Hello 2018!

First Blog post of 2018....

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all have had a great holiday and first week of January. Thank you for everyone who wished me and my family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and also for keeping up with my social media and blog post even though I have been taking a break. I am back now though with this the first blog post of 2018! And I thought I would just keep it quite chatty. I know most of my readers are fellow parents who enjoy to read my experiences in motherhood so I thought I would just tell you a bit about Ella-Grace's First Christmas and New Year but also a bit about the first week of January and getting back into routine. I also want to let you know what I have planned for the blog this year. Happy Reading!

Matching Christmas Jumpers and Lots of Toys...

So on the few days up to Christmas I was a bit worried that it wasn't going to go well at all. Ella-Grace was unwell, coughing and sneezing, at one point I had to take her down to the hospital as I was worried she had whooping cough. But luckily she did not have whooping cough and although the night of the 23rd was probably the most dreadful night we have had with Ella-Grace (she cried and did not sleep a wink, thank goodness for Moana , the only thing that calmed her), she seemed to make a miraculous recovery on Christmas Eve afternoon/Christmas day morning so that was great! The best present I could of asked for as I just wanted her to have an amazing First Christmas, which she did. 

Christmas eve was pretty uneventful for her as she was so tired and went to bed quite early but we did manage to squeeze in time to put on and take a picture of our matching pjs that my mum bought us. Pic below of Mummy Elf, Daddy Elf and Santa's Little Helper.

After Ella-Grace was in bed, my whole family watched Polar Express and then just before we went to bed we put out Ella-Grace's gift already for her to see in the morning (except the ones from Santa of course, he hadn't arrived yet).

Christmas morning Ella-Grace slept in, we actually had to wake her for her first bottle of the day. After which we took her into the living room and the look on her face was amazing. I know she didn't know really what was going on or even what Christmas is but I do think babies are good at reading emotion so since we were all positive and merry she felt that and that led to her excitement. She played in her ball pit and we opened half of her presents with her then she got hungry so while she tucked into some breakfast we opened the rest of her gifts and showed her as she ate. The rest of the day was full of food, watching films and playing with toys. It was definitely my best Christmas and Ella-Grace had a great day.

Two things I do want to say about this Christmas is..
1. It was my first Christmas not eating meat and to all the people who think you can't enjoy Christmas dinner  or meals in general really, without the meat you are mistaken. I was definitely satisfied. I did however give in to the dairy filled desserts even though my main meals were vegan but now I am back home I am back to my dairy free/meat free diet.
2. Wow being a parent at Christmas is so tiring! Hats off to my mum for doing it with eight children, I was tired just running round after Ella-Grace and playing with all her toys with her. It was a more busy and less relaxing Christmas than I had ever had before but would not change it for the world I loved it and can't wait for next year.

Those weird few days between Christmas and New Year..

Unfortunately Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were Reece's only days off until New Year so he had to back to work in Aberdeen where as Ella-Grace and I stayed at my parents which is more than an hour away. He returned or New Years Eve and then we all went home together in the evening on New Y|ears Eve but that almost a week without him was strange and we missed him a lot. But not complaining as some people have lost love ones at this time or are without their partners for months on end so I know how lucky we are it was just strange as neither Ella-Grace or I have ever been away from Reece for that long. That week between Christmas and New Year is always weird anyways as you don't really know what to do with yourself, that's how I always feel anyways. But although I did have a bit of an anxious head on as Reece wasn't with me we did have fun with my family and the reunion on New Years Eve was so sweet (even if Ella-Grace was a bit hesitant to go to Daddy at first). 

New Years Eve and New Years Day, Daddy is Back...

As I just mentioned the reunion was sweet. Ella-Grace was a bit confused as to why he had been gone so long and she had become quite clingy to me and my mum but after about half an hour she was happy to give her Daddy a big cuddle. Reece fed her her last bottle at about 8pm and we both put her to bed wishing her a Happy New Year. We then continued to have some food and a drink with my family and played charades (much to Reece's displeasure haha, me and my sister on the other hand love it!). Midnight hit and it was Happy New Year all round, welcome to 2018! Ella-Grace was particularly happy about this as when midnight hit and we had to move her upstairs to our bedroom she decided it was party all night haha. Fair to say Reece and I were shattered when it came to the morning.
New Years Day was our last day at my parents and all the family came round, including Ella-Grace's cousins who she adores and it was so much fun. Then it was back home, meaning the end of the festive season unfortunately. 

