Everyone Loves A Comeback

I decided I wanted to start blogging again but once you’ve been out of the game it’s difficult to know where to pick up and start again. The beginning would be perfect but requires too much time, so we’re going to have a quick recap and pick right back up like we’re old friends.

1)   A tiny human came out of me

2)   We’ve moved too many times

3)   Vodka & I aren’t friends anymore

That time when two became three…

January 2018, Olivia Sage joined our little family. She arrived on her due date and with very little fanfare but just a little bit of panic when she emerged with the cord wrapped tightly around her neck. I’m not sure if I heard or felt the doctor cut the cord but I’ll never forget the precious cord blood that went spraying into the face of the nurse beside me. With one final little push, she was out and looking like so much more of a stranger than I had expected. This little person who I knew so well from the inside, who I talked and sang to from the beginning, was little more than a stranger. Though beautiful to me, her head was conical and she looked like an alien.

   

I won’t go into the details of my labor or the first few days home in this blog post but hopefully I’ll manage one in a couple weeks (just being realistic). Adam and I often remark on how we couldn’t image our lives without her but a year ago, we didn’t even know she existed. It's odd, this new chapter that we enter into in our relationship because she’s joined the party. And oh my goodness how she’s changed everything. We couldn’t love her more and can’t believe how much she changes every day. I’m so excited to watch her grow and help her develop.  

On the road again!

In November this heavily pregnant lady packed up our apartment in Alabama and the husband had the pleasure of driving me, two dogs and one seriously pissed off cat to Scranton, Pennsylvania. If you mention Scranton to some people, they’ll tell you that it’s where the fictional TV show, The Office, is set. And that’s about all Scranton has going for it. In my humble little opinion. And that show isn’t even good. Adam quite enjoyed it up there and I was optimistic that being so close to New York might bring me some of the familiarities of England. Like at least a fish & chip shop. Alas no. Our time in Pennsylvania was cold, wet and miserable. There was snow. White snow, Yellow snow (courtesy of the dogs) and plenty of Black snow that had been walked or driven over a couple hundred times. Getting out was damn near impossible and only happened on my weekly doctor visits, if they weren’t cancelled on account of all the snow. Or when Adam and I would go to the grocery store. You know you’re living the life when you’re excited about getting out to the grocery store.

So, when March arrived and Adams job in Pennsylvania ended, there was only one place I wanted to go. Home. Which is the Gulf Coast of sweet Alabama. In Olivia’s short few months of life, she’s done a fair bit of road tripping and has lived in three different states. I’m a little worried that it’s going to engrain in her a wanderlust that can’t be tamed. Still there are worse things in life.

And in conclusion, the best thing ever to happen to Scranton, PA is the birth of Olivia Sage.

Right now, we’re living in Tennessee with Adams parents. I’m absolutely torn because I love Alabama; the people, the water, the weather. But it’s nice for Olivia to have family nearby and it’s great for Adam and I to have potential babysitters for that day when I’ll be emotionally ready to leave her with someone. Still, our living situation will always be governed by wherever has the best work for Adam. And I’m okay with that because it enables me to stay home and take care of our little wiggle worm.

We were on a BREAK!!!

If you caught my Instastory yesterday, you’ll know that I just can’t handle my alcohol anymore. One drink and I’m done. This has never happened to me, after all I grew up in England where pub life is part of the culture. Yet all these many, many months of not drinking has taken their toll. I’m not going to lie, I was looking forward to popping out a baby and then immediately after popping bottles. Like in the hospital. This didn’t happen. Despite science saying you can have a couple drinks and still nurse, it’s never wise to have a couple drinks when you’re sleepy and care for a baby. And during those first few months, I was sleepy all the time.

Motherhood, at least for me, is all about learning how to be the best you but on much less sleep. So, things like showers and teeth brushing became much less important than how many times Olivia pooped in a day, what color was it? Why isn’t her poop seedy when other babies are? Try and find me a first-time mother with wi-fi who hasn’t asked Google about baby poop at 3am.

So right now, Vodka and I are on a break. I like to think it’s the kind of break where we’ll get back together one summers eve and I’ll once again enjoy a martini with a twist. But the reality may be that our break is an actual break-up, which could well last until Olivia is three. And then after one vodka too many, I find myself pregnant again and the whole cycle starts over again. Who knows. All I know is that I miss my alcohol but not enough to turn mummy life off for the night and entrust her to someone else. I’m just not there yet and thankfully because of a little thing called Stranger Danger, neither is she.