Workout? Not so much.

I had another uneventful weigh in this week.  I am plateaued at 199lbs, not that I am complaining though because I also haven't gained any weight in over 6 weeks.  I was only able to get a run in this week twice, which was disappointing but not the end of the world.  I am off tomorrow and after a dr appointment for Noah and a haircut for dad I am going to go for a run.  Hopefully get the week started of on the right foot!

Noah is doing really well now that he is primarily on formula.  He gets about 4 to 6 formula bottles and 4 breast milk bottles each day now.  Christine is primarily pumping because Noah all but refuses to breast feed anymore.  The problem is that bottles flow very easily even if a baby isn't actively sucking on them.  The breasts...well, not so much.  The baby has to work very hard to feed from the breast, he has to earn it.  Since we were forced to supplement Noah's diet until Christine's milk production came up we ended up spoiling him as well.  We are disappointed that he isn't breast feeding anymore but relieved as well because now we know how much he is eating at each feeding.  He is eating almost every 2 hours during the day right now and about every 4 or 5 hours during the night.  On the plus side for Christine, I am now able to wake up with Noah and feed him at night so she can get a little more sleep.

I don't have much else to comment on tonight, working till 9 and listening to the Steelers game on the radio until I get home.

Here is the last month in cell phone pictures...my has my little boy changed in 4 weeks!

weighty issue.

I have a weight issue, and it's not my waistline I am concerned about.  Noah wasn't gaining weight fast enough for our pediatrician.  We were a little shocked and horrified because we really felt like we had done something wrong.  We felt like we hadn't done enough to take care of our son, how could we do this??!  We must be terrible parents.

Then I talked to a few friends and they had the same problem.  I talked to a few older friends and they had the same problem.  Our pediatrician told us this is one of the most common issues they have with new parents.  Especially with parents who are breastfeeding their children.  We did the lactation consultations, we went to all the appointments, and we did everything we thought we were supposed to do.

Our baby never showed signs of serious hunger.  He was relatively calm, rarely fussy, and when he was hungry he usually let us know.  What we didn't know was that he wasn't eating enough.  He was satisfied, but he wasn't full.  He needed a higher caloric intake to gain weight than he was getting.

We took this very personally and very seriously.  The last thing we want to do is anything to jeopardize his health or well being.  I lost some sleep over this (but not any weight...).  We began supplementing his feedings with additional formula or pumped milk.  We woke him during the day to feed a few extra times a day.  We slept less and fed more.

We returned to the Pediatricians office 2 days later and he had gained 6 ounces.  They were pleased, we were tickled.  We are continuing the supplementing through the weekend and return Monday for one more weight check.  (As of this morning he has put on almost a pound in a week).

Our baby boy is happy, full, and filling diapers at a record rate.  I just want any first time parents out there to be aware that you are not alone.  This kind of thing happens to alot of people.  It's frightening, and you feel like you did something wrong.  You feel like you did an injustice by your child.  You stress and you lose sleep, and nothing I or anyone else says will change that.  But you can fix the problem relatively easily and get that kiddo back on track.

We are big fans of Enfamil Gentle-ease Formula now.  It doesn't bother Noah's stomach like the other newborn formulas.  He still takes breast milk without much trouble...unless he is really hungry after waking up then you just have to give him bottle first because the breast milk takes some work.  We haven't had any issues with nipple confusion...but occasionally with nipple refusion?  (is that a word? it is now!)  Noah is plumping up well now.

Now if only I could get some sleep.

Uneventful

I sometimes have trouble coming up with blog posts so that is why I don't post one every day.  Sometimes the posts just come easily because something happens that is worthy of an editorial.  This weekend was not one of those weekends.  It was a relatively uneventful weekend, come to think of it, it was actually a surprisingly normal weekend.  When I say normal weekend I would be referring to the time BEFORE Noah was born.  Since he has been born nothing in the last month has been "normal."

Saturday was a relatively relaxing day, woke up cut the grass, spent some time with the in laws and then spent the evening on the couch with the wife and boy.  Sunday we spent the day in Imperial, PA at my brothers house celebrating the birthday of his son, my nephew, Nicolas.  We had a great time just getting out of the house and spending some time with family.  It was Noah's first adventure out of the house to a family party.  He handled the situation mightily, he didn't sleep much during the day though so he passed out and slept really well during the evening.  We were pleasantly surprised when he was zonked out in my arms at 8:30pm.  I wasn't really tired yet (go figure) so I stayed on the couch just holding him for about an hour.  I then swaddled him in a "swaddler" and took him to his bassinet.  He remained there until after 12am, over 4 hours in one stretch!! HALLELUJAH!  Christine awoke to his cries and fed him and returned to bed, he slept again until almost 430am.  After being in bed since 9:30pm I was pretty much wide awake at this point so I volunteered to hold him until he fell back asleep.  After he fell back asleep I just sat and watched the news and grabbed a cup of coffee.  Hindsight being 20/20 in the future I am going to have to take that time to go for a run or hop on the bike trainer in the game room and get some miles in before the sun comes up.

