Errant Soprano Studios

I’m having this rare moment when both boys are sleeping -at the same time- and NEITHER of them is on me! This is unheard of! I’m twiddling my thumbs trying to decide what to do; do I also take a nap? waste time on facebook? a little yoga? Do some reading? when it hit me that I haven’t been in this space for a while. I’ve been neglecting you.

So, HI!

I’m going to spend this (probably fleeting) rare moment with you!

our latest and greatest:

Potty training – yeah.  Its going better than expected, but I really can’t wait until Ducky goes on his own.  I’ve gotten peed on a lot lately…

a nice roadtrip to the San Juan Islands for a (large) family vacation/(small) family reunion. I’ll try and write an ACTUAL post about this before too long.

A short trip to Tahoe for Captain Awesome to compete in the Tough Mudder again – 3rd time running!  It was my first time not spectating and instead my parents and I dragged the boys around Donner Lake and Truckee.

A return to yoga.  In case you guys don’t yet follow me on instagram (@wigglewoggle )  I have been attempting a yoga challenge by Kino MacGregor called #shesgotlegs .  The main goal of this was to get back to practicing regularly.  It’s been (kind of) working!  at the very least, I’m shoving a bunch of crazy poses into days to try and catch up and I’m trying poses I probably would never even look at sideways despite having practiced yoga in some shape or form for the majority of my life.  This prompted me to go join a local yoga studio.  Vinyasa sweaty puddle am I every weekday morning at 7am… :-O!

WATER – I’m HORRIBLE about remembering to drink enough water these days. When I was singing all the time, I’d go through buckets of water without even thinking about it, but as a nursing mother of two, I keep slacking.  SO I downloaded an app to track my water intake and it warns me when I’m slipping behind for the day.  I can customize it (and have) to meet my needs.  It’s working well for me, and helping me to keep my H2O intake up while nursing and sweating puddles at yoga.

Meanwhile, my house looks like it exploded (too much laundry, cleaning catch-up to do) and my poor little blog is getting neglected.  Soon, I will figure out this mom of two thing and how to get it all done sometimes. Until then… I’ll keep checking in and maybe I’ll even get good at this… HAHAHAHA

What keeps you busy on a daily basis?  Anything new and exciting in your lives? entertain me!

~E.S.

So,  with breastfeeding my {already} sweet tooth becomes the sweet tooth that ruled the world!!! 

I’m sure I’m not the only mommy who finds this.

Now, I’m dairy free (not by choice, but by necessity) and try not to eat too much gluten, so mostly gluten free and that limits what I can eat somewhat.  So, what do I do?

Well, at the end of my pregnancy and immediately postpartum I consumed enormous amounts of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds.  So yummy.  But I’d go through a large tub in less than a week and that made me feel guilty.  :(

Now I’m doing the same thing with these: 

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

You guys?  That there is MANNA.  Food of the gods.  I bought two boxes last week and I’ve eaten all of one and most of this one.  ALL. BY. MYSELF.

I don’t even like bananas in their natural form.  In smoothies, good.  In banana bread, great.  Frozen or dried, ok.

Frozen with chocolate?  SOLD.

I think, maybe, you’re supposed to share these?  Nope.  ALL MINE.  Not Sharing.  Haha.

Ok.  I shared once.  When Ducky-boy had a successful (above and beyond) potty run.  Otherwise my stomach has been the happy recipient.   The happy, happy, happy recipient.

Ok.  Enough Rhapsodizing.

I just had to share.  SO GOOD.

You should maybe try them.

~E.S.

Ah, the fourth of July.

Red, White, and Blue, and fireworks too!

We generally don’t do anything special for the 4th of July.  One year we went to a friend’s low-key party and played with fireworks, another year we went camping with that same friend.  Most years we really don’t do anything.

This year we decided to join thousands of Californians in driving south for the holiday weekend so Thursday evening we packed up the car and began the six seven hour drive down to Santa Barbara.  We were quick to realize that our big boy had spoiled us.  As a baby (and even now), he was (is) a great traveler.  He entertains himself pretty well in the carseat and is as easygoing as it gets.  Not so with Moose.  He is a clingy one and hates to be put down at home, at the park, and good luck to you if you put him in the carseat and abandon him in the backseat!  He cried for at least 4 hours of the drive.  We had to stop frequently to feed him, strap him in, and then try and calm him down again.  Obviously we were torturing him!

We arrived in Santa Barbara at 1am Friday, at which point Ducky decided to wake up and not go back down easily.  Oh well.  At least we can all sleep in, right?  Bwahahaha.  No.  Not with a toddler and 8 week old!

