It’s that time again. The end of the year, a time to reflect on what we have achieved, experienced, and learned from 2008.
To say this year was a big year for us is an understatement. We started the year in a new country (brand new to Mike, re-new to me) with the knowledge that in 6 months our lives were going to change. We just weren’t sure exactly how, or how much.
In February we celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary with dinner at the Casino and an early night. Nothing too fancy. The next 4 months passed by and as my belly grew, so did our apprehension about becoming parents. We attended our birthing classes at the hospital and during our tour to the birthing suites, I almost passed out. I wasn’t sure if I was just overheated and dehydrated or if the reality of what would soon happen finally kicked in.
In March Mike got a promotion at work, and, unrelatedly, we both had fall-outs with family members, neither of which has been resolved.
April saw us move into a townhouse that my mum had purchased at the end of March. It was great to be in our own space, to paint and decorate the nursery, and to get settled in prior to the little one’s arrival.
On June 29th at 11 pm, I felt pains. Mike was already asleep and I woke him up, telling him I thought I’d just had a contraction. I was convinced it was false labour, and was certain my water hadn’t broken. The contractions didn’t go away, but they were inconsitent and never got closer than about 6 minutes apart. After a sleepless night of timing contractions and trying to sleep for the 5 minutes between each one, we packed up and went to the hospital at 7 am. At 1:44 pm on June 30th, Nicklas arrived and we were forever changed.
What happened between then and now is pretty much a blur. We have this wonderful little guy who we have watched grow and learn and over the last 6 months he has taught us the true meaning of unconditional love. You think you know what love is, until you have a child.
On the downside, the sleep deprivation has been exhausting over the last 6 months. There have been times that I have wondered how I have made it through the day, let alone looked after an infant. But then he smiles at you and he naps when he should and eats when he should and you realise that even the sleep deprivation is worth it.
In August I turned 30, and I think that having a 6 week old baby helped to keep those feelings of “ohmygodIm30” at bay. Really the idea of turning 30 never bothered me. I was happily married and a new mum to a gorgeous baby boy. Life was definitely great at 30! Unfortunately the following day, my grandmother passed away. Thankfully she got to meet her great-grandson 2 weeks prior to her passing.
We’ve just celebrated Nicklas’ 1st Chrsitmas and know that they will just get more and more exciting from this point on. We had every intention of not spoiling him, but there were way too many presents for him under the tree from “Mummy & Daddy”.
I don’t know what 2009 has in store for us. We are taking a trip to the US in May/June and one of my hopes for 2009 is that the trip goes smoothly. I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I dislike flying here before. Well, this time we will have an 11 month old with us, so who knows how much fun that will or won’t be. No matter what we encounter in the new year, my biggest wish is that the 3 of us will be happy and healthy.
Colours of Sunset 