As 2007 came to a close I couldn’t help but think “Good riddance.” It was a stressful year, to say the least, and one that I am glad has wrapped. But we also welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world who has redefined our lives and family, so the year in review cannot be all that bad.

January 2007, like January 2008, was defined by moving boxes. My husband and I purchased our first home, a condominium, last December and started the new year in a new place surrounded by cardboard and sparse furnishings. About two weeks after making the big purchase we learned that I was pregnant and our one-bedroom condo wouldn’t be large enough for a family.

Needless to say there were some boxes we never unpacked.

My first ultrasound in January introduced us to Gummy, the name we gave our growing baby who at the time looked like a gummy bear with short limbs.

Through the spring I dealt with morning sickness that felt like I had just taken the worst boat ride of my life – every day – as well as a family illness that rocked my personal foundation.

The summer brought a new job, the stress of selling a condominium in the current real estate market and a growing body and to-do list. And at a time when most moms to be are setting up the nursery and readying their home to welcome baby, we were packing boxes and beginning to hunt for a new place to call home.

Truth be told, I still haven’t set up the nursery.

Sophia’s arrival put a temporary stop to workplace and moving stress as I took a few weeks just to be mommy. We soon got back on the housing horse, though, and finally found a new home, another condominium, in a new town and got ready to move.

The week we were to close on our new place Sophia was hospitalized with an urinary tract infection. She was released from the hospital the day before we signed our closing documents.

We moved in November 2007, but still have not moved in. We’re living in a larger home, three bedrooms this time, and are slowly unpacking and settling in.

My ten-week maternity leave ended with the blink of an eye and I returned to work a week after we moved.

We traveled to visit my family for Thanksgiving. My mom hosted us and a number of friends for a wonderful meal. That weekend we visited my great-great aunt and uncle and despite debilitating arthritis, Sophia’s great-great-great aunt held her and played like I am sure she did with me when I was just a baby.

My husband’s grandmother died the Saturday after Thanksgiving just prior to our visit with my aunt and uncle. Sophia’s first introduction to most of her relatives took place at the funeral home.

Our daughter’s first Christmas was sweet and peaceful. My mother stayed with us and helped make the holidays enjoyable by making sure we had some eats and sweets and breakfast on Christmas Day. We didn’t put up a Christmas tree because I cannot seem to find it, but we did plug in a small fiber-optic tree my in-laws picked up at a drug store a few years back. Who knew it would be baby’s first tree.

We spent another new year at home in a new place full of cardboard boxes, but this time we included a beautiful growing baby girl. Unlike last year when Max and I drank wine and toasted the new year, my first and last of 2007 until Sophia was born, this year we needed caffeine just to stay awake and watch the ball drop. 

I’m learning to juggle life like a working mom. I’ve dropped a few balls, no New-Year’s pun intended, but think I’ll get the hang of it soon. We’re figuring things out one day at a time and we have a fresh year ahead to learn, grow, play and enjoy life for a while - hopefully with a little less stress than in 2007.

Posted by Nicole McMullin in • Parenting • New Momma
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