Leo | Birth to Month 1

Hey Scholars,

Leo is a month old today!
I'm a very proud Mama!

My little Leo is growing very well despite my concerns that he would experience a failure to thrive, as his brother, Eli, experienced. Fortunately, that is not the case and Leo is gaining nine ounces or so a week now!

Breastfeeding vs Formula

I decided way before Leo was born that I would be both breastfeeding and bottle feeding. It is very important to me to breastfeed Leo because it provides him with antibodies that he would not otherwise have because he's too young to be vaccinated against most things.

I also bottle feed because my milk supply has never been very abundant and I need to supplement his diet with something else so they gets all of the nutrition he needs.

While this is an expensive choice, it is the right choice for my family and I stand by my decision.

*Below is my stance on circumcision and it is quite graphic because I describe what can happen when you are uncircumcised. If you are not interested in this, do not read that section and proceed to the Sleeping  or Pictures section below that. - Thanks*

My First Postpartum Workout

Hey Scholars,

I have officially hopped back on the fitness bandwagon. I was able to get in a quick, ten-minute workout on Tuesday as the boys slept. I haven't been cleared by my physicians yet, so I'm not doing any cardio, but I have resumed my calisthenics training from before I was pregnant.

Here is a screenshot of my workout on Fitocracy:

I will be posting a in-depth post in my June 2014 Wellness Journey at the end of June.

Until then, I'll be posting these mini entries to update you.

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you don't miss any future posts by subscribing to my blog. It's free! You can sign up using your email by entering it on the right side of this page or by clinking the Bloglovin button. (It's also free).

Until next time friends,

1 Month Postpartum Update

Hey Scholars,

It's been a month since Leo was born!
I can barely believe it!

I finally feel like I a getting into the mix of things, being a stay-at-home-Mom of a toddler and infant.
Just as I did in my last post, I'll be addressing the three areas that affect me most as a new Mom:

• Emotional Health
• Physical Health
• Mental Health

I am not shy about sharing my struggles and triumphs, as I may end up helping some other poor soul out there. Maybe there is someone who can relate to me and what I'm going to. If not, I am getting out my emotions and that, my friends, is cathartic for me.

Emotional Health

I still feel very emotional. I haven't cried much at all in the past three weeks. Maybe twice. Both times were as I was watching a movie. I have no idea if this is because of the pregnancy hormones still lingering in my system, but I am not a person who cries easily about non-realistic things.

I feel like I am able to think clearly and more logically than when Leo was first born. I can also attribute this to the course I am currently enrolled in online. It is a critical thinking course and I am in love with it.

I have noticed that I am very irritable because of the sleep deprivation, but that is to be expected. I hope that I will be able to control my temper more around everyone. I feel horrible for being curt with people, but I can't always control that. I act before I think a lot of the time. Less than I use to because I am more aware of that, but I still do it often.

Physical Health

I have yet to start strength training, but I am still healing from giving birth. I don't feel that I am up to that yet. 

I have been walking a lot. A few times a week with one or both boys in tow. I usually carry Leo in the baby carrier on the front of me and Eli uses the child harness or he's in the stroller. I walked a little over a mile the other day and I am damn proud of that! I felt so much Sciatic pain about three-quarters of a mile into the walk, but I pushed through until I was home.

I've been eating a lot better. I had salad a few times. I love adding a lot of different elements to my salads. I have a sensitivity to hot and cold, so salad is not always friendly towards me. Here is a salad that I ate recently:

In this salad: baby romaine, sliced almonds, strawberries, shredded mild cheddar cheese, cucumber slices, sliced tomato, shredded, boiled chicken breasts, cranberries, and french dressing.

I am not currently counting calories or tracking my weight. I am breastfeeding a lot, so that is burning some calories, but until I start actively exercising, I am not going to be tracking my calories at all.

I plan on starting an exercise routine once I get the okay from my primary care physician and obstetrician. I haven't had any chest pains since right before Leo was born, so I'd like to ease into a routine to prevent that, if possible, since the cause for my chest pains has never been determined.

Here are pictures of my body progress in the last three weeks:

Pictures Here

There isn't much to see here, but I haven't done anything but walk. What matters to me most is that I physically feel better and that is better than adding muscle definition or losing weight.

I almost forgot to add that I have healed well from giving birth. I haven't needed to use anything expect pantyliners for the past two weeks. I have basically stopped bleeding altogether and that makes me happy because blood makes me squeamish.

I see my OB in about a week and hopefully I will be cleared to have my surgery scheduled for my tubal ligation. I have been waiting for this surgery since I decided to have it for sure back in December. I wrote a little about my reasons for wanting this surgery as opposed to other methods of birth control in this post last month. If anyone is interested in more details about my decision, I can make a post about it and provide a lot of resources to support my decision.

