Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Patsy's First Christmas

I've been a bit removed from the blogging world for the past month. I've been trying to thoroughly enjoy my maternity leave as it comes to an end. We also hosted my family over on Christmas Eve (about 40 people) for a nice homemade dinner. Needless to say, I was quite busy while also running around with Patsy! The Christmas season started before Thanksgiving when I took Miss Patsy Rose to go see Santa at Macy's.
Apparently I forgot to ask them to zoom in. Patsy looks so tiny! Oh well, new mom mistakes! I'll know better for next year! We also christened our baby girl in early December and she received lots of really cute Christmas clothes that she was able to get a lot of use of during the month of December.





In case you can't tell, our girl is pretty happy. We are pretty lucky we have such a wonderfully happy and adorably baby girl!

Her weight gain had been a little slow so I was nervous how things would go between pediatrician appointments. Turns out I was worried for nothing and she is gaining weight just fine, along her own curve. (She is in the 5th percentile for weight.) For those of you that don't know (I used to not know at all), all things baby are compared to these percentile rankings. These are data sets put together on a global basis, looking at babies' weights across the board. So, it is basically a system for moms to go crazy comparing their babies to others. :)

After hearing that our little Patsy Rose is doing just fine, I was able to stop worrying so much and enjoy the rest of my maternity leave! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my entire family so there was lots of planning, prepping, and cleaning that needed to be done. It was really wonderful to host Christmas in our home as a new family. We were able to enjoy the evening with our little girl without needing to run all over town at all hours of the night. :) Patsy's dress was PRETTY adorable. Carter's has some of the best baby clothes out there, seriously.



Now that Christmas has passed and the new year is starting, I have lots of big goals for 2014. I hope you're ready to follow along for the ride! :)

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kelly's 2013 Holiday Runner's Gift Guide

Life as a new mom has kept me pretty busy. Patsy isn't sleeping as much during the day as she once did, so her attention consumes most of my days. Plus, the end of my maternity leave is in sight so I'm really trying to make the most of our time left together! As the holiday season is upon us, I thought I would put together a gift guide for your favorite runner(s)! I'm not super fancy with images, photoshop, and nice links... So I created a Pinterest board with my top ideas! All gifts are $30 or less--many of which I've talked about on this blog before!


And just for good measure, I've included some fun holiday photos from previous years. (A full post full of Patsy's Christmas clothes will be following!)

Pepper all dressed up for the holiday season and Mokena's Pet of the Week in 2012

Breakfast with Santa in 2011

Christmas Eve Cookie Exchange 2011

Blogger Brunch and Jingle Bell 5k 2012




Friday, November 22, 2013

Thursdays with the FNRC

Run-ning? What's that? Oh yeah, the reason why I created this blog in the first place! So, let's talk about running for a change. I got the chance to run with the FNRC last night. Looking at the calendar, I hadn't had the chance to run in almost 2 weeks. Oops! I guess that's what happens when you're busy working part time while being a mom. (I don't know how I'll do it when I'm back at work full time. I guess I'll have to figure it out!)
Bathroom Selfie (the only area with a light)
Amanda and her boyfriend Derek slowed it down and hung back at my pace during the run. I have been feeling that my pace is about 11:00-11:30 these days. I don't really like to focus too much on pace on my Garmin at this point, but I thought it was funny that my average pace for the run was 11:09... Right on target with how I was feeling. Little by little, I'm getting back into shape. I'm enjoying the journey along the way! I'm trying to get back into the habit of taking photos of myself (instead of just the baby). I finally got the chance to test out my Oiselle Flyte top on a run. (I bought it while I was pregnant and I've been looking forward to wearing it!)


