Week 4 Postpartum

I'm on vacation!! Feels so good to get away from mundane life and the Army Post. I don't like living on post, it just feels dark and depressing.

My hubby & me at a
drive in movie

I've been struggling a bit lately. I haven't felt right. I haven't been able to relax or enjoy my time off before going on vacation. Now that I'm away...wow, big difference. I feel so much better! Maybe it has something to do with support? My husband and I don't have any, except each other which I tell you is invaluable, but sometimes I wish we had a family member to watch the kids or bring dinner by, but alas it's just us.

Now we have our dear friends and adopted parents that we're visiting and I love being here! I feel happy and relaxed.

Aaand now I'm eating too much and boy am I enjoying some wine! I know I'll pay for this later in my progress to get my postpartum body in shape, but right now I just want to enjoy my time off. I have 8 weeks left, thanks to the change for the Army earlier this year from 6 weeks to 12 weeks off. I can't believe I did only  6 weeks off before this! That feels like nothing!

I'm still pumping. I've worked out 2 times, doing mostly weight lifting. I tried jogging on a treadmill and holy cow, everything bounced around SO much. My boobs started leaking and my knees felt like crap, so I stopped. Just not ready for that I guess lol.. little discouraged.

Still wearing my small waist trainer, but I noticed this morning it was ripping at the top. :-(  It's not going to last much longer. I'll look into ordering a new one here soon.

Well this week is brief! But as always, please do leave comments and or questions. I'm gonna go have some relaxing fun and not stress out about weightloss and perfection right after having a baby!

I'll post progress pictures when I get home....

~Caroleena Kay

It's Been So Long....

   It's been a crazy minute since I've blogged last. I have so much catching up to do on here! So much to share. I figured to get back into the swing of things, I'd do a quick post.

I'm getting out of the military. Bomb dropped! Hence the busyness. I've been packing, cleaning, lining up appointments, trying to get our new place several states away ready for us; yeah it's been hectic.

I've had some struggles with getting back in shape. I was hoping it'd be quicker than it has (don't we all I suppose!) and I've had to work around military related injuries that have frankly left me very discouraged! I am doing better now, almost 4 months postpartum, and I'm going to try to post my back journey, with pictures, a little at a time until I get caught up!

I am finally seeing progress. There are a few things I had to cut out in order to get here, but now that I have, it's been very worth it. All this I shall share.

Thank you all for being patient with my absence! I have several posts lined up and ready to share, just need a few tweaks here and there, and of course, pictures :-)

Thanks for the support and follow! And thank you for the emails and all the great questions! Keep 'em coming!

~Caroleena Kay

Postpartum Waist Training - Royal Lioness Review

I've been blogging about using waist trainers in my Postpartum Recovery Week By Week section, and just recently I finally got my hands on the correct size from Royal Lioness!! SO happy to have it.

So I'm on day 3 of wearing it, and I see a difference already. I'm practically giggling as I write this LOL...let me explain....

I first purchased a small, which was just me dreaming and thinking I was smaller than I was... *embarrassed*. When I tried to put it on, I could barely get it around the sides of my waist much less get it to close!! Talk about a depressing moment.

Week 10 Postpartum

I went back on the Royal Lioness website and decided to actually buy the size my waist was...so sitting at a 38" waist, I swallowed my pride and ordered a Large black waist trainer.

I've used Squeem waist trainer from Amazon, and until I started wearing Royal Lioness, this was my top choice. Now having used Royal Lioness I have a new favorite hands down!! It's thicker, stronger and way more durable than any waist trainer I've tried. The quality exceeds the price..in other words it is waaaay worth the money.

Now for why I'm giggling over my keyboard! I received the waist trainer 3 days ago, and that day I literally had to lay on my back and suck in with all my strength, plus use my newly aquired arm muscles to hook it together. I managed about 3 hours wearing it that day before it really became uncomfortable, but during that time it felt so good to have such strong support for my separated abs.

