Sleeping in the Crib & NEW Workout

Happy Friday!

This week got off to a rough start, so the blog took a back burner. Once we got past Monday & Tuesday things got MUCH better! It’s amazing how much HAPPIER my little lady is once she gets a nap…and how rotten she can be without one. 😉

I have a new workout to share with you that I think you will really like. It’s a workout for the gym, but you could probably convert it to an at home workout as well. I did it on Monday & forgot how much I LOVED it- mix of weights & cardio! It was at the bottom of my workout binder. I’ll post it at the end of this post because it’s kind of long, so if you aren’t interested in any Gabriella stuff, please feel free to skip to the end!

Last Monday Gabriella turned 5 months old. Yes, FIVE whole MONTHS!

This is a REALLY fun age, and her personality is really shining through. Her laugh is the BEST sound in the whole world. I LOVE when we really get her going- she is SO ticklish!!

Another big step in her little life was that she is now in her CRIB! I know, you’re probably thinking…umm ok, aren’t babies supposed to sleep in their crib?! Well, yes, yes they are, but it’s quite a process if you don’t start them out there. (usually)

Until two weeks ago she slept in the Rock n’ Play.

^OH. MY.GOSH. look how teeny tiny she was. She was not even a month old in that picture! That is her sleeping in the rock n’ play.

It was nice & snug, especially this last month. I had NO idea how she was comfortable, but she HATED the crib. She would SCREAM the minute I tried putting her in there. Well, I finally KNEW it was time. She NEEDED to move to the crib, and I knew once she got used to it, she would be SO much happier.

So it happened. We did it. The night I decided to do it, she slept four hours in it before waking to eat! No cries, nothing. I got up, fed her, and put her in the rock n’ play. I wanted to do it gradually, and it worked out well. Finally after three nights, I packed up the rock n’ play & it was the crib. And only the crib. The first night was rough, but that was pretty much it.

One suggestion I have is to get a battery powered mobile. (like the one we have- Fisher Price– and WELL worth the $50)

We had a mobile before, but it was a crank one, the kind that come in most baby nursery sets. I don’t use the mobile much, but when I do it works out perfectly! Typically I will use it when she gets up to eat around 2am and then decides that she would rather party than go back to sleep. So I put her in the crib, turn on the mobile (we don’s use the projector that is part of the mobile- too stimulating), and then she stares at it & goes to bed eventually. (it is in 20 minute time increments & has a remote that you can use to turn it on from outside of the room)

Sometimes the mobile doesn’t work, but thankfully she has learned how to self soothe. She just sucks her two little fingers- her thumb & pointer. BEYOND cute!

(don’t mind the squash everywhere)

She’s still not a huge fan of the bottle, BUT we have had some success with a sippy cup. She’s still trying to figure out exactly how to use it; it’s happening though! I don’t mind skipping the bottle & going straight to the sippy cup at all! Whatever works. (THANK YOU, Kendra!!!!!)

As you can see my day is full of spending time with this little lady & I absolutely LOVE it!

I do get some work done when she naps, at night once she has gone to bed & on the weekends. It works for us, and I’m just thankful my boss has been so great about me working from home.

As for running, it has been great! Gabriella & I go running everyday- she LOVES the BOB!! Usually her morning nap is spent in the BOB- I’ll usually run between 6- 10 miles a day- I just keep going until she wakes up. And then we’ll go for an afternoon walk. I’m just happy she enjoys being outside! I let her play in the grass for the first time yesterday, and it’s so funny to see her discover things! She just sat there for about 15 minutes pulling it & digging her feet in the ground.

I really cannot imagine my life without her. I don’t know what we did before her. She really means the WHOLE world to us, and has brought SO much joy into our lives!!

Now for the workout I promised. I did each round circuit style (one exercise after the other), and sprinted in between rounds.

Warm up: Run 800m (or 1/2 mile)

Round one:
-Squats: 3×10 (heavy)
-Tricep Dips: 3×15
-Calf Raises: 3×15 (heavy)
-Russian twists using medicine ball: 3×12 (each side)
–Suitcase crunches: 3×15

Sprint: 400m (or 1/4 mile) – I did this at 10.0 speed

Round two:
-Upright rows (use barbell or dumbbells): 3×12
-Cable Crossovers: 3×12
-Sit Ups on Incline Bench holding weight (I used 10lbs): 3×15
-Plank hold: 60 sec (just do this once at the end of the circuit)

Sprint: 400m (I did this at 9.0), Jog: 200m (I did this at 6.5)- REPEAT Twice

Round three:
-Step ups holding dumbbells or barbell on back: 3×12 (each leg)
-Cable Bicep Curls: 3×12
-Back Extensions holding plate (I used 25lbs.): 3×12
-Bosu ball crunches (holding weight): 3×15

Sprint: 400m (I did this at 10.0)

Round four:
-Lat Pulldowns: 3×12
-Tricep Pushdowns: 3×12
-Oblique crunches: 3×25 (each side)

Cool down: Run or jog 1/2 mile to a mile (or more- up to you!)

If you try it, let me know what you think!!

Quitting the Gym

So I’ve made a decision. I’ve decided to put my gym membership on hold for now.

The reason being is that I am only able to get there once, maybe twice a week. Since I’ve had Gabriella I’ve really picked up the amount of running that I’m doing because I can take her with me! She can’t go to the gym with me, but I can take her in the stroller for runs. She LOVES her morning runs with me.

