Hello, and WELCOME to Danielle’s Diary. In other words…life lately. I’ve been wanting to start this series on my blog for quite some time now and I figured with all I have to share today, it’s time to get the ball rolling. One of my favorite things about this job is getting to connect with all of you. It makes me feel like I’m apart of your day, and also that I’m including you in mine. However, I find myself having a lot to share sometimes and not having the time to do it, or not wanting to make my stories a million miles long at the top of your screen on Instagram. Since I have this blog (that was just renovated btw!), I figured I ought to utilize it by sharing all these thoughts with you that I get from time to time. It’ll be a way for me to share what’s happening, give you updates, go into more details about things, without the pressure of being recorded on a timer or feeling the need to make it quick. Think of it as a more relaxed Instagram story without all of the videos!
My goal is to do these from time to time, but not on a certain schedule. Just whenever life updates arise, I have things to share or talk about, or when I just need to share some thoughts. With everything going on in my life and wanting to keep you all up to date on every detail that I can, without further ado…here’s what life has been like lately!
First off, it’s October. What. Next week we’ll already be halfway through the month. This whole year for me felt like it was going by really slow. When I was in my phase of being sick everyday (and I do NOT miss that one bit) I would tell Tim that the days were moving slowly, but time as a whole was flying by. I still whole heartedly agree with that statement, as I spend most of my days working on to-do lists and getting things done, being in the moment and really watching the days go by…if that makes sense. Then when you take a step back, look at things, the days are getting crossed off and count downs are going by quicker than I can keep up. I find myself having to remind myself daily that this time of life that I’m in is what I’ve always longed for and dreamed of. I have seriously waited for what feels like an eternity to be pregnant. Be a wife. Live in a house. Play (dog) mom. And here I am…doing it everyday. Especially with this year being 2020 (we all know what that means), I’m really trying to find more gratitude in the everyday.
This year has been…interesting, to say the least. Is that the right word? I’m not really sure–and I don’t know if anybody knows the best word to describe what 2020 has brought to us all. One of the reasons I’m trying to really make it apart of my “routine” if you will, is because 2020 has actually been one of the best years of my life, and mine and Tim’s life together. We got to see our house get finished being built, we moved into our first home, celebrated one year of marriage, got pregnant–those are probably our top moments of this year and some of the best things to happen in someones life. It’s hard to write those things, even talk about them, and not feel a little sense of guilt. With today’s events not just happening near me, but worldwide, it forces me (everybody I think) to really count their blessings. The biggest relief for me at least, with this year being the way it is. is knowing that I’m not the only one who is going through these feelings. Not just about having all these positive things with everything being negative–but everything. The virus, the pandemic, the lockdowns, the fires, I mean…the list goes on. Doing my morning routine (which I’ll be doing a separate post on!) has really helped ease my stress when I wake up, and helped me to start the day on the right foot. I read my devotional, play a few worship songs (sometimes a lot) and say to myself some mantras. I now notice a big difference if I skip a step or do something else first before doing those things.
Along with trying to remind myself to practice gratefulness, deal with the feelings of 2020, and enjoy the everyday moments–I’m also pregnant! Ha, as you all know. Unfortunately though, at my 20 week appointment I got some news that I didn’t want to hear. Baby boy is healthy and doing great (as he has been this whole time) but mama is not (as I have been this whole time lol!). I mentioned to my midwife and ultrasound tech that was doing my anatomy scan that I had been getting braxton hicks and feeling a lot of pressure “down there”. They went ahead and took a look to make sure all was well, and they ended up discovering why I had been feeling so uncomfortable. I have the beginning of placenta previa. For those that don’t know what it is, it’s when your placenta covers your cervix. In severe cases, it completely covers your cervix and if it doesn’t move, the only way to safely get baby out is via c-section. As I’ve mentioned on stories, I am planning on having an unmedicated vaginal birth. Since my last appointment, I’ve had to take it really easy and I have a whole long list of things I can’t do that include lifting things, working out, basically doing any movement that isn’t walking is prohibited. This is in hopes that it will help my partial previa in not getting worse. They did tell me it wasn’t much reason to worry about at this point because he does have some time to grow, and things are still moving inside. I also mentioned that its partial–so in no way is my entire cervix covered right now. It’s basically just right up against it, starting to form which is how placenta previa happens. I have my next appointment here soon, so I’m hoping to get some good news at that one and the following one, in hopes that I don’t have to go on bed rest. Which will be the case if it continues to worsen by the time I hit 28 weeks. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated towards this!
Thinking about next week automatically relaxes me, so I am hoping that my baby moon (which mainly consists of laying by the pool and lounging) helps my placenta scoot its way over. 😉 We leave next week to cross another state off our list and I couldn’t be happier! I am SO looking forward to a week off of work and getting to be able to truly relax. I told myself that with this being my last vacation before becoming a mom, I need to fully take the week off. Not sneak in work, not spend the whole time taking photos, not answering emails and waking up early. Gee, writing that out just puts a huge smile on my face because boy, do I need it!
Besides all those thoughts though, I have done quite a bit of shopping. I just uploaded a recent amazon buys blog post that I’ll link for you here. I was also able to get my hands on my dream pregnancy bra because its WIRELESS! Yup, wireless. And it still fits and works like a dream. PR packages have been coming in non-stop and taking over our kitchen table–no joke! You can follow me on Instagram here to follow along on stories. Baby boy’s nursery is also coming along as it is basically almost finished! I linked everything that I’ve bought along with my inspiration linked for you here. Another thing I’m really enjoying right now are my Beauty Counter products. You can shop with me over at beautycounter and if you need any product recommendations, don’t hesitate to ask! We’re eating our last Hello Fresh meal of the week as well tonight. If you want to try it and get $40 off your first box, click here to sign up! Until next time…
