Feeding Leia

Before I had my baby, I knew that breastfeeding would be hard. I knew that it would take blood, sweat, tears, dedication and frustration. I knew that it would hurt. It's getting better, but I sure didn't expect all the roadblocks we've had so far!

2 days old: When home from the hospital, Leia was eating around the clock. Like, almost constantly and sleeping very little. I didn't know if this was normal or not - I figured she was working hard to make my milk come in so I nursed her most of the time. And it really hurt to breastfeed!

3 days old: We had a routine doctor checkup. Normal weight loss is 10%, and she had lost 10.5% of her body weight (down to 7 lbs., 10 oz.). The doctor and we weren't too concerned, but he had us come back the following day to see if she was any better.

4 days old: Back at the doctor after nursing constantly for 24 hours, she had lost 2 more ounces. And she had a fever - which is a big concern in a baby this young. It can be a sign of infection, and when you're that small an infection can spread very quickly.

This was probably the worst day of my life. We were admitted to the hospital so that she could receive antibiotics via IV in case she had an infection. They gave her:

1. A urinary catheter to take a pee sample and check for bladder infection
2. A spinal tap to take a sample of spinal fluid and check for infection there
3. And they took a blood sample to check for blood infection

It was horrible! My poor baby was so brave, but it was just awful to watch her cry and not be able to comfort her:(

They gave us a hospital room and she was given fluids and antibiotics through an IV. If she had an infection, they couldn't wait the 2 days for results because it had to be taken care of immediately.

My milk was coming in at this time, finally.

5 days old: Baby girl got up to 8 pounds - but mostly due to the IV fluids they were giving her. James and I stayed in the hospital with her and I nursed her, as well as used a hospital pump to supplement with bottles after feeding.

In the hospital :(

6 days old: Leia got up to 8 lbs., 3 oz. and we were released from the hospital. The test results revealed no infection, and it was decided that her fever was due to dehydration because she was getting little to no milk from me yet.

7-9 days old: We rented a hospital grade pump so that I could continue to supplement at home (all along I'd been pumping more than she was eating). Unfortunately, she decided that she hates bottles and pretty much refused to take them. We were able to get very little additional milk into her body.

It finally stopped hurting to breastfeed, so that's the one bright side.

10 days old: We went to our doctor's office for a weight check up - 8 lbs., 1 oz. Our doctor wasn't too worried because her 8 lbs., 3 oz. weight from a few days earlier was not necessarily accurate (again - the IV fluids).

12 days old: Weight check at the Lactation Center: 8 lbs. So disappointing and frustrating! I broke down and cried right there. They gave us a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) to use, which did work to get food into her. We were able to supplement more than ever before with that thing, though it's a pain in the ass to use and took literally an hour to get her to eat an ounce.

15 days old: Weight check again: 8 lbs. WTF!! We were told to up supplementation of breastmilk to 2 oz. per feeding - before they just said to give her whatever we can. I wish they'd given us an amount before.

Sadly, I had to give her formula on this day :( I hate it - it's one of the top things I never wanted to do as a parent - but I had to decide that it was more important that she eats something, than that she doesn't eat formula. In this case, I had to admit that formula was medically necessary (and I'm not one to say that! I never would have thought I'd do this a month ago).

My milk production was just a little behind her consumption, so I had to give 2 ounces of formula a day for about a week (even though I pumped 8 times a day trying to increase my supply). Other than that week, she gets all breastmilk.

17 days old: 8 lbs, 2 oz. :) She started to hate the bottle less so it got easier. But please note... it did not get easy. All I did day and night was nurse, bottle feed, pump. When baby was sleeping, I had to pump. Then get a few minutes a break, then start the cycle again. Can you say exhausting?!

18 days old: 8 lbs., 4 oz. Finally, this is working. I picked up a prescription for Reglan, which is a drug that increases milk supply. I never thought I'd have to go to these lengths, but I'm so glad it's an option!

22 days old: 8 lbs., 10 oz. The LC I'd been seeing multiple times a week thought that my milk supply was finally up to a sufficient level, with the help of Reglan and my all-day-every-day pumping. She said that for the next 24 hours, I could breastfeed only (as long as Leia seemed satisfied) to see if she gained at least an ounce that way.

23 days old: 8 lbs., 12 oz.! It's so great to just be a "normal" mom - all I have to do is nurse my baby. Sooo much easier!