And just for good measure, here is an adorable Patsy photo of her in her pjs... complete with bunny slippers.

said before that I thought I was having a boy, but Patricia has totally rocked my world! I absolutely love picking out her outfits pajamas included) every day.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Saturday Strength With Kim

A little while ago, Kim had sent out an email to her blogger friends about a weekend workout class she would be hosting. The date of the class happened to coincide with my clearance to work out, so I was in and excited about it. I haven't attended a strength class in a long time and this was the perfect opportunity. I made the over an hour trek to Essential Fitness with plenty of time to spare. Bobbi had so graciously agree to watch baby Patsy while I worked out. As Bobbi is a fellow mom, it total put me at ease leaving Patsy with her. :)

Pre-class photo... Complete with Bobbi and baby
L to R: Bobbi, me, Erin, Rachel, Maggie, Alyssa, Anne, Melanie and Amy
Class got started and the playlist continuously made us smile. It kind of reminded me of a sleepover from when I was younger. Kim was a great teacher and had some slight modifications for my weak arms and it was quite helpful. Erin had brought up an interesting point before class started. We were talking about how many women have a mindset that they can't lift a certain amount of weight. I used to be in this mindset so I totally get it. I actually thought about this during the class. The smallest bar weight that everyone had been given was 12 pounds. Kim had given me a 6 and 9 pound weight, depending on what I could do. For one of the exercises, I was going to use the 6 pound weight... But then I thought "Patsy weighs 9 pounds and I lift her all the time" so I went with the 9 pound weight instead of the 6.

In between instructing us, Kim was able to take some sweet action shots of our workouts. Don't mind me working my butt off in the corner!

My arms and abs were so sore for the next day, which I guess means it was a pretty good workout! Special thanks to Kim for hosting the class for her pals that live far away from Essential Fitness. Thanks to Bobbi for watching Patsy while I worked out! I had an absolute blast.


Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A New Running Routine

Thanks so much for all your kind words and support on my post from last week. It really is great to open myself up and be honest with all of you, and to hear all your kind words of encouragement and support!

It really is quite crazy how quickly the time goes by. Pregnancy and raising an infant is kind of a weird time vortex. Things seem to go extremely slowly yet very fast all at the same time. It really is hard to explain. I've been trying to run 3 days a week but it seems like 1 or 2 days a week seems to be much more normal. I'd like to get back to my 3x per week runs, but that will take some time. Patsy isn't really on a routine just yet and I'm doing some part time work for my job while out on maternity leave (this will allow me to take more leave time off).

I've been able to meet up with the folks on my Thursday night group a few times. The group is so amazing and I love that there are some people willing to hang out and go my speed. Definitely a "pay it forward" type of thing; no runner left behind! It is starting to get a little too cold to bring Patsy out on runs in the BOB so I've been out with Pepper. I'm hoping to make this a part of my weekly routine. I had to wipe the dust off my head lamp and find my reflective stuff all over again!

While some of my friends were running the Naperville Marathon on Sunday, I was going for a leisurely jog around my neighborhood. My SIL came by to watch Patsy and I went out for another run with Pepper!
The temps were beautiful! I had a lot of fun out there in some nice weather. I also loved wearing all my running gear again. I have lots of stuff that I still need to take the tags off of. Oops! I think I have a bit of a shopping problem. I only went for a mile but it was a fun mile!
This is what a mother runner looks like. I wanted to post this photo also as a follow-up to my post from last week. Looking at this photo, all I can see is my little pouch. I totally get why many moms hide behind flowy tops and capri pants. I'm working on getting my confidence back and posting this photo is taking me down the right road. :)

And because she is smiling all the time, I just had to post my new favorite photo of my little angel, Miss Patsy Rose. She was kicking up a storm (the hubs calls it "riding a bicycle") and smiling like a big ham for the camera. I just had to share this photo with all of you. I hope it makes you smile just like it makes me smile all the time.

Monday, November 4, 2013

My Thoughts on Food and the Post-Baby Bump

I have previously spoken a few times about my experiences and issues with food (here and here). I talked about how I dealt with these thoughts and ideas during the beginning and end of my pregnancy. Now that our little nugget is here and I have one of those "post-baby bodies", I thought I would give an update about how I'm feeling and coping with some of these new thoughts, feelings, and body images.

During most of my pregnancy, I felt pretty confident in my body. I was gaining weight, just like I was supposed to. Many people told me "you're just all baby!" Well, after the baby came out, turns out that your stomach doesn't look the same as it did before a baby was in there. These are things people (and books) tell you, but I thought things would be different for me. I was physically fit before the pregnancy. I ran for more than half of the pregnancy! I thought I was going to bounce back and be in my pre-pregnancy jeans in no time.

