The end of another year. 2019, what year you have been.
As per my yearly tradition with the year coming to a close, I look back at year gone by. What I have experienced, what I have achieved and where I could have done better. This year definitely had its challenges but it also had its rewards in return.
“The harder the challenge, the bigger the reward.”
In January, similar to last year, I went through the questions in Lavendaire’s "Artist of Life" planner to reflect on what I wanted to get out of this year.
One of the overarching ideas is to think of your "theme" that you want to focus on. This year my theme was "Family and growth". I wanted to grow our family with a baby of our own, as well as visit our parents more often and spend more quality time with family. Since moving out, the Hubs and I have thoroughly enjoyed our independence after living with parents until our late 20s. As a result, it meant that I haven't visited home as often as I had originally planned. This year I wanted to reconnect as well as ensure that our families have time to bond with the bub and allow him to grow with a loving extended family.
“2019 will be remembered as the year of babies. ”
It was the year of my transition into motherhood with the birth of Dante, whilst two of my friends also had babies, two friends' kids turned one and two more got pregnant. My pregnancy journey started in January so my whole year has pretty much been consumed with growing a baby and now nurturing him.
Though having a baby can be very taxing with your life turned completely upside down, it is certainly rewarding and one of the most beautiful experiences that I will treasure. I am just so glad that the fourth trimester is over! Now that Dante's is past the newborn stage and is responding with smiles, it makes it a lot more reassuring to know that he is growing happy and healthy and I'm doing a reasonable job at being a mum.
Health
Health-wise my aim this year was to be fit enough to grow and have a healthy baby. That I can say was a success, even though it may not have been in the way I had hoped. I pretty much remained active and went to the gym when I was up for it until week 35 and after that, I still went for walks until baby arrived. Within a month I was able to drop back to pre-baby weight, but I am no way the same shape I was before and have lost a lot of my strength and flexibility. This is pretty much expected and I am grateful for the strength that my body was able to carry a child, but I think next year I want to regain my fitness.
Besides the sickness that comes with pregnancy, I only had one round of the cold and managed to avoid all related food illness when we travelled through South East Asia.
Also, even with raging hormones, my skin has remained clear throughout. My K-Beauty routine still remains strong.
Career
I was not ambitious with my career this year since it was less of a priority. Career-wise I just wanted to stay in my job until I went on maternity leave and train up my grad to take care of my job whilst I am away. Though I had managed many teams and though I am not technically his superior, I have been his prime mentor and I have enjoyed playing that role. Teaching and guiding someone completely fresh and seeing them grow in proficiency as a result, is very gratifying. I also succeeded in producing one of the councils most innovative digital engagement projects and gaining some credit which is nice too.
Creativity
Whilst last year reigniting my creativity was a focus, this year it has fallen more on the wayside. With my energy levels running low it was difficult to be motivated to paint, edit or write. I know my blog had really lost momentum even with plenty of content ideas in the backlog that I could write about. Mental drain becomes mental block and with baby brain, it can be difficult to even articulate some of the things I want to say some times. It's becoming worse now that my main source of company is a baby for most of the day.
I did, however, try my hand at painting with oil paints for the first time and did my first commissioned artwork. For now, I'm trying to keep practising my painting by making the milestone cards I use to take photos of the bub each month.
Financial
Only a couple of my financial goals have been met. With baby costs of private healthcare, medical bills and general baby equipment no-one will ever tell you that having a baby is a financial investment. Loss of employment, temporary loss of tenants, decreased rental yield and only getting half pay during my maternity leave does not equate to growth in numbers in my bank account. Luckily this was something that we could prepare for and the strategies we set up prior meant that we could weather these financially trying times.
Travel
The Hubs and I finally went on our Cambodia and Vietnam crossover trip that we had been talking about for a while. As avid travellers, it was nice to get away for our babymoon before the craziness of becoming parents. We got to see some beautifully serene places like Sapa and Halong Bay, experience the liveliness of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, participate in Khmer New Year like a local in Siem Reap and meet more of the family in the Hubs family's hometown.
Up in the mountains in Sapa
Cruising in Halong Bay
Cambodian New Year in the motherland
Highlights that have brought me joy:
Welcoming our baby boy into the world and seeing him grow each day
Sharing the love with friends and family
Cambodia and Vietnam trip
Second wedding anniversary
More family time
The birth of two friend's babies
Two 1st birthdays
Two baby showers
Two pregnancy announcements
Discovering the small dog park at Casual Parklands and taking our girls
Being a mentor
3 books and 1 audiobook:
What to Expect When You're Expecting
Barefoot for Families
Save Our Sleep
Mindfulness for Beginners
More podcasts:
The Pregnancy Podcast & 40 Weeks
Pea in the Podcasts
Your Parenting Mojo
Year One
AsianBossGirl
Watching Try Guy videos with the Hubs
Matt D'Avella videos
Balcony garden and indoor plants are continuing to flourish
Lowlights and things to work on:
Pregnancy morning sickness and fatigue
Postpartum recovery and baby blues
Self-inflicted isolation from hosting less due to fatigue and trying to figure out a newborn
Not having a close work team as I did previously
Lack of motivation for creativity and personal projects
Financially weary
It has definitely been a challenging year: physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.
“My biggest struggles were also stemmed from my greatest joy. ”
Here's to hoping that the hardest is now behind me and that 2020 will be one of warmth as I watch my baby grow and bounce back into recovery.