24 days old: We went to our first Mommy and Me group, where she weighed in at 8 lbs., 14 oz. Now I don't have to go to the Lactation Center or Pediatrician multiple times a week, I'll just go to Mommy and Me weekly-ish and can weigh her there. I'm finally confident that my body is feeding her and it's fabulous. I'm so thankful that I can breastfeed my baby!!

Leia's birth story

This post might be TMI... I liked reading positive (and detailed) natural birth stories when I was pregnant, so I wanted to put mine out there too.

Sunday, August 5, 2012 - 10 days past my due date.

11 a.m.

I noticed contractions that seemed more strong and regular than I'd had previously (I'd had Braxton Hicks for the past month).

12 p.m.

I started casually timing them - just looking at the clock when I felt a contraction while watching TV. They were 3 minutes apart, which is really close.

1:30 p.m.

I decided that this is probably labor, and I laid down in bed to do my Bradley Method relaxation techniques to lessen the pain. While I did that, James cleaned the house and finished packing everything for the hospital.

3 p.m.

Contractions were strong enough that I started moaning through them - deep noises seemed to help. James came in to help me mentally relax, rub my back and give me drinks between contractions. My lower back was hurting during contractions as well. He put a heating pad on some of the time too.

4:30 p.m.

I threw up. It was getting increasingly hard. I got really hot, so James helped me by putting cold washcloths on my forehead and lower back.

One of the hardest parts of labor was when I had to pee. I was trying to drink a lot of iced tea and water throughout labor so that baby and I would both be healthy and hydrated, and because I wanted to avoid needing an IV in the hospital. 

Drinking so much meant that I tried to empty my bladder often, since I'd learned that a full bladder can push on the uterus and make the pain worse. But something about the way baby was laying made it so hard to pee. And sitting upright was really uncomfortable, so that was one of the worst parts.

5:20 p.m.

We thought about going to the hospital, but weren't sure. Our goal was to labor at home as long as we could. I started standing during contractions and rocking my hips. It was the only thing I could think of that might help (but it didn't really!). I threw up again.

6 p.m.

James called the hospital and told them we'd be coming soon-ish. The nurse he spoke with actually recommended delaying a little longer since we wanted to go natural.

6:40 p.m.

We left for the hospital. James was starting to feel overwhelmed with being the only one taking care of me, and felt bad when he had to leave me to take care of anything (like loading the car).

At no point in my labor did I think "I want an epidural," which honestly surprises me. I think I somehow forgot that it was an option. However, while walking out to the car, I do remember thinking "If I'm not at least 5 or 6 cm I'm going to die!"

On the ride there, contractions hurt a lot and I didn't like being in a seated position. But I somehow fell asleep between them (I don't understand it either)!  Maybe it was the movement of the car. Not sure, but my eyes were closed the whole drive. I opened them maybe 2 or 3 times on the ride.

7 p.m.

We arrived at the hospital. James left the car with all our stuff at the main entrance, and we walked up to Labor and Delivery (which is pretty darn far!). I tried to stop during contractions a few times, but he hurried me along - I think he really wanted some more support people around.

By the time we got there, I was pretty loud. I started labor making low, controlled noises like I learned in Bradley classes. Now I'd lost that control and was yelling "owww!"

In Triage, they made me do 20 minutes of fetal monitoring before seeing how dilated I was. That was another of the hardest parts - I had to sit still in a chair with wires hooked up to my belly and couldn't do much about my extreme discomfort.

When the nurse finally checked me, she said I was 8 cm! I yelled, "Thank God! I can actually do this!"

8 p.m.

We walked down the hall to my delivery room. I didn't give a crap about anything - I heard a nurse tell James to close my gown in the back and he was like "It's fine." I could not have cared less and he knew it!

They had a tub set up for me, as James had requested, and I got right in. While I was in the tub, my water broke. I didn't realize it at the time - I thought I was peeing, but later when they were asking for their records I realized that must have been it.

With me in the tub, James had to run downstairs to re-park our car and bring up our bags. I was also asked if I wanted a hep lock or IV, and I asked if I could just decline altogether since I was so close - they obliged.

I started to realize that it felt better if I pushed during a contraction. The nurse told me not to because they didn't know if I was fully dilated. I still did a little - bad me.

8:15 p.m.

James got back from parking the car. Nurse had me sit on my hands and knees for a little bit, because she said it would help baby get into a better position to come out. I did it even though it was way uncomfortable.

