All New

*I've amended the heading for my blog, as I'm not sure how long 'new' lasts with regards to being a new mama. And am now no longer wedding planning as I'm a wife. But Crohn's is still ever present. We can talk about that another time perhaps?

Since I last blogged...

• We relocated from London to the Westcountry
• Moved in with the in-laws
• I came off of Maternity Leave and am now a full time working mother
• We got married!
• Had a minimoon, sans son
• It's our son's first birthday

So everything's still a bit new for me.

Having a blogging hiatus seemed slightly more acceptable when I sat back and realised how much change was happening in my life. I also feel that I very much wildly underestimated what the above tasks would entail; in both a physical and mental sense.

We'd covered all major life events in a period of around 8 weeks - never mind the sister-in-law's wedding, cousin's wedding and all the hens and stags in between. I think by the end of October I had decided that 'time' wasn't a thing any more. It didn't exist. It either went way too fast or chunks of time seemed to disappear without warning; not enough hours in the day, etc. etc.

So you're probably thinking, everything seems to have calmed down a bit now - why hop back onto the blogging figurative bicycle and share my thoughts? Well...this is by no means a 'woe is me' post; however I've mentioned before that sometimes slapping the keyboard with my feelings is quite the therapeutic task in itself. I've been thinking a lot about blogging of late - whether it be to help actually process all the change that's gone on, the fact my son is reaching his first birthday milestone and all that it brings with it (parenting highs, lows, challenges and rewards), that my own little family has done a full relocation of living and work, life as a newlywed (and what that even means?!), or that my Crohn's is still a pain in the arse and it bothers me.

I want to post about each of the main topics over the next week or so, as I'm currently signed off work (there's a wee insight into how my Crohn's is doing! *collective sigh*) But having blogged on and off for the last four years, I know when things have been on the tougher side, writing has really helped. Equally when things are on the lovely side, it's really enjoyable to write and share those moments, too.

And what better way to start again, than in two days time when it's our first born's FIRST BIRTHDAY. He's been here a year already. Out of the womb and our bab for a whole 12 months. I still don't feel like I was pregnant long enough to have grown him, let alone see him doing proper human things on his own like an independent chap. But he's here. And he's going to be one this weekend.

For he's a jolly good fellow...

Side note: having had a full life change of geographical location, working situation, my marital status and introduction to parenthood - I'm now trying to work out what Hattie, etc. actually means. So I'll get back to you on that once I've worked out what direction this here blog is going in.

X

Feeling Crafty

Crohn's shenanigans aside, 2017 is the year of the wedding! Best get organising and preparing as a bride-to-be...

First stop of arts and crafts for this mama on mat leave was the Save the Dates. I wanted to make something that wasn't overly time consuming - what with a new baby and all - but was also something I'd be proud to send out to family and friends.

Debated for a good while whether the Save the Dates had to be in the same colour scheme, etc. of the overall wedding stationery - typically they're sent so far in advance that how can you even know what colours you'll have?! But because we had a baby a few months went by (around 9) when all things wedding got parked for the time being. So now we're not actually that far away and have a rough idea of colours and what not...

They're all done and dusted and posted, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. Should probably point out that I ordered our stamp from The English Stamp Company, along with the maroon/wine coloured inkpad. Dead impressed with the quality of it (also a nice little keepsake as it's got our wedding date on). Will be ordering more stamps from there, for sure - most likely for decorative purposes on other wedding stationery.

But now? It's time to work on the invitations!

I did my research as to what a wedding invitation should include; the actual inviting of the guests, time, date, etc. plus any details and an RSVP. Best route forward (as I wanted to make them all myself still) was to make a wedding bundle; make bits little and often, as again, young baby to look after too. So back to Pinterest for all the inspiration and I think we've finally settled what they'll look like. Give or take creative license.

I'd like to point out that I'm pretty keen for all this stuff; as in bought my own guillotine dedicated. I also feel that I should actually get a loyalty card for Paperchase. So after perusing the internet and deciding 'the look' for our invites, I got my supplies in and started the arts and crafts all over again. Well I say that, all I've been able to physically do thus far is cut the A4 paper into A5; don't actually have any of the main info confirmed yet for our wedding day (!) All in good time, hey...

I have, however, downloaded a font and created the designs for the invites themselves. Took a good while but I think we've got there in the end. Now to find a printers...

Wedding crafting has brought me onto first name terms with our local courier, what with all the paper bits I've been ordering. Very British moments of "Ah yes, me again! I know, so many deliveries" *rolls eyes and commences inane chit chat as you sign for the parcel* But lots of paper brings lots of wedding maths, like if there are 104 guests in the daytime with the wedding on a weekend, what colour envelopes do we need? (FYI, I'm a whizz now at paper/envelope sizes if anyone has any questions.)

