*Prepare for a rather rambling personal post, if that’s not your thing click away :) - it gets more upbeat towards the end though I promise!*
So it’s around 4am as I’m sitting here on the couch typing this. I’m munching on a bowl of Just Right cereal as I’ve been awake for the past few hours coughing and decided I just needed to get up, have something to eat and distract myself for a little while.
I was just going to journal, but I figured I may as well type out a little something for the blog, even if it just turns out to be a little rambling update (you know - old school blogging - spur of the moment, real thoughts and feelings etc instead of the super polished content that people generally put out today.)
Speaking of polished content - I always struggle with the balance of that when it comes to this blog. I flit back and forth between wanting it to be something more “professional”, a resource that’s super helpful and that readers want to return to for style advice and inspiration, and at the same time I love having the freedom to also record my life, my thoughts and feelings and just share these more personal kind of things. Those are the kind of blogs I used to read all the time in the early days. Sure they would share outfits/new purchases/style tips etc, but they’d also share what was going on in their lives and what was on their mind.
I remember one of the earliest blogs I read was Elle Fowler’s - at the time she was “All That Glitters 21”. She was one of the early Youtubers and while I loved her videos, I also loved her blog which was less known. It was super casual and laid back - just a simple old-school blogger layout and she would share relaxed posts that ranged from talking about her latest beauty product loves, "Lush Hauls” (remember when lush bath products were so popular on Youtube?!) and one of my favourite style of posts “Ins and Outs” which would go through the good and bad of what was going on in her life. No crazy excruciating detail, just a nice little run down where she’d appreciate the awesome things and also record the not-so-great.
I don’t know why I loved this blog so much but it was just a really easy read and fun escape. She was a few years older than me and I guess it was nice having someone of a similar age, reading some of her thoughts and being able to relate a little. I guess that’s partly why I share this kinda personal stuff on the blog sometimes - I feel like there’s probably someone out there somewhere who might benefit from my writing and relate a little. Even if its just one person :)
Gosh I’m feeling a bit nostalgic now. Thinking back to that time around 2008-2009 when I first discovered blogs and youtube - long before I even considered starting my own! Reading blogs was my distraction when I needed a break from studying and the stresses of being a dental student. I don’t usually look back and think “that was a good time” when I think about my uni days, as I really do feel that life has been SO much better since I graduated (trust me - you’d be hard pressed to find a dentist who has fond memories of dental school), but thinking back I did have a really great time at uni if you take out the stress and academic side of things! Making great friends… the fun uni parties…. meeting my husband!
I guess the main reason I’m feeling nostalgic though is because life is about to change in the biggest way possible in the next couple of weeks and I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet for either Tom or myself.
As of today I’m 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant with our little girl and while we are SO excited to meet her, there are still so many things I’d like to get sorted before she arrives, particularly as we’ve just moved house! Even though we’ve been here for about 4 weeks now and things are definitely coming together, I still feel a little unsettled and that there’s more to do in terms of making it comfortable, organised and ready enough! I know everyone says “babies don’t need much” but it’s mostly for me that I want everything to be calm and organised. I just want everything to be as ready as possible as possible before we take on the responsibility of looking after a tiny little human as I’m sure that in itself will be stressful enough!
I was born at 37 weeks so in my head I’ve always had this feeling that she could potentially come early, and I don’t feel like we’d be ready for that yet!!
I know that everything will be fine and that even if she does decided to arrive a little early it will all work out, but I can’t help feeling a little on edge still! I’m sure a lot of soon-to-be parents feel this way!
One thing that is probably contributing to “feeling on edge” is the fact that Tom and I have both managed to pick up a cold and have not been feeling too fab the past few days!! That’s why I’m up at the moment actually - I’ve been coughing all night and just couldn’t sleep at all! Good training for being a parent I guess? haha :p
I’m hoping she does at least stay put for another week or so to give us time to get over this virus, because I’d be so worried about passing it on to her!
Okay so enough of the worrying! I think I’ll do a little Appreciation List now - the “ins” that I haven’t been focusing on enough (because there are SO many good things!! I truly am so appreciative of where I am in life right now and I really wouldn’t change a thing (except kicking this cold to the curb - that I could do without! haha)
Our new house - I still can’t quite believe we get to live here! It’s what I’ve always had on my list when it came to my “dream home” - an older character style, wooden floorboards, high ceilings, white walls… and our little bub will get to grow up here!
Spring is on its way - yesterday was so warm and lovely - you could feel spring in the air and I always feel so much more positive and optimistic about everything when the weather warms up!
Our wonderful family - we really are lucky to have such great support systems. Sometimes lately I’ve been getting a tad annoyed at my parents because I feel like they’ve been stressing me out about all the things that need to get done before bubby arrives, but I know it’s just from a place of love. I was quite a difficult baby (okay, very difficult) so they just want to help make sure everything is as organised as possible to ease the transition!
Our friends - I just finished writing the thank you cards to our friends for the baby shower and was thinking how lucky our little bub is that she’s going to have such a great group of “aunties and uncles” around her! Our friends Niki and Matt were so helpful this past weekend helping us move and build Ikea furniture and just generally being super supportive! We really are so lucky.
The cute muslin wraps, bassinet sheets and bows that I ordered from Snuggle Hunny Kids - they arrived yesterday and are spread out on the couch in front of me right now. Such beautiful prints and colours - our bubby is going to be a very stylish little girl!
All bubby’s little movements - they’re more stretches and rolls now rather than kicks (with the occasional hiccups!) and it’s so nice feeling her moving around in my tummy!
How excited Tom is to meet our little girl - he was talking to my tummy last night and it was so sweet. She can definitely recognise his voice now! I know he’s going to be such a great dad :)
The fact that I’m on maternity leave now and can have a nap this afternoon if I like!! It was definitely getting quite tough towards the end (although my colleagues and boss were so helpful and supportive!) so I’m quite relieved to have some “down time” now - even though I’m definitely not sitting just chilling on the couch - there’s way too much I want to get done!!)
The fact that I have another Dr’s appointment today so will get to see our bubby again and hear her heartbeat! It’s always so fun and reassuring when they check on her and my Obstetrician is so lovely!
(Unrelated but she also has such a great sense of style - she’s always wearing the most beautifully printed and colourful dresses/skirts! Apparently she has an obsession with the website Boden Clothing! - I checked it out and their pieces are soo nice!)
So that’s it for this rather random post. I am feeling so so so much better after writing this! (I was feeling a little miserable and sorry for myself before I must admit…)
Amazing what a little appreciation can do!
I hope you’re having a beautiful day and well done if you got to the end of this post! Hopefully there will be more “helpful” posts coming up soon. I really want to film a “pregnancy style essentials” video sharing my fave maternity wear items that I’ve worn over the past few months. We’ll see if I have time after finishing the Ikea wardrobes!
Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx