But I am going to miss 2017. I think back to this time last year when I was pregnant with Liv, dreaming about the day we'd finally get to meet her. I look back at all of my "bump" pictures so fondly and so grateful that I took the time to document those precious moments before her arrival. This past year was full of changes. Both internally and externally. Before meeting Liv, I'd have said I didn't want to stay at home. I thought I at least wanted to work part-time. Back then I didn't know how life as a new mom would affect my mental health and ability to cope with the everyday stressors of being a working mom. For me it was a choice, use up all of my emotional energy on a job that ultimately didn't matter and constantly be drained as a mother or use my emotional energy to love and care for our daughter and home. At times when we were deciding what to do it seemed like a problem. I was frustrated that I couldn't "do it all." I felt like I was broken. But now I know it was a blessing that I had struggles doing both. I'm grateful it was an obvious problem that we were able to find a solution to. So in September, we made the decision for me to stay at home full-time with Liv. Brian had just received a promotion and while our budget would still be tight we felt it was the right call for our family. And I can't imagine life any other way now. I can't believe I thought I wouldn't want to do this (stay-at-home) at one time in my life. Being a stay-at-home mom isn't easy. Budgets are often tighter for the families that have one income and to say you get "stir crazy" is an understatement on some days. Of course, there are days I wish we could go out to eat or buy something new. And there are days when I would like a little more adult interaction and fewer diaper changes. I'm pretty sure any SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) would agree. But the time I'm spending with Liv is well worth any sacrifice we are making. I realize staying at home is not for everyone but it is for me. I'm so grateful.
This past year has also made me even more grateful for my husband. Even though it meant a tight budget, he encouraged me to stay home with Liv and to focus on taking care of her and myself. He never once made me feel guilty. He's my rock and it has been a pure joy watching him become a dad.
This year also showed me how blessed I am to have such a happy, healthy, and well-adjusted baby. I had minimal pregnancy complications. She was born perfectly healthy. She hasn't been sick. She has slept through the night since she was three months old. She also cut her first two teeth like it was nothing! She loves to talk, walk around the house in her walker, army crawl, sleep in her crib and eat. I say my prayers of thanks every day for this beautiful child.
Now I look forward to 2018 and I can't wait to see what it holds. We're finally settling into this whole parenting role thing. My husband received a new sales route which should be great for our family and my health is stable. So we're off to a good start. How can it not only get better since we get to watch this precious little girl grow before our eyes?
I didn't really intend to go into that much depth of the past year. But I just have so much to be grateful for and I'm sad to see 2017 end. Stay tuned for more pictures of Liv (duh!) and hopefully a little more blog content.
If you do follow along is there anything you'd care to see me write about?
I plan to post more motherhood posts, and hopefully some good recipes. As a way to save some money, I also joined Influenster, where you get free products (anything ranging from household items to beauty products) simply by writing reviews on the products you've used. So you'll be seeing some reviews of things I receive as well and I'll let you know if Influenster is worth it.
Anyways, Happy New Year, everyone!
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