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While my husband, the baby and I were out doing our weekly grocery shopping on Sunday morning, my husband told me he felt like he had a hangover.  It would have made perfect sense had he been out drinking the night before, but he (and I) has (have) been stone cold sober for the month of January.  He was complaining of a headache and nausea.  I asked him if he wanted to leave the store that we were in and he said no.  He seemed ok for the rest of the outing, but wasn't his usual go-get-em self.

When we got home, and put B down for a nap, I started doing my usual Sunday afternoon routine of baking, cooking, and cleaning.  My husband sat on the couch, turned on golf, and then promptly fell asleep.  Of course, I had to take a picture of him and send it to my friends because, let's face it, most mommies would never have the time to sit on the couch and nap on a Sunday afternoon.

Later that evening, I asked him how he was doing and he said he felt better.  "Phew", I thought to myself.  I would hate for him to have that horrid Norwalk virus that seems to be circulating around the office, gym, etc.  The "Phew" turned into, "Oh shit," when we sat down to dinner and I was finished with my bowl of delish paleo chili before he had taken 3 bites.  I asked him if he didn't like it and he told me his stomach was bothering him.  Uh oh.  Not something I was wanting to hear.

I went to bed early, as I usually try to do since I am up 2-3 times a night.  I fell asleep and at 11 PM, was jarred out of a deep sleep by the sound of my husband heaving his dinner into the toilet.  I went down and found him hunched over the toilet, barely responsive to my questions regarding his current well-being.  I let him be, since I know how I want to be treated when I am throwing up...left alone.  I went back up and fell asleep.

B woke me up around 12:30 AM for a midnight snack and my husband was still throwing up.  Not sure if it was sympathy sickness, but I started to feel queasy.  Something about everything that surrounds throw-up makes me want to throw-up.  Gross.

Around 4 AM, he came up and got into bed.  I had already sent an email to my boss telling her that I was going to be out of the office the following day.  One- I needed to take care of the ill, two- I needed to be prepared if B caught it, and three- I'd rather not throw up on the train if I was getting sick.

The next day was a whirlwind of grocery shopping, cleaning, disinfecting, and more cleaning.  I spent about $100 on Clorox and Pinesol products and disinfected both bathrooms, the kitchen, and the living room/dining rooms.  I switched out all of the tooth brushes and washed all of the linens.  I then made my husband some almost paleo chicken soup with rice (I know, not paleo, but at least it was gluten free).  He ate about 2 bites of it along with some of the best tasting cantaloupe I have ever tried and about 2 gallons of coconut water.

He stayed in our room all day and all night., alternating between sleeping and reading. He must have slept 30 hours between Sunday and today.   He hadn't thrown up or had diarrhea since Sunday night, but he said he still had a headache, a slight fever, and terrible body aches (probably complicated by the fact that he had done a CrossFit competition on Saturday).  Ugh how long does this thing last?!

Last night I slept on the floor in B's room.  While it was rather uncomfortable sleeping on a wood floor with no air mattress (I am afraid to get it out of the attic due to a bat sighting up there the previous week), it was convenient to get to B three times last night.  Growth spurt?  Perfect timing!!

This morning I made my husband some scrambled eggs, heated peaches, and a slice of paleo banana bread along with some lemon/ginger tea.  Yes, he is still dead stuck on this Paleo Challenge, even on his death-bed.  He was very appreciative, which was nice, considering this morning I had to take the trash/recycle out and the back gate was frozen shut so I had to remove all of the bags from the trash, throw them over the fence, throw the trash can over the fence (had to drop it on my foot, first), then put the trash back in, all while swearing and in my pajamas in 10 degree weather.  Single mommies, you have my sympathy!

I am sincerely hoping that my son and I don't get this terrible virus.  Not only would I be so worried about B getting dehydrated and ending up in the ER, but I would be worried about me getting dehydrated while trying to breastfeed and also ending up in the ER.  Praying none of these two things happen.  Hand washing like crazy and you should, too.  Stay healthy my friends!!!  

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Two days ago, my husband and I were getting ready to turn in for the night when he decided that it would be a good idea to tell me how running is bad for me and will lead to my eventual death.  Ok maybe he didn't actually say that it would kill me, but he definitely alluded to the fact that I should let up on the distance type of cardiovascular activity or submit to the fact that I will die of some type of running induced heart malady (hint, hint, more CrossFit?).

