What a year! 2017: The year I became a Mother.

It’s been an incredibly fast, but special year. Each year seems to fly by faster than the previous. They say it’s a sign of age… so I just hope I’m getting wiser!

Half the year I was pregnant and the other half I’ve been a Mom… it’s been one of my biggest adventures yet!

I love doing a round up of the year, especially as there’s an exciting tingle in the air as 2018 is standing stage right, waiting to make it’s grand debut at midnight tonight.

Here is my 2017 in review and it was definitely a year of posts that reflected my life – lots of pregnancy and motherhood:

January:

• I wrote about my Pregnancy story, since I hit the 12 week mark around Christmas 2016 and finally wrote about it.
• My sister came to visit me and the bump, from London. She also got to be at one of my scans.
• I wrote about what happened while I kept my pregnancy a secret.
• How to be productive. 
• We celebrated my husband, Sox’s birthday. 

February:

• I had a crazy birthday celebration. Really crazy!!
• I shared how I told my family about my pregnancy. 
• A game changer that really helped me was: the best pregnancy pillow ever.
• Sox, the bump and I had a romantic beach picnic for Valentines Day. 
• I hit the half way mark and shared my pregnancy highs and lows. 
• We spent a wonderful Sunday exploring Cape Town – Sunday Crayon Boxes.

March:

• My Gender Reveal post: It’s A…
• We celebrated our One Year Wedding Anniversary. 

April:

• 11 Things I Didn’t Expect in my Pregnancy turned into a pretty popular post.
• I entered my Third Trimester and wrote about my experience. 
• I wrote about my fears of being a career woman vs a Mom.
• I landed up in hospital, thanks to my Fibroid and spoke about what was happening in a Baby G update. 

May:

• Hey Mom-to-be, it’s OK… is a must read for all Mom-to-be’s.
• My top 10 pregnancy must-haves.
• What’s in my hospital bag was a highly requested post. I split what I was taking for myself and what I was taking for Baby G into 2 posts.
• What’s in Baby G’s Hospital Bag. 
• I shared my BIGGEST pregnancy revelation… 

June:

• I gave my final Baby G update and answered some FAQ.
• I shared my incredible Baby Shower, which happened on the 20th May. 
• On the 15th of June, we welcomed Baby George into the world and I shared our story and photos. 

This was when my blog took a mini break as I was on maternity leave. I did, however, get one or 2 posts out.

July:

• Our Nursery reveal. 

August:

• I shared George’s Birth Story. 
• My sister and brother in law flew in from London to meet their nephew and we had quite the adventures! Part 1 and Part 2. 
• I went back to work when George was just 10 weeks old. It was the hardest thing and if I’m completely honest with you, it was far too soon.
• This was another highly requested post: Baby Hospital Bag Update – What I’d REALLY take. 
• All new Mom’s… this is my Number 1 Must-Have for Baby. 

September:

• Happy Spring – Life Lately update. 
• 5 Life Hacks.
• I was extremely raw and honest about my breastfeeding experience. 

October:

• Another popular request – how to colour correct tired skin. It’s the best trick I use almost daily (well, when I do wear make-up.)
• We decided to store George’s stem cells and shared our story: Cryo-Save Stem Cell Storage.
• Life Lately are always great for my updates.

November:

• I decided to go public about how I was struggling to lose the baby weight and it was actually wonderfully refreshing (a little nerve wrecking) to share. I made it my mission, and by making it public it also holds me accountable!
• I updated the mission here and here. 
• I posted about how I want to raise George. Raising Respect. 

December:

• We had our annual Secret Santa 2017 Party. 
• George’s First Christmas.
• How we celebrated our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

In doing my recap, I’ve realised something.

80% of my highlights were about my experiences and my honest, vulnerable posts; not the products I’d tested and tried. While I really enjoy sharing products and outfits that I love; I definitely want to write more about my experiences, life in general and find the balance. I guess I want to go back to basics, back to how my blog started before there were words like “influencers” and “sponsored posts.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to work with existing and new brands, but in a story telling way!

Thank you to each and every one of you for coming back to Vanilla Blonde and reading my posts. This year was sporadic in posts, with the new baby, but I appreciate your loyalty and understanding!

Wishing you a wonderful, safe and prosperous 2018! xxx