Yep, today is the day. I am finally writing my 100th blog post. With over 21k page views, 35 followers, & many loyal readers (thank you for your Facebook messages, emails, & texts!) I can't believe what this blog has grown into & what a blessing for me it truly is.
Let me just start by saying that when I started this blog I was laid up at home after our motorcycle accident & I had been so bored out of my mind & spending way too much time on Pinterest when I found the first blog I ever read, Little Baby Garvin. She was my inspiration, hands down. I loved her chalkboards, & at the time, Harper was not even born yet, I began following her really closely because I loved her talent with the chalkboard & Joe and I had just started trying to get pregnant a few months prior so I thought I could really relate to her. Then, one day, I decided I would start my own blog where I could share our own story of getting pregnant & eventually having a baby of our own. I thought it would be a great way to keep track of everything that I would go through being pregnant. Little did I know that almost two years later I would instead be keeping track of how our infertility has affected our lives & the unexpected path we have traveled.
I will admit at first I wasn't really into the entire blogging world, I didn't understand a lot of it, I didn't know the lingo, I didn't know how to connect with others, or anything like that, I used it for kind of my own private outlet, just sharing with friends & family, maybe the occasional share on Facebook, then when I realized what we were really going through, I took a long break. I abandoned my cause because I was sad & ashamed. I thought that maybe blogging about it all was stressing me out so I quit. From about March until June of 2013 I did not write one post. Then, all of a sudden in July, I found the Five on Friday link-up & started to write again. I have to thank all of the wonderful hosts Natasha @ Hello! Happiness, Darci @ The Good Life Blog, April @ A. Liz Adventures, and Christina @ Carolina Charm. These ladies have done a fabulous job with this link-up, kudos! I did a few of these here and there, then I wrote this post and reminded myself of why I started blogging in the first place. I thought, I will now be taking my story in a different direction, & it has been a direction that I could not have even imagined.
Infertility has been quite a roller coaster not only for me, but for Joe as well. Sometimes people forget what the guy is going through, a wife who is an emotional mess, bills that start adding up, pressure of his own... I have to commend Joe for how strong he has been through this entire process. Once I started sharing our story, opening up, being brutally honest, sharing personal details, that's when I really started to feel my blog becoming a success. I started understanding the world of blogging & the world of infertility and began meshing them together. I started to follow blogs written by ladies that share similar stories, like Jessah @ Dreaming of Dimples and Beth @ Beth and Harrison Slatery and I began to really focus my own blogging on our struggle. I'm so thankful that I did, I've had many women, and even some men reach out to me on the blog, on Facebook, on Instagram who have shared their own story with me or shared words of encouragement, or different products to try, or looking for advice themselves & it has been amazing.
I have an English degree & have always enjoyed writing. It is so therapeutic for me, and has been since I can remember. When I would get in trouble with my parents, I would write them letters rather than talking. It is easier for me to vent my frustration with a pen (or keyboard!) than it is to try and speak my thoughts. I can better organize & better express myself through written word & I think that's just who I am and always have been. I'm so very thankful to Jessica @ Little Baby Garvin for starting her own blog that I know has inspired many others to start blogs of their own. I hope that my followers & regulars continue to read our story & I hope that I one day can inspire others as I myself have been.
The forecast for the next 100 posts? I really hope that I can soon dedicate the focus of my blog to pregnancy and mommy-hood rather than Follistem injections & pregnancy loss. There will be some new things happening on the blog, some giveaways, & possibly a weekly series of room/house ideas to help me gather my thoughts & better organized the 500+ pins I have on this pinboard for building our house!
I had no idea the direction I would go with this mini-milestone of a post, but decided the best thing to do would be to thank the ladies in blogland that inspired me to start this blog in the first place & those who have continued to help keep me going. I can't wait to see where the next 100 posts takes me!
The forecast for the next 100 posts? I really hope that I can soon dedicate the focus of my blog to pregnancy and mommy-hood rather than Follistem injections & pregnancy loss. There will be some new things happening on the blog, some giveaways, & possibly a weekly series of room/house ideas to help me gather my thoughts & better organized the 500+ pins I have on this pinboard for building our house!
I had no idea the direction I would go with this mini-milestone of a post, but decided the best thing to do would be to thank the ladies in blogland that inspired me to start this blog in the first place & those who have continued to help keep me going. I can't wait to see where the next 100 posts takes me!
Congratulations on your 100th post!!! I've really enjoyed getting to read your blog these last few months! You have been very inspiring to me and your strength and honesty are so admirable :) keep it up, I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteThank you!! Thanks so much for following along! <3
DeleteCongratulations on 100 posts! And thanks for the shout out! I am so glad that we were able to connect through the blogosphere and that we can support each other on this crazy journey called infertility. I have faith that one day soon we will both be writing baby bump updates and about all things pregnancy related. Here's to the next 100 posts! Xoxo!
ReplyDeleteThank you and no problem at all. I'm glad that we were able to connect as well. I love all my blogging sisters, but there is something special about the ones that I can relate to on the infertility home front. This will be our year!
DeleteBeautiful post and congratulations on your 100th post!! I saw a picture of you rescue pug, what a doll! We had to put our 13 yo pug Belle down last year, we miss her so much. Pugs are so special. Wishing you the best of luck for your dreams in the next 100 posts.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! Yes, pugs are the best dogs. I am so sorry you had to put yours down. I will never be able to prepare myself for that day with Frank. He is about 7 now so we hope to still have him around for a little while longer. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteCongrats, just found you and am loving following along!!
ReplyDeletewordsaboutwaverly.blogspot.com
Thank you!
DeleteYah for your 100th post!! I am doing a giveaway today and would love if you would stop by and check it out! http://www.thediaryofarealhousewife.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThank you, I will stop by!
DeleteCongrats on your 100th post, my friend. I'm so glad you started your blog and I'm so rooting for this space to be transformed into a baby blog soon…I know it will be. Thank you for following me and supporting me in this journey…and for the shout out! Love you girl!!!!
ReplyDeletecongrats on 100 posts! I hope the next 100 posts find you a happy mama to be!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 100 posts. You mentioned all these inspiring blog authors but YOU MUST KNOW you are inspiring, too! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and congrats on your 100th post! I myself have struggled with infertility for years and had a baby girl last August thanks to IVF :) I just started a blog of my own www.chasingdreamsandcatchinglife.blogspot.com :) Infertility sucks- hang in there girlie :)
ReplyDeleteLook how far you have gone with that. Congratulations! You're really going on up with that. Perhaps, that should be fine time to have an introspection about the accident as well, and perhaps pick up new life lessons from it. All the best to you!
ReplyDeleteRoman Barnes @ Johnson & Johnson Law Firm, PLLC