How did this start?  My husband is big into listening to Paleo specific podcasts while he is in his car and it just so happened that the one that he was listening to was listing out the many reasons why cardio, distance running in particular, is bad for you.  I haven't researched the specifics of the podcast or the "studies" that were referred to, but I have since G.oogled "is running bad for you" and "chronic cardio" and I have come up with a plethora of articles preaching gospel on how endurance running is evil and HIIT (high intensity interval training) is where it is at.

Wow.  Where have I been?  Apparently I had tunnel vision and was only concerned with my reproductive health for several years so I missed the memo on how bad running is for you.  So I guess getting back to my pre-baby weight, regulating my blood sugar, and normalizing my thyroid function, and preventing PPD due to running was just a coincidence?

Rather than be angry with my husband for trying to convince me (yet again) why CrossFit is the best of the best in terms of workout regimes, I started to get depressed.  Another thing that I have done or liked to do that I need to cross off my list because someone did a study and concluded that it is bad for me.  Add it to the list of things I shouldn't do, shouldn't eat, or shouldn't use along with:

• Conventionally grown fruits & veggies
• GMO fruits & veggies, which are unfortunately not marked
• Meat of unknown origin (i.e. grocery store meat)
• Farmed fish
• Drug store cosmetics
• Anything made in China
• Fleece (lovely co-worker...)
• Perfumes
• Nail polish
• Johnson & Johnson products
• Dairy
• Soy
• Corn
• Wheat/Gluten
• Aluminum foil
• Cell phones
• Trans fats
• The elliptical machine
• Non-green furniture (lovely co-worker tells me this)
• Formula
• Canned food
• Phthalates, Sulfates, Parabens
• Tampax, Playtex, or other regular tampons
• Microwave
• High fructose corn syrup
• Tupperware
• Caramel coloring
• Yankee Candles
• Non-organic decaf coffee
• Anything with lavender
• The baby jumper or the Exersaucer (also, from the lovely co-worker)
• Sitting at work
• Purel
• Antibacterial soap
• Toothpaste with triclosan
• I could keep going but I think you catch my drift here...

It is getting really exhausting to live like this.  Just when I turn around and that that I have all my bases covered, with regards to keeping my family and me safe from the dangerous world that we live in, a new study comes out that "proves" that something else that you use every day and have used every day for your entire life is going to cause you to get cancer, Alzheimers, or some other type of incurable terminal illness.  I think one part that they leave out of all of these findings is what type of damage all of these studies can do to a person's mental health when they go crazy trying to cut all of the bad products out and stick with only what has been determined to be "safe" today.

Am I going to quit running?  No.  Am I going to give up my dream of running in the NYC Marathon this fall?  No.  Am I going to continue trying to cut out all of the potentially disease causing products out?  Ok, maybe, but within reason.  At some point I (along with others) need to realize that it is most certain that something, eventually, but hopefully many many years away will kill us.  It may be the accumulation of chemicals in your body causing cancer or it may be that you get hit by a bus.  We just don't know.  If we spend all of our free time trying to cut everything out then we are not going to be able to spend any time enjoying life, because friends, unless you know something that I don't, we only get one.

Here is my takeaway...  I am going to eat healthy when I can, but enjoy a treat once in a while (after this damn Paleo Challenge is over!).  I am going to use natural products that cause less stress to the environment, but still use my Givenchy Very Irresistible because I love the way that it smells.  I am not going to keep my son in a bubble, because eventually he is going to grow up and need to make his own choices, but I'll offer him healthy suggestions and hope that he takes some of them.  I'll exercise how I want because it makes me feel good, helps keep me sane, and I'd rather die a happy girl than a miserable one.  :)

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Wow.  How is it possible that I now the parent to a 9 month old?  Where did the time go?  Yesterday we went to the doctor for his 9 month appointment.  He is now 29 inches and 21 pounds/13 ounces.  He is growing right along the 75th percentile curve, which the doctor was very happy with (especially since he is still mostly breastfed).  I'll give you his stats and then I'll tell you what the doctor said regarding those stats.

