Lifestyle

Back to reality

8 days.

8 very short days and I will be back to my office in the Sky. I feel excited, nervous, antsy, cautious, anxious and overjoyed! There are so many thoughts running through my mind and I honestly don’t know if they will ever slow down. Being a mom, girlfriend, dog mom and a woman in general I’ve found that balance is a hard thing to find especially when it’s not all about you after it had been for so long.

My career at Delta started a year ago and I found out I was pregnant 2 months into training. I had no idea I was pregnant . . . I thought the food in the training center was making me sick. It makes me laugh now that I look back and see myself nauseous, exhausted, overly emotional, unable to eat and farting all the time (sorry Laura lol) I didn’t tell her I was pregnant until the day of graduation. My poor roommate she seriously had to of been so grossed out lol

The day I found out I cried on the toilet for what felt like 3 hours then I got in the shower and cried on the floor even longer. I just finally made it to Delta after 2 years as a flight attendant at two different airlines. After applying 3 times and getting thanks but no thanks twice and finally the job offer I had waited for, for what seemed a lifetime and I was pregnant. PREGNANT! Man how things can change at the drop of a dime. Thank God my boyfriend was there through it all to support me even though I was literally the meanest, sassiest, brattiest pregnant woman ever.

I didn’t know what the future held for me at Delta and I certainly didn’t know how to handle it. I didn’t tell anyone though. Especially not in training I was terrified they would fire me or something silly like that which wouldn’t have happened lol I wasn’t the most rational thinker. I graduated and hit the line with a pregnant belly, a hunger to match an elephant and confidence that I could still be a Mama growing her Little bug and keep flying.

Long story short I was an emotional wreck. I couldn’t keep focused and I was constantly exhausted so I went out on leave EARLY. I didn’t even know if I’d go back. Months passed by and I got a dog, had Bryce and bawled the first time Tom and I left the boys with my mom overnight to celebrate New Years together in Savannah. I cried in the street right before the countdown.

How on earth was I supposed to go back to flying when I couldn’t stand to leave him for 26 hours. Tom and I talked about it over and over. Tom is a Pilot so he understands how scheduling works in the FA world and for the most part its unpredictable in its predictability. Not to mention with his upgrade to Captain soon our schedules most likely be in conflict and certainly opposite at times.

With a lot of discussion and prayer I decided to return to work. I did my re-qualification in Atlanta at the beginning of March and was a nervous wreck. I was a puddle of sweat by the end of the day because my anxiety had gotten the best of me. Not to worry though I crushed it and everything I learned 10 months prior came flooding right back! I passed and now I’m FA qualified until the next time I go back in 18 months!

Although I am a whirlwind of emotions heading back I honestly cannot wait. I am eager to continue on my journey exploring the world and making a difference in my passengers lives every flight. I am ready to get back to some normalcy even though it’s now going to be a new normal of not being with Bryce every day. Some months will be really hard but after I get back into the swing of things it should be just fine. Who knows I may find that it’s actually not for me anymore and come back home humbled after I give it my best shot!

But for now I just plan to take things one day, one plane and one step at a time!

oh and don’t forget to

– B

Unveiling

As I held my son up to my chest he wiggled, squirmed and let out little cries to tell me of his obvious discomfort. I was trying to breastfeed him for the first time and he just wouldn’t take to my breast. I was tired, overwhelmed and frustrated. I thought to myself “I carried you and you needed me all this time and now you don’t want me?”

I didn’t realize it then but that day was the start of my tumble into a deep dark pit of nothingness. I didn’t feel anything. I felt helpless and numb. I’d cry, sit and stare at the wall, hold my son be in awe of him, cry some more and sleep when I could. I barely ate and just felt like a cloud was hovering over me constantly no matter what I did. I won’t sit here and say that it got to the point of self harm or harm to my son because I know that can most definitely happen but thankfully I never felt that way. I did however feel sad . . . So incredibly sad.

I knew that I loved my son but I couldn’t feel anything for him. I felt guilty for not feeling. For waking up everyday and feeling like a bad mom because I didn’t have the happiness that new mothers are “supposed” to feel. The numbness was all consuming and the reality of having a newborn child depending on me when I really only ever had myself to worry about was a hard pill to swallow. I was the girl who did whatever she wanted when she wanted. The girl who jumped on planes and flew around the world in a giant metal tube dying to see where she would go next. The girl who had plans. Plans that didn’t project a baby coming into play until she was like 32ish and had her life totally together.

The quote “Man plans and God laughs” comes to mind.

Before the medication I was drowning into a deep abyss of nothingness. Now I feel positive almost everyday for the most part and I now know that my love for my son is immeasurable, indescribable and completely all consuming. At first I said to myself “No way am I telling my doctor, getting on medication none of that junk! I am a strong woman! I can do this!! I don’t want to be dependent on a drug for my happiness!!” I spoke to my Mom and my boyfriend about how I was feeling and they both suggested that I tell my doctor. Although I am an incredibly strong and capable woman I really needed the help. I ended up telling my doctor and after speaking to her and doing a little research I found that I was not as abnormal as I felt and that Postpartum Depression is extremely common.

A CDC study shows that about 1 out of 10 women in the United States experience symptoms of depression. Using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), CDC research shows that nationally, about 1 in 9 women experience symptoms of postpartum depression. Estimates of the number of women affected by postpartum depression differ by age and race/ethnicity. Additionally, postpartum depression estimates vary by state, and can be as high as 1 in 5 women.

Do you have or have you ever experienced symptoms of postpartum depression or depression in general? How did/do you cope with it and what are/were some things that helped you get through your hard days? I would love to hear from you and hear about your experiences, current struggles and your success stories!

