Due to a certain late arrival, I’m a few weeks behind on the whole 2019 resolutions game. Nonetheless, now that life has settled down a bit, I wanted to take some time to set a few goals for the new year, and hopefully I’ll find the time to document my progress on some of them here throughout 2019.

Read 30 books. Let’s get the continuing resolutions out the way first, shall we? I made it a goal to continue reading for pleasure last year, and I re-discovered my love of books in the process. I’m being a tad more specific this year by setting a goal for the number of books I’ll read, but I’m not looking to be the most voracious reader here–rather, I just want to continue my comfortable pace of 2-3 books per month. That being said, I’m almost done with my fourth book for January!

Stick to a budget. Now that I’ve graduated, I’m no longer receiving a stipend, meaning we’ll have to be a bit more careful about spending until I go back to work. I’m aiming to be more mindful in general with spending, but I’m paying particularly close attention to our food budget. I tend to justify whatever we spend on groceries by saying that high-quality food is (obviously) a priority around here, and we don’t spend a lot on entertainment or travel. However, I think that line of thinking can get me in trouble sometimes when I frolic through the aisles of Whole Foods. So, I’m documenting all our grocery transactions in a Google Sheet as a means of self-monitoring. At the end of the year, I’ll have a lovely dataset to analyze. Yipee! I also have a Google Sheet set up for weekly meal planning to make the most of what’s already in our freezer and pantry. I just really like spreadsheets, OK?

Be chill about breastfeeding. I didn’t really discuss this much publicly, but I had a really hard time breastfeeding Caleb. By the time he was three months old, I wasn’t producing enough milk for him to grow, but I stubbornly refused to supplement with formula. Breast is best, dammit!  Ultimately, I agreed to supplement with formula by the four-month mark, and I can now see that it was the among best decisions I ever made for his health. But at the time, I was racked with serious mom guilt, and I truly felt like a failure as a mother. I mean, there was a time in my schooling that I had considered getting a lactation consultant certification, and here I was feeding my baby formula! Anyway, this time around I’ve resolved to be more chill about the whole situation; I’ve already got a can of my preferred formula stocked, should Nathan need it. I will say that I think I have the benefit of experience (and a lot more knowledge about lactation physiology…) such that perhaps the breastfeeding relationship will go a bit more smoothly. Wish us luck.

Regain my strength and fitness. Notice how I’m not saying “lose the baby weight?” That’s a reminder to give myself a little grace. As of this writing, I’m actually within about three pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight. However, as you might imagine, my mid-section is still a little “squishy.” I’d like to be able to return to running soon, as I gave up on it last fall when my belly was just too much to lug up all these Birmingham hills. We do have a second-hand treadmill in our basement, so I’m hoping to make good use of that this winter. I resumed some light strength training this week in hopes of ridding myself of my pancake butt. As for nutrition, I haven’t really decided on my plan for that yet. I’ve toyed with the idea of trying the oh-so-trendy Faster Way to Fast Loss program, but I haven’t made any firm decisions yet. Even though I have some expertise in ketogenic diets, I think keto might be a bit too restrictive for this season of life, particularly while I’m breastfeeding. So, I’ll probably just land where I’m most comfortable–a low-carb (but not keto) diet. To be continued.

I could list several more smaller goals (e.g., drink more water, floss, etc.), but I’ll stop at four for now. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2019!