It seems like I've been taking a break away from my blog forever! December and the start of January are always so hectic that I really needed some time away just to digest everything and enjoy myself without feeling too much pressure.
Christmas gave me that time away. Ryan and I, together with my parents, went away to Center Parcs for a week. I cannot tell you how lovely it was to just be able to sit, do nothing and watch the world go by without feeling guilty for it. Unlike some years, I didn't have a jam-packed schedule, which meant that I made optimum use of the sofa, and just generally made the most of being a lady of leisure for seven days.
The new year started with a bang....literally. After a lovely new year's eve spent with Ryan's family, I decided that it just wasn't going to be eventful enough unless I fell down the stairs. I did the ultimate in a drop stop and roll from the top of our stairs to nearly the bottom, landing spectacularly on my arse and giving myself one hell of a fright. Thankfully, after a few days of an incredibly sore leg, and slightly puffy ankle, both myself and Baby Ginger were fine. Although, 17 days on, the bruise on my leg still hasn't gone away!
Let's just say trying not to be as clumsy has risen to the top of my resolutions list. And thankfully, I haven't done anything as silly since. Even though I am well and truly into the third trimester, I have kept stumbling to a minimum, and aside from the odd bit of bother putting on a sock or picking something up from the floor, I am actually feeling pretty good.
Which goes hand in hand with my other resolution. To be more positive. If you read this post, then you'll know that at the start of my pregnancy, I suffered from a little bout of anxiety. That has resurfaced a little bit lately, but now that I am officially on maternity leave, I intend to take some time out to practice some hypnobirthing techniques to help keep my stressyhead-ness under control. As yet, we don't know what kind of birth I will be going for, but irregardless, I think having something to turn to to get me through those moments of worry will be immensely helpful.
The biggest thing to have happened over the last few weeks is me turning 30. To be honest I really wasn't looking forward to it. I always pictured a night I wouldn't remember to celebrate, but being up the duff coupled with my birthday being on a Monday, this clearly wasn't going to happen. Nevertheless, the Saturday before, Ryan and I, together with my in-laws went to Wahaca for a pre-birthday lunch (which was preceded with lots of tears from me after a shoddy visit to a local hairdressers - drama, drama, drama!) With every intention to go out for a meal on the actual day, Ryan and I ended up getting takeaway and watching TV and then we hosted a dinner party the following weekend, which definitely made up for the lack of major celebrations during the week.
My maternity leave started on 15th January. I made the decision to start it at an earlier point (30 weeks) because, quite frankly, I didn't know how I was going to feel. With a left side that naturally has tighter joints, there was no guessing what was going to happen in terms of feeling more pain (my back has already been playing silly buggers with me for ages). Add a low-lying placenta into the mix and a potential house move, I didn't want to feel bombarded, especially should there be a chance I deliver early. Thankfully we are going for a scan next Saturday to check the status of my placenta, so fingers-crossed we can start to formulate a better plan after that!
Oh, and did I mention my blog makeover? With a beautiful header by Jemma, followed by lots of research by me how to do certain design related things, I am really pleased with the revamp and feel fully prepared for my 2017 relaunch.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
