A few days after she was born, Karis Leigh was diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism which means her thyroid is under active and not releasing enough hormone. Fortunately the doctors picked it up when she was 5 days old and she could begin to receive treatment for it a week later (a pill, crushed and given to her with some milk). Of course I was a hot mess when I found out about it, but now looking back 1 year later, I see how it has not affected Karis at all – we don’t even think about it after she has taken her pill in the morning. Every mom dreams about seeing her perfect newborn baby for the first time. No one wants to hear “I’m sorry, but there is something wrong with your baby!” But I am so thankful that God has her in the palm of His hands and that she is doing well now!

2. What has been the most rewarding part of this past year for you?

Man, I am so proud of myself for breastfeeding for such a long time! I exclusively breastfed for the first 3 months and then started to include a formula bottle after that because I was not pumping enough to leave at home with her when I returned to work. But our breastfeeding journey lasted all of 8 months and it has been the best thing ever! I loved every moment of it. Okay, maybe not the eina moments. But everything else… loved it!

3. How do you juggle working while being a Mommy? 

I am a FTWM and would LOVE to be a WAHM! The juggling takes some acquired skill and serious spreadsheeting! I am thankful that my eldest is 13 years old and that my hubby is very hands on. This makes things so much easier because I have so much help (even though I am STILL the go-to person for just about anything in our house!) I also love our routines. It helps to keep a sense of normalcy when we have a lot going on. I have certain morning and evening routines that I wouldn’t change for anything because it helps me to get all the small stuff (prepping babies food etc.) out of the way so that I can enjoy the big, important stuff (quality time with the fam!)

 4. You are also a blogger – tell me more about it…why you started it… and how you manage to keep it going.

I started blogging in 2011 because I realized that there are just not enough characters in a Facebook status update. I created my blogger account and pretty much just blogged for myself and whoever stumbles across my page, but in Jan this year (while on Maternity Leave), I was chatting to a pal and thought, “you know what? I’ve learnt a lot, I’ve grown a lot and I have a lot to share (and a lot to learn!) so I’m going to share my blog with the world!” And here I am 🙂 I try to blog at least 3 times a week (work load permitting) and I pretty much just say what’s on my mind. The reviews and all of that are pretty cool, but I don’t care much about stats and who is on whose list. I know it’s important and it’s cool to have a lot of followers but I find that to be so boring. I care about sharing the real me and I care about learning from the real people who have something to share after reading my posts. So that is what I focus on.

5.Have you done anything special to record baby’s milestones (sitting up, crawling, first tooth etc) throughout this year? 

I have a “journey journal”… something that I had started to write in from the moment I first found out I’m pregnant. I’m sentimental like that! I write letters to Karis in it, telling her about how me and her dad met and life lessons that I’ve learnt. I write prayers in it and I keep special photos in it. I’ve blogged about it once. It’s such a special way to stay connected to your unborn baby and I am sure it will make a sweet gift when she turns 21! I also do a monthly mini “photoshoot” at home, to document her growth every month.

6.Is there anything new that you’ve learnt about yourself since you’ve become a parent? 

My baby girl has taught me that I have the ability to practice extreme patience. If you know me, you’d know that I am super independent and I prefer doing things myself because I have schedules for dayssss. But my girl has totally turned my world around and caused me to loosen up a bit, which I am sure my husband appreciates hahaha

7. Your baby is now officially a toddler! Are you ready for what this new chapter has to bring – walking, running, talking and the good old tantrums 🙂 ?

I am SO ready! I cant wait to hear what she has to say! We have 2 older boys and all they do is play XBox and talk soccer with their dad, so I am ready for some good ol girlyness!

 8. What did you do for your little ones first birthday?

We had a cake and tea thing for the family. But we put most of the attention to her Cake Smash photoshoot which we done with CutePix on the 17th October. Michelle had some pretty rad ideas, which I loved intensely! 🙂 They included tutus, carnivals and kissing booths! Eeek!

Thank  you Luchae and Karis Leigh for featuring

xxx