8:40 p.m.

I got out of the tub and into the bed. I don't know if it's a labor thing, or just getting out of a warm tub into air conditioning, but I was freezing! I couldn't stop shaking and chattering my teeth. A nurse covered me with tons of blankets and it eventually stopped.

I was checked and told I was at 10 cm! They said I could push whenever I wanted. Nobody coached me or counted, they just let me decide how to do it. Though, they did tell me not to yell so much while pushing because it took away my power. I still did, but not as much.

During pushing, time kind of slowed down for me. It was so strange. All the sudden I was calm and had the presence of mind to do things like turn to James and say "I can't believe this is happening!" and I even asked that they use a warm compress to prevent tearing (it didn't work). I'm so surprised I thought to say that and was so calm/normal.

8:45 p.m.

At first I pushed hard, but then I realized that I should "labor down" a little - just light pushing and letting my body do the work. Just a few minutes later, we could see the head with dark hair! They set up a mirror for me to see everything - that was certainly not a flattering way to see myself, but amazing to watch at the same time.

I didn't feel the "ring of fire" that other women describe when baby is crowning. I felt stretching, but contractions were way worse than that. I also didn't feel when I tore at all.

8:58 p.m.
Leia was born!! They put her on my belly (I think the cord was too short to reach my chest) and she cried after a few seconds. James said "It's a girl!" and I was so surprised! I said "It's a girl! Oh my God! Are you sure?!" I cried, though James and I were both surprised that we didn't cry more - we agree that it was just so overwhelming and surreal that it was too much to even comprehend!

9:10 p.m.
We got a few minutes of skin-to-skin time, but unfortunately not the whole hour that's normally standard at our hospital.

Because I pushed for such a short time, baby girl had some fluid in her lungs that they had to suction out. Normally going through the birth canal pushes the gunk out of you, but she went through so fast that it didn't quite happen!

They took her to the nursery to make sure her breathing was fine, and daddy went with her. They were gone for about 30 minutes - James brought me back some pictures soon, which was so awesome of him.

9:15 p.m.
Meanwhile, the midwife told me that I was bleeding more than normal and they needed to give me a shot of Pitocin in the leg to stop it. They would have put it in an IV if I'd had one.

The shot didn't work, and all the sudden the room was filled with 8-10 doctors, nurses and an anesthesiologist hooking up an IV. They were all doing different things... they gave me more Pitocin, Cytotec and an antibiotic through the IV, and the midwife and a doctor were using all sorts of tools to clean out my uterus. There was even mention of needing a blood transfusion (though to be less dramatic, they said that I probably wouldn't need one).

I really don't know why I wasn't more scared - I guess I just knew that Leia was okay since I had heard her cry, so I was fine with whatever was happening.

9:30 p.m.
Finally, things calmed down. My baby girl was brought back to me and we got to have some alone time as a family of 3. Later that night, James called our family members and our moms and my sister came to meet her around midnight.

Minus the part that happened after she was born, Leia's birth was exactly how we planned. I'm so proud that I was able to do it naturally! I couldn't have done it without my amazingly supportive husband, who was there every step of the way, working hard to help me reach my goal.

Induction scare

What a day, what a day! We were almost convinced to induce labor today, which is one of the last things I want. I really want a natural birth, and induction makes it so much harder! So here's how it went down...

I'm exactly 41 weeks today, and that late in the game you have to go into the office to get a non-stress test (NST). They hook up monitors to your belly for 30 minutes, and make sure that the baby moves enough and has a good heart rate. The second part of it is that they perform an ultrasound and make sure that you still have enough amniotic fluid around baby.

I passed the NST, but baby didn't perform wonderfully. He/she was sleeping so didn't move much. When she did the ultrasound to check my fluid, she said they like to see levels of at least 10, and under 5 is cause for concern. She found 6.

So she called in whatever doctor was available, who was a woman I saw 3 years ago for an annual exam and hated. She's so condescending. Anyway, she came in and immediately told us that we needed to induce, threatening me with my baby dying! This actually has the opposite affect on me when doctors threaten horrible consequences - I know they're trying to scare me into cooperating, but instead I see it as BS and don't trust what they're saying.

To be clear, we absolutely want to do what's best for our baby! We wouldn't do anything to put it in danger, but we want to be educated and know all our options, and likely outcomes from each option.

