Friday, June 6, 2008

Hi and a great day to all of you! It seems that I'm back on track and that is all due to my fantastic hubby!:-) I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your truly wonderful comments and words of compassion and support. It means a world to me!!! I couldn't believe how many people have to deal with depressions though! Not that I thought I was the only one in the world, no:-), but still it was surprising to see how many of you have been in a similar situation. Now I also know well how it feels and admire all of you who have dealt with it and left it behind. And I send my love and positive thoughts to those who haven't managed to superate it yet {HUGS, HUGS, HUGS} To explain finally what was wrong...I'll try to be brief:-) The main problem that caused my depression was LONELINESS. See, I have been on maternity leave for a few years and never had a problem, always had friends to catch up with, go to playgroups, swimming, music and dancing classes with Amaia. Even in Holland (not so much there though) and Scotland we managed to find new friends and meet up with other mums with kids. Unfortunately here, as I already mentioned in one my previous posts, most babies start nursery in early months (if not weeks) of their lives and so 99% of the babies of Eneko's age are scholarized already. We didn't have anybody to hang out with! I used to meet a few grandparents strolling on the streets with buggies but nobody ever went to playgrounds (they're scarce here anyway:-(...) Grandparents usually go out to have a morning coffee in a bar and do some grocery shopping in the mornings and then straight home to prepare lunch. So...since most of the babies are at nurseries (or grocery shopping with grannies:-)) there are no activities for mums with babies at all!!! No playgroups, no music, no swimming...and there's also nowhere to go when it rains (and it has rained a whole lot since last summer). Put it all together plus due to my broken ribs first and then pregnancy I couldn't go horseback riding (which was keeping me 'alive' before)...and there you are...It got really bad and I saw I couldn't handle it alone so I went to a psychologist in the end. I lost all the interest in scrapping, friends and outside world in general. Didn't even check my email for months...We were thinking of moving to Prague to be close to my family at least for a few years but we're staying in the end. My husband quit working and has been at home with me since February and that was what helped me get out of it in the first place. I have my best friend by my side every day and it makes a HUGE difference, I can tell you! And he could also see for himself it's no fun when there're not only no other parents with kids but also very few chances to get friends with someone...and told me he was not surprised I got like that when he himself experienced it. Actually, he said he was surprised I was holding on for so long:-) But it's over now!:-)

Sooo...I hope I'll get here more often now and also to your blogs! Well, at least until the little one is born! LOL I've been doing some shopping lately and also working a little, done a few new LO's, mainly for my pregny diary. And changed the blog too, right:-) Still don't feel too much like scrapping or designing (although I have a lot of material) and I want to create only when I feel like it and not because I 'have to' so I resigned from all my CT's and I'm taking it very easy:-)

The pregnancy is going very well, I haven't had any problems. Lately I'm getting a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions but that's normal at this stage. It's unbelievable but I'm now 34 weeks, only 6 weeks left. My due date is July 21st and I think it'd be pretty funny if Julen (read 'yulen' for English speaking peeps) decides to come out a little earlier because both Amaia and Eneko are born on the 20th (Sept and Oct respectively)!!! Still seems an eternity until we get to know our youngest one. According to the ultrasounds it's all fine with the little one, seems to be a little bigger than he should be so I hope he won't get too huge in the next 6 weeks!

And I thought it'd be a shame if you got all the way here with me and see no proof of progress:-))) My DD has been painting and I've been cutting. And it's all yours if you want it! Hope you like it...Enjoy:-) Here's the preview:


And you can download here.

And to finish, here are my latest LO's:

Credits here.


Credits here.


Credits here.

Credits here.

I guess that's more than enough for today!:-) Hope you'll have a great weekend and thank you all again for your friendship!:-) See you soon!

20 comments:

Aja said...

Glad to hear you are doing better, Lucie! I can't imagine how hard that must have been. Best wishes with the rest of your pregnancy. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you are better now! *big hugs to you*

Do stay cheerful and positive always! :D

Unknown said...

Lovely to see you again, and with your stunning layouts too.

I had post natal depression after the birth of my youngest, and it was a terrible lonely and dark place.

Sounds like you are surrounded by love and support but drop me a note if you ever want to chat.

Best wishes for the end of your pregnancy, and take care of yourself.