(holding onto the strap- haha! Like a rollercoaster ride 😉 )

She’s really gotten used to the stroller (I have an adapter for my City Mini Babyjogger stroller), and she sometimes will just take her morning nap in the stroller if our run is long enough.

I couldn’t believe it, but she napped the entire 15K that I did the other day. I could of kept running, but my legs were starting to get really heavy. It’s funny because now I will just keep running & running if my little lady is sleeping! Nothing like a good morning nap to make for a VERY happy baby later.  …the things you do for your child….like running until you feel like your legs may fall off 😉

Anyways, back to my gym membership decision.

Since I have a nice weight collection at home – 5lbs., 8lbs., 12lbs., 15lbs., 20lbs- and a Stability ball there are a TON of exercises that I can still do.

(the 20lbs. dumbbells are missing, I just picked them up on Saturday when I decided to suspend my membership)

And the best part is Gabriella laughs & laughs at me as I do weights. She’s thinks I’m pretty funny looking 😉

At first I was all about keeping my membership, because there are some exercises that I will no longer be able to do. (lat pulldowns, leg presses, elliptical machine, stair stepper, etc.) BUT there are alternatives to these exercises & I will be saving $35 a month! For only being able to go to the gym about 4-8 times a month…I can’t justify spending that. I mean we do have diapers to buy 😉

This weekend was my last day at the gym for a while, so I thought I’d put together a pretty intense workout to end with.

I put the amount of weight I used in parenthesis, just as a guide. If you have any questions about the exercises, please ask!

Gym Workout
(I put the super sets in two different colors so you can tell what you do together)

Squats: 4 sets- 1 warm up set of 15 (65lbs.) ; 3 sets of 10 (95lbs.)
Supersetted with Upright Rows: 3 sets of 12 (20lbs.)

Chest Presses: 4 sets- 1 warm up set of 15 (55lbs.); 3 sets of 10 (65lbs.)
Supersetted with Lat Pulldowns: 3 sets of 10 (70lbs.)

Walking Lunges with Plate Above Head (35lbs.): 3 sets of 12 – each leg
Supersetted with Calf Raises on Machine: 4 sets of 15 (90lbs.)

Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets of 12 (20lbs. each dumbbell)
Supersetted with Tricep Pushdowns: 3 sets of 12 (70lbs.)

Tricep Dips: 3 sets of 15 (bodyweight)
Supersetted with Crunches on Bosu ball (pulling 40lbs. behind head using cable): 3 sets of 25

Situps on Incline Bench holding plate: 3 sets of 15 (35lb. plate)
Tri setted with Side to side crunches on incline bench: 3 sets of 10- each side (holding 10lb. plate)
Tri setted with Standing Oblique crunches holding plate: 3 sets of 15- each side (35lb. plate)

Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 20 (20lbs.)
Supersetted with: 3 sets of 21’s (30lb. barbell)

Decline Reverse Crunches: 3 x 10

Hamstring Curls on Machine: 3 sets of 12 (60lbs.)
Supersetted with Adductor Machine (the awkward inner thigh machine): 3 sets of 25 (50lbs)

Once I finished this workout I headed home, fed G$, and then set out for a run with Craig.

Craig ended up pushing her in the stroller, it was his first time ever running with her in it & he was AMAZED at how much of an upper body workout it is. I told him, ‘It’s no joke! It’s a full body workout! And it’s no wonder my speed has increased so much.’ I mean it’s pretty much pushing an additional 20lbs…easily.

Since he took her I was able to do 1200m repeats. OUCH. After the leg work I did in the workout above, combined with 1200m repeats (+ 1 mile warm up & 1 mile cool down) I was D-O-N-E! Thank goodness for rest days on Sunday! I still try to do some kind of activity on Sunday, usually a walk in the park with G, and my legs were definitely feeling it…even with just a walk. (& my tush from those lunges…oof!)

I also wanted to share with you an at-home workout that I did last week. These are more of the types of workouts that I will be sharing from now on. I love full body workouts (I’m sure you can tell by now), but I’m going to try to split up my workouts in the upcoming months- like back/ biceps, tricpes/ chest, abs/ shoulders & leg- all on separate days. Just so I can focus more on these muscle groups each day.

At Home Workout

(Again, I put the super sets in two different colors so you know what to do together)

Crossbody Hammer Dumbbell Curls: 3 x 15
Supersetted with Tricep Dips: 3 x 15

Dumbbell Curls from the side: 3 x 12 (Lift dumbbells from the side, rather than front, and at the same time)
Supersetted with Dumbbell Upright Rows: 3 x 12

1 legged Deadlift holding dumbbells: 3 x 12 (each leg)
Supersetted with Plie Squats with doing Overhead Tricep Extensions: 3 x 12

Stability Ball Pass: 3 x 15
Tri setted with Crunches with Legs in Air : 3 x 15
Tri setted with Crunches with legs on Stability Ball: 3 x 15

Dumbbell Rows: 3 x 12
Supersetted with Front Raises: 3 x 15

Weighted Jack knife sit ups (hold dumbbell in hands): 3 x 12
supersetted with Russian Twists: 3 x 12 (each side) ( I used a dumbbell)

I also finished up with cardio- 3 miles – FAST- 24:22- 8:07 pace. (2 miles under 8 minutes- woo!)

So there ya go…two new workouts for you! Please let me know if you try them…would love to hear feedback!

PS: I added a ‘Workout Log,’ so if you are wondering what I’m up to for workouts, you can check there.