This is my first post and first blog. It was born out of my 3 am googling to find people in my situation and never quite finding what I was looking for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found lots of inspirational working mom blogs, and a large number of parents who had set up businesses after the birth of their children to spend more time at home and have more flexible hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That doesn\u2019t describe me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m a Joint Venture Partner with Vets4Pets. My business opens 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays and 9-6 Saturdays and bank holidays. My workload is stressful and demanding. I often have to do business-related activities outside of my normal working hours, and my normal working hours are really incompatible with a young family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Somehow I need to find a way to make this all work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My goal with this blog is to find solidarity with other small business owners juggling work and parenting an infant. I hope that by sharing what I learn I can help other people in my position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would love to build an online community where like-minded parents can come together to get tips, tricks, and hacks as we bumble through this adventure together.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would love to hear from you about any topics you\u2019d like me to cover. Feel free to either comment on a post or contact me directly here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\nFor my first post, I\u2019ll start at the very beginning of my journey. It feels like a lifetime ago now, but it all began on Saturday 13th July 2019 with this…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Shell](\"https:\/\/www.businesswithababy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/EE4CBB12-E70B-4EDD-94BF-7B5A063EA289-576x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMy first positive test! Actually, I took 5, but I didn\u2019t want to seem mental to my friends and family so I only photographed two. I took 3 more over the next 48 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nSome background to my paranoia; I had my coil removed over two years previously and had not used contraception since.\u00a0We\u2019d been referred for tests, and while Jamie just had to make his offering in a cup my tests were somewhat more invasive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bloods revealed my hormones were on track and despite no periods I was releasing an egg each month. Ultrasound of my ovaries revealed cysts, but my doctor wasn\u2019t sure they were significant. Vaginal ultrasound (with what I felt was an unnecessarily large probe) showed my uterus was normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I even had a radioactive dye injected into my fallopian tubes and then x-rays taken which showed no blockages. All in all, I had the medical profession flummoxed. There was no reason they could find why I would not be having periods, or have conceived. The next stage we were told was fertility treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve reached an age where I\u2019ve witnessed multiple friends, and colleagues going through fertility treatment. To be brutally honest, I didn\u2019t think I could put myself through it. I\u2019d always been open to the idea of adopting, or maybe, dare I say it, not even having kids at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we decided to shelve our parenting plans for a few years, book our first skiing trip and I’d almost convinced Jamie perhaps we did have space for a 4th dog after all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 weeks after the dye was injected I was at a friend’s wedding and so VERY very drunk when I felt the unmistakable sensation of having a period. (This part is about to get graphic so if you’re squeamish I’d skip to the next section.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nI was livid, For 2 years I\u2019d waited for a period and it shows up at a wedding when I\u2019ve got nothing appropriate with me. I rushed to the toilets hoping for a sanitary vending machine, but no. The wedding\u2019s in a converted barn, the toilets are rustic and beautiful and utterly lacking in overpriced tampons. I go into the cubicle to assess the damage, and when I pull down my pants I’m greeted with not blood but what I can only describe as clear PVA glue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my drunken state my mind immediately goes to sheer panic. Clearly, this is a sign I am dying. I frantically fish my phone out of my bag and consult my dear friend Dr. Google. A few clicks later and I\u2019m reading about early pregnancy discharge in horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nI’m not dying, I’m pregnant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m pregnant and I\u2019m drunk!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nIn a corner of the grounds, Jamie and I talk in hushed tones and he talks me down from the precipice. We don\u2019t know I’m pregnant, so I’ll stop drinking just in case and we\u2019ll enjoy the rest of the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dance and smile but in the back of my mind like a ticking time bomb is the thought that I had my shot at pregnancy and ruined it all<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once home I refuse to take a test. I\u2019ve obsessively googled enough to know if I am pregnant it\u2019ll either be fine, or I\u2019ll miscarry. I set myself an arbitrary time frame of a week (based on no science at all) but I tell myself that if nothing has changed in a week I’ll take a test.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nI don\u2019t talk about it to anyone, not even Jamie but I think of virtually nothing else all week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of sleeping late on Saturday, I’m staring at walls from 5 am. By 6 I\u2019ve had enough. I tiptoe into the bathroom and take out the container and multiple pregnancy tests I’ve hidden in the bathroom cupboard. One wee and 10 minutes later and I’m staring at 5 positive tests. Some haven\u2019t even finished their time yet and they are all positive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t have the words to describe the joy I felt sitting on the bathroom floor that morning. I text my sisters before the urine had a chance to dry on the sticks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I ended up having a rough pregnancy, less than ideal birth<\/a> and entered parenting mid-global pandemic. But more on all that later. That photo represents one of the most perfect, cherished moments of my life. It\u2019s languished unappreciated on my phone reel too long, and I knew I had to include it in my first post.