I asked her to do another ultrasound to check the fluid, and she reluctantly agreed. She said the level was 1. I mentioned that the nurse had previously found 6 and the nurse denied it! But she totally told us the level was at 6 - James and I both agree.

Another doctor came in to talk to us, and after considering all the information we decided to go ahead and go to the hospital. If it's that dangerous to have low fluid, we had to do what's best for our baby, even though that went against our plan.

But when we got to the hospital, I insisted that they do another NST. I'm certainly not pumping myself full of drugs before my body is ready without another opinion.

Guess what? The monitoring of baby's heart rate? Peanut did great!! There was plenty of movement, a fabulous heart rate, and no cause for concern. Then came the ultrasound. The midwife found a fluid level of 10.5! Over 10 is what they want and I'm doing just fine.

So here I am, at home, a week overdue, drug free and not in labor. I absolutely want to be in labor right now, but I want it to happen naturally. I'm so happy that I asked questions and made them double check their information, rather than just allow that b!tch doctor to do whatever she wants with me. And I'm most of all happy that I have a healthy baby!

Going organic?

Recently I've been reading about organic produce and its health benefits... well I guess really the health dangers of eating inorganic. I've thought about buying organic produce in the past, but I have ended up at the conclusion "Well, if I'm eating fruits and veggies at all I'm doing well. Inorganic produce is better than no produce, right?"

The problem is that organic is so much more expensive! But this is especially a concern to me as we think about getting pregnant in the future. I don't want to be exposing my children to poison that can do them harm, especially as their little lives are just forming!

Have you ever heard of the dirty dozen and clean fifteen? This is a list of the 12 fruits and veggies that are most likely to contain pesticides (which is poison), and the 15 that are most safe to eat inorganic. I've printed out this list and am going to stick it on our fridge. My plan is to refer to it as I make my grocery list each week.

Dirty Dozen (buy these organic):

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/Collard Greens

Clean Fifteen (lowest in pesticides):

1. Onions
2. Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet Peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

It's my new goal to buy the worst offenders organic instead. I know it's going to be more costly, but it's for our health and the health of our family! It's easier and cheaper than going all organic - which I'm not sure is necessary.

By the way, our Farm Fresh To You delivery was on our doorstep before we left for work this morning. I have to say, it wasn't much food for $25... looks yummy though! But it's organic so I have to get used to this idea.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

A while ago I came across the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and have been thinking of participating ever since. Here's how it works: You sign up to receive fresh produce from a local farm 1-4 times a month. Some services are for pick up in your area, and some deliver to your home or office.

The contents of your produce box vary each week, depending on what's currently in season. You're helping the environment by decreasing pollution caused when fruits are shipped from other places like South America. You're getting the freshest food possible because it came from a farm just miles away. It's even organic, which I've found is a big health benefit and pesticides aren't being put into the earth either. Having all those fresh fruits and veggies makes you eat healthier because it's there so you have to eat it. You get to try new foods because it's not up to you what items you receive.

I've seriously been contemplating joining a CSA for a good two years, and earlier this year I jumped on the opportunity to buy a Groupon for Farm Fresh To You, a local CSA that delivers right to your door.

The small box that I've selected is $25 per delivery. I'm planning to order it for every other week, which means we'll be spending $12.50 per week on organic, seasonal produce. Do yo know how easy it is to spend $12 in Safeway's produce department?! Our first box is coming tomorrow, and here's what we're getting (each Friday they post what's coming next week):

• 2 red plums
• 2 ears of white corn
• 1.5 lbs. of summer squash
• 1 lb. of grapes
• 1 lb. of green beans
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1 bunch of lettuce
• 1 cucumber

I also found Full Belly Farm while researching this, which offers produce for pick up and might be a bit more affordable. If all goes well with this FFTY experience, I'll probably look into that CSA. But this week's order is free with my Groupon :)

Goal #80: Take a zumba class at the gym

On New Years Eve I took advantage of my chance to take a daytime class at the gym and tried zumba for the first time!

It was fun and much harder than I expected. I thought it's just a bit of dancing... piece of cake! So I got there early and did a bit of cardio and weights before even starting the class. I was tired 15 minutes in!

It was fun though. I felt a little stupid doing all the salsa and merengue moves, but I just had to get over it and shake my ass the best I could... it's the only way you'll learn right?

I might take this class again, but I still love my kickboxing more.

