Happy 11 months Rowan!

Sigh, how did 11 months just fly by? I am in serious in denial that she is going to be ONE in just a few short weeks. Honestly, it makes me want to cry. I miss her tiny baby days!This is by far the craziest life change, but man, it has been amazing. I just love her!

Name: Rowan Decaris Potter

Rowan's age: 11 months old, 9.5 months adjusted age

Weight: 23.10 pounds, heading pretty close to 24 pounds! My big girl!!!!

favorite foods:
EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING. It amazes me all that she likes! She tried a pickle and didn't make a face. If anything, she got mad she didn't have more. This girl is very demanding when she eats and throws a fit if we don't feed her quickly. Oh child!

Clothing size: 24m is fitting just right. She's wearing 2T in pants and even some 2T in clothing. Dresses are more forgiving and she can sneak a 12m dress. Wearing size 4 diapers!
 

Rowan milestones (for her adjusted age, 9.5months):
 

-Rowan's vocabulary is starting to expand and while I obviously can't understand her, she is super verbal and  makes long sentences of blends. When she is crying, she clearly makes strings of sounds and definitely is trying to complain. She may not be the most physical baby, but she sure as heck can communicate!

-Rowan officially has 7 NOT 8 teeth like we originally thought, lol! 4 top ones and they are getting longer!

-Rowan is getting pretty good at going from lying down to sitting up! I heard that's a tough-ish milestone for babies!

-Rowan is even more confident with her standing and LOVES it. She is starting to gain more strength in her legs.

 

-Rowan went from giving backward open/close hand waves to full blown arm waves! So cute

-She is starting to shake her head no if you ask her something. ::Sigh::

-Little miss likes pulling up on things, but chooses to pull on light weight items (like laundry baskets lol). Oh child!

 
 Rowan loves: 
 

-Sofia the first! While at my sister's it happened to come on  and she screamed with delight. She watched it with rapt attention and could not be bothered.

-Drinking bath water. Gross!

-Loves to pull down shirts. I apologize to family and friends that have been subjected to Rowan's attempt to pull down your shirt, lol. If she succeeds, she loves to blow raspberries on your chest. Oh this child!

 

-Has a major affinity for dogs and horses. During her belated  9 month shoot in late February, we saw horses and she about flipped her lid. She loved the mama horse and her pony. She reacts this way with dogs. I think this means we need to buy her a pony and a puppy LOL!

 

-loves looking at the "other" Rowan. She loves any type of mirror and will scream with delight when she sees herself. Conceited much?? LOL. She also LOVES to kiss herself, it freaking cracks me up!  

Rowan doesn't like:

-waiting for anything. LOL. She is so impatient!
-still hates being left alone, even for a second
-gets angry if you take something away from her

New things/happenings this month:

-Rowan went to her first high school swim practice and swim meet! This was so fun and OF COURSE I documented. Hubby and I were heavily into swim team and water polo, especially hubby. He was all American all through high school and college and was constantly in the paper. He has coached swimming for over 20 years. SO...guess what sports we want her to play?? We jokingly say she is going to carry on the "Potter swim legacy" LOL!!! Rowan has now gone to 2 practices and loves seeing the water splash and watching the kids. She at first didn't like the swim meet because it was VERY LOUD with the noise and buzzers. SHe gradually warmed up and ended up LOVING it!

 

-Rowan had pasta and of course gobbled it up.

 

-Rowan also tried the swings for the first time. I ashamed we haven't taken her sooner. We had to stuff blankets because she is so dang top heavy. At first she didn't know what to think but soon enjoyed it!

How is Rowan's spit up?: Practically non-existent!

 

Sleep:
Rowan is still on a great nap and sleep routine. I am so proud of the hard work we did with her! There are some nights where she may squeak but otherwise it's okay.