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nMy Goals for 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\nMy initial goal for the first 9 months of this blog is to knuckle down and get some quality content written. I\u2019m committing to two weekly posts released on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons. That’s 86 posts between now and the end of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this sounds like something you want to be involved in please subscribe<\/a> and I\u2019ll send you an update once a fortnight with links to my latest posts so you don\u2019t have to spend time searching for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s to a great 2021 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello and welcome to my blog! I\u2019m Shell and I\u2019m new to parenting. This is my first post and first blog. It was born out of my 3 am googling to find people in my situation and never quite finding what I was looking for. I found lots of inspirational working mom blogs, and a… Continue reading It Started With A Stick<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIt Started With A Stick - Business With A Baby<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is my first post. 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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMy first positive test! Actually, I took 5, but I didn\u2019t want to seem mental to my friends and family so I only photographed two. I took 3 more over the next 48 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some background to my paranoia; I had my coil removed over two years previously and had not used contraception since.\u00a0We\u2019d been referred for tests, and while Jamie just had to make his offering in a cup my tests were somewhat more invasive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bloods revealed my hormones were on track and despite no periods I was releasing an egg each month. Ultrasound of my ovaries revealed cysts, but my doctor wasn\u2019t sure they were significant. Vaginal ultrasound (with what I felt was an unnecessarily large probe) showed my uterus was normal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I even had a radioactive dye injected into my fallopian tubes and then x-rays taken which showed no blockages. All in all, I had the medical profession flummoxed. There was no reason they could find why I would not be having periods, or have conceived. The next stage we were told was fertility treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve reached an age where I\u2019ve witnessed multiple friends, and colleagues going through fertility treatment. To be brutally honest, I didn\u2019t think I could put myself through it. I\u2019d always been open to the idea of adopting, or maybe, dare I say it, not even having kids at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we decided to shelve our parenting plans for a few years, book our first skiing trip and I’d almost convinced Jamie perhaps we did have space for a 4th dog after all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
6 weeks after the dye was injected I was at a friend’s wedding and so VERY very drunk when I felt the unmistakable sensation of having a period. (This part is about to get graphic so if you’re squeamish I’d skip to the next section.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was livid, For 2 years I\u2019d waited for a period and it shows up at a wedding when I\u2019ve got nothing appropriate with me. I rushed to the toilets hoping for a sanitary vending machine, but no. The wedding\u2019s in a converted barn, the toilets are rustic and beautiful and utterly lacking in overpriced tampons. I go into the cubicle to assess the damage, and when I pull down my pants I’m greeted with not blood but what I can only describe as clear PVA glue.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my drunken state my mind immediately goes to sheer panic. Clearly, this is a sign I am dying. I frantically fish my phone out of my bag and consult my dear friend Dr. Google. A few clicks later and I\u2019m reading about early pregnancy discharge in horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m not dying, I’m pregnant.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m pregnant and I\u2019m drunk!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a corner of the grounds, Jamie and I talk in hushed tones and he talks me down from the precipice. We don\u2019t know I’m pregnant, so I’ll stop drinking just in case and we\u2019ll enjoy the rest of the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dance and smile but in the back of my mind like a ticking time bomb is the thought that I had my shot at pregnancy and ruined it all<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once home I refuse to take a test. I\u2019ve obsessively googled enough to know if I am pregnant it\u2019ll either be fine, or I\u2019ll miscarry. I set myself an arbitrary time frame of a week (based on no science at all) but I tell myself that if nothing has changed in a week I’ll take a test.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t talk about it to anyone, not even Jamie but I think of virtually nothing else all week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of sleeping late on Saturday, I’m staring at walls from 5 am. By 6 I\u2019ve had enough. I tiptoe into the bathroom and take out the container and multiple pregnancy tests I’ve hidden in the bathroom cupboard. One wee and 10 minutes later and I’m staring at 5 positive tests. Some haven\u2019t even finished their time yet and they are all positive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t have the words to describe the joy I felt sitting on the bathroom floor that morning. I text my sisters before the urine had a chance to dry on the sticks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I ended up having a rough pregnancy, less than ideal birth<\/a> and entered parenting mid-global pandemic. But more on all that later. That photo represents one of the most perfect, cherished moments of my life. It\u2019s languished unappreciated on my phone reel too long, and I knew I had to include it in my first post.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My Goals for 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\nMy initial goal for the first 9 months of this blog is to knuckle down and get some quality content written. I\u2019m committing to two weekly posts released on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons. That’s 86 posts between now and the end of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this sounds like something you want to be involved in please subscribe<\/a> and I\u2019ll send you an update once a fortnight with links to my latest posts so you don\u2019t have to spend time searching for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s to a great 2021 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello and welcome to my blog! I\u2019m Shell and I\u2019m new to parenting. This is my first post and first blog. It was born out of my 3 am googling to find people in my situation and never quite finding what I was looking for. I found lots of inspirational working mom blogs, and a… Continue reading It Started With A Stick<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
