Oh. My. Goodness. These past five years have been a whirlwind. I contemplated just jumping into writing a new blog as if I haven’t been MIA for the past year-and-a-half, but that’s dang near impossible.

So where has HOPEsaidit been? Glad you asked.

I was still blogging when I had my first son. I fell off a little with my second son. And then I completely leaped off the face of the earth with my third son, who’s now 3 months old.

In between that, I got a promotion at work (a.k.a. more responsibility), moved to a new house and earned a master’s degree. And yes, I expect to be called Master Hope from here on out.

As every blessing was given to me, blogging was placed further on the back burner. I’m the type of person who just puts her head down and finishes a task when the going gets tough, so I didn’t have time to stop and update or post about the craziness of my life.

I still don’t have time to really blog now, but I decided to prioritize this into my life. You gotta make time for what you care about, right? My New Year’s resolution is consistency. And since my year didn’t start until June 1 (because that’s when my fourth trimester ended), I can now start focusing on that.

Fourth trimester? Yes. You’ve been lied to this whole time. Even though the name suggests that there are three parts to a pregnancy (I’m fully aware that the prefix “tri” means three), I’m here to tell you that there’s actually four. And the fourth one is the worst one.

All of my pregnancies were the same. The first trimester meant nausea and extreme tiredness. The second trimester was the best because the nausea was over, I had more energy, and I only gained about 10 pounds. The third trimester is when the weight packed on and my body started slowing down due to all the aches and discomfort.

Oh, but then there’s the fourth trimester.

The fourth trimester begins right after you deliver the baby. You’re swollen, you’re bloated, you’re trying to heal, you’re tired, you’re trying to nurse as your body is aching, you’re trying to rest as the hospital staff keeps popping in to take your vitals and give you useless advice even if this isn’t your first rodeo…

And then you’re released to go home. 

That’s when reality sets in. You have to walk in pain, take care of your kid(s) in pain, look at your still puffed-up-yet-deflated body and realize that all those fast food dishes really do catch up to you. Okay, that last part was probably only relevant to me, but it’s true nonetheless. Oh the disappointment!

And then this “magical experience” they call nursing has to happen nearly every hour. It’s like having to get a shot. You dread it, but it needs to happen. It gets better, but those first times are no bueno (…at least for me).

Even when you get nursing down, you look up and realize that a little human is virtually attached to your body at all times. You can’t do anything alone. And when you do, it has to be rushed and timed perfectly before the sound of crying gradually starts to fill the house.

During fourth trimester, I don’t care or know what day or time it is, and I have about the same three outfits in rotation. Going outside is more of an accomplishment in which my eyes need to get acclimated to being in view of the sun’s rays again.

Also, my contact with other adults is limited to text messages and quick phone calls.

It’s all baby, all the time. Your body is not your own. You may feel like a neglected and tired milking cow, but you somehow need to keep pressing on, especially if you have other kids to care for at home.

Once the baby is on a more regular schedule and feeding doesn’t have to happen every hour on the hour, which is about three months postpartum, you arise from the ashes and realize that you’re gonna make it after all (as you toss your hat into the air).

Man! It’s been a crazy year, but HOPEsaidit is back! I’m for real this time. LOL. I’m going to continue blogging about motherhood, marriage, life, hair and anything else I like.

And guess what? I’m going to a hair salon for the first time in 10 years today! Those of you who know me know this is a YUGE (not just huge) deal, so that’ll be my next blog and podcast.

Yup! Also new to HOPEsaidit are podcasts! I’ll be documenting my silk press and trim, so tune in next week to see whether I’ll be loving or kicking myself. My blog posts will still be viewed here, and my podcasts will be released a few days after that each week on my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on my new Podcast page.

See you soon!