Month: February 2018

5 THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED SINCE BECOMING A MUM

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What? I’m a mum?

YES! This still doesn’t feel real. I have a TINY human. A little baby. My own darling angel.

Before becoming a mum, I had my own idea of what I thought motherhood would possibly be like. In reality, my ideas were not far off. Not far off from 5 cups of coffee a day, explosive nappies and the appreciative ogre burps in my face after a bottle that has been gobbled.

In the short 6 months that I have been a mum, I already feel like I have learned so much. At my baby shower, I received so many presents which resulted in constant babble of “what’s this for?”, “How do you use this?”, “Where does this go?

Along with that went the thought pattern of “Am I actually about to birth an offspring?”

It seems I’ve come a long way since then. My daughter is 6 months old and going strong. Mummy is also going strong, thanks to Nespresso in the mornings and wine at night! (just kidding – I’m still trying to lose the baby weight!)

Motherhood is an adjustment. More of an adjustment than my jean size since giving birth, but hey, that’s one of life’s curve balls – literally.

Here is what I’ve learned since becoming a mum:

Multitasking

Becoming a multitasking queen should be a skilled point on your CV after becoming a mum. Bottle in one hand, coffee in the other. Coffee because we have to keep ourselves going. Bottle because screaming hungry baby. Either way, I’d consider this an almost win-win sitch.

Patience

If ever you considered becoming a meditating Buda, now is the time. Without patience, you aren’t getting anywhere, pal. Those screams and cries of not knowing what our kid wants can be enough to drive us up the wall. Especially when we have tried every method to calm the poor buggas. It’s a total moment of “OMG, am I a bad mum? Does this little human even like me? All it does is cry. What do I do with it?”

 Motherhood comes with chores

If you thought your chores were over since being a teen, you’re wrong. I’m talking about sterilising bottles, measuring formula portions, nappies, packing baby’s bag, the copious amounts of extra baggage required to pack and unpack in the car when going out – the list is never ending. We have a whole extra human to look after besides ourselves. It’s funny how a baby requires more than an adult to just pop down to the shops. Thank heavens for dads and other helping hands us mums have.

 Sky rocketing stress level

Those moments featuring your screaming child in the back of the car on the highway, like is she going to die or explode from screaming that loudly? Because my head sure is! My favourite is when feral moments like these happen on highways, and you can do NOTHING about it!

You can never take enough photos – of the same thing.

Buying extra cloud storage is a must with our offspring. Don’t you find it weird how we all take photos of the SAME THING. We want to capture every moment, every second, every memory. It’s human nature. It’s also human nature to have a complete wobbly when deleting “the same” pictures to free up some space.

Realising that there’s no instruction manual when it comes to parenting is a scary revelation. But at the same time, it’s not. It means you can parent however you want. I definitely have so much more to learn through motherhood. These are only a few highlights that have stuck out to me.

The best thing, amongst all of these is the rewards of smiles, gurgles, cuddles and affection we get from our little ones. All the joy in the world is reflected through those little gummy smiles from our babies.

To all the mums reading this, you’re doing a frikkin fabulous job!

Until next time,

Mycaila Jade

xxx

LEARNING TO LOVE YOUR CHANGING BODY THROUGH PREGNANCY

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Pregnancy can be tough at times. Every experience is different, which is what makes your journey so unique. If it were all the same, our experiences wouldn’t be our own. As with many things, pregnancy comes with plenty of ups and downs, and well sometimes, they can get the better of us. Other times, we just have to keep our head held high and keep on cruising.

Pregnancy is not the time to be harsh on yourself with your change of appearance. Your newly found shape is something that speaks so much more than what any handful of words could ever amount to. Your new shape is the reality of what your body is capable of doing.

There’s a teeny – tiny bump there!

Sometimes, it’s not just your tummy that grows. Sometimes it’s everything else in between that you might find escalating in size too. I sure am experiencing this. Yes, there are the odd few women who are lucky enough to hardly gain much more than what they should, and this is okay, they are beautiful too, but for the majority of us, we can end up gaining a lot more than what we bargained for. Is there anything wrong with this? No. Should we be ashamed? No.

Pregnancy is a time when we are supposed to feel more beautiful than ever, and so we should! It’s a time during which we are meant to GLOW! We are meant to shine bright and radiate nothing but happiness and new life.

Don’t sacrifice your pregnancy experience by worrying about what you look like. Don’t wish your pregnancy away because you want to be back to your pre preggy weight. Weight is just a number. Embrace your new shape. Show it off. Make people wish that they could be as confident as you are, belly and all. You’re glowing for not one, but two humans. Let your stretch marks appear, and your butt get bigger. Enjoy your feet being swollen and your cheeks looking chubbier. It’s all part of the experience.

Loving the bump unconditionally!

Don’t upset yourself because your stretchy leggings no longer fit. It’s okay, we’ve all been there. Some of us are still going through it, some of us might only be starting it, but at the end of the day, our bodies are OUR bodies. They respond to how WE treat them. If you look after your body and treat her properly, in turn, she will look after you. She will grow and nurture your sprouting bean.

