Category Archives: Mommy Blogging

A 1st Birthday Party

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September turned 1 on the 23rd. She’s beautiful and so big now. Things about her are so not baby-like anymore. She’s definitely a toddler. But beyond that, she’s becoming this little kid, this little person filled with her own wants and she’s making them known. It’s challenging and I’m trying very hard to keep up with her pace.

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Still, her birthday party was fun and lots of people came to celebrate. We ate tons of food and watched her delicately pick at a giant cupcake. But while all of the festivities were going on, I couldn’t help but think how different our lives are now than they were a year before. Yes, a year ago today my husband and I had a week old baby and we were completely overwhelmed. I’d cry at the drop of a hat and felt like I just couldn’t do this. How on earth are you supposed to take care of another human being? How could I ever live up to this challenge?

It was rough.

At the party, my eyes wandered over those in attendance. So many people came to celebrate with us. So many people that weren’t in our lives this time last year. We were convinced we had to do everything alone. We didn’t ask for help. It was just Matt and I at home, struggling. But then, as the baby blues wore away, I found strength. And I asked for help. And you know what? People helped! People helped all the time and were more than willing to do so. When you’re depressed, it’s hard to comprehend how people can care about you. When you don’t care about yourself, it’s hard to see how you’re worth a damn.

More people are in our lives now than ever before. We are enriched by new friendships. We are strengthened by the commonality, the middle ground, that parenthood brings to those from all walks of life.

We sang happy birthday and opened presents and donned party hats in celebration of a little girl’s birthday. But inside I was rejoicing in the knowledge that we were walking with clear minds and open hearts for the first time in much too long.

September’s Birth Story

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I promised myself I wouldn’t be one of those people who took a year to write up as something as simple as a birth story and here we are, a year later. You live, you learn. 🙂

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Still, I finally did set some time aside to write up September’s birth story and it’s l-o-o-o-n-n-n-g. I was in labor for what felt like forever but you know it all turned out fine in the end. Here’s a snippet:

September arrived when she was good and ready. My September 14 due date came and went. The week rolled on. She still hadn’t come. My midwives were supportive and fully prepared to let my body do its thing but there was some pressure: if I went past 42 weeks, I’d have to be transferred out of their care to a regular hospital. No, no, no! I was not having that.

I forgot to mention in the write up that my water broke after I hit 10 cms. It was so weird, like a water balloon breaking in my stomach. It didn’t hurt at all, but it was just so sudden that it kind of scared me.

You can read the whole thing over on the First-Time-Mommy.com blog. They have a great support group on Facebook, too, which you should totally check out. Oh, and hey while you’re there, why not give my burgeoning community a like? Let’s build something awesome together!

Work. Life. Mom.

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It’s all about finding balance.

Not just on this brand new blog. But in life in general. Scheduling out a few minutes a day to get things done I want to do, not just those I have to do is easier said than done. Often, it doesn’t happen. I’m okay with that most of the time. Other days it hits me hard. I miss life when it was less complicated.

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My daughter and I

Then I look at my sweet daughter’s face and know I’d never want to go back to that old version of myself ever again.

Motherhood. It’s filled with all the feels. And complicated ones, at that.

I’m also self-employed and run a writing and editing business. I have a babysitter sometimes. My in-laws watch my girl sometimes. But it all doesn’t add up to enough hours at the computer, putting fingers to keyboard, and making that money.

We’re struggling.

But we’re getting up every day and making things happen and I guess that’s something.

And that’s what inspired me to make this new blog community. About work. About life. About being a mom. And most of all, about bringing it all together to make for a not-so harmonious existence.

We make do.

What does this all mean for you, dear reader?

I’ll be sharing things that have helped me sort out this impossible balance. Tools, tips, and tricks. Rants. The occasional recipe or craft project. Plenty of photos of my family of course (with maybe a cat or two). And above all else, I hope to foster a place where other working moms can hang and talk about what concerns them.

Let’s prevent each other from going crazy!