Anyway.  Friday was SUPER low key.  We had breakfast and just lolled around (Note: not LOL’d, lolled) in the morning and then got Ducky down for his nap.  Then lunch while he slept and when he woke up we went off to the UCSB campus beach.  I’ve never been to the campus, so that was a kick too.  Captain Awesome and Ducky went off to explore and Moose and I sat and watched the surfers (ok, I watched the surfers, he napped in the stroller).

We enjoyed a nice low-key dinner on the patio and then worked to get the babies down for bed.  Ducky absolutely REFUSED to sleep in the pack-n-play, so he was on an air mattress on the floor (so glad I impulse bought that the week before).  The downside is that he gets up and walks around rather than going to sleep.  Womp.  However, he can get out of the pack-n-play if he doesn’t want to be there, so… it’s lose-lose either way.

Saturday was MUCH more fun.  We got up, broke the fast, and toddled off to the Santa Barbara Zoo.  While Captain Awesome and I enjoyed the animals a lot, Ducky wasn’t quite as intrigued.  Moose couldn’t care less about the animals, so he just snoozed in the stroller (and then in the baby k’tan).  There were Lions and Tigers (I think) and Bears, oh my!  The thing that got our attention the most were the apes, one of them silverback.  OH, and the elephants :).

Ducky was particularly fond of the Zoo train, but I didn’t go on it, so I don’t have any photos.  Sad Violin.

boring part summed up:  Lunch.  Nap fail (daddy went to the gym). Nap success (but very short).

BEACH! We hopped off to Ledbetter beach, but I didn’t grab photos of this either.  Sorry guys.  Ducky and Daddy walked around gathering sticks, stones, and sand and generally looked gorgeous doing it (as usual).  Moose and I hung out in the shade.

Dinner on the beach.  I had the fish tacos and about a tablespoon of wine before I got tipsy.  Can someone say lightweight?  SO… still no alcohol for me.  Or not much anyway.  I love the flavor (I’m a wine and Cider gal with occasional mixed tropical drinks), but I hate feeling even tipsy, so I never get far.  No pics of this either.

Guys, I’m really bad at remembering to haul out the camera(phone) for these things.  Practice makes perfect, right?

Boring sum-up: Bath, bed, reading, sleep. breakfast.   Goodbyes to SB and back in the car.

It just so happened that some of our local friends were planning on travelling south around the time we were headed back up north.  They moved their travel plans and we headed to PISMO BEACH!.

Pismo was beautiful, cool, grey and beach-y.  We stopped for cinnamon rolls here and then took off to the beach.  Just a note – Britax Be Ready is an amazing stroller, but it is NOT a sand friendly stroller, haha.

We played on the beach for an hour or two and then were back on the road for the torturous, traffic-filled drive home.

I’ll skip that.

~E.S.

Can you believe it’s been 2 months already?  Me either!  Summer is half over.  I’ve noticed (having had both of my children at the beginning of the summer) that Summers go really fast when you have a baby at the  beginning.  Obviously, I need to try for a winter baby so I can play more over the summer ;).

Because I missed writing this, I’ll post a picture (worth a thousand words, right?) – 1 month postpartum

So, 2 months out, here’s our update.

Shots suck. poor little guy. his leggles hurt! (mommy is modeling the moby-as-a-shirt look)

I got cleared for activities at my 6 week postpartum appointment.  Healing has gone pretty darn smoothly for me this time, yay!  I’m SUPER tired and have been staying up way too late lately.  I think in my mind I’m doing it to have time with Captain Awesome, but I’m really not spending time with him during that time, so I need to cut it out and just go to sleep.  Maybe I can get up early enough to go on a run or do some yoga!

Sweaty, post-workout look!

I’m still about 120 lbs (normal weight is 112, end of pregnancy found me at 129), but I’ve been doing workouts here and there (trying to hang with the Fitnessista’s Summer Shape Up and it is at least motivating me to get a couple workouts in a week) and I’m totally noticing a difference.  Particularly in the morning.  First thing in the morning I almost look like I did when I got pregnant this time!  The other day I actually did 30 burpees.  Not bad for 8 weeks post partum!

My little koala is faring pretty well.  He’s a lot different personality-wise from my monkey and it’s already showing!  He’s a lot fussier and clingy- pretty insistent on being on mommy or daddy all the time.  I’ve gotten used to his crying since holding (or wearing) him just isn’t possible 100% of the time.  Among other things, it’s just too HOT here!  we’ve had at least a week each month since April where the temperatures top 100*F.  Nasty nasty and too hot to babywear.  He’s otherwise a fairly standard 2 month old.  He wakes about every 2-3 hours to eat and his routine is very ‘sleep, eat, poop, cry.’

Koala boy is a cooer and grunter and when he goes to eat he will grunt and moan like a little caveman.  It’s pretty hilarious!

Today was his 2 month well baby appointment and his stats look good!