Speaking of New Years Eve, that evening we headed to our friends' house for a little party. We ate good food, drank yummy champagne, played games and kissed at midnight. Happy 2011!

See my list of 100 goals to accomplish by my 30th birthday here.

Chardonnay's Favorite Things: Diet food edition

Welcome to the second edition of Chardonnay's Favorite Things! My first edition was back in July, and I haven't been able to think of enough faves to write about since then. But now that I've started Weight Watchers (still at about 10 lbs. lost, by the way) I thought I'd share some of my favorite healthy foods.

Hummus

Hard boiled eggs

Fresh Express complete salad kits

Lemon water

Skinny Cow ice cream

Soup

Weight Watchers

I've been keeping a secret from you, blogland! I joined Weight Watchers. I really need to loose weight for health and vanity reasons, and this accountability is needed! I've been on it for a month now.

I had been counting calories for a long time but honestly it's hard to make myself stick to the goal! And even if one day I stuck to the calorie goal, the next day I would have a few glasses of wine and/or pieces of lasagna and reverse all the hard work I did earlier. It just wasn't working long-term.

I'm doing the WW online program, which allows me a certain number of points each day. In addition, I get even more extra points to use throughout the week. I can use them in a small amount each day, or lots in one day if I'm going out or something. I keep track of everything I eat online, which is easy most of the time. I haven't been too busy yet.

The one thing I hate about the program is that a cup of fat free milk is 2 points, while a can of diet pepsi is 0. I'm a huge milk drinker - as in every meal - and I rarely drink soda. I know that milk is better for me, so it's frustrating that I have to use up my points on it! I can't go without! A 1/2 cup of wine is also 2 points.

I signed up on January 15 and in this first month I lost 10 pounds. Ultimately, I'd love to loose a total of 30. Yikes, I really hate that I need to loose that much!

Recovery

Recovery is going okay. I discovered that vicodin makes me nauseous - yay... I started cutting them in half and that fixed the problem. I've had no major problems, but I'm still in pain. If I had no painkillers I'd be very unhappy. But I do, and I'm thankful for that!

Oral surgery

I’m having my wisdom teeth removed in two days – all four of them. Bright and early at 7 a.m., which is good because I don’t do well without breakfast. I can’t even have a sip of water!

This is my first and only surgery ever, and I’m quite scared! I’m so not excited about getting a part of me yanked out violently. This whole thing freaks me out!

I’m just thankful for the ability to be put to sleep. I plan to just stay on painkillers the whole weekend and hopefully it works out perfectly…

It's time for the 100 push up challenge

After seeing several recent photos of myself and cringing at the huge, flabbiness of my arms, I’ve realized that I need to once again start the hundred push ups training program.

It sounds completely unattainable (to me, at least), but the program gradually increases the number of push ups you do each day until you’re doing 100 at once. I don’t necessarily want to do 100 push ups, I just want sexy arms. Push ups, as the site explains, are a simple exercise that I can do in my home any time, and tones the arms well. Sounds good to me.


I don’t remember where I first saw this web site, but last year I started it just for fun. It went great for a few weeks – my push up ability improved a lot… but then I forgot about it, of course. Darn it.

That time I didn’t really have motivation to do it, but this time I must improve the way my arms look. Yuck! I’m not going to post said photos and draw attention to it, but if you look at photos of me that I’ve posted recently I’m sure you’ll see what I mean.

When we return from vacation (which I am so, so, so excited about!), I’m going to start this darn program and tone my arms! It shouldn’t be too hard to stick with, right?

Who am I?!

Looking at the title of this post, you probably thought it was going to be really deep and meaningful about my innermost thoughts. Nope, sorry. I chose that title because it’s about me doing something that I’ve always hated and was my last choice of exercise – running.

Last Monday James and I went for a walk and somehow turned it into a run. I just wanted to try it, I guess. And it was kind of fun (but hard). The next night I got home and he was really excited about doing it again. He’d planned out a route and everything so we went running two days in a row (man, were my legs sore).


We took the rest of the week off but last night we went running again and it was fun and a lot easier than last week. I didn’t even complain like before!

We’ve agreed to make it a once-a-week thing. We’re going to run every Monday evening. That, combined with kickboxing twice a week should give me a good routine to stick with. It’s hard to make yourself run, but having James as my running buddy helps a lot.

Seriously, who is this running girl?! Running is not a Chardonnay thing!

