Monday, November 23, 2015

HELLOOoo. Hello. hello. h. e. l. l. o?

Is anybody out there? Can you still hear me? lol.

Sooooo, right.  I've been away. For a long time.
And in that time I got married. Then months later I had a baby girl.

Everything is awesome.


I've been a completely different person, literally. I've been a wife and mother - suddenly and at the same time.  This past year has been a whirlwind of change and adjustments. The growth and maturing that has occurred over the past 6 months has rivaled all that occurred in my 20s.

We got engaged in late June of 2014. We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of that summer, going on a few vacations and celebrating our engagement at cookouts with friends and family.  But... apparently we were enjoying it a little too much. No sooner had we settled on a wedding date, planned our official engagement party, and taken photos for the invitations did we find out that I was 5 weeks pregnant! So sometime in September our little wedding crasher, as I affectionately called her, hitched a ride.

We went ahead with the party, at which I was 6 weeks pregnant, bloated, and suspiciously unable to celebrate with a drink lol. I ended up telling my parents and bridesmaids so that I could have some cover with everyone else. We hadn't decided yet what to do about the wedding date, which we'd set for March 21st. My math was still fuzzy, but I knew I'd be big and pregnant by then. Do I, or don't I walk down the isle with child?

We decided to go for it!  We're in our 30's, stable, in love and we were happy to share the day with who would be the first child for both of us. I had to scrap all the vision boards for my dress, the plans for my bachelorette party, and I even scrapped my bridal shower knowing I'd be having a baby shower mere weeks after the wedding. I was about 31 weeks pregnant at the wedding, and I went on one last vacation with my girls at 27 weeks.

Now, would I recommend this? NO.
I was robbed of brain cells by my progressing pregnancy, which made it hard to keep figures and dates straight. The financial strain was stressful, and the sacrifices I made are forever. That being said, it was the right decision for us! We got to wrap everything together, and focus only on what was important to both of us. We kept everything manageable and did not incur any debt! Our venue was beautiful, the food was delicious, our vows were special and our guests had a blast.

After the wedding we doubled down our focus on becoming parents. I was 39 weeks, 5 days when I heard and felt a "pop". I'll save my birth story for another day, but the only intervention I got was an epidural 12 hours after my water broke. She made her debut at 21in and 7lbs, 14oz. Daddy got to cut the cord and hold her, and she latched on right away. That was 6 months ago!

I have plenty to say about adjusting my lifestyle, including my hair care, to suit my new life.  I have also gained and lost weight, grown and lost a lot of hair, and bought and stored a lot of clothes.

As I continue to gain clarity and focus on blogging again I will come back to keep you in the loop!

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