One year...and the end of the blog...

We had a lovely Christmas. It was fun with Grace - watching her playing with her new toys, reading her new books (well, having them read to her) and taking more and more steps on her own and with us helping. I worked through and Rupes looked after Grace when I was at the office, so they had some good father/daughter time. We got lots of chores done around the house too so it was a good productive break all round.

We saw New Years in at a friend's place - Grace asleep in the portakot upstairs, and she was fantastic, getting woken up at 12.30am to come home and then straight back to sleep. We're getting mainly good nights from her now ranging from 11 to 13 hours depending on her day.

And then, before we knew it, the first birthday had arrived. The 16th of January at 12.01am - she came so close to being the 15th - she would have been if the doctor hadn't paused in her cutting to query me on the other scars on my tummy!

For her birthday we had a few friends and family over - she was her outgoing confident self, and the only thing that really gave her pause was everyone singing to her when the cake came out! It was a really lovely time and we felt like it was our celebration for making it through the first year!

I decided to stop writing this blog when Grace was a year old for a number of reasons - not least being lack of time! We are incredibly blessed - she is a beautiful, spirited, healthy girl. Constantly active, she is alert and curious. And when she snuggles in for a cuddle I feel like the luckiest woman alive. She loves her books...and her favourite is read to her four or five times a day...we know it off by heart now and always groan when she finds it on her bookshelf. I have so many dreams for her future, so many hopes that she will be happy and fulfilled. The days, weeks, months and years ahead seem like a very large gift just waiting to be unwrapped a little at a time.

Thank you for reading. For those friends and family who have been with us throughout this journey, it's been a long long way from there to here, and while I miss those babies that never arrived, I am so content with my wee miracle girl. I think in many ways I appreciate her more knowing how close we came to never having her.

If you have read this blog because you are dealing with infertility, please let me give you a virtual hug and all my hopes for a happy outcome. I have no advice to offer other than be very good to yourself, work on your fitness and be as healthy as you can. I hope your dreams come true like mine have.

If you are reading because you are a new mother then I have lots of advice! Don't sweat the small stuff, don't try and do everything (it won't happen and you'll set yourself up to feel like a failure), read to her and play with her but give her space to learn to entertain herself, and remember through all the times when it feels too hard that each phase will pass. Honestly, it will.

Love and hugs from us.

xxx

PS - Comments will still be delivered to me and this blog will stay up on the net - so if you do want to get in touch with me then a comment on a post should find me.