Jack's 2 Month Update!

Jack is 2 months old! At his 2 month check up he weighed in at 12lb 14oz and measured 22.25 inches. The doctor said he is looking great and everything seems to be going great. One problem we discussed with him though is a potential problem with acid reflux. In my one month update I talked a lot about his spitting up which unfortunately didn't get much better. He started getting really fussy during feedings and pulling away from the bottle. He also was eating WAY more than he should be. At some feedings he would eat 10 oz! So, our doctor recommended that we feed him 4oz about every 2 hours to see if that helps. We want to try and do everything we can to avoid having to put him on an antacid but we will do whatever we need to if it comes to that.

It was really interesting going back and rereading the 1 month update because I didn't realize HOW much has changed and happened since that post. Jack has had SO many new things happen. He rolled over for the first time and is now a talker! He loves to hear himself make sounds and they're so cute. He also is controlling his head almost 100% but still has a little trouble if he's tired. He has also started playing way more. I am so excited that Christmas is around the corner so that we can buy him more :) I didn't realize that you could play with a 2 month old but he loves the interaction. His favorite song is "Apples and Bananas" especially when it gets to the U's and the O's.

Clothes are another big change for Jack. He is already wearing 3-6 month clothes and is actually fitting more in the 6 month ones. I am a little bummed out because he had so many cute clothes that he barely got to wear if at all! One thing I would really recommend to new moms is to try on the
different brands because they all fit differently. For instance, I assumed he couldn't fit in the 3-6 month Gerber outfit he had because that was when we was still in 0-3 months but when he got to the 3 month clothes all the Gerber outfits were WAY to small.

When I was going through the millions of pictures I've taken of Jack this past month I had a hard time narrowing it down so hope you enjoy the overwhelming amount of baby Jack's pictures :)

Jack loves his swing!

Jack loves playtime with Grandpa and Grandma :)

This picture makes me laugh because it shows just how much Jack loves all my kisses ;)

Sorry for the blur he's a mover when it's tummy time!

Super handsome daddy and Baby Jack!!!

Baby Jack gets TONS of fuzz in his toes ... yes that's what that is on the couch :)

Mommy Monday: Getting My Prebaby Body Back Week 1

It's been exactly 2 months since baby Jack was born. I am waiting until Wednesday to do his 2 month update post because we have a pediatrician appointment and I want to see his weight/measurements etc. Instead, I thought I would start a blog series I have been dreading....getting my prebaby body back! As many of you may already know I had been on a pretty long weight loss journey before I got pregnant. I posted this story 11 months ago:

Have you ever had that moment where you look at a picture of yourself and think, “How in the world did this happen?” You realize you’ve done it— you’ve gotten fat. It all happened so slowly and you simply cannot understand why all of your beloved and “honest” friends and family haven’t said a word. Well, this is what happened to me. 

These pictures are from when I hit my highest weight. I am 5’5 and I weight 165lbs and a size 10/12. 

My whole life I struggled with my weight. Now, I realize every female feels this way but it’s that dreaded comment of “Oh your not fat sweetie, you’re just curvy” or “Don’t you worry about those other girls, guys like a little meat on the bones.” Well — it’s time to be honest. Being “curvy” or “having meat on your bones” isn’t any type of excuse to not feel great about the way that you look. 

Now, although I was very passionate about getting my weight under control I always knew it was going to be a long process. I have always done my fair share of Weight Watchers, counting calories, spending hours going through the iTunes app store downloading fitness apps convincing myself it was going to help. However, it wasn’t until I learned it was something that I had to educate myself on to truly reach my goals in a healthy way. 

I began loosing weight for my wedding (don’t we all). I was able to lose 10lbs taking me down to 155lbs and a size 8/10. I lost this weight simply through calorie counting over a 11 month period. I am sure we can all agree that 10lbs in 11 months is quite pathetic. 

I am not going to lie and say that my whole journey started with Advocare although I wish it had. After spending TONS of money at Sprouts buying all of the healthy tools I knew I needed to achieve goals I found a way to not only fulfill my personal goals but to make MONEY off of it? I thought it was a joke and too good to be true, but it wasn’t. Through Advocare I am now earning money to look and feel the best I have EVER felt and help my friends and family do the same. 

This is me currently. I have gotten down to 137.5 and a size 4. I did this through tons of super expensive combinations of protein shakes, supplements and eating gluten free. I have been kicking myself over and over that I hadn’t heard about Advocare before. This is because I realized that all of the things I was doing could have been done SO much cheaper and WAY more healthy through Advocare products.

I am still quite a bit away from reaching my goals but this blog is going to be dedicated to not only sharing my journey but also helping others reach their goals by posting recipes, tips and tricks. I would love to answer any questions along with give you honest answers to the hard questions when it comes to losing weight and Advocare. I am excited for what this journey is and what it is going to become. 