All my life (at least as far back as I can remember) I have always fought going to sleep early.  I think I just have the personality that if I am asleep at 8pm that I am going to miss something important.  Now that I have a child though that thought process has COMPLETELY changed.  I will take sleep when and if I can get it.  If I get 8 hours of sleep and am still up at 4am I am ok with that, I will just have to start better utilizing my time that early in the morning.  Thank heaven for treadmills (dreadmills..I hate them) and for bike trainers though because 4am in the winter is going to be freezing cold and dark.

Saturday was also Noah's one month birthday, and while I don't have the "official"  Daddy-O Photography pictures to post yet I do have a few that I took with my cell phone to mark the occasion.

I also had a weigh in on Sunday and it was uneventful.  I have been stuck at 199 for more than a month.  I am not complaining though because I am not gaining.  I have most likely hit a plateau due to the decrease in exercise I have had in the last month.

Have a great rest of your Monday FitFans.

Finding Time.

Finding time to workout with a newborn in the house is incredibly difficult.  After spending 42 hours a week at work and countless hours awake at night it becomes hard to even find the energy to exercise.  As difficult as it may be I find it important to try to exercise at least 3 days a week.  This not only helps me to maintain my fitness and weight loss goals it also helps me to get out of the house and clear my head.  It is a great way to decompress and destress.  If I am more relaxed I am able to be a better husband, father, and coworker.  For the past few weeks I have only been running on the treadmill because I wanted to be close to home in case Christine had any trouble with Noah.  Today though, we are getting a visit from Nana (my mother in law Lorraine) and Christine told me that I should get out and try to ride my bike for a bit.  I am going to try to squeeze in a ride for 40-60 minutes in nearby South Park today.  I just hope I am not too out of shape for this after 4 weeks of not riding.

Today is a milestone day for Noah as well, he is 1 month old at 4:49pm this afternoon.  We will be spending the afternoon doing his 1 month photo shoot after I get back from my ride.  I will make sure to post the photos soon.

Happy 1 month Birthday Noah!

Here is a daily dose of cute for you:

Expert at work.

I don't profess to be an expert in newborn child care, in fact I could probably say the exact opposite of myself.  You can read books, magazine articles, and watch dvd's on calming techniques, and child rearing techniques but until you actually DO IT...well you haven't really learned anything.  Every child is different and what works for your kid may not work for mine.  Then you run into someone who has done it with 8 kids, yes 8.  That person just happens to be my grandmother Joanne Cass or G.G. as she is known around the family these days.

G.G. is my mother's mother, she had her 8 kids in the brief span of 1950 to 1960.  They all lived in the house I grew up in, a 3 bedroom ranch in Whitehall Borough and all the kids turned out quite well.  My uncles are some of the funniest guys you will meet and my aunts are some of the most genuinely nice people you will ever meet.  Having grown up in the same area as they did I have also met countless people who have known or grew up with someone in my family.  Everyone has a story about the Cass family girls or the Cass family boys babysitting them or causing "trouble."  I love listening to the stories they tell about growing up in such a close nit family.  They are all a true reflection of their parents Edward "Ned", and Joanne Cass.  These stories could fill up countless reams of paper and they would all be funny, touching, and wonderful...but that is getting me off the point.

We decided to take Noah over to meet G.G. last night for the first time.  Her only encounter with him up until now has been the birth announcement that we mailed to her.  We gave Noah a good feeding before we left, loaded him into his car seat and off we went.  We arrived at G.G's house and Noah was wide awake.  We exchanged hugs and kisses and then unpacked the little man so he could get some quality time with her.  We sat down on the couch and began to talk and tell stories about her children growing up.  My grandmother is quite an amazing woman, lucid, intelligent, funny, and an exceptional artist.  One of the things I noticed with her though was the way she handled Noah.  There was this amazing calm with her, her hands were steady, and her mood so composed.  Noah would fuss and she would just roll him on his side or give him a little rocking on her legs and he would calm down.  She never once broke conversation to fuss over him she just worked magic on him.  I sat there listening and watching in awe as she almost instinctively pacified and calmed him.  It was a very powerful and humbling experience to watch her in action.  I guess when you take care of 8 children these things become second nature or maybe some people just have a better natural instinct for these things.  I could have sat there all night talking to her and just enjoying her company, something that is hard to do during family functions because they get rather hectic.  (8 kids, 8 spouses and scores of grandkids and great grandkids...it's quite a sight).  Our lives get so caught up in our work and everything else that goes on in them.  I wish I could spend everyday of my life with my grandmothers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and my parents but I can't.  But I definitely try to make the best of the time that I do have with them.  That is something I definitely plan to instill into Noah as well, family is so important to the proper development of our children.

