engaging

**i started this entry two days ago and due to memory lapse, i forgot to finish & post it.   so now I’m (kind of) doing that.**

last week was a whole week of "firsts."   my sister-in-law, jill, and niece, jonea, came to town and it seemed like a good time to start venturing out into public with the little man, and it was also TIME TO START EXERCISING THIS BABY FAT OFFFFF.  

(*officially, aaron and i took joaquin "out" for sushi a few weeks ago, but it was less than a block away and we sat outside.  as soon as he got "fussy" i walked back home and fed him.  so it was really, nbd.  also, we took him to whole foods a few weeks ago and aaron carried him through the store in his bjorn, and he was a little sleeping angel)

our first outing of the week was a trip to pasadena that included the apple store (to replace my possesed ipad) and to grab a beverage at a tea shop.   it was very pleasant and joaquin was awesome.   i’m so grateful that he loves his car seat and he loves to be "worn."    even if he’s pretty fussy, he usually falls asleep within in minutes of being in the car or in his various baby-wearing devices.  during this outing, aaron wore him in the bjorn.

the next day, I completed my first post-baby exercise item!  – a 15 minute strength workout that included push-ups!  dips!  squats! lunges!  and more.   it was SO hard, but it felt (mostly) good.   later that day, we ventured to UMAMIcatessen and sat INSIDE the restaurant.  he was snuggled in his stroller and slept the entire time.  it was highly enjoyable because not only was i able to enjoy some adult conversation with aaron, jason & jill, i also indulged in a delicious umami burger AND i was able to peek at him while he slept.  

the next day i decided to do a 20-minute pilates workout, and again, it was great to start engaging my muscles, but WOW, so HARD. and now we were starting to feel even more confident about bringing joaquin out, so we walked a mile to bottega louie and we quickly ate lunch. aaron wore him in the bjorn and didn’t make a peep.   then, jill, jonea, my mother-in-law and i headed down the block to get PEDICURES (oh the bliss!) while aaron kept the baby in his bjorn.    once our services were done, aaron brought me the baby and i snuck into the salon bathroom to quickly nurse him in private (first "public" nursing!)   it went great.    later that night we brought him to bottle rock to take advantage of happy hour – i even got myself a big glass of wine – and this time he slept MOST of the time in the stroller, but then woke up towards the end and got a little fussy, so  we all took turns passing him around and entertaining him.   but again, he was pretty great.

on friday morning i increased the length of my workout to nearly a half hour, but took it "easy" by doing yoga.  again, SUPER HARD to use muscles that hadn’t been used for more than 7 weeks, but great to start working up a sweat again.    that night, aaron’s mom & jonea watched joaquin while we had adult night with aaron, jill, jason & katie at mo chica.   it was lovely, but i was super anxious to get home to the baby so we could give him his nightly bath.

on saturday i did an upper body workout and mostly we did nothing because jill & jonea left and we were EXHAUSTED from such a lively week of active actions.

and then!  i ran on sunday!   only 3 miles, and my pace was pretty damn slow, but i RAN.  it felt awesome.  i actually left the house for the FIRST TIME BY MYSELF and it was weirdy weird weird.   but it was also:  GOOD.   

so anyway.  it was a very productive, exciting and energizing week.

this week: more of the same.   less of the going out to eat /socializing, but still gaining small success stories little by little.

in other news:  joaquin is going in for his 2 month shots and check-up on nov 1st.   stay tuned for a VERY EXCITING update about our little chunkamunk!!