A Year Ago

A Year Ago...

I was 3 months pregnant.
I was in the middle of my worst all-day sickness.
I was waiting anxiously for the day when we would have an ultrasound to know the baby was healthy.
I was still getting used to living in New Hampshire.
I was unpacking boxes in our new apartment.
I was laying around and sleeping all day.
I was letting the housework slip.
I was missing my family.


How is my life different now?

I have an almost 7 month old!
I haven't been sick all year.
I still worry about my son being healthy, but at least now I can see him.
I enjoy living in New Hampshire and it has become our home.
All our boxes are unpacked.
I wish I was laying around sleeping all day, or even at night.
I still let the housework slip, but I'm trying to do better.
I still miss my family, but I have so many friends and church family covering me with love.


It has been a crazy, amazing, year. I cannot believe how much has changed.  What an adventure!

#reallife

One of my favorite things that we do in our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Group is we post photos of our real life.  Even the worst of it.  So often the images we see on social media are people’s perfect self, their perfect life.  We control what we put on social media and we only want to put our best self out there.  We won’t post a selfie when we are having a bad hair day, we try not to show our house when it is not perfectly clean.  We only post pictures of our happy children.  But let’s be honest, that’s not real life.  This is real life:

Sometimes your child spits up on you while you are laying on the couch and then rubs his face in it.  Then, since there is no one at home to help you, you have to sit up, letting it all run down your shirt, in order to get you both cleaned up.  Gross!

Sometimes you just can't get to the laundry and when you finally do, it looks like this.

Sometimes you have to eat dinner on the floor in front of the TV because you can't eat at the table.

Sometimes the dishes don't get done, you can't take a shower, you can't get out of your pajamas.  Sometimes life is just too crazy to be perfect.  Sometimes you spend your whole day rocking your teething child.  Some days you just need to sit on the couch, eat a whole row of Oreos, and watch some TV and neglect the housework.  And that's okay!  It happens to everyone.  Our lives aren't perfect, they are REAL.

Haven't showered since yesterday, still in my PJ's, wearing a sweater that I've worn for the past 3 days, and a crying child who just won't take a nap.  This is my life, it's real, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

 
Comment with pictures of your #reallife!

Please Don't Tell Me

Encouragement and advice can be great things.  I know that people care, but please stop telling me:

1. That most first babies come late.
That’s not what I want to hear right now.  I’m hoping every day that the baby comes.

2. That I need to stock pile my sleep now.
I’m having trouble sleeping, so telling me to sleep more just makes me frustrated.

3. That my life is about to change forever. 
I know and I’m excited about that!

4. All the crazy labor stories that you’ve heard or have had happen to you.
I don’t need to be thinking about everything that can go wrong!  And every pregnancy and labor is different.

5. It’s all worth it.
It’s great to hear this, but I’m excited to figure this out for myself.

6. That I look great.
That’s very nice to hear, but I don’t feel great.  I feel huge and uncomfortable

If you have said any of these things to me, don't worry, I'm not mad at you, but Adam says I'm starting to get snippy, so this is advice for the future ;)


Coming Soon:  Final Pictures of the Completed Nursery!!
 

 

Things I Need to Remember

This is a list of things that I am learning about being pregnant that I need to remember for the remainder of my pregnancy.

1. I'm pregnant.  I can't do things the way that my non-pregnant 24 year old self would do things.

2. I am slower than I want to realize.  Yesterday I decided to run errands in the afternoon before picking up Adam.  I went 6 places and it took me three and a half hours.  Non-pregnant 24 year old me could have done it in 2.  But now I'm slower and have to find the bathrooms more frequently.

3. I need to go to the bathroom when a bathroom is available, not when I have to go.  It can be hard to find a bathroom when you are running errands.

4. I can't sit on the ground crafting all evening.  Well, I can, but the next day I will feel it (like today).

5. I can't trust my brain.  I need to write things down.

6. I can't be the sleeper I once was.  I used to never have any trouble sleeping unless something was wrong.  Now when I lay down, I never know what I am going to get, except for multiple trips to the bathroom.

7. I can't bend and lift as I once did.  I need to ask for help.

8. I can take a deep breath and not get everything done.

9. I can just sit and enjoy the baby moving.

10. I can cherish these days because there aren't many left.

11. I can eat whatever I want.

12. I can wait excitedly for a little baby to arrive.

An honest look

I've heard a lot of critiques of blogs and social media for the reason that people can show their best, most put together self, on their posts.  Pictures are usually the best, edited photos when you're having a good hair day and look your best.  If you show your house, it's usually right after you clean it.  The articles I've read say that this just leads to a skewed view of yourself and other people.  Well, I want you to know that you don't get that here.  I am a flawed person, and today I'm going to give you an honest glimpse into my unclean house. 

 

One thing that I am very sensitive about is how my house looks.  Except you would not know that because I hate housework.  The only time I seriously clean the house and get it to look "perfect" is when people are coming over.  I have always hated housework.  And now, being pregnant and losing my energy, I am extra not motivated to keep the house clean, and Adam hates it.  I don't usually care to be in a messy house.  It doesn't bother me.  I can still think and function fine, as long as I'm not expecting anyone to see it this way.  So today I'm going to clue you in and let you see the status of my home.  We haven't had people over for weeks and I have had no energy, so this is usually as bad as it gets. 

 

 

 

So there you have it, an honest look at my un-perfect home.

 

But what about my honest self?
I recently had someone at church tell me that I look like I'm having the best time with pregnancy.  I'm always smiling, I'm always happy.  And to tell you the truth it really has been great and I have been really enjoying it, until this trimester.  I am now plagued with aches and pains and uncomfortable sleeping and getting colds that I can't take medicine for.  So when he told me that last night I said, well to be honest, this is actually how I feel.  I am a grin and bear it person, generally, but I will be honest about what is bothering me.  Here is an honest look at me today:

 

Yeah, some days it's just not pretty, and I am very ready to admit that.  But it is still an adventure that I am happy and grateful to be on.  I'm not perfect, and I hope you know that reading this blog.  If you didn't before then hopefully you know now.