Baby Constipation?

Yup, Lucy is kinda smiling now but don’t be fooled.  After mealtime, about once a day, she CRIES!  She is – well I can say this because we are all moms – she’s constipated!

She cries, bears down, her legs get stiff as a board, it’s pathetic!  We have even been able to successfully take her to the toilet since it’s so obvious when she’s trying to go to the bathroom.  What to do?  I’ve worked on her diet (taking out anything like white bread, making sure she gets lots of vegetables).

I share what our pediatrician recommended on my Losing Weight After Baby podcast.  Our doc recommended cutting back on the milk.  We were giving her 4 feedings of about 7 ounces each, and the doctor suggested cutting that back to about 16-18 ounces and giving her water instead to make up the difference.  The doctor also suggested Miralax which is a powder to help bring water into the stool for easier passage (forgive the puns).

Hope these suggestions help you a bit if your baby faces the same, um, issues.  Lucy is getting a little better, but still is crying a lot when she poos.

More about the podcast…the Losing Weight After Baby podcast will soon be coming to an end. After 3 years of podcasting, my babies are growing up!  My last podcast will be in December.  I hope you will follow me to an all new podcast that will focus on looking and feeling younger!  Which just happens to be the topic of my book coming out in January, 31 Days to a Younger You:  No Surgery, No Diets, No Kidding.

Baby Eatin’ Time!

Lucy LOVES to eat!  Who doesn’t?  Here she is having a puree of assorted fruits.  I take whatever I have on hand – for instance peaches, plum, grapes, green beans – and I blend it all in my beloved Vita-Mix.  The Vita-Mix is totally a worthwhile purchase by the way.  We got ours at the Del Mar Fair years ago – it was about a $400 investment at the time – and we have used it so much.

I blend up the food for Lucy and then I just pour it into an ice cube tray.  Then voila!  Whenever I need something to eat, I just pop out 2 cubes and pop them in the microwave, or if I’m really organized, I put them in the refrigerator the day before.  It’s funny – I had so many of these ice cube trays for my firstborn Ethan.  I think when I opened the freezer back then, it was lined with frozen fresh baby food.  But 6 years have passed since then, and there’s only room for 2 trays in the freezer for Lucy.

This is an easy, healthy, cheap way to do baby food.  I use store bought baby food when I got out during meals, but otherwise, she eats these cubes or rice cereal.  Enjoy!

Funny Baby Lucy Pictures!

Being a baby is so fun!  Except when they put me in funny hats (as if I didn’t have enough hair!)

How to Keep Your Baby from Getting Sick

What do you do when your family is sick and you’ve got a newborn in the house?

Well – our baby Lucy has experienced this twice in her short 7 week life!  When we brought her home from the hospital, her dad and siblings were sick.  This week, my son had a fever, then me, then my daughter, then my husband…baby Lucy is the last one standing (or, um, laying down!).  Thankfully she’s not sick yet. 

Here’s what we’ve done so far in an attempt to keep baby from getting sick: 

1. Hand washing.  This goes without saying.  No one touches Lucy without washing their hands.
2. Keeping the kids at a distance from the baby. 
3. If you’re sick, you don’t touch or get near the baby. 
4. We avoid public crowded places.
5. Put gloves on baby to prevent her from sucking on all those germs.

Then, we found out my husband and I have bronchitis.  My dad who is a family physician suggested keeping Lucy in her room so she’s not exposed to all the germs in the air from coughing etc.  So for 2 days now, she’s in her room exclusively.  Before going in to feed her and play with her, I wash my hands and put on a mask. 

Her bouncy chair and activity mat are in there now, and the quarantine seems to be working all right.  I figure at 7 weeks, she won’t remember the boredom and isolation of being in her room.   

I hope to be able to say that she will stay healthy all this week.  Praying for it!

Happy One Month Baby Lucy!

This is one of my favorite pictures of baby Lucy.  Check out the hair!  She got that look without the help of a stylist or gel or any product – very impressive! 