Turns out my expectations did not quite line up with reality. I have a little pouch and not many of my pre-pregnancy shirts fit and none of my non-maternity jeans fit. I had a baby 7+ weeks ago and I'm still wearing maternity clothes. As it turns out, this is completely normal. Some/many women wear maternity clothes for months after having a baby. Hearing about this and experiencing it are two different things. At first, I was a bit upset about my post-baby body. But then, I look down at my little nugget (in my opinion, she happens to be extra adorable) and it makes me smile. The little pouch was worth it. I'm not so down on my weight or waistline. It is only a few pounds. Right now making sure I get enough calories so I can keep breastfeeding little Patsy is most important. (Dropping my caloric intake can affect my milk supply. Life is all about priorities.)

In the end, I'm still not in love with how I look, but I'm in love with my little baby who was so worth it. I know I'll have confidence in my body again some day, I just need to give myself some time. I know I'll get there eventually.

And because this post needs some photos of my adorable little nugget... Here are some photos from her first Halloween! In case you were wondering, Patsy was Princess Leia and Pepper was Chewbacca. :)

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Story of my BOB and my First Run Back

When putting together our baby registry, I spent lots of time researching just about every single item on the list. Picking the jogging stroller I wished for was no different. I chose the BOB Ironman in yellow. Consumer reports named it one of the top running strollers. Since YORO (You Only Register Once), I added it to the list. Since this is something I plan to get a lot of use out of in the years to come, I wanted something I loved. And I loved that stroller. It remained on the registry after the baby showers. It was something that we would have to figure out a creative way to pay for one because I knew I was getting it, one way or another. I had lots of ideas of using coupons and gift cards at various places, depending on where I could get the best deal. With the chaos leading up to Patsy's birth, there was no immediate need for the jogging stroller.

As you know by now, our beautiful nugget was born a few days early. When we got home from the hospital, a few surprises were waiting for me. As I previously mentioned, our friends and family decorated our front entryway for us. However, that wasn't the only surprise. When I walked inside the house I saw the biggest surprise of all, the BOB stroller box sitting in our living room. I immediately turned to my husband, asking him where it came from. He said it was his gift to me, as it was the one thing he knew I really wanted that we didn't already have. It was really unexpected and I was speechless. I was so overcome with love and emotion, I even teared up a bit. I have always thought my husband was a catch and when he does amazing things like this, I'm just more thankful to have him in my life. (Totally mushy, I know.) Right now the stroller is assembled and ready to roll!


If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was cleared to run at my 6 week doctors appointment. I was overcome with joy and excited to get back out there. This past weekend got the chance to put the stroller together, only to find out I didn't have the correct infant car seat connector. The correct one has since been ordered from Amazon and will be arriving shortly. In the mean time, the hubs took over baby duties when I went for my first solo run with the pup. 

It was really great to be out there again. I didn't have a particular pace target. I just wanted to run 2 miles and see how I felt. I know I'm not going to start out fast after taking a 5 month break and having a child. Knowing that before going into it made my (comparatively) slow pace seem irrelevant. Being out on the pavement was like being reunited with an old friend. We hadn't talked in awhile, but we were able to pick up where we left off. I see so many bloggers bounce back so quickly and speedily after having children. I don't think I'll fit into that category and I'm okay with that. You know I'm going to be honest and tell you that it was hard. My legs were sore after running just 2 miles. I also wanted to quit at 1.5 miles but I kept going. I loved every minute of being out there and I'm very much looking forward to the miles ahead for me, Patsy and Pepper.

Watch out! There's a new mother runner in town :)

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Chicago Marathon Thoughts

For those of you that aren't from the Chicago area (or perhaps have been living under a rock), the Chicago Marathon was this past weekend. I DVRed the race and recently finished watching the coverage. Seeing the course and all the people running it, it brought back some strong emotions. (I may or may not have shed some tears.) I have a lot of history with this race over the years, both spectating and attempting to run it.

