Author Archives: Molly

3 Month Update

I know its cliché, but where has the time gone? It’s hard to believe that three months ago we were first getting to know this little guy.

And here are Jack’s changes at each month.

Definitely the same baby, but so much more expressive. I don’t think there is anything better than the big smiles he loves to give me and Matt. We are starting to get into a new rhythm with my return to work, but he seems to be happy (& exhausted) after his time at day care. And I don’t want to jinx things but he slept 7 solid hours last night – a record for him! Although I don’t think these long stretches of sleep will be consistent for awhile I’m so happy to know he is capable of it. I took advantage of 6 of those hours which was the longest stretch of sleep I have had in three months. (Well it wasn’t quite a solid 6 because I had to peak in his room to make sure he was still there!) After that great night of sleep I had the best run I have had since Jack was born with my lovely runner girls.

We are starting to see more of Jack’s personality. He loves “talking” to us, and the tone and inflection he uses crack me up! He also loves music, and smiles and squeals when I sing to him. It is wonderful to have such an interested audience!

He is really comfortable with tummy time and can roll himself from tummy to back.

You can see those little hands in his mouth in the two month picture. Around that time he decided that his hands are the best toys ever.

As far as my personal updates three months into parenthood, I am surprised how normal being Jack’s mama feels. If I’m being honest, I’ve never really been a “baby person.” But I find my baby to be the most fascinating little person I’ve ever met! (I might be a little biased.) Jack brings me so much happiness.

Thanks for reading this proud mommy’s ramblings with a very photo heavy post!

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Running, Box Jumps, Wall Balls, Oh My!

This morning I started the day with me time. Good sweaty me time. When my alarm went off at 5:30am I was on autopilot and ready to hit the gym. Then I remembered that the new mom routine requires a couple of extra steps before heading out the door including pumping milk. After a 3 hour stretch of Jack not eating, pumping (or waking him to eat) is 100% mandatory to be able to do things like run. I think my wake-ups might need to be a little earlier – yikes!

After missing my Wednesday workout I wanted to make sure that today’s was sufficiently intense. I have a spiral bound notecard deck full of some of my favorite Crossfit and Crossfit inspired workouts and knew that any of them would be a great Thursday workout and that I wouldn’t have to think about putting exercises together. I randomly flipped the book open to “Kelly” which is a workout of 5 rounds of: 400m run, 30 box jumps, and 30 wall balls. So after a 15 minute warm-up on the elliptical I set out on this workout. You can bet I was breathless and sweaty by the end! If you want to check out proper form for any of these exercises make sure to visit Crossfit’s website as they have great instructional video clips.

After the workout, I rushed home to a hungry baby and had a leisurely morning of feeding and coo-ing before taking Jack to day care. When I put him in his teacher’s arms this morning he gave me his huge toothless grin. Today was certainly easier than yesterday – partly because of starting the day doing something good for myself and partly because I think we are starting to get more comfortable with the flow of our days. And who can really have a bad day when you get a genuine smile of love from such a sweet innocent face?

I hope your Thursday left you feeling happy and accomplished too!

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Beginnings and Endings

Today was my first day back at work from maternity leave. I know its cliché but I can’t believe that it has already been 12 weeks! I knew Jack was going to be in great hands and was in for a fun experience, but I had underestimated the new protectiveness that comes from being a mom and the guilt of leaving your child. Plus Jack had some additional wake ups last night that encouraged me to skip my 6am spin class. Those of you who know me well know that it takes a lot for me to skip my favorite Wednesday morning spin class but I decided I needed the sleep and could use a little extra cuddle time.

So, from the physical health side today was not a win. I am not getting too hung up on one day of a missed workout but have my bag packed and ready for the gym tomorrow morning. I am a firm believer in the saying, “You’re just one workout away from a good mood.” I’m going to make it a priority tomorrow.

On the mental health side today ended up being a draw. I’ll admit there were some big lows this week but I love his day care (and if you’re in the KC area and want to hear more just message me!) and loved seeing his smile when I came to get him. I get a lot of pleasure from my career, and hope that I will be able to maintain a better balance of work time vs. non-work time than I have in the past.

I’m taking the steps to ensure that my physical health is on the right path this week. Any tips to keep the mental health at least stable through a big transition?

Snow Day

Didn’t you love getting a snow day when you were a kid? I have three siblings so snow days around our house were never boring. Getting extra play time together, tricking the older brother into playing Barbies or breaking out the full snow gear to play outside was a welcome break from sitting in a classroom.

Last week Kansas City was been hit pretty hard with snow, and most of the businesses were closed for a couple of days. Matt worked from home for two days. I am on my last (blissful!) day of maternity leave so getting to have Matt home with us was such a treat! I loved getting to sneak extra smiles at my favorite guys. But with so many places closed and roads not the best, all of my usual gym classes had been cancelled and gym hours were erratic. Luckily, I have a TRX system and was able to get in a great Tabata workout from the comfort of my own home.

TRX is a suspension training system that was originally developed for Navy SEALs . The TRX system is comprised of two cables that are anchored to a fixed point. You use the two cables on your feet or hands to partially suspend your body and use your own body weight as resistance. It’s a great full body workout.

I decided to make this a Tabata workout, which means 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. So if you were to do a Tabata of pushups you would do 20 seconds of pushups, followed by 10 seconds of rest and you would repeat this sequence 7 more times for a total of 8 sets. It is deceptively difficult. By the end of the last set I am usually shaking. This is the TRX Tabata workout from last Tuesday:

Jumping Jacks
TRX Squats
TRX Push-ups
TRX Rows
Step back lunges, alternating legs
TRX bicep curl, alternating with TRX Triceps extension
Planks

Very basic but full body workout complete in about 30 minutes. I downloaded a nice Tabata timer on my iPhone so that I don’t even have to think about the 20 second intervals. I just hear a nice beep! when it is time to pause.

So, friends, what is your go to exercise when you can’t get out of the house?

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Jogging with Jack’s Debut

Thanks for taking the time to stop by Jogging with Jack! I have been playing around with the idea of writing a healthy living blog for quite awhile now, but didn’t know that I had anything unique to add to the great resources currently available. But, after the addition of Jack to our family I feel like my perspective on healthy living has been turned upside down…or at least sideways for the time being. I’d love to help inspire others going through life changes to take care of themselves and their health in order to be able to best take care of those around them. And, now that Jack is 11 weeks old and is sleeping (some) I figured I would jump on in.

This blog will give readers a look into my days and my life. I’ll plan on sharing some eats, current workouts and training, and how I am trying to achieve a good balance with the new bebe. Every day is a new adventure around here!

Thanks for joining me. If you’d like to follow along the journey, please subscribe through RSS or e-mail in the CONTACT section.