First Week of 2018, ups and downs already...

When we got back I was having a bit on anxiety. As much as I love Christmas (and trust me I LOVE Christmas) being somewhere else and not in her regular routine really through Ella-Grace off . She didn't want to sleep in her own bed, she didn't want to nap, she seemed even more unset when Reece left for work because she probably felt he was going away for a long time again, it was all a bit confusing. Which I was expecting but when you have anxiety and routine is what keeps to calm and collected even if you are expecting it you can get overwhelmed. My sister did take Ella-Grace on the 4th of January for a sleepover as Reece and I had a friends night out which was really fun, I love going out with Reece and dancing and being silly with him, reminds me just how much I love him but the next day that turned sour as well as Reece had to go to hospital. Before anyone jumps to conclusions is wasn't because of the alcohol, Reece had actually ripped his stomach lining most likely a week before but didn't know and the alcohol had aggravated it even though it was a small amount he drunk. He was sent back home with painkillers and tablets to help repair his stomach. Obviously the main concern is that Reece gets better that is what I was worried about but at the same time it added another stressor to me as Reece even though he was still going to work when he came home he really had to take it easy which meant majority of the housework tasks as well as Ella-Graces bath and bed routine (which Reece is usually in charge of) and not to mention the masses of unpacking and putting away Christmas presents we had to do was all left to me. I'm not going to lie, I had a few days of crying and being stressed which led me to feel ill and it was all just a total mess. So that is the downs but with downs there is always ups. Thanks to Ella-Grace's new toys and her long morning nap I started to get things done. First priority for me was getting the Christmas decorations down and everything sorted for the new year. A fresh start away from anxiety. Once that was done I tackled all the cleaning and once that was done I just had to keep on top of it so that there was not masses to do. I always find that I am less stressed when I keep myself busy but not overwhelmed so establishing a cleaning schedule is good for me. Through seeing me less stressed and in a routine Ella-Grace seemed to follow suit and we got back to a routine we like which is why I am able to write this for you now as she is napping peacefully in her bed. I even managed to meet some of my new years resolutions already (but I will save that for another blog post). Reece has thanked me so much for keeping on top of everything so he can rest up and to be honest I do feel a bit like superwoman as I have no idea how I have managed to get everything done (I mean I haven't washed my hair in like 5 days but that's the next task) so yeah I am feeling quite proud of myself which is how you should start a new year right? Now I am looking forward to Reece being off on Friday for a whole 9 DAYS so we can do lots of family stuff and take Ella-Grace swimming hopefully, its been a while! So for anyone who is feeling anxious and stressed about the year ahead or even just the week ahead take this as an example of how you can change things around. Just try to be positive things will get better and this can still be a great year. 

What to expect from 'LauraJane Life' in 2018...

So yes that is you up to date with me so far and now I am back in a routine there will be lots of blog posts to come. Here is what to expect.... 

- Monthly Resolution Reviews: In order to encourage me to keep up with my resolutions and keep myself positive I am going to write a monthly blog on resolutions I have completed, started and things I have accomplished each month in 2018. When I get anxious I often find myself thinking I haven't done enough or I am not doing a good job as a mother, fiance, friend or all round person so by writing monthly post on what I have done I think will keep my positive and I thought you would all like to hear about them too. 

-New Vegan Recipes: Just this week I have tried out some new recipes and I am eager to share my new plant based meals with everyone. 

-Ella-Grace updates and Mummy blog posts: Of course this blog was started about my pregnancy, motherhood and beautiful daughter Ella-Grace so she will be at the fore front of most of these blog posts. I am also thinking about doing an 'Advice for New Mums in 2018' post now I am feeling a bit more experienced with an almost 1 year old (can't believe I am saying that!).

AND MORE.. IDEAS ALWAYS WELCOME. 

And that's all for the first blog post of 2018! I hope you liked reading and are going to continue to be part of my little kindness community here on 'LauraJaneLife' I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my blog. Don't forget to follow my social media pages (links above post). Until next time...

Stay Happy Everyone :)!