Hi! My name is Lissie Nee and I'm so happy to share a bit about my life with you today. I live in Cedar Park with my best friend and husband, Chris, and our 11 month old little girl, Jacqueline. I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Austin almost 10 years ago, mainly for higher income with a lower cost of living. However, I also loved that it was a city full of people my age and I wasn't finding a man in small-town New Jersey.
Two years after I moved here, I met my man but it wasn't until another two years passed that I saw him again and we started dating. He likes to tell you he knew he was going to marry me that first time we met and he was just letting things marinate. I like to believe it, cause, well...what girl wouldn't?!
In 2012, after two years of marriage, our vows got put to the test when my dad was diagnosed with and died of cancer (within 3 months) and Chris got laid off from his job. We decided to take the season of change and run with it – we sold our house, furniture and lots of belongings and bought one-way tickets to Sydney, Australia! The plan was to start on the other side of the world and work our way back for the next year or so. All of our friends at home were having babies, but we wanted some adventure before we settled down.
We felt great relief about our decision to postpone children after we stayed with friends in Australia who had a 2.5 yr old and 1 year old twins. They were cute, loveable, exhausting anchors that we happily cut off when we headed to New Zealand. Our travels were fun and carefree, and it was so great to have that time with each other with no distraction. Of course, no tv, no stress and lots of time means it was like a looooong honeymoon so it wasn't terribly shocking when we found out I was pregnant.
Though I was hoping to get knocked-up more towards the end of our travels, I was relieved to have a legitimate excuse for the insane mood-swings I'd started to experience. Crying over silly things like having to wear a cover-up for modesty's sake in a small village in Indonesia isn't my norm, so I knew something was wrong.
Though our plans were to continue traveling and having check-ups in major cities, morning sickness quickly took over my world. The humidity, weird smells and foods of Southeast Asia didn't help. When I found myself running across streets or out of the train at random stations to throw up in a somewhat discreet place, we knew it was time to come home.
It's hard to believe all that was a year and a half ago! But before this post turns into a book, here are a few bullet points to bring you up to speed:
~When we moved back, we bought a house at the Georgetown auction and have been fixing it up since, much more slowly since Jacqueline was born. Moving in a week before her birth, I insisted on having a toilet upstairs, but otherwise, I like to remind Chris that he's lucky he's married to me. ;)
~We finally learned the gender of our baby when Jacqueline arrived 10 days late. I had her at the Austin Area Birthing Center, but once you hit 42 weeks, the birthing centers can't deliver so I had two acupuncture sessions to help move things along. Natural, drug-free birth was intense, especially with back-labor, but I knew my body was designed for it. Also, I'm glad they don't have drugs there or else I may've changed my tune!
~I've always wanted to be a mommy and this year has not disappointed me! Don't get me wrong; we've had trials with the joy. When Jacqueline was 2 months old, her sudden 105 temp ended up being a UTI that we fought off with essential oils (hence my obsession with them). Making the call on what goes into her body was and is scary! More recently, I've struggled with a decrease in milk supply and we've had to supplement with homemade formula. However, we are a pretty chill family so I'm not usually one to worry too much with the ups and downs of parenting . If you ever need anyone to talk you off the ledge, I'll be there with a glass of wine, happily reassuring you that you and your baby are normal and fine!
~I'm still nursing and, even with J's 1st birthday approaching, I'm not sure when I'll stop. I haven't really thought about it too much, other than we won't be a scene from the movie “Grown Ups”.
Thanks for reading and I hope to meet you at a LWB event soon!
Love,
Lissie
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