Physical
Can sit on his own.
Can go from his back or stomach to a sitting position.
Can pull himself to stand on his own (in his crib or on the ottoman).
Can army crawl backwards.
Can crawl forward one or two times (then gives up and sits).
Likes to use his thumb and first finger to make pinchers to pick up the tiniest things off of the floor.

Non-Verbal
Waves bye-bye when you wave to him.
Reaches for you when you ask if he wants "up".
Turns to look when you say "where is daddy" or "where is the dog/cat".

Verbal
Says "dada" on occasion.
Babbles when he is by himself (in his crib before he goes to sleep or when he gets up).
Screams/grunts/cries when he wants you to pay attention to him.

Food
Still breastfeeding or taking bottles of breast-milk every 3 1/2 -4 hours.
Wakes up at least once a night to breastfeed.
Loves pureed baby food including all veggies and fruits.
Gums baby teething biscuits.
Gags and throws up when eating anything that is semi-solid (bananas, avocado, egg yolks).

Sleep
Takes 1-2 naps a day ranging from 45 min to 2.5 hours.  Totally variable!
Has slept up to 9 hours straight, but averages about 6 hours straight.
Goes to sleep around 6:30 PM, usually.
Wakes up around 7 AM, usually.

Activities
Goes to music class once a week at his pre-school that he will start attending in the summer.
Takes swimming lessons once a week and love it!
Has occasional play-dates with my friend's children, although not enough of them!
Loves reading books before bed.
Loves playing with his toys.
Loves playing peekabo

So I am not sure if this is the picture of a "normal" 9 month old or not.  The doctor told me that she would like to see more in the way of verbal skills by this point although she was ok with the non-verbal.  She told me that if he didn't make a ton of progress by 12 months that she would refer him to early intervention.  I hope that he makes progress in the next 3 months, which seems like a long time to wait if there is an issue, but I guess that is just how things work.  She also told me to start pushing more real food and to continue giving him water in a sippy (which he just pours out all over himself).

I am trying to keep to the assumption that all babies develop at different rates.  What is "normal" for one baby might not be "normal" for another.  It is tough because we live in a society where everyone compares everything to something else.  I guess I'll jut wait it out like they say.  Anyone else have any experience with "delays" such as this in a 9 month old?    

As for the Paleo Challenge, I am still going strong with the diet, although I could really use a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of red wine.  Those cravings have NOT gone away as it was suggested that they would.  I am keeping up with the 2-3 days a week of CrossFit and 3-4 days a week of running, too.  I have also forgotten to pay my car payment, forgotten to pay the electric bill, and screwed up the electronic payment for the mortgage so that they assessed me a late fee and refused to take it off even though I made the payment on time, but the account somehow didn't get set up correctly.  Aye.

One really great thing that happened though, was that I "won" my first race, for the females and got 4th overall!  It was a small race, but still a great ego booster.  I am getting closer to breaking 20 minutes in the 5k!!

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So you may think that since I have not posted in almost a week, that I have fallen off the Paleo Challenge wagon.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I am still going strong and have not slipped up once.  Rather than go through each of the last days that I missed, individually, I will give you some of the highlights.

I have noticed a few things since being on this pretty restrictive version of the paleo diet (i.e. no honey, dried fruits, maple syrup, etc.) which have included:

• Being more thirsty even though I am drinking a ton more water than usual.
• Being unusually exhausted in the evenings to the point where I have been falling asleep sitting up.
• Sleeping very deeply (when I actually get to sleep).
• Waking up feeling rested even after broken sleep.
• Less general bloat.
• Still craving carbs...namely cereal and crispy/salty items.
• Craving a glass of red wine after dinner.
• Being much less agitated than I was during the first week of this challenge.
• Drinking way more caffeinated coffee than I have since long before I became pregnant and not having it affect me.
• No longer feel like I am developing low blood sugar if I wait too long between meals (i.e. no carbo crash between breakfast and lunch).
• I am spending waaaaaaaaaay more money on food than I ever have in my life.  Our grocery bills have gone up by at least $150 a week to include all organic/grass-fed meats and as much organic produce as possible.
• After a serious tanking in my breast milk supply, I can say with almost complete certainty that it is back to where it was before.  YAY!  This may have to do with the resolution of masitits (and finishing the antibiotics) or with the fact that my body has adjusted to the new diet.  This morning, I pumped 8 ounces!
• We made this meal last night, Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry over Brussels Sprouts (except with chicken) and it was awesome!  I loooove Brussels Sprouts so why not put more veggies and some lean protein on top and call it a meal?! 