I snuck a picture or two while G.G. had Noah in her arms and I feel like they perfectly captured the moment last night, my words will never do this experience the justice it deserves.  It's a photo like this that takes the place of a thousand words.   Love you G.G.

Getting in those workouts.

I am not a selfish person by nature.  I guess no one really thinks they are selfish, but you don't realize you are until you have children.  Before Noah came along I loved my "me" time, my get away from everything time.  I could go for a run, grab the bike and ride, or head out fishing and the only person I had to o.k. it with was the warden (aka the wife).  With her blessing I could could "get away" whenever I needed it without feeling guilty.  Then along came Noah, you see babies are very needy, they can't feed, bathe, or survive for that matter without us.  So when you have "free time"  you usually spend most of it sleeping because you don't get much of that as a parent either.  The battle for me is finding the time and the energy to sneak in workouts in between the diaper changes, the naps, and then also finding time to take the baby for a few hours so the wife can get out of the house.

**Important fitdadorfatdad note to expectant fathers make sure when the baby is born that you take care of your wife as much as you can.  Make sure her sanity stays intact.  Give her a spa day occasionally, give her some cash and send her shopping, tell her to take a lunch date with her girlfriends.  Just get her out of the house.  If your situation is anything like mine, if the wife is happy she is much more willing to let me leave for an hour or two to jump on the bike and ride, or spend a half hour to hour out on a run.**

Add to that the cuteness tractor beam your son/daughter has on your heart and that just adds to the difficulty to leaving the house the first few weeks after the baby is born.  Noah definitely has the ability to convince me that a workout isn't necessary today and that I should just spend the afternoon holding him on the couch while he sleeps or just stares into space.

All that aside the best advice I can give new parents to finding a time to workout is to plan ahead (not as easy as it sounds).  Pre-Noah I would get up daily before work at around 5:50am and workout for 30-60minutes.  Post-Noah I "plan" my workouts for my days off from work when Noah takes naps.  Christine usually sleeps during the day when Noah sleeps so I usually just coordinate a workout with Noah when he decides to sleep.  Most of my workouts recently have revolved around treadmill or bike trainer rides in the game room while I catch up on the DVR.  As he sleeps more during the evening and our schedules somewhat regain some of their normalcy I will adjust them accordingly.  I have also been on a quest to find a good kettleball and do some kettleball workouts in the evening as well.  Suggestions for quick muscle blasting workouts would be appreciated.

You have to find what will work best with your schedule as well as with your wife and child.  Don't be selfish, this isn't about you anymore.  No matter how hard you try your life now revolves around that child.   My fitness is very important to me, but it will never get in the way of properly raising my child.  I want to be able to raise him to enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle.  The only way I will be able to do that will be to find a balance between  my "selfishness" and family.  I hope it won't be too hard.

Thanks for reading! Please share the link to the blog if you think that a friend or two would enjoy this!
-Ron

A New Beginning.

After 85 posts at the old blog I decided it was time for a change, time to rename, refocus, and start over.  I made the decision to start losing weight and get back in shape on Sunday January 16th, 2011.  Since then I have lost over 35lbs through a combination of eating better (weightwatchers for men) and regular exercise.  When we found out we were having a baby it was time to decide whether I wanted to continue down a self destructive path of eating, drinking, and sedentary lifestyle or to start over.  I chose the latter, and am happy that I chose this path.  I have been under 200lbs for a few weeks now but have not been losing much weight in the past month.  I would say the blame mostly falls on all the nice people bringing us food so that we don't have to cook since Noah has been born. 

When the baby was born I spent the first 2 weeks or so just adjusting and getting my life back into order.  Life will never be the same (in a good way!) with this little bugger in the house and adjusting my workouts to fit around his schedule is going to be difficult.  Add to that the level of exhaustion that we feel from long nights and interruption to our normal sleep schedule that a baby brings and you have a recipe for disaster.  I don't really see it that way though because I look at the workouts now as a chance to get out and get fit.  To be ready for when Noah is able to run around the house and play.  I am going to need all the energy I can get.  I could either be the FAT DAD...or I could be the FIT DAD.  I am choosing to be the Fit Dad.  I hope you enjoy this journey as I continue to try to lose these last 25-30 stubborn pounds and as I grow as a first time father.  There is going to be frustration, fear, joy, and laughter in this journey and I hope that you get some laughs and maybe a few tears from reading the blog.  Thanks for being here and thanks for taking the time to read.

Me in High School: (about 130-140lbs)

Me at 30 and close to 235lbs. (notice the gut...and larger than normal double chin)

Me at the present with my adorable (I know I am biased) Son Noah 8 days after he was born 8/25/11 (notice the lack of round face and double chin at 199lbs)

(ps if you like the picture of the son and I you should see the rest of the work from our photographer she is amazing (very busy, but quite talented)  www.weddingsbyheather.com

Have you decided to be a fit dad instead of a fat dad?  I would love to hear from anyone out there who can help with insight or guidance to help me along.