I can’t believe it’s already been one month since baby Lucy was born.  I am thankful for her sweet demeanor and for the way her siblings have welcomed her into the family. 

Since she’s one month old, that means I have 2 more weeks of recovery post-c-section to “enjoy” and then I’ll be dusting off the exercise videos and cutting up celery sticks!

P.S.  You’ll see baby Lucy in action plus I share how losing weight after baby can be E-A-S-Y…it’s all on my free podcast/vidcast. 

Thanks to Biola, My Alma Mater

Thank you to my wonderful alma mater, Biola University, for sending these super cute baby clothes for Lucy!  (Thanks Irene!)  Now she is ready to face the world with her booties, bib and Biola shirts. 

It’s been more than 20 years since I first attended Biola University in La Mirada, CA.  I look back at that time as one of the happiest of my life.  What a tremendous education I received and how fun to find my old friends on FB these days. 

Let’s enjoy these days with our young kids.  We’ll blink and be sending them off to college someday (sniff, sniff).

What’s Really Important

Today I heard on the radio that times of crisis can help us see our priorities clearly.  Although having a healthy baby is hardly a crisis, it has helped me to see my priorities clearly.

–To be a wife who loves and respects her husband.

–To be a mother to three treasures (one pictured above, two pictured below).

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

The simplicity of this is freeing.  The other things I may accomplish in life are icing on the cake, but being a wife and mom are my priorities.  When I stare at my baby’s face, I am amazed once again that God has lent me this gift from heaven.  It’s more than enough to be a wife and mother, even in our culture which says you must be a wife/mom/plus something else to really be a success. 

Just remember when you feel knee deep in laundry and diapers…when your jeans still don’t fit…when you miss those corporate free lunches…Motherhood Rocks! 

5 Tips for New Moms

After your baby is born, there are a few things you can do to feel more human (versus a milk machine) and enjoy your new baby…

1.  Take a shower every day.  You will feel refreshed.  Clean.  Like you’ve accomplished something.  Don’t worry – your baby will survive for 15 minutes while you shower. 

2.  Put on a little makeup every day.  You don’t have to go glamour, but do something.  I just put foundation, lip gloss, and eyeliner on.  It makes me feel a little better when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.   

3.  Sleep when your baby sleeps.  Force yourself to take care of yourself. 

4.  Record your baby’s firsts.  You won’t remember many details a year from now.  Keep a journal of the special moments.  I keep mine on the computer.  Take lots of pictures (do I even need to say this?) and video too.  Even if it’s baby #5, take lots of photos.  My husband was baby #4 and there weren’t too many pictures of him.  His sister always told him he was adopted

5.  Slow down and keep life simple.  The first weeks with baby are your special time to enjoy your  newborn.  Don’t host parties or dinners.  Say no to volunteer commitments.  Keep your focus at home and save your energy because you will need it

First Week with Baby Lucy

We’ve had a great first week with baby Lucy!  It takes a little bit to get back into the feeding schedule after not having to do that for awhile!  But Lucy is right on schedule…feeding every 3-4 hours and even sleeping up to 4 hours at a time at night already.  Think that’s amazing?  Read the book On Becoming Babywise which has helped us with all three of our babies.  You basically want to have your baby eating, then some activity time (this is the hardest to get a newborn to stay awake), and then sleeping.  That cycle continues throughout the day.  Eat, activity, sleep.  Then of course, when baby sleeps, mom should too.  But we typically find something to do, don’t we moms?    

Lucy seems like an over achiever, as she has cried the least of our 3 kids and been the most easy going.  We feel most blessed!   

Baby Girl Names

The ultrasound shows we’re having a girl, but I never totally count on that until the baby actually arrives!  My daughter wanted to name her “Brownie” but that’s out   Giggles and Bubbles were also talked about. 

Assuming we’re having a girl in 7 weeks, what names do you like the best from this list? 

• Sabrina
• Sarah
• Faith
• Kate
• Jade
• Lucy