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Wednesday, 1/8/14...

Food
Breakfast
Paleo pumpkin pancakes, turkey sausage, blueberries/blackberries

Snack
Mixed dry roasted nuts, snow peas & baby carrots

Lunch
Kale and spinach salad with roasted peppers, celery, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and grilled chicken

Snack
2 clementines, Steve's buffalo chicken jerky

Snack
Sunflower seeds, pistachios

Dinner
Stir fried beef with broccoli and cauliflower rice (from a paleo catering company)

Snack
Paleo apple/pear crisp (sugar-detox)

Exercise
I took the day off from CrossFit today and instead ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  It is tough to schedule days of complete rest while doing CrossFit and running.  I feel like if I miss CrossFit, I am wasting money and if I miss a day of running I will lose my cardiovascular shape.  Ugh.

Life
Saw the funny article in US News and Reports about the Paleo Diet being the worst diet.  Ummm they really think that Slimfast is a better idea?  For real?  Do you know what is in that crap (see below)?  I agree that if you are trying to use it to "diet" in the American sense, then yes, it is a very difficult transition to make.  Cutting out processed carbs cold turkey is pretty terrible.  Almost as bad a cutting a caffeine addiction.  It is also rather expensive and generally takes more time to prepare than a "normal" diet.  If you are using Paleo as a lifestyle instead of a quick fix diet solution then I think it is a great alternative to the crappy American processed food diet.  I will write up a better post on this later on (hopefully if I have time this weekend!), but I felt that I had to mention this incredibly ignorant article.

B was a complete train wreck last night!  He woke up a bunch of times and then had trouble going back to sleep.  I really think his 8th tooth is going to be poking through very soon as his cheeks are very rosy, he is drooling up a storm, and is biting on ANYTHING that he can get his mouth near (including my shoulder).

FAT FREE MILK, WATER, SUGAR, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), CANOLA OIL, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, FRUCTOSE, GUM ARABIC, CELLULOSE GEL, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY LECITHIN, CELLULOSE GUM, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SUCRALOSE AND ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS), SODIUM CITRATE, CITRIC ACID,

MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, ZINC GLUCONATE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, BIOTIN, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, PHYLLOQUINONE (VITAMIN K1), SODIUM SELENITE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12), CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). SWEETENED WITH NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS AND NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY.

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Tuesday, 1/7/14...

Food
Breakfast
Paleo pumpkin pancakes, turkey sausage, blueberries/blackberries

Snack
Mixed dry roasted nuts, apple sauce

Lunch
Leftover veggie and turkey chili

Snack
Steve’s grass-fed beef jerky, snow peas & baby carrots

Snack
2 clementines

Dinner
Salmon with sautéed spinach and parsnip puree (from a paleo catering company)

Snack
Paleo banana bread (sugar-detox)

Exercise
Went to Crossfit after work and did "Annie" plus a 1000 meter row.  Annie is 50-40-30-20-10 of double-unders and sit-ups.  So basically you do 50 double-unders then 50 sit-ups and work your way down the ladder until you are finished.  I had to seriously scale this workout because I  can't yet do more than 1 or 2 double-unders at a time and because of diastasis recti, I can't do sit-ups.  I did 100-80-60-40-20 of regular jump roaps and 50-40-30-20-10 of plank knees to elbows.  Despite the scaling, the workout still kicked me @$$.  I did NOT run after putting B to bed, but instead put my feet up and watched my DVRed Bachelor episode.  Man do I love that show!  What a train wreck already!

Life
I am starting to feel much better on the paleo diet and don't feel as agitated and hungry as I did the first few days.  Yesterday my milk production was the lowest ever at just 12 oz while I was at work (3 sessions).  Today it was back up to 15.5, which is the lower end of normal for me.  I think a combination of the diet change and the mastitis may have lowered my supply temporarily.  B also has started taking 2 hour naps at mid-day and a shorter cat-nap in the afternoon.  This is producing an overall happier baby.  Yay B!!

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