Confession: if it were up to me, Polly would probably be a cat. The husband and I have been jokingly doing the whole cats vs dogs debate for years. But at some point I did a complete 180 and suddenly I was on Team Dog. Totally out of character might I add, I am usually a stubborn piece of work. Anyway, in the search for our new family member we pretty soon landed on the labradoodle. Part labrador, part poodle. Which means it has all the cute and friendly features of a labrador, but also the looks and intelligence of a poodle. (FYI, we’re still waiting on that intelligence part to kick in with Polly). Labradoodles are known to be hypoallergenic, and big bonus: they don’t loose their fur. Oh wait, the biggest bonus: they look so freaking cute!
Puppy Love
I think it was a few months in my burnout when we had the opportunity to decide to bring a labradoodle pup into our lives. We both felt like it was serendipity, and the timing could not have been better since I was at home all day everyday anyway. So the pup and I would be each others company, and it was a good reason for me to try going outside more often. I was still struggling with going outside by myself (again: out of character) because of the burnout so now at least I would have a little companion by my side when I had to conquer the hustle and bustle of downtown Amsterdam. Little did we know that we would not only bring home our dog baby, but that I was also pregnant with our first human baby…
Oh Baby!
And those first few weeks with Polly were rough. Oh man, they were rough. I was basically splitting my time between feeling sick in bed, feeling sick on the couch, or feeling sick above the toilet. I’ll share more about my pregnancy soon, but spoiler alert: morning sickness should be renamed to 24/7 sickness. Of course the fact that my body was also struggling with a burnout did not help with my energy levels. So the amazing husband, who has a crazy busy job working 60+ hours a week, had to take care of me ánd Polly. And for those of you that think a pup is house trained in a few days: you’re wrong. It takes weeks, sometimes even months. Yeah. Did I mention I used to be on Team Cat?
Who Let The Dogs Out?
[Who, who, who, who?] Luckily, around week 16 of my pregnancy I started to feel better, both in terms of the burnout struggle as the preggo struggle. Polly is now 4,5 months old (they grow up sooooo fast!) and thanks to the demanding puppy school training she is learning more and more everyday. (Pro tip: if you’re feeling blue, go to a puppy school and I promise you your mood will lift right away!). And now that the weather is finally getting better I can really enjoy our walks together.
And as Polly is gaining confidence in her street presence, I too am getting my confidence back. We never meant for her to be a therapy dog, but I think having her around really helped me to find myself again. Shit, I’m seriously tearing up as I write this (I blame the pregnancy hormones! Which is funny because so far I haven’t been overly emotional at all. Oh wait, is this a new phase..? HELP!).
A Change Is Gonna Come
Recently I also decided to quit my job. Mostly due to the burnout, but also because the husband and I decided that we don’t want to raise our kids (and our dog!) in a home where mommy and daddy both have crazy demanding jobs and are tied to their phones 24/7. Since the husband is really doing what he loves and is passionate about it, and I – as it turns out – really wasn’t, it was a no-brainer that I would leave the office life. Currently I’m contemplating what my next step will be, but it will probably involve me working from home a lot. I’ll share more about my burnout struggle and all those big life decisions that followed (like the fact that we are leaving the city next year!) in another post. For now, I’m really enjoying my time with Polly, staying active with prenatal yoga, swimming and personal training, and making sure I’m as healthy and stress-free as can be for that little human growing inside of me.
Polly’s First Vacay
Last weekend we decided to go on a spur of the moment weekend getaway – aka Polly’s first vacay! We are in no way planning on quitting our adventurous and travel-filled life now that we are about to become parents, so it is important to us that Polly can adjust to that lifestyle as well. And she was such a trooper! It was crazy hot, but she was roaming the woods like a true adventure dog. And luckily she also was a perfectly behaving puppy in the hotel. Yes, we are super proud of our little labradoodle!
That Moment You Realize You’re All Grown Up
We went back to the place where we first decided to get married a little over two years ago, the beautiful grounds of Landgoed Mariëndaal. We used this romantic place in the woods as a backdrop for a DIY engagement shoot for our save the date photos.
It felt really special to come back here with our little ball of fur, and of course the baby bump that’s slowly starting to show. It’s crazy how much can happen in two years. We’re married. We’re about to become parents. I quit my job. We got a dog. (I switched to Team Dog!). We bought a new house. We’re leaving the city. Yep, we’re growing up. Oh and also, we’re happier than ever. True story.
In a few days we’ll be jetting off to Moscow for a getaway with our North Korean friends (side note; they’re not North Korean, we all met on our trip to North Korea). It’s my first time setting foot on my grandfather’s fatherland, so I’m VERY excited!
