Monday, December 10, 2018

2018 Review - Part 1

Last week on Instagram I saw a friend answering these 20 Questions for 2018 and I thought it would be a fun way to close out the year!


So for the final 4 Monday so the year, I'm going to tackle 5 questions! I'd love it if you played along by answering them in the comments or on your blog!

1. What did you do on your birthday?

I was planning to have a 'puzzle party' - I would invite friends to stop by for a snack and/or beverage and help me put a puzzle together. But I got that super painful blood clot in mid-January and was in too much pain to throw a party of any sort. So instead I had a quiet birthday celebration. Phil and I ordered Indian and had a quiet night on the couch. It was just what I needed.

2. What are your strongest memories from this year, and why?

The moment my OB lifted our baby over the sheet separating me and Phil from the c-section surgery and hearing Phil announce, "it's a boy!" I'll never forget the look on his face or the emotion in his voice. And I'll never forget meeting Paul for the first time. I was exhausted after being awake for so many hours and pushing through all those contractions without pain killers so I was a little shaky and delirious. But it was amazing to hold him in my arms for the first time!

3. What did you do this year that you'd never done before?

Oh my gosh, so many things. Had a baby via c-section, tried and failed to breast feed, pumped sooo much breast milk (almost 10,000 oz since I started tracking in late March!), became a mom, hired our first babysitter, and the list goes on and on. It's been a year of first for us!

4. What did you want and get?

A healthy baby, and honestly, I felt sheepish saying this before Paul was born but I really wanted a boy. I would have of course been happy with a boy or a girl, but I think I'm really well-suited to a be a mom of a boy. :)

5. What did you want and not get?

I really wanted a natural delivery. Leading up to the delivery I acknowledged that the process was out of my control but I kept telling my friend Amber that I really did not want a c-section. I also really wanted to breastfeed Paul and that did not work out either. But the more time passes, the less I care. The delivery and how I fed Paul mattered so much in the early months but it matters less with each passing month. And it's not something I really think about much anymore (well, besides the breast feeding thing because I LOATHE pumping!).

If we have another baby, I will opt to have a planned c-section. My OB suspects that my birth canal is just too narrow. C-sections are tough to recover from, but I don't want to have a repeat experience of laboring for over a day, getting to 9cm and then needing a c-section! Plus, anecdotally, I've heard the recovery is better when it's a planned c-section (and my OB wholeheartedly agrees).

8 comments:

Marlys said...

It really was a year of firsts for you, and and great one, too!
And you would be a great mother to a daughter, too, just saying!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

It's been a very baby centric year for you! My highlights of the year with just a moment of thought would be our road trip to Washington D.C., so many cousin weddings, camping, and reading!

Jeanie said...

Oh, Paul has so changed your life in so many wonderful ways, even if the getting there had its challenges. I think you'd be a good mom, no matter what the baby! But I'm glad you got your secret wish!

Stephany said...

I've been filling out a very similar survey at the end of every year on my blog, so I can't wait to do it again this year! It's a really fun way to look back on the year. 2018 was a very difficult year, so some of my strongest memories are the hard ones: putting Dutch down and Pops unexpectedly passing away.

katielookingforward said...

Even though I've been literally counting down the weeks of the year on my blog, its still hard to believe its that time to do year end recaps! It seems like your pregnancy was so long ago! Hooray for Paul finally coming!

Amber said...

Such a big year of firsts for you! I also love this idea as a way to review 2018 and might have to do it on my blog as well. I just don't feel creative enough to come up with my own reviews of the year! It's so funny I thought for sure Olivia was a boy and only ever pictured myself having a boy and now I LOVE having a little girl and can't imagine having a little boy!! We will see if I still think that in the snotty teenage years ;) But anytime I picture myself having a 2nd child I still picture a girl because I can't imagine having a boy now.

San said...

I've seen these questions on Instagram... and I love that you decided to answer them in blog form :)
This years was definitely a huge year for you with all the changes that happened in your personal life with adding a baby to the family! And what a sweet little guy he is!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

You've definitely had quite the year - one that will always stand out to you :-) I love this question idea! I think I will do those on my blog.