Helping my cousin cross the finish line 2009
Marathon Expo 2011
Running with Maggie in 2012

My history with the marathon is a long and bumpy one. I also had plans to run the Illinois Marathon in 2013, but my little nugget decided to exist so I put my marathon plans on hold. (Totally worth it, obviously.) Every October I get the itch to run the Chicago Marathon. This year was no different and I'm thinking that 2014 might be the year I cross the finish line. I plan on doing things very differently than the first time around (I plan on hiring Coach Britt again.) I'm hoping that the extra motivation of little Patsy will help me with that extra push to break through the wall and cross the finish line! Registration will open in February or March and there are rumors that the registration system might be changing, but we'll see how it goes. If it is meant to be, it is meant to be.


This year, I did get the chance to meet up with some amazing Oiselle teammates that were in town for the race from both Illinois and all over the U.S.! They were all happy to meet Patsy and were very accommodating. It was so nice to actually meet people that I've been following on Twitter and Instagram in real life! Also, I had no idea we had so many local team members (the team recently expanded, including more team members in IL). The wheels are already turning to plan another local Oiselle event. I am excited! Stay tuned!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Baby Wilson's Favorite Baby Items

It really is quite amazing how quickly the time goes by when taking care of a small child. I can only imagine how fast the time will go by when I'm also running and working too! I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite things from Patsy's first few weeks of life!

1) Wubbanubs - these came recommended from Michelle at Crazy Running Legs. I saw them and thought they were so adorable, I needed to register for a few. In addition to being adorable, they are pretty functional too. They are much more difficult to lose than the normal pacifier. When Patsy spits it out (which is often), it sits on her instead of rolling onto the floor.


2) Aden & Anais Swaddle Blankets - These were recommended to me by several different folks. I love that they are muslin and breathable. It makes me feel better about using them and the lessened suffocation hazard. They are also pretty large which is great for the novice swaddler. Last but not least, the patterns are absolutely adorable. They are a little on the expensive side but they occasionally go on sale at Babies R Us and are also available on the Kohl's website. I highly recommend you pick up some!


3) Fisher Price Rock N Play Sleeper - This was something that I didn't register for but my SILs bought for me because they thought I would love it. Oh my goodness, this is the best thing ever! It pretty much is a portable crib that is super easy to maneuver around. We live in a ranch and this sleeper is pushed around to the kitchen, living room, bathroom... wherever! I'm so glad we have this little piece of furniture.


4) Summer Infant Swaddlers - These are fantastic. The nurses at the hospital are able to swaddle your baby for you beautifully. Then you come home and no one in your house has the same amazing swaddling skills. Therefore, the folks at Summer Infant created swaddles that use velcro to keep in place. We put Patsy in them just for sleeping and she loves them. Babies are only supposed to be tightly swaddled for the first few months so I didn't get a ton, just a few. These swaddles are currently available at TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores for much, much cheaper than Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby.


5) Honest Company Diapers - I heard about this company from a friend and I liked that they had diapers that were plant based and biodegradable. I consider myself to be semi-crunchy-granola and I thought that these diapers were a good fit for us. They are delivered to my house as regularly as I want them to be (and wipes are included in the package). The patterns are also super adorable. The only downside is that they don't come with the blue/yellow line that says whether or not the diaper is wet. As often as she is peeing and pooping, I'm not too worried about it at this point. The company doesn't just do diapers. They also offer cleaning products, baby care products, and even vitamins. All of their products are organic, plant based, and uber-enviro-friendly.



And just because, here are some more photos of my adorable baby girl. I might be having a bit too much fun picking out her outfits every day. Headbands are pretty much a necessity.



Note: I was in no way compensated for the reviews of these products. These opinions and views are my own.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Mom and Patsy Loves Visitors

It really is amazing how much time has passed since my last post. The days seem to go by fairly quickly, even though I feel like I'm not doing much. Our little Patsy is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3+ hours during the night (at least on good nights) which has worked out alright thus far. I can usually tell when she is getting fussy, like clock work. We are trying to keep her up before bed time so she sleeps better during the night. Not every night is perfect, but we're getting there.

We've had lots of fun visitors this week, some of which may be familiar to you!

Amanda (Get to Goal) came by on her day off on Monday, after another marathon finish at Fox Valley on Sunday. Like a bad blogger, I didn't take any photos of her visit. Oops!

