2010 July 19 | Heir to Blair

I love beach music; I was born with it in my soul.

19 Jul posted by heirtoblair

Harrison’s first walk on the beach.

DSC 0075a I love beach music; I was born with it in my soul.

Things Learned on Our Brief 48-Hour Vacay:

Feeding a child without a high chair is hell.
Three hours in the car with a teething child is worse.
Everyone should watch the sunrise over the ocean at least once.
My child loves any form of water.

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“Hey, Daddy…what the hell is this?”

We really did have a lovely time, although it was a bit of a whirl-wind trip that resulted in Harrison cutting his (first!) tooth. Highlights of the trip: beach sunrise, watching him giggle as his toes dipped into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Low point: Harrison screaming the entire way home because of his teeth.

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He needed a little extra love this weekend.

Going out to eat at the beach is always a production & a dull spot since I have this pesky food allergy that requires an epi pen versus death scenario. So unfortunately, we NEVER get to enjoy the local restaurants or any fresh seafood. You know, les I DIE. Instead, we headed inward & settled for Outback Steakhouse. (side note: if I ever get on death row, I’m going out with a plate of lobster, shrimp, & crap cakes) & there, sitting in his high chair, my kid proved that he is the cutest damn kid in the universe by stuffing his face with sweet potato & saying “MMMMMMMMMM!” after every bite until I thought our water would spontaneously reproduce his own offspring from the cute. Yeah, that’s right. My kid can make COLLEGE BOYS want to spawn.

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He also tried to eat seashells.

Tips for traveling with a 9 month old:

time car trips with naps so he’ll nap in the car
pull over to eat versus Momma sitting in the back with a bowl & spoon. Getting a high chair & some pancakes at McDonald’s was far easier.
stick to the bedtime routine
keep a few bottles of water in the car for emergency bottles of formula
pack a few of his favorite, smaller toys (we took a few blocks, a ball, & his cat)
bring a blanket to act as a changing pad on the floor next to the pack n’ play.
Have a set menu plan & pack it – on vacation, it’s so easy for us big folk to grab something to eat or simply snack all day, but he needed actual meals with nutritional value.

I’m probably missing something incredibly important, like duh, pack something for your kid to sleep in, but those were the big things we noticed this past weekend.

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& to be cheesetastic, have fun.

It was really incredible to watch Harrison take in the ocean – like he’d never seen anything that vast & that quietly loud while it crashes in front of him. I felt so privileged to witness his first encounter with the ocean & his first realization that the world is a huge, fantastic, mysterious, wonderful place.

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I’m committing to losing a 9-month-old.

19 Jul posted by heirtoblair

After a week like last week (down four pounds!) I’m a little miffed to see the scale not moving this week, even though it could be expected. & I realized - I need a new goal. A specific, hard-number goal.

It was so easy to drop the baby weight & then the Harpie weight. They both felt like baggage that I had to lose to move forward in life. I was miserable with the baby weight, miserable still carrying around a bit of my first pregnancy – daily reminders of what happened to my body throughout a course of a year. So I took them off. Simple as that. No frills, no empty promises, no fluffy reasons. I was miserable, the pounds were adding to that, so I took them off.

I’m a very cut-&-dry person, if you haven’t been reading this blog & paying attention for, I don’t know, 2 seconds.

& then I got stuck. I gained weight in the hospital & have had a terrible time re-shedding these last 7 lbs to be back at my pre-hospital weight. At first, I chalked it to medication (which, in part, is true – I’m on meds that increase my appetite & slow my metabolism). Then I chalked it up to being lazy (but then I started exercising again). I tried motivating myself with McFatty Monday (come on, Blair…everyone’s going to see you being a fatty again!). Motivating myself with competition (she’s skinnier than you! & her baby is younger than yours!). Motivating myself with events (Blogher is coming up & I MUST MUST MUST lose some pounds!). & I think I’ve realized that my problem was not motivation or laziness but LACK OF AN END.

sideshot Im committing to losing a 9 month old.

I told Nate repeatedly that I was frustrated because I felt like I was ALWAYS losing weight. At first, I said 180 lbs as my end weight, then backed it up to 170 lbs. & then I felt miserable. My little “goals” of wedding weight, weight for kicks, etc. didn’t matter anymore. Like damn…I’ve lost 30 lbs and I STILL have 30 left to go?! Daunting.

& so, friends, I’ve decided to make an obtainable goal that has an end.

I’m going to lose another 20 lbs. & that’s it for now. I’ll be doing this with Nutrisystem because I’ve proven that it works. I took off 35 pounds easy-peasy. I can do 20 with them.

Basically, I’m committing to losing Harrison. To hitting that even 180 lbs again. & I won’t think of any numbers past that. Because when I do, I start feeling overwhelmed by the entire process & intimidated by the idea of success.

DSC 0031 1024x685 Im committing to losing a 9 month old.

When really, I just need to shed the kid.

Why is it that weight loss is such a journey? (& why does it always feel like such a whiney one?) I wish I could wave a magic wand that made every week be fantastic, that made medications not alter appetite, that made it easy to admit that I just couldn’t hack it when it came to losing another round of big numbers. Is it because I’m afraid of success? Am I afraid to be deserving of good things, to want good things for myself, & to make them happen? In weight loss, but maybe even in life?

Is your weight loss journey teaching you anything about yourself?

required disclaimer: i am being supplied with nutrisystem food by nutrisystem, free of cost to me. sweet, right? but i assure you, i began nutrisystem on my own in january, spent my own money for 4 months, & fully endorse the program. i’m just thankful that they’ll be helping me out on my last leg of the journey! to join me on the Nutrisystem program and to receive a special offer, call 1-877-704-0597 or click here.