Monday, February 1, 2016

Hope Rules

Sorry to keep you waiting.  We've been a little busy.
Hope is here!
We are incredibly excited to have a healthy mother and baby.  Hope's exact birthday, weight, and length, however, are confidential.  Let's just say she arrived sometime in January, weighing under 10 pounds and measuring somewhere around 20 inches.

One thing we are concerned about is her health, safety, and privacy, so I need to make a few things clear to avoid confusion and hurt feelings.

I will start with this: I adore my friends and family dearly and want to share every moment of this amazing time in my life with you. However, during this cold and flu season only a small group will be allowed to visit us.  Hope will be brand new with basically no immune system. My doctor has said repeatedly, she can handle your germs; it's everyone else's that are too much for her. This is what my doctor recommended and I will be following her guidelines. Have no fear, I'll be happy to accept lots of guests after Hope is a little tougher and especially after she has had her first round of shots. I'm sure you all understand and want the best for her too. 



This brings me to the next part that may drive some people crazy. No Photos on the Internet. You can take all the pictures you want of and with Hope, I just ask that you don't post them to social media accounts.  This may be a "controversial" stance, although it shouldn't be (our kid, our choice). I may or may not share a few hospital photos specifically on this blog; I haven't decided. I have spent the entire pregnancy trying to decide how to handle the very public way all of our lives are shared and what I wanted for my daughter.



When I look at my Facebook feed it is almost exclusively filled with "Friend Liked ..." and often followed by a photo of someone I have never met in my entire life. I'm not sure how my feed turned into this and honestly it has ruined my FB experience. That aside, I thought of all my awesome family and friends "Liking" Hope's new baby photo, or facts about her life, or something disclosing her location. I lost my shit. I can't control who sees my photos no matter what I do. I have a private page and still strangers (friends of friends) comment on my photos. Then, all of their friends see their comment and my photos. I'd prefer to not make "lists" to control distribution or search through the ridiculous privacy settings just so FB can change them yet again (I've done this sooo many times I rarely post anything any more for my own privacy). So, no photos. Sorry. I'm a control freak and I can't control the internet. This is just easier for me, even with my blog being completely public it is almost certainly viewed exclusively by our friends and family (Blogger tracks the number of reads and we have only a few). With FB, everything I post goes everywhere spread to an entire network of complete strangers without them having to seek it out.

I'm asking for a lot of understanding here; try not to judge me or say "oh, first time mama drama" (this is insanely insulting by the way; my concerns are real and valid) and enjoy real life with us, because we are always happy and willing to share. This means that once Hope is born, only our usual "Pekema Projects" will be posted. I already struggle with how public and personal this entire blog is and I just can't handle the added stress of worrying about my daughter on top of that. Yes, Andy thinks I'm overreacting but he supports me because he loves me. I sincerely hope you can all do the same.

PLEASE NOTE: Momma's that share are in no way being judged!! We love seeing your adorable children grow. Statistically speaking, I AM overreacting and I reserve the right to change my mind about photos later.

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