Amanda Too Tall Fritz also came by with her kids. As we plan on having more than one child, I always love when kids come to visit. It gives me a glimpse into my potential future, chaos and all.

Kim and Bobbi made the trek from the far north suburbs all the way out to visit me! It was so nice that they came all this way! Kim brought along some delicious Fake Meats Meals (complete from the monthly meal plan that I keep talking about signing up for).
Bobbi and I both wore orange... Unexpectedly

So far I'm loving maternity leave and I'm not looking forward to going back to work in a few weeks. Thankfully I won't be going back until after Thanksgiving so I still have some time. :)

I've been taking a few walks a week and been feeling good. Hoping to get the all-clear to run at my 6 week appointment! I've been feeling much better since the surgery so we'll see how the next 4 weeks go. :) Thanks for following along!
My favorite walking buddies!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Baby Wilson's First Week Home

Well, Patsy is now over a week old and we've been home from the hospital for just over a week. We have had lots of visitors at our house and I love all the company. It really helps the day go by faster with other people coming by. Pepper also really loves all the visitors. This is Dad's first week back at work since Patsy was born and it has been off to a bit of a rough start (very late to work his first day back and a horrible night's sleep the night before). I'm excited that things seem to be healing well with the incision. I'm happy for when I can take my little nugget out and about (I really dislike being cooped up in the house all day). After 2 weeks, I'm cleared to lift things heavier than the baby, so I will actually be able to pick  her up in her carseat.

Get ready folks. Here comes some of the TMI stuff of what it has been like at home. I had a plan to exclusively breastfeed my baby and I'm happy to report that Patsy has really taken to it. She is eating (and pooping and peeing) like a champ. It isn't easy and it is very tiring being the only food source. But I think it is worth it and I would do it all over again. I hope that things continue to work in the future, so we'll see how it goes! Sometimes the hubs and I will have a conversation strictly about what color poop the baby has. Yes, we've turned into THAT couple. It is kind of hard not to when we are both completely enthralled with our adorable baby girl. All in all, she is pretty much just eating, pooping, peeing, and sleeping these days.  She is eating about every 2 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. At times when she is awake and alert we try to do some tummy time or something. We also try to keep her awake right before we go to bed (only letting her sleep for no more than an hour between 7pm and 10pm). This has worked out fairly well so far. I would like to get into more of a bedtime routine with story time and such when she is probably about a month old.

There are some products that we've liked so far and I'll be sure to do a product post in a little while, once I take some photos of her using the various things. :)

As I mentioned before, I have been pretty much stuck in the house most days, but Patsy has already been out to dinner, out to breakfast, and even made her first trip to Kohl's. I really can't wait until I'm feeling better to take her out and around! As I'm typing this up, I'm contemplating going for a walk around the block, just to get up and out of the house. (And I want to give her stroller system an inaugural trip.)

And here is my new favorite way to spend Sundays.


Friday, September 20, 2013

More Patsy Rose Photos

Since I don't really have much to blog about, I thought I would just post photos of my adorable baby girl! She actually has her own hashtag if you're looking for more photos. Check out #PatsyRose on Instagram. Hope you enjoy!

Carseat snuggles on the way home from the hospital

Wearing Mom's favorite color

Stealing a smile!

Whatchu lookin at?

Momma and baby during our first night out for Daddy and Uncle Dan's birthday

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Baby Wilson's Birth Story

If you read my 38 week update, you saw that there was a chance I would have a c section because our little nugget was breech.

We went to my doctor's visit on Wednesday as scheduled and the doctor confirmed that Baby was still breech. I was also dilating further and my doctor did not feel comfortable waiting any longer to see if Baby would flip. As I absolutely love my doctor, I trusted her judgement and we came home making the final preparations for Baby's arrival. It was kind of surreal to know exactly when we were going to have the baby. I didn't get much sleep Wednesday night, obviously. I woke up several times and just couldn't go back to sleep. This was it, this was the end of our old life and the beginning of our new life together. I needed to be at the hospital at 10:30 am on Thursday for a 1:00 pm surgery appointment. We made sure to get one last "family photo" on Wednesday night. I wanted to do some nice formal pregnancy photos but we kind of ran out of time. Oops!

