Well, after what feels like a really, really long time, I am back! And I have a baby, and different hair (mommy makeover, yay!), and a new body (well… not pregnant), and so many things to share that I don’t even know where to begin!

As I’m writing this, it’s been exactly two weeks since I’ve had Asa, and motherhood really isn’t exactly what everyone says it is. Other than the “you’ll be tired all the time” part. That… definitely true. But I don’t feel like it has dramatically changed my life. It’s just… normal. Normal to be looking over at the baby currently sleeping on the couch next to me, normal to be caring for him, cooing over him, feeding him, changing him… much like getting married wasn’t a dramatic change to get used to, having a baby has not been a huge turn of events in life.

It just feels natural. Perhaps because I’ve wanted to be a wife and mother my entire life, because I had nine months to prepare before he was actually here, because I’ve been pretty relaxed and not paranoid or afraid of being a parent… I don’t know. I just look over at that baby and it’s not a shock. He belongs in my life.

I think the biggest surprise has been how much more love I have felt for my husband because we have a baby. I didn’t feel that rush of love they say you’ll feel when you first see your child — obviously, I loved him immediately and I was so glad to finally meet him, and I definitely adore him to no end, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It was just… quietly there. But I did feel it for Mr. Owl. I am infinitely more in love with my husband now than I was the day we got married, and I hope that’s always the case. It might sound odd to some people to say I always want to love my husband more than my kids, but I firmly believe that’s how it should be in order for our kids to have stable lives. After all, I chose my husband first, and he will be with me long after our kids grow up and leave the house. 
The other surprise to me has been a great one: I have lost all of the baby weight, and it’s still going down. I still have a mushy belly, obviously, because I haven’t started exercising at all, and all of the weight loss has been solely from breastfeeding. It’s really amazing how much that one simple thing can do! I’ve started to lose weight from my hips, which is my biggest problem area, weight-loss wise.

It helps that I’ve been about 90% Paleo since Asa has been born, since he is definitely affected by what I eat, but it’s not like I’m sitting here dieting, at all! I eat a good amount of food throughout the day, supplemented by lots of healthy fats and carbs to keep my body well nourished.   But enough about that! I want to talk about this outfit a little bit! I am going to try to post Valentine’s Day outfit ideas from now until Valentine’s day, going from casual to formal to retro to… who knows what… and I think this dress is the perfect start. Mr. Owl picked it out, actually, while we were searching through the sale racks at Target looking for some good nursing options — now that I’ve got a baby to feed, I have to have easy access to nurse him. Button downs and loose necklines, here we come! — and I wasn’t sure I would like the high-low hemline, but it surprised me. I think this outfit would be perfect for a casual coffee date on Valentine’s Day. It’s just cute enough to impress, but laid back enough that it’s not screaming “it’s Valentine’s Day, romance me!” My husband was also a big part of the new hair; I have been wanting a haircut for months now, and he was looking through old pictures of when we first started dating and I had bangs, and he suddenly said “You should get bangs again! Then it’ll be like when we first met!” More or less, anyway. My hair was quite a bit shorter than this.

But it surprised me because he’s been saying for a long time that he doesn’t like bangs. He definitely likes my hair, though. Which is good, because he asked for it, haha! I love it, too, though! I’d been secretly wanting to re-cut my bangs for a while, but hesitated because for all I thought, he hated bangs.

And I can reach my feet again! When I took these pictures, it was much more brutally cold than I had expected, and I should have been way more bundled up. Don’t let the sunlight fool you; my hands were nearly immobile with cold by the time I was done taking pictures, and I wasn’t even outside for that long.
 

Target dress | Thrifted belt | JC Penney boots

I’m so, so happy to be back to blogging! I’ve missed wearing pretty clothes — this was only the second time since at least the 18th of January that I have worn anything other than pajamas or yoga pants — and doing my makeup (again, in trying to be ready to have a baby, I went sans makeup until he was born — didn’t want a streaky face to worry about!) and taking pictures, even if it is too cold to be outside.

I hope you have all had a wonderful few weeks! Thank you to all of my guest  bloggers for taking over while I’ve been away!

Happy Friday!

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