I’ll be honest – I’ve never considered myself a writer, and the thought of writing assignments in school used to send me into a panic. I write as if I’m talking, I may jump around, just bear with me. Figuring out what to write about in my first posts feels a bit daunting. Even coming up with a title is tough! But I think that’s how it goes with anything – recipes, crafting, family life – it’s all to be figured out.
When it comes to starting our little family, it was not just about navigating the newborn stage, but also adjusting to the crazy world that 2020 threw at all of us. We have two kids, whom I’ll lovingly refer to as “5” and “3” (probably forever, because let’s be real, it’s March 2025 and I’m still writing 2024 on everything).
“5” was born just as the world was starting to panic, but we had no clue. As many know, that first month is a blur, having gone through a c-section, not being able to breastfeed, being taught to pump incorrectly and then relearning to pump, it’s overwhelming. Just as we started to figure it out, find our bearings, and be out of baby lockdown, the world shut down, and it was just the three of us.
For me, the difficult part about having a newborn during a time where social interactions were at an all time low, was not being able to gauge how “5” was progressing. We have a lot of nieces and nephews, and I know you aren’t supposed to compare, but when you’re away from those key interactions and Mommy bonding, it made me wonder how I was doing, how “5” was doing. Am I reading enough, are we doing enough tummy time, “5” isn’t using their arms, when will they sit? Being stuck at home, it was all I could think about. At 10 months, it was clear, we needed Early Intervention (EI) – it didn’t bother me, as all I wanted was to get on track and as my husband and I always said, if our kids need it, they get it.
Fast forward a year and “3” came along. We were well under way with Early Intervention with “5”, and the world was opening up. We had our team, and learning to advocate to find therapists that fit our needs was my focus. As “5” was making crazy progress, “3” started to miss milestones, not as significantly, so the question always was do we pinhole “3” because of “5” or do we wait and see. We took the wait and see approach and started (EI) a year later, looking back, I feel we should have started earlier. “3” is very smart, and catches on very quickly, but basic skills are still a task.
While I won’t go into details on any diagnoses, as that’s not the focus of this blog, I’m divulging this early because part of my journey as a Mom was learning tricks to help me get more involved in their growth. Was starting therapy for a 10 month old overwhelming and then repeating it all over for “3”? Yes. Scary? No. We took the approach of we’ll do what it takes, and know it’s the best for them.
The hours are long, but the days are short, and being involved as much as I can was and is my goal.
The last five years have been a bit of a blur, but it’s also been full of joy, and I’m excited to share bits of our journey with you, even if it takes me a minute to figure out what to write next.
Musings & Avocado Toast 