Dentist day

Today I had my first cavity filled. It actually wasn't too bad, although I didn't enjoy the sound of the drill. My mouth is still numb and it feels weird. I love my dentist and her assistant - they're so sweet.

I had an interesting conversation with the dentist's receptionist about 3 hours before my appointment.

::My cell phone starts ringing and I see that it’s the dentist. Before I can answer they hang up::

::Receptionist calls my office phone and I answer::

Me: This is Chardonnay (that’s how I answer at work)

Receptionist: Hi this is girl from Dr. Dentist’s office. We have an appointment with you at 4 but I was wondering if you could come in at 3?

Me: Do I have to?

Receptionist: No, we just had a cancellation and wanted to see if we could get it done earlier.

Me: Well I’m at work all day so I’d rather do it at 4.

Receptionist: Okay.

Kind of annoying that they tried to change my appointment just so they could leave work early! Maybe if I had nothing better to do I’d be happy to change it, but since you’re calling my work phone, you should recognize that I’m busy at work. Sheesh.

my teeth

I went to my new dentist this morning to get a cleaning and was informed that I have my first cavity! I can’t believe it, I’ve always had perfect teeth. It’s really minor, but I might as well get it fixed now before it starts hurting (doesn’t that happen?). But other than that minor annoyance, my pearly whites are perfect :D

I need to see an oral surgeon soon to see about getting my wisdom teeth removed. It appears that I’ll need only the bottom ones out. However, taking the bottom ones out will sometimes affect the top ones and cause them to need removal as well. I really don’t like the idea of having that horrible surgery twice so I’ll have to see what the surgeon says :S I’ve never had any kind of surgery or been put under. I’m scared!

I really like my new dentist though. I’m glad too, because if she turned out to be a D-bag I wouldn’t go back (like my doctor… she rubbed the wrong way so I’m switching!). Then I’d have to be on the hunt for a dentist and that’s never fun. Thanks Dr. Whiteman!

Sorry if you found this post boring. I was in a bloggy mood but this was the most interesting thing I had to say today. Good posts coming soon!

May/June weight loss

I was supposed to update my weight loss progress (ahem, or rather, weight gain…) at the end of May. However, I didn’t own a scale and my boss took the one that we were using for The Biggest Loser contest home. I was weighing myself at the gym, but I always go after work. You are mistaken if you think I’m going to count my end-of-the-day weight, after eating 2 – 3 meals! That makes a big difference!

So this weekend I finally picked up my own digital scale, which tells me I’ve gained 1 pound since the end of April. That’s not as bad as it could be, but still crappy. I’ve been working a little more, causing me to miss my kickboxing class. To make it, I have to leave right at 5:00. And if I can’t go to kickboxing, I sometimes won’t work out at all, because everything else is boring and hard! I have lots of lame excuses and need to do better :(

I’m still keeping track of my calorie intake, which is probably why I haven’t gained more. I’m eating about 1700 a day. The goal is always 1500, but I’m not going to go hungry!

Next update to come in a month or so…

The Biggest Loser Finale

I lost about half a pound this week. My total lost is 10 pounds – double digits, people!

This was the last week of our Biggest Loser competition at work. The biggest loser lost 13.3 pounds. Way to go, M!

I’m going to keep trying to lose weight until I get to my weight in high school. The problem with that is I’m not really sure what that was. I think it was about 10 – 15 pounds ago. Let’s just say 15. I'll be happy then.

I’ll start updating my weight loss progress monthly rather than weekly, so as to avoid becoming obnoxious with the weight posts. My next update will be at the end of May.

The Biggest Loser, Week 16

I lost 2.2 pounds this week for a total of 9.3! I’ve started counting calories and that makes this a lot easier. I’m more aware of what I eat because I’m writing it all down. I’m trying to stay under 1500 calories a day, but not being very strict about it.

Next week is the end of the competition. I don't think I have a chance at winning. The leader so far is out sick today, but last week she was at 13 pounds lost.

Even after our competition at work is over, I'm going to keep trying to loose weight. It feels great to accomplish a goal, and I know I'll be healthier for it.

The Biggest Loser, Week 15

I gained about half a pound this week. But I was on vacation - I cannot be expected to diet on vacation! Our long bike rides helped, but we ate a lot of good food.

The Biggest Loser, Week 14

I'm down about half a pound. Down about 7.5 pounds total!

The Biggest Loser, Week 13

I lost about half a pound this week. Total weight lost: 7 pounds.