Today is the 7th January 2020… and I have not posted a blog post in almost 3 weeks! My plan for my two weeks December leave was to stockpile blog posts and schedule them over the next few weeks. Erm.. that so did NOT happen! I spent the December leave either 1) on my back on the couch binging all the wonders that Netflix and Showmax have to offer or 2) sorting out baby related matters.

 

Nevertheless I truly feel like writing, but the thought of publishing the same old structure of beauty posts is killing my soul. As much as I love, love, LOVE IT, I feel like writing about myself. And so I took a leaf out of Crazy Mom Journal’s book and decided on a 2019 recap. Here you go!

 

Health

The “Health” section was a funny one in 2019 as I am generally a healthy-ish person but the ONE health issue I dealt with me resulted in me falling pregnant. Funny story. But a story for another day… I actually started writing up this post but as it was so complicated I drafted it and in the interim discovered I was pregnant. I was then hit with my first trimester woes – which you do NOT need me to harp on about again! – and I pretty much did not publish a blog post for 12 weeks. But I WILL aim to publish it. At some point…

A pregnancy health issue I had was losing 9.5KG in the first 13 weeks and being tagged as HG after my 16 week appointment was complete. This meant I suffered health concerns which were picked up in the 20 week scan. If I had been tagged for HG earlier, measures could have been taken to assure we worked on the concerns. But I – I am trying to word this in the least self-sacrificing way possible – thought I was dealing with what was “normal” pregnancy nausea and food aversions. I now know that I was NOT being a drama queen and if I ever fall pregnant again, measures will be put into place to assure I never get to that stage again.

 

Blog

2019 was been a soaring year for Make It Rayne. There were plenty of highs involved as well as a few lows. Highs involved a few travel trips around South Africa, paid work (the golden egg of blogging) with some of my most beloved brands, and just an overall soar in reach, engagement, following etc.

My main low would be not sticking to my goal of posting thrice weekly. Thank you to the brands who have stuck by me and understood the hectic-ness of pregnancy and the struggles that go along with average every-day life! And to those who phone 2 seconds after emailing a press-release, asking where your 1000 word blog post – with curated images for Instagram – is… See ya NEVER!

I have also made the conscious effort to distance myself from online personalities who do not practice what they preach. You want to claim to practice kindness with your kids yet you poke fun at adults online for all to witness? NO THANKS! You shout out about body positivity then you skinny/fit shame in the next breath? SAYONORA.

 

Relationship

My relationship with my partner.. how blessed I am. It could be the pregnancy hormones but I tear up just thinking about how lucky I am to have this man in my life at all. And to actually call him my boyfriend/partner/baby-daddy? I will never be able to thank my lucky stars enough. I could dedicate an entire blog post (heck, I could dedicate an entire website to his awesomeness) to writing about all that he does for me but I won’t be that person.

 

Work

This section is another that deserves an entire post of it’s own. And again, I have started writing one! I think my attention span ran away at some point in this pregnancy.

Very long story short, but I moved jobs at 18 weeks pregnant. I am still in the PR sector but working with brands who are much more in my realm of interest. I love the company, I love my bosses, I love my colleagues, and I love the work environment.

I’m currently 25 weeks pregnant and needing to go off on maternity leave at about 38 weeks, but thankfully the company knew of my pregnancy prior to hiring me. No awkward convos needed to be had…

My new job is also a 5 day a week position as opposed to 4 days a week, which my previous job was. This means I have been able to drop my freelance clients and work a “normal” 9 – 5 job and not have to worry about working after hours with private clients. It feels luxurious!

 

Mindset

I have been a very, very, VERY nervous pregnant person. My mindset has been all over the show this year. Pure elation one moment to pure worry. My mom had to speak to me quite sternly on a few occasions and remind me how stress is just NOT GOOD FOR A BABY. We all know this, but when you are actually pregnant it is difficult to keep in mind.

I will write up a blog post in time (this is the 3rd post I have promised in this post – LOL!) relaying my ways of calming myself down while pregnant. And no, I promise it won’t be generic suggestions like “swimming” or “yoga”. I know those can be immensely helpful but I will come from a more holistic approach and what tactics you can use or purchase to truly calm your mind.

2020 and what it has to offer

Bring it ON!!!! I have about 12 weeks until I go on maternity leave and in those weeks I wish to achieve the following:

  • Excel in my job. I LOVE my brands and I want to do them justice before deserting them for 4 months!
  • At least attempt to reach that blog post goal of 3 posts a week. Or even 2. I will settle for 2 a week!
  • Complete the nursery. We are 90% done. My dad is gifting us our compactum which is the only outstanding piece of furniture and then we plan on adding sticker decals to one of her walls in her nursery. But other than that (and sorting her clothes out) we are doneeee on the nursery front!
  • And apart from those three…. I want to cook this baby to perfection. That is all 🙂

Rayne XX