Fill your body up with appreciation and love. Respect your body. Don’t think of your body as ugly, or too fat. You are growing another human. That is a gift. Some people aren’t able to even experience what your body is capable of doing. It’s some peoples biggest wish and dream to be able to nurture and grow their own baby. Appreciate what your body can do.

As women, our bodies are capable of absolute magic. Your tummy grows to make space for your beautiful bundle. We feed, protect and are able to GROW an actual human being over 9 months – in our TUMMIES of all places. We then give birth and bring our little humans into the world, only for our bodies to heal all by themselves and to do it all over again, if you choose. Don’t let something as small as your weight define your comfort around people while you’re pregnant. Something so miniscule in comparison to what our bodies are doing is not worth the emotions of being upset about something like our physical appearance.

 

The smallest 15 week bump!

Having a positive body image while you’re pregnant is important. We are, after all, the creators of nurturing new life, and our bodies are possibly one of the most incredible creations to walk the planet. Not to mention the cute little baby you have growing bigger day by day.

Give yourself a break. Show yourself some love. And enjoy your own personal experience.

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade & baby

xxx

NATY NAPPIES – THE ECO FRIENDLY WAY!

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Changing nappies is already a feral situation itself, stinky ones, wet ones… you name it! As much as we wish they’d change themselves, somebody’s got to do it, and it has to be done. The first time my husband changed a nappy was in the hospital room, after Harper was born. He had doctors’ gloves on and was practically pegging his nose with an overload of scrunched up facial expressions that even I didn’t know he could make. Fast forward 6 months, and he has come a long way since then. Now he changes nappies with a smile on his face, no gloves, and talks Harper though what he is doing.What a champ! Mums – who else’s hubbies have excelled in the nappy changing department?

Our beautiful girl looking out the window in her Naty nappy! As happy as a daisy!

As parents, myself and Robbie have decided to really give recycling and eco-friendly living a go! Not to the point of being complete hippies (FYI there’s nothing wrong with hippies), but to the point of living as eco-friendly and waste friendly as possible for our planet. I suppose these things are highlighted a bit more when you have a little one and think about all the plastic waste for their future.

Besides our own recycling methods at home, using our own cotton shopping bags and trying to find package free food (which is super difficult), we’ve chosen to go the eco-friendly route when it comes to Harpers nappies. Being friendly to our baby’s bottom while showing our planet care and love seem to go hand in hand with our new discovery of Naty nappies.

Naty nappies have a super comfy fit, with 2 stretchy clasps. There’s a fair amount of “give” with being stretchy enough to get around little fat rolls!

These eco-friendly nappies are made from corn based film– YES, CORN! They don’t have any harmful chemicals, chlorine or plastics in the materials used, and are of course naturally breathable.

When we first used Naty, I was a little hesitant to see just how absorbent the nappies were. Using a nappy with a vegetable based film really did sound like a long shot at first, but we were really surprised, relieved and impressed all at the same time. They have proven to be super absorbent even during a full night’s sleep, through wood pulp being their main absorbent material. YES, wood pulp! I did a bit more research and found that they also use compost tissue and sugarcane material. Could this nappy get any better?


With the number of nappies that all of our little ones go through in one day, it only makes sense to try and be as eco-friendly as possible. These daily numbers add up over the months and years. Knowing that these nappies aren’t fragranced or bleached like many of the other brands also leaves us as parents with a happier heart, knowing that our baby girls skin is getting the best care through one less harmful product. P.S this could be your heart too!

Something else that really stood out for me is that these nappies help prevent nappy rash, by being naturally breathable through the natural corn starch film, unlike the plastic in most other nappies. Naty nappies are also biodegradable and 100% GMO free. They have the CUTEST little pattern of an outline of a flower on a white background and are impressively soft – almost as soft as Harpers bum!

Such a beautiful, delicate design!

These nappies are more expensive than your average brand, but I believe that there is no price worse than what our planet will pay down the line, if we as individuals don’t try and practice the smallest daily changes where possible.

Below are the registered certifications that Naty has:

  

The packaging and aesthetics of this brand is crisp clean and FRESH! I am so happy that we discovered these nappies! These really are helping us as a family take one step in the right direction with living an eco friendly and less waste lifestyle as best we can!

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade and Harper,

XXX

FITNESS UPDATE: MY POSTPARTUM WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY JANUARY 2018

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It’s been an entire month since kicking my bottom into gear and getting stuck into my postpartum weight loss journey. I have started this journey at the heaviest that I have EVER been and feeling like a rather large sack of potatoes, weighing in at 107.8kg after Harper was born in August 2017. Yikes!

With all the fluid retention, baby, and everything else that goes along with pregnancy gone, my weight dropped down to 99.8kg, leaving me feeling very frumpy and wobbly with a bit of extra cushioning.

I’m a girl who used to frolic about in crop tops and high wasted jeans, but I’ve since traded that for leggings and baggy cover ups, which I keep reminding myself is only TEMPORARY, until I get to where I want to be.

