as my weight loss continues and my energy is picking up, I am even more motivated to workout.

Step three is simply a lifestyle of maintaining your newly found healthy weight. All sugars and carbs are allowed again, but by now you've learned how to eat them in a way that won't cause weight gain.

So there you have it! If you feel like you may benefit from this type of diet, if nothing else is working for you, or if you just want to learn more go check out The Metabolism Miracle!

Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post. All praise and recommendations for the diet are from my own opinions and experiences.

Twelve weeks!!

 I have gone back and forth trying to decide whether or not to write this post, but as usual when it comes to personal struggles, I figured "Why not? If someone else out there is having the same problems, maybe reading about mine will help."

So here goes...

I have always had a struggle with weight, which I have mentioned before here and here.
Well, it started out no different after pregnancy. At first I was thrilled! The first few weeks after having Jacob I lost 35lbs, all but 10lbs of my pregnancy weight. But I had just undergone surgery, I had a brand new baby and all the struggles that came with it. I wasn't able to exercise at first because I needed time to heal, and I was exhausted all the time. I still wanted to lose weight though. I didn't quite fit in my maternity clothes, and I definitely didn't fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes. I was constantly self-conscious, hated going out in public, and never had any energy. I think that was the worst. I wanted to go for a walk, or do a quick workout, but the idea of getting up the energy to do so tired me out. I tried though, as tired as I was, as little as I felt I was capable of getting done, I still tried. I went out and bought a couple DVDs. I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred (and couldn't even stand up without hurting the first two days...literally. It hurt to pick up my baby.) and stuck it out for a week, but I only saw weight gain. I wasn't any smaller, didn't feel any better. I tried some pilates, tried to start changing and tracking the way I was eating...nothing. I was still gaining weight back.

It felt familiar. Right after getting married I started putting on weight, regardless of how I ate or exercised. I was exercising 40 minutes or more at least 3 days a week, and consistently staying under 2,000 calories. But gradually putting on pounds.

Well, I stopped worrying about it too much when I got pregnant. In fact, the first few months of my pregnancy was the first time I lost weight in about a year.

But now that I was back to how I started, I was about to give up. If eating healthier and exercising more wasn't going to keep me from gaining weight, why should I bother with it? So I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, and didn't exercise if I didn't feel like it...and I was miserable. I felt like I was doomed to feel sluggish and heavy and uncomfortable with my own body for the rest of my life.

Then one day a friend of mine handed me a book and said "I was reading this and it made me think of you. You might want to check it out."  The book was called The Metabolism Miracle, and when I got home and read it. I was shocked! I told Alex it was like they had been spying on me.
The first part of  the book explains a "Type B metabolism" and how someone with this metabolism processes carbs and sugars differently from a normal metabolism. In the book the author said that a normal "calories eaten < calories burned = weight loss" equation would never work for a type B.
Everything I read in these first few chapters made so much sense I decided to try out the diet/lifestyle change described in the book. (To read more on this visit the Metabolism Miracle website)

I stared the very next day. It has definitely tested my willpower at times, but I've stuck it out and yesterday was week 12 from when I started. I decided I would share my progress with the world!
(I just wanted to add that it was VERY difficult for me not to suck in my tummy in the before pictures...)

April 19, 2012. 200lbs

July 12, 2012. 168lbs

I have lost 32lbs and a total of 29 and 1/4 inches (measuring everything from my neck to my ankles: chest, upper arms, thighs, calves, etc.) I am fitting back into almost all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, I weigh less than when I got married, and another 5-8lbs and I will weigh less than when Alex and I met!! (which was my lowest weight since early teen years) I feel so much better physically! This was never just a struggle with the weight. I started each day dreading having to try to accomplish anything, and worrying if I would be able to keep up with Jacob as he grew and got more active. Now I look forward to our (almost) daily walks, I feel energetic and am able to accomplish so much more!

What has been your biggest weight struggle? What has helped you the most?

Jacob these days.

 Jacob is now six and a half months old!! It seems crazy how fast the time is going.

Six months!

He hasn't been weighed or measured lately, but I know he's growing! Jacob is now wearing pretty much all 3-6 month clothes.
It seems like more of a personality emerges every day, and we love getting to experience it! Jacob is a little bit dramatic, about everything. He goes from extremely happy and smiley to sobbing if something goes wrong. But now that he has stopped teething (without any coming through) he is usually a happy baby and laughs and smiles a lot. He loves people and will smile at pretty much anyone, especially if they tell him he's cute.

Jacob has hit a few different milestones just in the past few weeks. One day he was playing on his back and when Alex and I looked back at him he was on his tummy! After all this time waiting for him to roll over we missed it. But now he rolls over all the time, even in his crib at night! He doesn't like rolling back over to his back though, I think it feels like too sudden of a movement to him. Jacob hates being off-balance.
Once he started sitting up in his bath, it seemed like siting up on his own just clicked for Jacob. He now sits up on his own for long periods of time, I think the longest has been about an hour. He just sits in the middle of the floor playing with his toys, and balances really well! He has only toppled over a handful of times.

Sleep has still been a problem. It's been over 3 months now that Jacob wakes up anywhere from 2-7 times a night, or more. Monday night he was up at least once per hour until 5am, when he finally slept until 8. We're going to be working on this problem over the next few weeks though, and hopefully next time I will have a positive update! I also want to work on weaning him from his paci at night.

Jacob loves food! He gets one 4oz jar of veggies with some rice cereal in the evenings, and has just started getting a little bit of fruit in the mornings. So far the only thing he has refused to eat is banana! His favorites are avocado, squash, sweet potato, or a frozen strawberry in his mesh feeder.

There are so many little things I love about Jacob, I can't even try to write them all, but I will share a few of my favorites...even though I know he is so much cuter, sweeter, and more wonderful in person.

*When he thinks something is funny Jacob tries to smile so big that he looks like he wants to take a bite out of something.

BIG smile!!

*Jacob is independent to the extreme. He wants to be able to feed himself, but doesn't quite have the motor skills necessary yet. Which makes feeding a rather messy affair more often than not. Oh, and he likes to talk with food in his mouth, which equals a spray of whatever pureed veggie he is eating at the time. I know I shouldn't laugh.

*One of the times Jacob was getting upset about us not feeding him fast enough we gave him the bowl and spoon...he threw the spoon and proceeded to drink the rice cereal. We managed to get a picture!

*Burping is hilarious, it will get a big grin from him every time...unless it's so loud and sudden it makes him cry.

*Jacob hates violence...even if it's just a group of teenagers having a tickle war, when he thinks someone is being hurt he starts bawling.

*Jacob wants to move forward but doesn't know how. When he's on his tummy and you call for him, he picks up his arms and legs and grunts.

Being a bookworm runs in the family

I love these two guys!!