Guess who’s back? Back again… Ufda. I did not expect to take such a hiatus from blogging! In fact, I went into the year with so many ideas for blog posts. I also went into the year with a positive pregnancy test and symptoms from that definitely changed things.
If I could summarize 2021 in a single sentence it would be this: Lots of new furniture, puke bucket that never did get bedazzled, iron infusions, new baby while basement was under construction, and a PhD in bottle nipples. Intrigued yet?
I’ll start at the very beginning (Julie Andrews would be proud) but I’ll keep it pretty short so I can go into more details in later posts.
End of 2020 and Early 2021
On December 22nd, 2020, we got an early Christmas present with a positive pregnancy test. This is honestly the part of the story that I get stuck on. I’m not sure how much I want to share leading up to this point which kind of determines how much I share after. Regardless, we were so excited! We told our families over the next couple weeks. It was around then that I also started experiencing morning sickness. That lasted 20 weeks. 20 weeks!! My baby is only 14 weeks old and I feel like I’ve had him forever (yes, it’s a boy!). I can’t even fathom how I survived those 20 weeks.
I’ll share in another post all the remedies I tried but nothing worked like Zofran when I got that prescription at 16 weeks along. In the second trimester I had to start carrying my bucket everywhere because I no longer had warning before I would heave. I asked Landon to bedazzle it. He was too busy nesting for the both of us.
In between all that vomiting and misery, we got a new dining table and chairs! It fits our house and our style so much better than our old antique hand-me-down. I can’t wait to share it with you in a later post.
Spring 2021
In April we found out we were having a boy. Landon and I actually felt like it was a boy since day 1. I didn’t really have a preference but I saw a blogger who was convinced she was having a girl have a little gender disappointment when she found out it was a boy. Because of that, I spent all of March trying to imagine a girl but it just did not work. It was a funny relief to find out our guts were right!
The last week of May I took my last Zofran. I was able to start going for walks again as opposed to laying down any minute I was not working. We also got a new bed frame and mattress for our room and baby boy got his crib and mattress around then too. I’m still working on updating our bedroom a bit but between the comfy bed and the beautiful bedframe, it’s by far my favorite room in the house now.
Side note. Ladies, if you are looking for a “push present,” just get a Tempur-Pedic mattress with an adjustable base instead of jewelry or some other expensive thing. That mattress is worth more than gold and you will never have to experience a sore pregnant body in the third trimester!
Summer 2021
I spent all of June grateful to not be miserable but I was so insanely tired. I figured it was just because I was, ya know, growing a baby so I almost didn’t say anything at my 32-week appointment but I’m so glad I did. My midwife ordered a full blood panel and a ferritin test. I’m no stranger to low ferritin numbers but when it came back at 14 and I found out I was going to need not one, but two, iron infusions, I was a little shook. Those iron infusions were probably the best thing to happen to me this year (besides becoming a mom lol). I couldn’t find much about what to expect online so I will definitely be sharing that experience in a post to help other women.
My last iron infusion was at 37 weeks and for the first time all year, I felt great! I was actually looking forward to being able to finishing the “before baby” to-do list over the next few weeks. Plot twist, baby boy decided to come the next week. He was 12 days early and I think my Facebook post below summarizes how great that turned out to be. 🙂
I mentioned above that baby boy came while our basement was under construction. We had a few friends over helping install a plank wood ceiling in our basement when I went into labor. The ceiling was originally supposed to be installed in July but things got delayed. Our guest bedroom was moved down there since the nursery took over the bedroom on our main floor. My parents had to walk around some sawdust and machines for their first two visits. And my dad was on crutches. Talk about chaos!
Fall 2021
We did get some surprises with the birth of Everett John that I’ll also share in a later post. Eating has not been the easiest thing for him and by the time he was 11 weeks old, we were on our 7th bottle nipple. Three weeks later and we are still switching between some of them and trying to figure things out. I never knew I would say the word nipple so much in my life, let alone in just a few months’ time. And all the research trying to compare the different brands and flow rates! Hence the PhD referenced earlier.
I’ve been back to work for two whole weeks now and we’re slowly adjusting to our new normal. I am very much looking forward to this long Thanksgiving weekend to get some more baby snuggles in and some naps too.
As for this blog, writing has always been an outlet for me. I want to be able to share more of our story for other families in similar situations. The tagline I picked for this blog when I first started nearly 5 years ago was “The life behind and outside our blue front door.” Little did I know that 5 years later it would still be so fitting.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and find so many things, big and small, to be grateful for this year.
I’ll be back soon…