Hugs

Anonymous said...

So good to hear you are doing better and the pregnacy is going well!

Sandra said...

Glad to hear you're up and running :-))
You are blessed with a husband like the one you have, to support you everyway. It must be hard going through it alone.
Thank you for the alpha, it is gorguous as always.
I've really missed you, because you are such an inspiration to me. You were on of the first that got me hooked on digiscrapping, because of your wonderful LO's.
Take care!

Unknown said...

First of all, thank you so much for that beautiful alpha. I rarely dl alphas, but this one is stunning!
I can so sympathize with your now past (or passING) problems. When my youngest child was about 3, my closest friend moved away. Her 2 children were stairsteps in age to my 3, and we kept each other sane by talking daily or spending time together almost every day. I became pretty depressed after she moved, basically only managing to do laundry and feed the family ... for several months. I did know what was happening and managed to work myself out of it in the fall by enrolling in a class and getting a parttime job. I knew that I needed to push myself to get out and about.
You are lucky that your husband can be there for you! Bless his heart! Keep feeling better and more positive and less lonely! And best wishes for the new one coming ... I'll be looking forward to hearing about the baby and seeing pictures!

Brooke - in Oregon said...

Hugs to you my friend, I have truly missed you and your kids! Glad to hear things are going better, one of the odd things about depression is how people think about it, like you are not trying hard enough to 'shape up'. That obviously comes from those who have never been there. I know it is a tough hill to climb to get back into the light, but I am soooo glad to see you here. Give the kiddos a hug from their Auntie in Oregon :) again, I am just so glad to see you!

deborah a/k/a SimplyVixen said...

oh YAY
lucy is back!
it's SO good to cya again, and you are looking great, am glad to hear you're feeling much better too, kudos to your hubby for making sure your emotional needs were being met! thanks for the update, and the lovely alpha too!
don't stay away so long, cuz we miss'ya bunches!
Big Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Lucy, so thrilled to see you post. I was thinking about you alot. TY for sharing what is going on and girl, you are truly glowing...many thoughts, prayers and love going out to you and your family..hooray to the hubby! LOVE your pages too...keep us posted doll, we're here for ya and TY for the freebie!

Carolyn Albro said...

I was wondering what happened to you, I was just thinking of you a few days ago. I'm glad to see you're back and getting into the swing of things. LOVE your LO's, especially the last one you posted, AWESOME : )

I'm sorry to hear how difficult it is to make friends where you live. I can't help but be curious where that is.

Anyway, hope things continue to get better for you : )

Hugs,
Carolyn

J9 said...

I'm new to your story, but totally wish you all the best on your journey 'back'. Our bodies/hormones can do strange things to us, and REAL things. My daughter suffers from depression, as do I, so I know a little about how it works. Hugs to your husband for supporting you emotionally like he has.
It really does get better. Don't give up.
Wonderful alpha, thank you so much for designing it!

Sharon aka Scrapcat4914 said...

TY so very much for the GORGEOUS alpha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you very much for the fabulous
alpha.
Best whishes!

cindiaskew said...

what a generous gift. tyfs

Sharon said...

Good to see you back. Wouldnt it be great if your next baby was born on the 20th. All of our family (including me and DH) are either on the 18th or 17th of a month. I dont think our new edition will be though.

Magdalena (m2m) said...

Hi Lucy!!!
You look great and cery thin in your pregnancy photos :) I'm much bigger than you ;) And my due date is 3rd July, so keep your fingers crossed for me ;)
I'm glad that you got lots of support form your DH. I'm thinking of you very often, and I hope you'll write sth on your blog, I wish I could know how things are going on :)
Kisses, Magdalena (m2m) from Krakow :)

Magdalena (m2m) said...

Oh, and I forgot to tell you, people born on 20th July are really great!!! I was born on 20th July lol

verabear said...

WOW! I am so happy to see you posting again, and it isn't just about the freebies. I really was worried not to see any updates from you for months. I am glad you have come through that experience with your hubby and kids at your side. :) Hugs!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lucie. Thank you very much for your cute alpha. I hope you are feeling much better and have your healthy baby SOON!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this Freebie. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in CBH Digital Scrapbooking Freebies, under the Page 12 post on Nov. 19, 2009. Thanks again.