The next day, I still had to lay on my back to hook it, but it was a bit easier. I wore it for the full 8 hours. This morning I went to put it on and OMG!! I can stand up and hook it all the way down!

I haven't changed my eating habits...if anything, I've indulged in a few too many white carbs...chicken alfredo and pizza to be exact lol....

Ladies, this Royal Lioness waist trainer works. I'll keep updating you. Just can't beat noticable results in 3 days.

Questions? Comments? Insults? Leave them below! :-)

~Caroleena Kay

Week 3 Postpartum

3 weeks postpartum

Here I am now at week 3 of my postpartum recovery. I'm feeling eager to jump into working out after baby, but my body keeps telling me to "hold up!". However, I am managing to workout with some serious modifications that are turning out to be just the challenge I need.

Mostly I've been doing Fitness Blender on YouTube with my hubby. We enjoy working out together, it started postpartum with my last son and now I'm ready to get back into it with him instead of watching him! I modify kinda on the spot when I do a workout. If I can't do something, I find something I can do and do it to the best of my ability. This is key in progression! I did get on the new bench press and found I could bench 65lbs...not bad for being such a long time away from working out.

I'm still drinking a lot of water, always shoot for a gallon a day, though some days I don't get there. I'm still taking my prenatals and pumping breastmilk for most of Cendricc's food supply.

Kegels everyday ladies! This is the one thing that is going better than expected and I'm lovin it.

I'm still wearing my small squeem waist trainer everyday. Feels great, but I do look like a can of biscuits busting out both ends lol....still, my waist feels smaller so I'm keeping it up.

Bleeding is slowing down, which is really nice. I'm only wearing panty liners and still cleansing every now and again, but otherwise I feel really good down there. Much sooner than I expected. Starting to think about getting back into the way Cendricc came about...but without another Cendricc if ya know what I mean.  ;-D

These days I know when I've pushed myself too hard postpartum. My "floor" gets sore lol...my lady parts start complaining...trying to put this delicately! Usually when I feel this way, I lay down and rest. I make the time for myself, even with 3 kids and 2 puppies. No matter what, I'm really trying to focus on putting me first. My day job right now is taking care of everybody else's needs, so I know I need to make time for

Cendricc 3 weeks old

ME. No shame or excuses. Take IT!

Still trying to find sleep somewhere in life...I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up with pumping breastmilk every 3 hours, but I really want to go at LEAST a month. We are going on vacation for a bit, so I'll see how things go. 

I'm not sure if it seems like I'm rushing through everything, but my time and energy are sooo slim right now. Please leave comments and/or questions. If you want me to go into more detail about something in a seperate article, Contact Me and I will. I want my experience to help or inspire so let me know in what areas I can do this better!

Thanks for your support and feedback,

~Caroleena Kay

Contact Me

I'm always open to questions or comments, give me your feedback!

My goal with this blog is to be an inspiration and hopefully help give a boost of confidence in pregnancy and home birth. I love sharing how to get back in shape afterwards as well! It's a challenge for sure, but hard work and dedication pays off.

Email me anytime. I might be busy with a crazy life, but I will get back to you as soon as I can.

fitnfancy2@gmail.com

~~Caroleena Kay

Week 2 Postpartum

Week 2 Postpartum

Week 2 postpartum ladies! I'm already getting impatient to be back to my normal self...not a good thing at all, but I do need to be honest about it. I think because I'm up round the clock pumping and feeding, it feels like it's been twice as long.

Starting out week 2 postpartum with an updated picture. I see a difference! I can not stress enough how wrapping your belly immediately postpartum is so helpful in getting back into shape after baby much faster. I'm still wearing mine almost round the clock. Mostly because of my abs being so shot and tender. It just feels so much better and I can function more normally!

I'm still doing Kegels daily. I'm also practicing while I pee (lol) trying to stop the

Week 2 Postpartum

stream then resume. Weird I know, but if you can't really feel yourself doing Kegels, then starting on the toilet will help give you an idea as well as help you keep track of your progress.

