Bye Bye 2024

How It Started Vs How It's Going

Aw, look at her grow! That second pic is from November, she’s gotten even bigger since! Shoutout to my breastmilk for keeping this cute baby round 💖😂

   

/All the crazy things we did last year/those’ll be the best memories/

So, just like that, the calendar says it’s a new year. I must have blinked and missed it because I have no idea how 365 days could simply come and go the way they did in 2024. Pregnancy? Birth? Sleep? All a distant memory. Except...when I actually stop and reflect on it (looking through my camera roll helps), a flood of memories returns...

The first ultrasound. A big belly. Swollen feet. Boxes and boxes of diapers. Family and friends. Warm wishes. Advice. Water breaking. A nervous car ride. Labor pains. Epidural, sweet epidural. A quick snip of the umbilical cord. A baby on my chest- and LOVE. Leaving the hospital with Aaliyah wearing a onesie two sizes too big. Responsibility. Lots of googling "is it normal when babies [insert normal thing babies do]." Celebrating her first week of life 🎂. Getting the "sunset scaries." Quiet bonding moments. Having an identity crisis 😅. Seeing Aaliyah’s first smile. Hearing her laugh for the first time. Milestone after milestone, and always right on time. Aaliyah was the center of attention for 2024, that’s for sure! Growing quickly every week, becoming a new version of herself every month. 2025 is definitely a "new year, new [her]" as she morphs into a little one year old. I am so grateful for every moment leading up to this one. 

(Aaliyah’s 1st Christmas ornament)

New Year’s Eve

What did we do to celebrate the end of 2024? Well, we actually stayed cozy at home. We had dinner, I had a little photoshoot of Aaliyah celebrating, and then we went to bed way before midnight! It was just a very relaxing night. I was able to get her back on her sleep schedule after all the Christmas fun, so I didn't want to risk resetting it again. Honestly, I did get a little bit of FOMO going on social media and feeling like the world was celebrating without me, and then I immediately felt guilty for feeling that way, because I’m grateful for how I spent it. I’m learning that some things might change forever post-baby, and some things you put on hold only temporarily. It’s safe to say NYE celebrations is one of the temporary ones! Time will fly by, and suddenly I’ll miss spending a cozy night in with this version of Aaliyah! So I’ll enjoy it while I can 💓.

(She did not like that hat 😂)

January 1st, 2025

The new year is like a birthday, when it finally comes around, you don't really feel any different! But it was a nice day anyway. Aaliyah and I drove up to Pismo Beach to walk around and enjoy the sunny day with family. We decided on sushi for lunch, and baby got to have a few slices of grilled chicken from our Yaki Soba. She’s finally much more interested in eating solids- That happened overnight! It makes me really excited for the other things to come, like the transition to cow’s milk when she turns one. If she even likes it, I’d like to gradually make breastfeeding secondary to cow’s milk and eventually ween her off breast milk. As amazing as breastfeeding is, and as dedicated as I’ve been to it, it’s time for me to get a bit of myself back! Almost a year in and I’m only barely starting to feel a little bit like my old self again, so it's something to look forward to. There are a lot of good things to come, and I know 2025 is going to be a good year. I really hope it is for all of us! Anyway, hopefully I haven't lost everyone with my ranting and reminiscing. I’m usually writing as Aaliyah falls asleep and I start to get tired and go off topic here and there. Stay tuned for next week, who knows what crazy thing our favorite baby will do next. 

Sincerely,

Jocelyn