Weight: 12lbs, 1.5 oz

Height:  22.5 inches

A little smaller than Monkey at his 2 month appointment, but that just means we’ll get more wear out of the 3 month clothes, right?

Anyway, I’ll be back soon with our 4th of July adventures (I hope!)  and a (very brave, I’m sucking it up here) set of photos showing the journey from newlywed body to 2 babies later…

also, a candid moment…

Did your kids have totally different personalities right from the get-go?  Which child was more difficult for you as a parent, One, two, (or more)?

Have a lovely Evening?

~E.S.

Hi all!

Sorry for how spacey the past couple of posts have been.  I’m really trying to get back to writing, but I’m finding that my two boys have given me a serious case of brain-fog!

For example, Sunday night-Monday morning looked like this:

7:30p – bedtime routine and  Bedtime for D

8-8:30pm – Nurse S

8:30pm – Shower, brush teeth (My bedtime routine)

9pm- make breakfast for monday (overnight oats/breakfast cookie a la Fitnessista)

9:30pm – crawl in bed

10pm –  fall asleep

12:30a – first wake-up/feeding/diaper change/feeding

2a – fall back to sleep

3:45a – 2nd wake-up/feeding/diaper change/feeding

5a – fall asleep again

6am – D wakes up for the day-  yelling for mommy

SO… I’m functioning on minimal sleep these days and my brain is only 1/2 working…

In other news, I’m feeling the ‘need’ to workout, so I’m jumping in on The Fitnessista’s summer Shape up!  I did it last summer before getting pregnant and it got me back to (almost) prebaby shape…

Really, I think there’s no going back to true pre-baby shape, but I got really close!:

pre-baby

 last summer after Summer Shape up!

I’m hoping to use it to inspire me to workout (which will hopefully help my energy levels).  I’m NOT planning on  going full-out this year since my body is still in recovery mode.  I just know that I feel better ‘on exercise.’

SO.  hop on over to the Fitnessista if that’s something you’d like to do, and without further ado, to sleep I go in hopes that I can get a workout in tomorrow!

E.S.

Hi guys,

thought you might be interested in how things are progressing postpartum this time! I invested in a belly bandit this time in order to support my poor, torn apart abdominal muscles (the way I carry, the work is all on them)

So, Some pictures:

24 hours post partum:

I’ve been feeling pretty good this time around!  I was able to get back to almost everything by the 2nd week and have been taking care of both boys during the day (except the couple afternoon hours when monkey goes to daycare and a couple days when my dad comes and helps out) since the beginning of week 3.  It’s a rough transition, but I feel like I’m figuring it out slowly, but surely.

While I’m still not (technically) supposed to be carrying much weight other than the baby, I’ve definitely been breaking that rule and carrying the big boy too.  I’m starting to feel pretty strong, with the exception of a little ab weakness.  I’m starting to research how to ‘fix’ diastasis recti with exercises (again) since I’ve forgotten since last time. I know twisting motions are a no go and that it’s best to start with stabilization moves like planks, beyond that I’ve forgotten some!

Also, to help with the Diastasis Recti, I’ve been wearing a belly bandit* when it’s not too hot.  It seems to help some and I’ve read from people who swear that it does, so I’m really hoping it will – my mom’s diastasis recti never really healed and I’d like to avoid that if I can!

I’m now 1 month post-partum and I’m now waiting for clearance to go back to working.  I’m getting antsy, but also wondering how in the world I’m going to fit it in!  I’m hoping to start sleeping enough through the night (y’hear that little koala?) to wake up early and at least do a little yoga in the mornings… I suspect it’ll help with my mental/emotional state too!

And, since I brought it up, I haven’t been struggling with post-partum depression (thank goodness, as it is a serious problem) so much as mild baby blues and adjustment ‘strife.’

So, here’s a picture of what one month looks like for me and bubs:

sorry about the fuzzy  photos, eventually I’ll figure out the camera!

~E.S.

*I’m not in any way affiliated with belly bandit, just using their product myself!

Hey all,

as you can tell, I’ve taken a sort of ‘maternity leave’ from the blog.  It’s been tricky figuring out how to manage everything with the family – 2 kids is a new dynamic and my house looks like the laundry monster exploded!  The diapers had to be stripped (who knew I had so many) and I haven’t stuffed them, and I’ve been having to do laundry ALL. THE. TIME.  I’m a milk making mommy with a fast let down, so there always seems to be breastmilk leaking out of me or onto something.  Almost everything smells like sour milk.  blech!

side note – family selfie!

I’m starting to find something resembling a groove (I hope) with the boys and the roughest part is my poor, sleep-deprived brain!

