where it all begins
I figured since this blog is brand new, I would start off by telling everyone why I started this blog! It is quite a long story so I will try and keep it short. But before I go into any outfit posts or other fun posts, I felt like sharing a bit of myself was a more appropriate start to what I hope will be a long journey of blogging.
About a year and a half ago my life was pretty normal. I had a great job at a small private school working in marketing and social media. My husband and I had been trying to have a baby for about a year and a half but hadn’t had much success. We were literally about 6 days from meeting with our fertility specialist to discuss IVF treatments when I took a test and found out I was pregnant. It was one of the most exciting days of my life.
Even though I had a horrible time with morning all day sickness, that seemed so small in the big picture and I could only focus on how incredible our lives would be in just a few short months. On our 20 week ultrasound, my husband and I went in so happy to see photos of our little one. We came out with tears in our eyes and some of the scariest news we could ever imagine.
Our little girl had a heart defect. One that would change our whole course of pregnancy and later, our course of life. We could no longer deliver or receive care in Savannah (where we lived) and we would have to travel to Atlanta for the delivery and heart surgeries.
Those next few months were some of the toughest of my life. Between trips back and forth to Atlanta, my husband spent most of his days researching everything he could on her conditions while I just tried to hold back tears. Every. Day. We ended up moving into the Ronald McDonald House a few weeks before my due date so that we didn’t risk delivering in Savannah. The house was absolutely wonderful and we are so incredibly lucky to have them.
At 38 weeks pregnant, our little girl was delivered via c-section with a team of ICU doctors by her side. She was immediately transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where she had her first heart surgery at 2 days old. Not only was I in a hospital that I was completely unfamiliar with, but my new baby was miles away. I didn’t get to hold her or even feel her against my skin.
After only 10 days in recovery, our strong, amazing and perfect baby girl was released and we could finally take her home. She came home with a feeding tube, a heart rate monitor and a monitor to track her oxygen levels. Those first few weeks were an absolute blur filled with sleepless nights and emotional days. We had a home nurse and doctor’s appointments every day to make sure she was recovering well. She wasn’t allowed to be in doctor’s offices so we had to go in before they opened for all of our appointments. If she got sick, it was life threatening. She had to stay at home and only family could stop by.
Because of this, she obviously couldn’t be in daycare, so I had to leave my job. Leaving my job was a decision I didn’t really have, but knew that it was the absolute best thing I could do for my daughter. Hopefully blogging will give me that outlet I need to keep my creative juices flowing 🙂 Since then we have relocated to Winter Park, Florida in order to be close to a children’s hospital and we are now expecting our 2nd baby in March!
As for Brayden, we have always known that she would have to have additional surgeries. She had her second heart surgery in July of last year and will have another around her 3rd birthday. I have so much faith in her team of doctors and know that we have done everything we can to get her to the best possible place she can be. So I know things will be okay. She is amazing. She is the strongest person I have ever met and I can not imagine my life without her.
Thank you so much for listening and supporting me in this new venture!