Let me know in the comments below.

Mental Health

I have felt stable so far, but I feel like I am beginning to slip a little into my depression. Things outside of my control have happened over the last few weeks and while I feel optimistic for the most part, I sometimes feel pretty hopeless in my situation. I will not mention specifics because I am not the only one these problems affect.

I am patiently waiting for my appointment with mental health professionals and hopefully I will find a therapist that I am compatible with. I'm not ashamed to admit when I need help. I can't control my depression anymore than someone can control having cancer. It's the way my body functions. What I can control is what I do to prevent relapses and that means therapy and possibly considering medication, if needed at some point.

I would love to speak with someone who is removed from my life and can provide a prospective that someone on the inside may not have. I would like to feel happier and more energetic and able to cope with everything happening in my life.

I want to make sure I am giving myself every chance possible to be an amazing mother and if that means asking for help, hell yeah I'll do it!

That's it for now.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Leave your comments down below.

Little Eli Guy: Months 24 - 26

Hey Scholars,

Today, Eli is 27 Months-Old. I haven't posted since Eli's birthday back in March, so this post will have my favorite pictures of Eli from the last 3 months.

In the last 3 months Eli:

• Has taken an interest in music. He loves to play the guitar and sing, play the recorder, and dance to whatever music he hears (even if it's just a commercial or a ringtone on my cellphone).
  
  

  

  Eli plays the guitar before bed
  

  
  

  
  
• Has learned to work various electronics. 
• Eli can use the VCR. (Yes, we still own a working one. We own two actually. No DVD players in the Thomas home.)
• Eli can play music on my cellphone.
• He can call his father (based on the picture associated with the number).
• He can use the DirecTv remote to play his DVR recordings
• And, Eli can pause and play various streaming services on the computer by using the spacebar.
• Has become one with nature
• Eli love playing outside in the backyard
• Wants to play in dirt and is interested in plant life
• Loves going for walks through the neighborhood
  
  

  

  Blowing bubbles with Mommy

  
  
• Has learned more words and the items associated with them
• Has learned to dress and undress himself
• Eli can put on/take off his socks and shoes (velcro shoes only)
• Eli can take off his pants, diapers, and training pants
• Eli can unzip his jacket/hoodie and take it off

Eli has learned to do quite a bit in the last few months. He hasn't had much structured learning. I like to let him decide what he is interested in doing and then, as long as it isn't dangerous, I encourage him in his actions, comfort him when he fails, and praise him when he succeeds. It has been working very well for us.

Eli has become so much more defiant since his brother, Leo, was born. He is sometimes very hard to deal with and it can be overwhelming, but I am doing my best to make sure Eli feels loved, supported, and included. I hope that his behavior improves in time.

Here are a few more pictures of Eli from the last three months:

Thank you so much for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures that I posted. Come back in August for another update!

Posting Updates

Hey Scholars,

I've been busy lately and not updating the blog as often. I'm sorry about that. Things are going to be changing soon. I've lined up a couple of posts to go live in the next few weeks and I hope you enjoy it!

Here is a look at what the posts you can expect from The Lazy Scholar Blog in the next few weeks:

• My Parenting Style
• 1 Month Postpartum Update
• Eli @ 27 Months
• Leo @ 1 Month
• Wellness Journey: May 2014
• Sanity Savers: How I Use the Bullet Journaling System

This isn't a comprehensive list of the posts, but it is a listing of which posts will definitely go live. I will also be including more pictures of my daily life and short vlogs as well.

Let me know in the comments what you think about this line up and leave suggestions as well.

1 Week Postpartum Update

Hey Scholars,

Tuesday marked one week since Leo was born and I wanted to share how I'm doing so far.

**This post contains information that may be graphic or too informative for some readers. If reading about the human body after birth bothers you, this is not the post for you. Please exit now and check out some other posts on the blog.**

Welcome Leo!

Hey Scholars,

I'm happy to announce the birth of my little boy, Leonard Matteo Thomas-Bright.
He was born on April 29th at 12:55 EST.
He weighed 5 pounds even and was 18 inches long.

I did not get an epidural. I chose to give birth with pain medication through an IV only. I did not receive any medication three hours before his birth. And, yes, it hurt. A lot.

It's been a full week since his birth and he is doing very well.
He is battling with a bout of jaundice at the moment, but is expected to make a full recovery.

I do not plan on having anymore children. I am co-parenting. I have limited income, patience, and time. I want my children to have the best quality of life that is possible, so I have decided on having a tubal ligation. I actually signed the forms for the surgery when I was 7 months along. I'll write more about my decision not to have more children in another post.

Until Next Time Friends,