S is nowhere NEAR as easy of a baby as D was.   I did not realize how very spoiled we were!  I had an idea, but reality is a little slap in the face.  S is still a pretty sweet baby and easier than many, but he’s very fussy, Hate’s the carseat, only ever wants to be on me.   He makes up for it by being pretty darn cute!

So, our sweet big boy turned 2!  We celebrated by taking him to the Railroad Museum.  I thought he’d like it, but I had no clue how big of a hit it would be!  He was SOLD!  we hear all about ‘choo-choos’ all the time now.  We compounded this by taking him on a train ride (one of those tiny trains) today!  He was so sad to leave!  I think we’ll be looking into a membership at the railroad museum!  :)

A friend of ours remembered his camera when we had forgotten and Captain Awesome spent most of the time taking photos.  Thank goodness, because we would have missed so. much. cuteness!

Well, the cuteness never ends! We I also made cupcakes for his birthday.  Now whenever he sees them he says ‘cakes.’  <3   I love this vocabulary explosion we’re seeing!

Seamus is over 8lbs now, though I don’t know how much he weighs at the moment – it’s been more than a week since I weighed him. I measured his length and he’s falling around 22cm.  Whoo boy! He’s a-agrowing!  He’s definitely almost out of the newborn clothes and it’s gone so fast!  4 weeks and he’s so big compared to how he was when I had him just 4 weeks ago.

I’m totally still glowing about the birth.  It’s much more fun in retrospect, of course!  I still miss being pregnant (yep, I’m one of THOSE girls who LOVES being pregnant), but I don’t feel like I’m mourning it anymore.  and with this cuteness and workouts being allowed again, who would be? 

I hope you all are having wonderful weekends – it’s HOT here!  topping 100*F today and tomorrow.  blech.  I usually don’t mind, but with a newborn baby koala it feels super hot.  He loves to be worn (prefers in arms, but with big brother, something’s gotta give). I’m seriously considering one of these instead of my hot,hot,hot moby wrap.  I LOVE baby wearing, and my Ergo baby is my best friend – when he’s bigger!  I’d love a normal k’tan too, simply for ease of use, but that’s getting excessive!

Anyway, this ramble is over for now, but I’ll be back soon!

~E.S.

Stretchmarks are something that every woman dreads, right?  I certainly did.  I was resigned to them – my mother has them, her mother  has them… heck I already had a few on my hips from going through puberty!

The thought that struck me as I brushed my teeth today – deep toothbrushing thoughts, you know – is that I’m GLAD I have stretch marks.  

Now you’re confused.  Let me put it this way (and try not to make you hate me);

I’m one of those women that’s ‘easy to hate’ on the body scale.  I’m naturally slim, have a fast metabolism, and tend to have more difficulty gaining than losing weight.  I think I’m actually skinnier after this pregnancy than I was before I got pregnant (when I was working out regularly)!

My body is fairly quick to ‘bounce back’ after my babies.  And, given how much I LOVE being pregnant with them, that makes me a little sad.  While it’s fun being able to get back into pre-pregnancy clothes (though, if I’m honest, I prefer my maternity clothes for style and looks), I miss having the belly, feeling my baby move, and generally looking like I’ve stuck a giant ball under my shirt.

But the belly doesn’t hang on for me.  This is me one week after having baby #1:

and for contrast – a couple days before having baby #1:

and with Baby #2:

and one week after and the night before he was born (38 weeks, 2 days)

As you can tell – the bump goes away pretty quickly for me.  It took a while for me to get back to pre-pregnancy weight and anywhere near pre-pregnancy tone, but I lost the tummy pretty quickly.

What I didn’t lose, though I didn’t get a lot by comparison, was the stretch marks:

this photo is from 12 days after baby S’ birth.  as you can tell, it’s already shrunk a ton, but the stretch marks are there.

Why did I ‘suddenly’ change my mind about my stretch marks?

There are several factors, one is this story I read on one of my post-partum mommy pages:

” Dr. Maya Angelou’s experience. She said while traveling in Africa.. she stayed with a tribe that bathed communally. She said the women began to weep and console her and she did not know why. They thought she was childless because she had no stretch marks. In their society, marks are a badge of honor. They said even if the baby passed away and she was kidnapped into a new village, if she passed and could not speak for herself, the marks would tell her story and she would get the proper rites at burial.”

Doesn’t that make you think?

The other part is that I miss carrying my babies inside me and stretch marks are one of the few reminders I get – visually- of carrying them.  How could I not love that?  So I will wear them proudly, my badge of honor (much like my scars) for carrying and nurturing my sons.  For the memories of my basketball belly.  Should I never get the opportunity again, I will have this beautiful reminder of carrying life.

My Stretchmarks.  My Babies each left THEIR marks.

Maybe we should call them baby marks.

Do you have stretch marks?  How do you feel about them? Could anything change your mind about them?

~E.S.