At the start of this journey, I reminded myself that I have done this before. I have been in this exact place of wanting to lose 30kg, and that I will get myself to where I want to be AGAIN, but this time with a bit more patience.

I was completely aware that I had put on weight while I was pregnant, but at the same time, I was also in denial because I didn’t want to ACCEPT what needed to be done to get myself to where I WANT TO BE. The thought of being super healthy and exercising all the time for the next year just seemed exhausting and difficult to do with a baby. Talk about an EXCUSE of note!

This, my friends was an example of my demotivated attitude, BEFORE I had even tried to get myself going. This is also an example of previously setting myself goals and unrealistic expectations to reach before I was pregnant which I failed at a few times. Setting these unrealistic goals and failing at them created a dark space towards my attitude for what I wanted to achieve because I associated my weight loss aspirations with failure and not being able to achieve this. Not the healthies mind-set, now was it?

I try and add my 10kg sandbag to one of my cardio sessions a week.

So, I decided to take a different approach. I started looking back at pictures of when I was in my best shape, and compared it to where I was at my heaviest. Comparing pictures of MYSELF and not someone else’s body really got me motivated, knowing that I have once been in the shape that I want to be in, with my OWN BODY, and not looking for inspiration from a fitness icons body, who might have a completely different figure to my body shape.

With my motivation now back in a place where it was about 3 years ago, I decided to give my postpartum journey a go – because I was ready!

I have started this journey with a positive outlook. Having a baby is a HUGE thing! Especially to our bodies, which REALISTICLLY isn’t going to leave you at your pre-baby weight a month after giving birth. My approach has become a lot gentler and balanced compared to my pre-baby fitness regime and so far, I am loving it!

How have I managed to keep myself going on this journey for the last month, you might wonder?

Well, I have allowed myself a little more room to breathe, and I have traded strictness for balance. Not only does it allow flexibility, but not having that huge target over my head of wanting to reach an unrealistic goal doesn’t put as much pressure on myself. Yay to realistic goals!

As for exercise, I am not diving into a hectic fitness schedule. Not because I don’t want to, but because I LITERALLY have no core strength after my C section. Boohoo! For the last month, I have focused on uphill cardio 4 times a week to try and strengthen my core. I normally try and get between 20 – 40 minutes of cardio in 4 times a week. This is normally broken up into 2 sessions a day as Harps can sometimes get restless watching me walk on a treadmill – I mean, I don’t blame her!

I was able to add weights to my arm exercises for the first time after 3 weeks of upper body strength straining! these are 5kg weights.

Combined with that, I am doing 2 to 3 sessions of bodyweight training a week of 30/40 min. These are basic and simple movements, nothing fancy. I am not doing any direct core exercises yet. I am still trying to figure out where to begin with that. My legs were killing me after my first few sessions, which made me realise how unfit I am. These simple exercises which are my best achievements now, were once my warm up. This motivates me to get myself back to where I once was.

Being a newbie in the land of mumming, I’m learning that patience is key to wanting to achieve my weight loss goal and that I don’t have the freedom that I once had to exercise whenever my heart desires. My exercising schedule has to fit in with Harpers, which can sometimes be a little tricky. I am grateful to be able to exercise at home, and to be able to just put harps on her play mat or bouncy chair in front of me while I get all sweaty.

I was also able to add 5kg weights to one of my leg workouts last month!

 

JANUARY’S WEIGHT LOSS TOTAL

 I weigh myself every Saturday morning in order to eliminate the temptation of wanting to eat take out on a Friday (because let’s face it, that’s what we love weekends for). I know that there are so many pros and cons to weighing yourself, but I will be doing this until I have dropped around 20kg. After that, when I start looking into rebuilding my muscle mass, I’ll be going by measurements only.

This month, I have lost a total of 4.85kg, and I am super proud of myself. It’s been difficult, but I have been consistent. I have had bad days, but those put together with the good ones have got me this far.

I took measurements at the beginning of January and again in Feb to compare my results. I was in for quite a surprise when I realised just how many cm I’d lost in total.

Left – 02 January 2018 Right – 06 February 2018 A very SMALL difference in progress, which I am happy with!

The main difference was my postpartum pouch that hangs under my belly button -lovely visual, I know. This pouch has gone down -7 cm in a month, -3cm on my butt, and -5.5cm on my waist.

Left – 02 January 2018 Right – 06 February 2018 A very SMALL difference in progress, which I am happy with!

The purpose of this monthly weight loss blog series is not to be sassy with a “Look at me, I lost weight. I’m so fabulous” attitude, but it is to hopefully motivate some of you to also hop on this goal reaching wavelength and join me with pushing through workouts that you thought you couldn’t do, to feel yourself get stronger with each workout, to control your meals and learn how to indulge in smaller portions and to just smash one goal at a time.

I am super excited to compare my results at the end of Feb and to see where I’ll be.

Here’s to reaching our goals one day at a time!

Stay tuned for monthly weight loss updates at the end of each month.

Until next time,

Mycaila-Jade

XXX