Join me in my adventure,

Aubree

aubree@aubreeshupe.com

You can imagine how difficult it is to work so hard to get SO close to a goal that I felt at one time was unattainable and then find out I was pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I am so in love with Jack and I couldn't have been happier to find out that our family was growing. But I would be lying if a small part of me was dreading having to start over once he was born. Like I said in the previous post, I had gone gluten free prior to being pregnant. But, my doctor advised me to introduce gluten back into my diet to prevent Jack from likely having Celiac's due to non exposure while in the womb.  So, I did. I definitely enjoyed the excuse of being pregnant and didn't hold back. I think it's really important too to not try and restrict your diet when you're pregnant because you don't want to not give your baby everything they need.

But now, it's time. It's time to start getting back into shape and back to my prebaby body that I had worked so hard for. Please note, I am breastfeeding so I am not planning on doing any crazy restrictions for milk productions sake. I attempted to cut out carbs at one point and my milk dried up so quick so I realized very quickly that wasn't worth it. I bought Lindsey Brin's Post Natal Boot Camp DVD after a lot of research. What I liked about what this DVD had to offer was that it was made specifically for women who just had babies. Not just that but was recommended for mom's who had C-sections! I have just recently started the 12 week program and boy oh boy I didn't realize how out of shape I was! I was definitely sore after the first few days but it has gotten better.

As far as diet goes, I am still eating complex carbs (potatoes, rice etc) but avoiding lots of bread and pasta. I am also taking Advocare Coreplex with Iron and Omegaplex as my prenatal vitamins and DHA supplement and drinking the Advocare Peaches and Cream Fiber Drink and pro biotic supplement also by Advocare. If I am in a hurry I will enjoy a meal replacement shake too. But overall, my main goal is to eat a balanced diet and exercise. I have gotten to a point with my weight that I feel like I am stuck. I lost the first 30lbs pretty easy but these last 13lbs feel impossible. I know it's only been 2 months but I am just eager to feel like my old self again!

I know this journey is going to be a long one but I know if there was anything I wish I would have been more prepared for was this post baby journey. I followed a lot of postpartum blogs and none of the bloggers I followed really had a difficult time losing their weight. It seemed like it only took a few months to get back. I hope that by sharing this journey I will be able to encourage other mommies in my shoes to take their time, be healthy and to LOVE yourself at every size. I know this can be really hard but when I have those times I feel really bad about myself I remember the reason I am going through this is totally worth it. I wouldn't trade baby Jack for the world!

I will take pictures and post them on my next update that will show my progress.

Wish me luck!!

Becoming Budget Savvy: Salon inspired hair for under $20!

Being a new mommy means lots of new expenses. I am a firm believer that no matter what your financial state is you should do your best to save money in any way that you can. With that said, I am on a new mission to become super budget savvy. I have started looking at all aspects of my life and am beginning to be more wise with where money goes. One of the most obvious places I found that money is wasted is going to the salon. Now, don't get me wrong I love getting my hair done. I also love going to the salon. However, when I am having to get my hair done every 4-6 weeks because of how fast my hair is growing (thank you prenatal vitamins) it just isn't realistic. So, with the help of my mom I went to Sally's Beauty Supply to pick out color.

 When we picked the color we tried to find the closest match to my natural hair color. We landed on Color Brilliance 6A-6.1 Dark Ash Blonde. We also got Sensitive Scalp 20 volume developer. It's important to pay attention to what number of developer you need for the result you're looking for. If you're unsure you can look at the instructions in the color box for a guide, or you can just ask an employee :)
Other supplies we bought were a bowl to mix color, a brush and a comb. We also bought foils but didn't end up using them. We did use saran wrap we had at home.

Now to the color! Here is what my before hair looked like (yikes!) 

I had my mom apply the color. I am really fortunate that I have someone I can trust to experiment with my hair :) First, she sectioned my hair using the clips we bought. 

Then she used the brush, starting at the root, and brushed down. We were attempting to do a subtle ombre look. I know typically when doing ombre you are applying color to the ends but since my hair was blonde at the bottom already we thought it would be easier to darken my roots. This is a youtube video on applying balayage ombre and we found it really helpful.  

This is what it looked like when she was done putting all the color on. The box said to allow 25-35 minutes to process and we decided to rinse it out at 20 minutes. Here is the before and after: 

I was really excited with the turn out! I couldn't believe that we were able to get natural looking highlights and color for only $20 (WAY cheaper than the $150 I would typically spend at the salon)!!!!!!! Not to mention when it's time to color again we wont have to buy all of the mixing supplies only the color. I am super happy with the way the color turned out and I am definitely excited about getting one step closer to becoming budget savvy :)