Comment below or DM me on Instagram at @briannachrstine

As a new Mom that is potentially feeling this way PLEASE know that there is NOTHING wrong with you and there are tons of women who are in the EXACT same shoes! There is nothing wrong with getting and asking for help no matter what you are going through! You are strong, powerful, beautiful, capable and worthy of this amazing gift from God. No matter what you might think, how you might feel, or what you tell yourself you must KNOW that at the end of the day YOU GOT THIS!

Sincerely,

Center of disease control and prevention. “Depression among Women.” Cdc.gov, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/depression/index.htm.

#moming

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Tired.

One of the many words used to describe every day life as a mother. I heard being a parent would be hard but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be THIS hard. The worst part is that it’s only the beginning but believe it or not that’s absolutely 110% the best part too. My son is a few days shy of 3 months and man oh man does that little boy have his mama wrapped around his tiny drool covered fingers.

He’s so tiny. I remember picking him up the first time feeling like I was going to break him. So fragile and sweet. Even though he will be 3 months here soon I still feel the same way. He gets stronger and stronger every day though so that’s somewhat reassuring. I don’t know how I’m supposed to eventually be okay with him doing everything on his own. I seriously think he’s two minutes from turning 12 every time I look at him.

I don’t know if I’m a doing a good job at this whole mom thing and I honestly don’t know if I ever will. What I do know for sure is that this kid could be in a pit full of snakes and I’d dive in head first just to see him smile. So I guess that’s going to have to count for something.

Before I became a mother I was a lot more fun, carefree and a hell of a lot less stressed. Now, Its a constant battle everyday to remember to eat, shower, switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer (if I can even ever get to it), feed and let the dog out, schedule appointments (hopefully be on time for them) and sometimes even to just breathe.

Being a mom is so hard and so much to juggle but I am extremely blessed and thankful to have a man in my life to help balance things out a bit. Seriously one of my favorite things to watch now even more than how to get away with murder is how he interacts with our son. He lights up whenever he sees his dad. I’m tearing up as I type this. He is such a lucky little boy and I am quite a lucky girl. Thank you honey you make everything so much easier.

As I sit here and write my son is upstairs asleep and I have this nagging pang in my stomach/heart that misses him. The one who never lets me eat my food while it’s hot, the one who cries until he sees my face and then sweetly smiles, the one who’s grumpiness way outweighs mine when he’s sleepy. And yet, I keep coming back for more. More of his smiles, more of his love, more of anything he’ll give me really.

This love is like nothing I’ve ever experienced and it’s nothing I will ever soon forget. Through the ups, downs, lefts and rights, sleepless and puke covered nights this Little guy is stuck with me for life. All I can hope for is that he genuinely won’t feel like he’s stuck with me but just that he wants to be.

Sincerely,

The promise

I’m not really sure when I became this person who didn’t follow through with what they said they were going to do but its been a problem with me for a few years now. Maybe it’s has to do with my job and never really being able to lock things in, maybe my laziness, or worse committing to things I really wanted to do but couldn’t motivate myself enough to get started and keep at it. This isn’t me or maybe it is a little bit me but I don’t want to be that person. I want to be the person that commits to what she says she’s going to do.

I have had things come and go through my mind over the years of things I REALLY wanted to do! Things like:

Start a blog (which I did and it lasted all of one post back in 2015)
Get in the studio to lay down a track I’d written
Go to the gym 5 days a week
Save money
Catch up with friends and family
Become closer with God
Be a better daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend

These are just a few examples but the list goes on and on.

I started reading Girl, wash your face by Rachel Hollis and this book has helped me along in my ever evolving journey of self growth. Honestly I haven’t ever really considered myself a “goal setter” usually I just find something I want to do and then I go after it full speed ahead! I guess the excitement of setting the goal and the feeling I get is what pumps me up, then I sit and say “nah, never mind.” As I let yet another goal, dream, wish, idea fade to black.

The second chapter of Girl, wash your face had the topic: I’ll start tomorrow. I have to be honest here with all of you and most importantly myself it raised more than a few questions. What do I want? How do I plan to get it? How do I follow through? What are my goals? How can I stay motivated? What can I do better? What can I realistically commit to? Along with inspiring me to give some real answers to these questions she also said a few things that really sparked my interest:

“Your subconscious knows that you, yourself cannot be trusted after breaking so many plans and giving up on so many goals.”

“If you constantly make and break promises to yourself you’re not making promises at all. Your talking.”

“Our words have power, but our actions shape our lives.”

Ouch. That did not make me feel good. I sat there and went through all of the thought-provoking things Rachel said. I am all talk lately was one of the first things that came to my mind. I’ve allowed myself to fall into a slump. A slump that was full of not right nows, maybe laters and maybe tomorrows. I can’t even tell you how many times I said I was going to do something and weeks later still have the promise I made to someone or myself looming in the back of my mind. It’s not a good feeling to disappoint others but now I think how awful it actually feels to disappoint myself.

So my dear friends from here on out I vow to keep the promises I make to myself and by keeping those promises to myself I will in turn be keeping the promises I make to others. I am sure there will be bad days but letting myself down is just not something I am willing to do anymore. I want this! I will not make excuses and no matter what my thoughts are saying, no matter if I’m tired, uninspired, or unmotivated I am going to push through! Will you join me? What will be your first promise?

Here is mine:

Restart my blog

With that being said I am beyond excited and cannot wait to share so many things with you! Big things, small things, things about my life, travel, the joys and sometimes woes of being a new mom and whatever else happens to pop into my head on random Friday nights such as these. Thanks in advance for being down for the ride. It may get bumpy at times but I promise we’ll make it through one day, one plane, one step at a time.

Sincerely,