Well! I just about feel like I need to reintroduce myself after such a long hiatus. In all honesty I think I’ve felt so overwhelmed by just how much has changed since my last post that I've avoided writing this for a REALLY long time. I have been incredibly busy to say the least and I have just a few things to catch you up on. I’ve been on a cruise, taken a long break from uni, moved out of home, oh and HAD A BABY.
That’s right, I’m now a full-time mumma and I think it's safe to say that growing a human is the LAST thing I thought I would be doing with most of my 2017.
Bryce and I went on a cruise in Feb last year (2017) to celebrate his birthday and had no clue that it was actually the first holiday we took as a family (with a jellybean in my belly). We got home and a few weeks later on a Sunday after lunch we took a pregnancy test. Two pink lines later and it was pretty clear that our plans for the rest of 2017 (and beyond!) had just taken a huge turn.
I’d love to maybe do another post sometime about the process of us finding out and dealing with an unexpected pregnancy but for now I will just say that it was a pretty crazy couple of months which saw many ups and downs and left me feeling more supported, loved and excited than I have in my whole life.
My 22nd birthday rolled around in July and Bryce and my family planned a surprise dinner party for me at a greek restaurant where we danced and smashed plates and I stood on a chair while the MC read aloud all the best/funny memories my guests had of me. It was by far the best birthday I’ve ever had and probably one of the best nights of my life.
Skipping straight to November, we welcomed our precious son into the world:
- - - OLIVER JAMES - - -
I don’t think I was ready for the immense love that came so quickly and took over everything in my body. He was/is GORGEOUS. It's such a cliche saying that once the baby is born nothing else matters and you can't feel any of the pain anymore and I always thought that it MUST be a lie but seriously, that's how it was for me. As soon as I held Ollie in my arms I felt such intense emotion that I thought I could burst, I cried...a LOT (happy tears!).
In all honesty, we adapted faster and better than I could have dreamed. Bryce is the most natural dad and partner and I couldn’t feel luckier to have him by my side. For the umpteenth time last year, I was overwhelmed with the incredible support we have from the people in our lives.
Ollie is now 4 months old and we are absolutely smitten with our beautiful boy. I can't think of anything to say that isn’t hugely cliche but pretty much all the sappy things that new parents say are so true. We love him more every single day and I feel like my heart could burst with the love I have for my little family. He is the most wonderful little boy and Bryce is the most wonderful daddy for him.
I would love to share a little more about the birth at some point because I couldn't be happier with how it went and I think a lot of that has to do with how much we educated ourselves beforehand. I truly think I may be the happiest I have ever been - who would’ve thought? The anxiety that I’ve suffered from for as long as I can remember has honestly improved astronomically and I think I’ve maybe had one panic attack in 4 months compared to pretty much one a day before Ollie came along.
I’m thinking of still doing a post with some photos from the cruise and maybe a few more pregnancy/new baby ones. I think its safe to say that this blog will probably become a little more personal because I just desperately want to capture and remember every moment of my life right now and this is a great way to do it. Sorry this post has been a little all over the place, hopefully they will make a little more sense in the future and there won't be such a big break until the next post!
Caitie x
