looking back: 2017

This year both flew by faster than any previous year and had some of the slowest days of my life. The biggest event of the year was welcoming Lyla into our family on May 10th. The rest of the year also revolved around her and my journey into motherhood. Here's a review...

Part 1: waiting for baby (Jan-April)

• Switched health care providers to a midwife/birth center and felt SO at peace with it
• Cameron went through his own nesting phase and put our 72 hr kits together
• Trip to Florida at Valentines where we took maternity pictures
• Posted my blog and was overwhelmed by the positive response
• Felt overwhelmed by gathering baby items but confident in my life path (good-bye quarter life crisis)
• Found Hypnobabies and looked forward to birthing time 
• Felt like baby would never come and got tired of pesky questions 

Part 2: newborn days are hard (May-Aug)

• Overwhelming love for our little human
• Lots of Netflix and sleeping
• Lots of crying, both by mom and baby
• Obsessed over baby sleep
• Embraced emotions, hormones, and uncertainty; questioned if I would ever leave the house again
• Celebrated our Anniversary and first date out away from Lyla 
• Felt support by family, friends, and even complete strangers that helped get me through

Part 3: confidence in motherhood (Sept-Dec)

• Finally enjoyed being a mom
• Watched as Lyla learned to roll, sit, crawl, stand and start eating
• Started reading a ton of gentle parenting books 
• Had play dates with baby friends, went to playgroup and library story time
• Embraced minimalism and purged a lot 
• Celebrated Christmas with my family for the first time in 3 years
• Attended my sister's wedding 

This year I've learned that sometimes the best life strategy is to not have one at all, but to take things as they come and adapt where you can. I want to continue this in 2018 by embracing whatever happens and trying to improve myself along the way. Here are some more of my goals for this year...

• Keep connection my #1 goal with Lyla, even as we anticipate potential sleep regressions, tantrums, and picky eating
• Make my marriage a priority. I’m my strongest mama bear when I remember I’m a wife first
• Continue to read gentle parenting books
• Keep the clutter out! 
• Gradually minimize waste and bring in more reusable products instead
• Quill an “L” for Lyla’s room 

I usually don’t make resolutions because they feel forced and never end up happening, but I do think it’s a good chance to reflect and set new goals. So this year I’m trying again and being more intentional with them. 2017 was both a joy and an emotional roller coaster and I’m genuinely excited to continue to watch Lyla grow and see what else this year brings.

Happy New Year!