Slice Of My Life - January
January, a year of rest, reflection and recharge. This year I have started focusing on one month at a time, rather than making a year long resolution. This months goal was to rest at home, take things easy and prioritise my own mental and physical health. I started going to a chiropractor and carried on with therapy and overall this month I have made so much personal progress. I spent most of the month at home as I said, but this gave us a great chance to do lots of DIY! The pregnancy blues are slowly lifting and I can see things picking up however I need to continue to focus on my own mental health and maintain the boundaries I have set in place. Whilst hermiting at home I’ve been able to sit for the first time in months and veg out on the sofa. Ive become obsessed with Disney Dreamlight Valley on the switch and watching The US Office, no spoilers please!
Gender Reveal
The best part of January had to be the gender reveal for our baby due in May. We didn't want a huge party celebration with canons and all sorts, we wanted something a bit more intimate where we could see each persons reaction individually. We brought coloured cupcakes from Liberty and then had people come around to have their surprise 1 by 1. I’m so glad we did it this way as we got to have a really nice moment with each family or friend and take in their reaction and talk about it afterwards. Me and Dave had already found out the gender on Christmas eve, so it was nice that we could get so excited to finally tell people! I think this will really help bond with the baby and get me feeling more excited now I can refer to 'him' rather than 'it'.
Baby Boy!
We are so excited to announce that Baby L will be a boy! Dave has already started eyeing up football kits, and I’ve been reluctantly now start looking at blue and green wallpaper samples. Slowly saying goodbye to my dressing room and hello to a nursery. Our family and friends are all over the moon with the news and excited for the first grandson. Head over to my IG to see the full reveal video.
My Little Bubble
I loved spending the weekend with my little close bubble. As I mentioned before I was taking this month to really focus on myself and my own mental health, so I knew a small gathering would be what I needed. After how overwhelming the end of last year has been it was nice to slowly get back into being social again and as exhausting as it was, it was nice to feel a bit more 'normal' again. I’m still just taking one day at a time but I feel much more happy being around people now and making plans for the remainder of the year.
Goodbye Money!
And so the baby shopping begins! We headed to mama and papas and I got my dream pram. I can't believe how many buttons and levers there are. I'm sure me and Dave are going to end up getting something wrong at some point! I’m so excited for the pram to arrive in April, and looking forward to having extra storage when walking out and about. We have also started stocking up on reusable nappies, something which I am really excited to try. All I can say is thank god for PayPal credit!
Maisie and the bump
I have loved seeing Maisie bond with the bump, it’s true they definitely sense something is going on! She loves snuggling up to me and when the baby kicked last week she even felt it! I hope this bond continues when he arrives 🙂 I secretly think she is glad she's going to remain the princess of the house.
Max is growing ..
I can’t believe Max is now 7 months old! Where has time gone? He is doing so well with his socialisation classes and has made so many friends, even if he is more interested in the humans than the dogs. His classes are my favourite part of the week (mainly because he sleeps for about 4 hours afterwards). We are slowly getting into a nice daily routine, and fingers crossed his energy levels will mellow out once Baby L is here. At the moment I still have to have my eyes everywhere when he is awake. Our friends however have said if you can manage with a puppy you will be fine with a baby, so fingers crossed.
Taking it easy
One thing I wanted to focus on this year was boundaries, mostly with my ‘free’ time. Just because my calendar is free doesn’t mean it’s someone else’s for the taking. Just because my phone is there doesn't mean I have to instantly give it my full attention. Last year I spend endless weekends crammed full, constantly reachable on my phone and I was in a constant loop of overwhelm, burnout and then trying to rest. Something which really needs to change this year! There were some months where I didn't have a single day without plans, and pretty much every Saturday in the year was accounted for and 'booked up'. I'm sure when Baby L is here it will help make it easier to be more present and spend more time at home with our feeling guilty. As I still end up having those guilty moments where I feel I should be giving up all my time to others. I have started implementing a 'no plan Saturday' every other weekend. So far it has really helped as I don't remember the last time I had a Saturday free to just do whatever I felt like in the moment.
We made it through January!
It always feels like the longest month in the world, but we made it. I really feel like things are getting back on track and I’m so glad I’ve taken January to rest, reflect and focus on myself. I am really enjoying these one month resolutions and excited to start a fresh again in February with new goals and aspirations.