On 15th March, at 9:46am, a new chapter for our family began when Dan and I became parents. I have to admit, that growing up, I’d never imagined my first few moments of Motherhood would be spent unconscious on an operating table. But, that’s life – totally unpredictable!
Elise Ann Claire weighed 6lb 13oz and has stolen our hearts. Even with a face covered in milk residue, she’s gorgeous. Though how she managed to get milk residue on the very tops of her cheeks I’ll never know! Our Lissie Bear isn’t just beautiful to look at, she has a lovely temperament and seems to be a very happy, contented soul. She makes the cutest little noises too!
Dan and I are both loving parenthood, though I could do without the nighttime cluster feeds! We’re working brilliantly as a team and are excited to guide and nurture this little life.
These past few weeks have singled new chapter for our family in a couple of other ways too.
Thanks to everyone’s kindness and generosity, we hit the target for the SmartDrive fundraiser! The amount of support we’ve had has been amazing and I’m so excited for the family adventures, as well as mundane activities it will allow me to do with Elise.
The SmartDrive MX2+ has been ordered and, if it isn’t here by the time Dan’s back at work (and this post goes live), it will only be a few days after. Gerald Simonds, who I worked with to select the right power assist wheel option for us, set up an extended test drive for me. They’ve said they’ll collect their demo unit when the come to fir my SmartDrive to my wheelchair, which is very kind of them.
If it weren’t for having the loan SmartDrive, and my own on order, I’d be really struggling right now. Holding, lifting and feeding Elise has put a lot of staring on my hands, wrists, elbows and back. Without the SmartDrive, I wouldn’t be able to manage smooth surfaces out of the house (like the supermarket) and would be struggling in the house too. I knew motherhood would put additional strains on my body, so this hasn’t come as a surprise.
I’m so grateful to have such an amazing piece of equipment. It’s going to allow me to do so many things that otherwise would either be impossible, or would cause extreme pain and fatigue. I know I’ve said this a lot, but I can’t say it enough – Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared and otherwise supported us and made this possible.
Photo of the demo model
I’ll be sharing updates on the GoFundMe page for everyone who has donated. These are emailed to donors who want email updates. I’ll also be sharing the adventures the SmartDrive has allowed us to go on via my YouTube channel, Instagram Stories (added to the SmartDrive highlights) and our Family Instagram Account – @thescfamily. I’m sure there will be blog posts too, so I’ll be collating everything under the ’SmartDrive Adventures’ section of my navbar.
If this wasn’t enough excitement, Dan got a new job! He’ll now be working at a school much closer to home. This means he’ll be leaving the house later and getting home earlier! No longer will I see my husband at the earliest 7pm. From now on, Dan will be home at 5pm at the very latest! Woohoo! This has come at the perfect time for our family.
Photo of the demo model
While we have entered a new chapter for our family, we won’t be turning our backs on things from our story so far. I love my blog and won’t be giving it up. But, as our family life has evolved, so will my blog. There will be parenting blog posts and probably fewer beauty posts, since I won’t have the time or the energy for a full face of makeup for anything other than special occasions and events. There won’t be as many blog posts either – I can’t imagine I’ll be able to manage three posts a week, and that’s ok. Elise’s my priority.
I’m excited to share this new chapter for our family with you all.
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