Rowan's personality so far: 
Rowan is my sassy sassafras! She loves people and is so insanely happy. She has a sassy personality when she's upset, which makes me worry for when she is 2, LOL! However, this girl can light up a room and makes my heart fill with such joy!


I am so thankful God picked me to the mother of this extraordinary baby girl! I love you forever Rowan!


Here is my monthly Rowan dump:

Let's be honest....

Finally feel comfortable writing this post, because as of now, I am ready.

When was pregnant, I was one of those "lucky" gals that didn't gain a ton of weight.  I made a lot of my pals annoyed (some who were pregnant) and I heard many "you are so lucky," etc types of comments. On the day I delivered, I got weighed and my grand total of pregnancy gain was 16 pounds. I know some of you are probably ready to leave, lol! HOWEVER... when I got pregnant, I was not at my ideal weight for my height, hence I couldn't afford to gain a jillion pounds. Don't leave yet!

Sigh, those pregnancy glory days. I miss being pregnant so incredibly much!!!!

A week after giving birth, I was back to my pregnancy weight. Hallelujah, the end. Right????

NOPE.

Cue in NICU, stress and craziness. The NICU was over 45 minutes away. We would have to invest a full day the hospital, as it was too hard to drive back and forth. Because of that, we ate out a lot. Still, the weight stayed off, kinda.

2 weeks later, we got released. For 2-3 weeks after, we ate pretty well, thanks to amazing friends and family who brought dinners over.


Then, once life began, that is where it went downhill. We were constantly eating out /take out. I was too tired to cook, and to be honest, feeling very, very overwhelmed. Once I started work, I was struggling on how to balance everything. I would cook at times, but instead, take out was much easier. I noticed the weight creeping back. However, I was too exhausted to work out, I just didn't care. I would snack on everything in sight, and wouldn't pay attention to what I was putting in my mouth.I was eating nothing but pure junk. I hardly was drinking water, because honestly, I can't stand it. We would eat out at least 3 times a week and wonder why money was tight at the end of the month.

Pic of me feeling/looking my worst. I see this pic and cringe. I had gained all the weight back and then some.

By the time Rowan was 9 months, I gained all of those 16 pounds back, plus some more. I was depressed. My clothes no longer fit, I was so sluggish by my poor eating, and I felt miserable. I was so embarrassed on how I looked to others, hated taking pictures because I felt fat. I would look at myself in the mirror and wonder what the hell happened. Every time we would eat all that unhealthy crap, a war was waging in my head. I wanted to change, but didn't want to do the work. I knew at the end of the day, clean eating and exercise was the ticket. I didn't have the desire to change till I saw a family member struggling with the same thing make a radical life change. That was enough to get me going.

I knew a the end of the day what I had to do. Not only did I want to lose weight, but I owed it to my daughter to set the example and be healthy for her.

I am still a little embarrassed to say what route I am doing to lose the weight. Don't worry, its nothing scary or bad. Just not 100%  I am ready to share that yet. However, it consists of MUCH healthier eating, exercise and accountability. I also got a fit bit, which is tracking my steps and activity. After a week and half of eating better, exercising,and daily drinking 80 oz of water, I have lost 4.8 pounds. I am so excited and proud! However, I FEEL mentally and physically better. It is amazing what true clean eating and drinking water can do to a person. I have cut out almost all junk (except for 1 cheat meal a week). Honestly, I am starting to not really miss it! I find myself more often reaching for fruit, which I never thought would happen! I feel alive, less sluggish and most of all, guilt free since I am putting good in my body. My goal is to lose at the VERY least 15 pounds by May. Not sure if that's not a big enough goal or a lofty one, but I am aiming for that. If I lose more, great!

I am also going to be experimenting a lot with healthy recipes and especially desserts. Don't be surprised if some pop up here and there! So, cheers to making changes and seeing results! Oh and new mamas (or anyone trying to be healthier), if you are in my boat, maybe we can try to keep each other accountable, etc??? Cheers to the healthy life!!