Postpartum cramps have been horrible this time around. The pain almost made me faint. I chugged water with a couple Tylenol to help, but when they hit it's so bad I have to stop everything and just breath and wait them out. I'm doubled over on the floor from them.

Still drinking lots of water. Still cleaning with Peri bottle and postpartum herbal and oil cleanse, as well as changing pads frequently to promote cleanliness and healing. I'm almost out of my postpartum bath soak. It's been SO nice to have and this feels like the quickest I've healed yet.

I did start some squats this week. VERY cautiously, but I managed 50 without feeling pain. I believe squats will help restrengthen my pelvic floor as well as encourage blood flow which aids in healing.

I also started LIGHT weight lifting. Either 5lb weights or just going through the motions of an exercise. Movement is my goal at this time, not to be Superwoman lol! Getting up and getting blood flowing is my goal.

Postpartum Belly Binding

I forced myself into my small Squeem waist trainer!! Feeling really good about that. Also, I'm still putting coconut oil on my belly 1-2 times per day.  I'm wanting to try Royal Lioness Waist Trainers, but I have to wait till I get paid. They look way sturdier and better quality than my Squeem.

My husband likes doing the YouTube videos called Fitness Blender.  I HEAVILY modify it to be a postpartum friendly workout, but at least I am doing it with him.

I really can't get off the floor very well, my knees hurt, abs won't let me do much, so I'm taking it slow and trying not to push myself. SO hard! I am doing NO jumping or running. Just not even going there lol....

My sweet baby is sleeping a lot but getting up like clockwork every 3 hours. He's

growing like a weed already! I'm in love. :-)

There it is! Week 2 postpartum is down. Feeling a bit better this week, excited to keep going. I would welcome your comments and questions!

~Caroleena Kay

Weeks 23 & 24 of My Pregnancy

I'm starting to get back into the swing of blogging again. I'd love to post more often, but sometimes I just can't muster up the energy or the creativity! I do have several posts waiting for pictures and editing that I will be sharing hopefully sooner rather than later!

I am now 24 weeks preggo. I did have to check via an online due date calendar...I kinda lost track of time for a second. I'm finding it harder to put my shoes on, even worse for my military boots! I can't walk as fast everywhere, but I'm a speedy walker by nature, so I'm sure most people haven't really noticed. Climbing the stairs to get the boys to bed is getting harder. I just tell myself that it's great for staying in shape, so I need to resist the urge to avoid the stairs!

I had a second ultrasound last week, and though the baby was curled up in a lil ball, they still think it's a boy, so I'll plan for that! It was really amazing to see him moving and hear the heartbeat. Gets me every time. He is now the size of an ear of corn apparently! I feel a lot more movement all throughout the day, so that's been a delight.

Update: I have the Army maternity uniform, yaaay! (Sarcasm) Finally went into Central Issue Facility to sign for 3 sets. It is more comfortable as far as the pants go; no more belt but instead that super sweet giant pouch to sling my belly in. Feels like I'm wearing granny panties all day...super sad face here....The jacket looks like a tent or a poorly made dress that's too short to be decent. Okay, I'll stop. I'm just disgruntled over the new look, but as promised, I provided a picture. You're welcome.

I'm staying on track with eating. Today I felt really odd and nauseous so I didn't eat much...until this evening. Then for some reason the only thing that sounded bearable was chicken top ramen...and then an hour later for dinner, french toast and cheesy scrambled eggs with the boys! I feel much better now, so maybe it was a carb thing. Sometimes you just gotta go with the weird days.

On a side note: I haven't been sleeping that great lately, so out of the blue I took one of my daily fish oil pills a bit before bed and found I slept much better. I had no idea before hand to try it, nor was I thinking it would help. I just noticed I slept much better and my analytical brain was trying to figure out why.,,low and behold, there's been research done that links fish oil to helping sleep issues. Well, it has been working for me most nights, so I thought I'd pass it along...here's the brand from Amazon I'm taking: