Celebrating Baby’s First Year – Bailey

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When Alyssa and Aidan received an invitation to Bailey’s First Birthday party, I was in total shock that a year had already gone by since this little man was born!

Bailey is the first born child of Kelly and Jakim. Jakim and Kurt have been good friends for over a decade, he was Kurt’s Bestman at our wedding & Kurt at his!

Both Kurt and I will never forget the day Jakim told us he had met his future wife, Kelly.

I’ve never seen a man more in love and a few weeks later when we met Kelly, we could understand why. Kelly is one of the  happiest, bubbly and positive people I’ve ever met. Kelly always has a smile on her face and is really fun to be around.

When Bailey came into this world, Kelly and Jakim easily slipped into the role of parents. It’s such a beautiful thing to see. It’s amazing how children complete us and it’s so evident when you see this family!

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Kelly took the time to reflect on the past year and has shared her thoughts with me:

1. What would you say has been the most challenging part of the past year for you?

Parting with my sleep!

I generally need about 8-10 hours of sleep to function, but this past year has taught me to cope with ALOT less. Breastfeeding was another challenge that LOOKED so easy. The pain wasn’t that bad, but the duration felt like forever. Fortunately, I was able to breastfeed exclusively for 7 months before Bailey decided he had had enough.

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

The most rewarding part of the past year was hearing his sweet voice saying “mama” for the first time. That word just lights up my life. That word makes it all worth it…

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3. How do you juggle working full time and being a Mommy?

Fortunately, I work flexible hours. I work from home two days a week and I’m in the office for three days a week. I prefer to savor our morning time before daddy drops him off at grandma’s house (3km from our house) at 8:30 for the day until about 5pm.

A routine is key and we seldom stray from it. Why change something that works? I have a fantastic support system: Bailey’s Dad works from home too and is extremely hands on. My mother and father’s dream of becoming grandparents have been fulfilled after 6 years and my brother and sister are more than happy to babysit whenever mommy and daddy need a night out.

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

To be honest, I started full steam… but daddy is better at recording milestones than I am.

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

I am a planner by nature, and becoming a parent has taught me that not everything can be planned sometimes you just have to go with it. I can’t help but giggle to myself when I think of how we planned to have an August baby, but Bailey decided that he wanted to be fashionably late and made his entrance into the world in September.

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6. Bailey 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 excited for what’s in store for us. Bailey is like a sponge and picks up words and mannerisms so quickly. I just love watching him grow into his own person.

7. How did you celebrate Bailey’s first birthday?
We celebrated his first birthday party with a circus themed party. He has quite a few friends and by the looks of the pictures, fun was had by all 🙂

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1 Comment

  1. […] (you may remember her from the (Celebrating Baby’s First Year series) has now been named the “Salad Whisperer” because at every occasion, be it a braai or […]

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