Yesterday was my birthday. Another year has come and gone, and what a year it’s been. It’s hard to believe our precious Tova joined us this year… it feels like she’s been here forever. This was the year my blog took off. This was the year my business grew to brand new heights (don’t forget, get 10% off your first order when you sign up for email!). And even though birthdays can sometimes be sad or scary, I tend to use them as a time to reflect on where I am in my life.

Where I am right now is pretty good.

Nothing is perfect, not ever. But when I really think about all the good things in my life versus the bad, I wonder how I got so lucky and how I even got here. So with that in mind, because it’s my birthday, I’m sharing 3 things I learned this year.

1. Every pregnancy is different. Every birth is different. Every postpartum experience is different. This is the year I had my second daughter. It totally rocked our world, and yet things were a lot less chaotic than they were the first go ’round. I don’t know if it was because we had more help, or because I took better care of myself, but I didn’t feel that intense sadness and hopelessness I experienced with baby #1. I also had a c-section with baby #2, which I didn’t have with baby #1. It certainly wasn’t my first choice, but in the end I was just happy to bring her into the world in a healthy way.  Breastfeeding was a much difference, much better experience this time, and I couldn’t believe that after all the terrible times I went through trying to breastfeed #1, it actually worked out. This was just proof to me that every mom is different, every experience is different. And I have no idea why it’s important to anyone else what we each do with our bodies and for our children, as long as we’re doing the best we can.

Shop Naomi’s dress
2. I can do a lot of things, but not everything. Sometimes I still feel that sting when I get invitations to things that I know I can’t go to. It’s very hard for me to sneak out of the house right now at 6 pm or earlier, because both girls go to sleep at the same time, and I hate not getting to spend time with them before they go to sleep. Before we had Tova, I could easily slip out. Naomi was a little older, more independent, and easier to handle. With two kids now, I have accepted the fact that this is a season of my life during which I will have to cut back on my involvement in things and my event-going. And that’s okay. This time while they are little is going to fly by, and I know I don’t want to miss a minute of it. One day — too soon — I will be able to do all of those things. But for now, I’ve decided to focus on my family, focus on my business, and the limited social & volunteer commitments I can handle. This is what’s best for me right now.

3. There is no substitute for hard work. This is something we’ve been told our whole lives, but never is it more true than when you’re running your own business. I recently made a big investment in my business to free up some time for me to focus on sales, and I’m excited to see what the outcome is. I have been cold calling, cold emailing, and reaching out to old contacts like a wild woman in order to make things happen for cuteheads in 2017 and beyond. I am so excited to see what the future holds for this business, and as I look back on this last year, I’m excited about how far its come. I may or may not make it look easy, but running this business is incredibly challenging and scary. The good news is that the more problems I solve and the more challenges I overcome, the easier it gets to remember that I can go the distance.