I also made sure to take one last bump photo before we left for the hospital.
I was a little emotional on the way to the hospital, thinking about how our lives would now change forever. And I was nervous about the surgery. I've had my wisdom teeth removed, but that is the extent of my surgery experience. The hubs was super supportive and we did our best to try to calm each other to make the process a bit easier. I checked into the hospital and was set up in our room. They got the monitors rolling and did a last ultrasound, confirming little Baby Wilson was breech.

The nurse we had was absolutely fantastic. She reminded me a bit of myself. She was chipper and very thorough (I could tell by the way she anticipated everything that the doctors needed). She made me feel more at ease with everything that I was nervous about. I was wheeled off to the operating room while the hubs waited right outside. They gave me a spinal so I would be numb from the waist down. If you've never experienced it before, the best way I can describe it is like novocaine. The doctors and nurses waited for it to kick in and I was laying out on the table. My doctor could tell I was nervous so she held my hand while I waited. (Just one of the many reasons why I LOVE my doctor.) My nurse also comforted me as well. The anesthesiologist was very helpful and explained everything as it was happening. I kept trying to move my toes as long as I could just because I was nervous I might be able to feel something. I was warned that the medicine might make me nauseous. As soon as the medicine was kicking in, they called my hubs in. He held my hand and we tried to talk to keep each other calm. He thought we were having a girl and I thought we were having a boy. We tried to guess the weight to help talk about anything. I didn't want there to be silence; I needed to talk! :)

I could feel the pressure of the doctor pressing on my belly. They were working for a bit and then we heard them say "IT'S A GIRL!" I couldn't believe it. I was in absolutely shock. I thought for sure I was having a boy! As soon as I heard that she was a girl, I immediately said I wanted to name her Patricia. I just knew it was meant to be (this was one of the names on our list). They held her up for us to see and I was surprised to see a full head of hair! They wiped her off, weighed her and then they put her right on my chest for some skin-to-skin time. This was one of the things I loved about my hospital. This is something that is very important to us so I was happy to get that time.
First family photo during skin-to-skin time

While they finished stitching me up, they took the hubs and our little baby girl to the nursery. He announced that it was a girl and the family went crazy. I heard that there was lots of jumping and screaming. I told him not to say the name and tell the family not to post anything on FB yet. After I was ready for recovery, they wheeled me back to my room where the hubs came in with our baby. We then got a full hour (called the "golden hour" with our little baby. It was more skin-to-skin time and more time for us to spend alone as a brand new family. (This is something else that I love that our hospital does/did.) As I was coming down off of the morphine, it made it much easier to have a nice and calm environment with our little baby girl who was completely calmed by the sound of her mother's heartbeat.

After that time, the nurse helped wrap her up so she would be nice and warm and ready to be passed around to all of her new family members. 
I really don't have enough positive things to say about the hospital, nursing staff, and overall positive experience I had. This wasn't my ideal situation but everyone on staff made me feel much more at ease. 

My husband's uncle is a local photographer (you should check out his work) and he came by to take some photos of our Patricia Rose when she was less than a day old. I love the way these photos turned out. She really is quite precious and I feel he captured her appropriately. :)



We were able to leave the hospital a little early and life at home has been a little chaotic (as I'm sure you can guess). I'm still recovering from the surgery but every time I look at my little nugget, I know she was worth every stitch. :) When we came home from the hospital, some of our friends had decorated our house for us with beautiful fall decorations.

We also had a pretty important introduction to make when we got home. Pepper has been pretty jealous of the new baby but I'm sure they will become friends in due time. It is just going to take some time... In the mean time she has been really sweet and tries her best to be gentle (although it doesn't really work out so well). 


We feel so very fortunate to be surrounded by so much love! Our family and friends have been so wonderful. We've had so many visitors coming and going and I really enjoy the company. The hubs goes back to work next week so things, I'm sure, will change quite a bit once he goes back. I couldn't be happier to welcome a beautiful baby girl into this world. Thanks so much for your kind words and support in following my journey! I hope you're ready for a blog full of baby photos! And maybe a little bit of running thrown into the mix.