But similarly to the Save the Dates, when the invites are complete I shall be sure to show you!

X

Maid to Bump

What a weekend! I had the privilege of being Maid of Honour for my best friend of 25 years, and what an absolute delight it was. Such a beautiful day.

From a pregnancy perspective, a few key points to note from the wonderful day: being pregnant and hormonal means you have absolutely zero control over your emotions and when people are doing the delicate tear and wipe of the eye, you will be ugly crying in the corner - the odd yelp escaping as you try and keep it together. Secondly, if you wear heels as part of your outfit and for most of the day, it will feel like you've ran 83 marathons the following morning.

Patsy & Eddie Forever

It was my first wedding, or major social event, where I've been with bump openly and well...people just touch it?!

It's so strange! The majority of friends would ask before their hands made contact with my belly. But some people would touch it and use it as a conversation starter; 'first baby?' Yes thanks, although I'm not sure how you touching it has anything to do with whether it's my first or eighth baby?

I honestly don't mind - it's a new thing that I'm experiencing as the baby gets bigger, and naturally so does my bump. It's just better when people ask beforehand. I think it's more that people talk and touch it like it's independent of you. But it isn't. It's my skin, on my body and it's my baby. I can feel you touching me when you're touching the baby bump. Duhhh.

My bump is quite something though! I'm only 16 weeks + and the waddling walk is now a thing. God knows what I'll be like in another 4 or so weeks. Let alone in a few months time!? Again putting this down to being 160cm in height and not having the longest torso in the world...I'm a condensed potato.

Now I'm off to the doctors to check baby is all ok as I've had some odd pain sensations in the ovary area of late. Would rather be told I'm being terribly over-dramatic but baby is safe and well; put my mind at rest and hopefully get a better night's sleep. Rather than assume it's normal and then it may be something a bit more worrying.

And I've got my first official pregnancy pre-natal massage this evening. Can't wait to be rubbed down. WHAT A TREAT.

X

*UPDATE*
Baby is fine! I was the hypochondriac mum-to-be (oh gosh) but as I said before, would rather be safe than sorry. Turns out that as the baby grows, it isn't always going to feel like a long stretching feeling where my ligaments et al are prepping the small human's home. So this concentrated pain that I've had the last few days is my pelvic tendon, where it's attached and where it's being pulled. The doctor explained it to me that if I was holding a cut elastic band, and he pulled it away from me, it's the end I'm holding that is the bit hurting as it stretches away. Learn something new every day - especially with this pregnancy malarkey. I'll be a fountain of knowledge by the time this baby comes out.

Side note re pre-natal massage, it was everything I hoped it would be and more. Although it was an odd beginning and I'll tell you for why; normally when I'm told to lie on my side on a pop up bed it's because it's all things bum end and with my gastro team. Not the most relaxing of activities. But that's not what happened on this Tuesday evening! Oh the massage was divine! I feel like a new woman and my back feels brand new. Something I would highly recommend when preggers and I will be having many more of these over the coming weeks. I'm ready to be a pampered woman.

So to now where I'm in my soft clothes, feet up, washed hair and baby's on the move. Bliss.

Going to the chapel

And we're going to get married...

BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS BOOKED AS WELL. Super super exciting. 

We don't have an official timeline as such, because our wedding date isn't until Autumn 2017. But there are naturally a few things we'd like to get ticked off by Summer this year - just to give us a bit of breathing space until we're in the official 12 month countdown.

Those are: wedding date, church and venue, guest list, save the dates and to start the hunt for the dress.

As you know we have secured the wedding date, church and venue now. Well done us being grown ups and sorting that out *mini fist pump* The rest are very much tasks I know need doing, but find them a tad overwhelming for a variety of reasons. And I'll tell you for why...

Re save the dates, in an ideal world I'd like all the stationery for the day to match, which technically means deciding the colour schemes and what not we'll have in 18 months time. THAT'S A YEAR AND A HALF AWAY. So much can change! As I mentioned, I'm a massive Pinterest fan so have already started looking at these things, but it's important to me to have the save the dates/general wedding stationery be something representative of the fiancé and I. There's just so much choice out there! Stationery post to naturally follow as I enter the depths of arts and crafts and templates.

Guest list. Where do you even start? Some of the hints and tips online are brutal; 'Guestlist in 30 seconds', 'The Gueslist Game'. Makes it sound so trivial. Or maybe I'm looking into it too much? At the end of the day we just want to know that we were fortunate enough to spend our day with all the people that we love. How we get to that final list, I'm not yet sure! Any advice?

 Then The Dress. I've had one shopping experience thus far, and it was quite something! I treated it as a process of elimination as I whittled down what sort of styles that had caught my eye, to what works in real life. All things wedding dress will get a post of its own later on. How can it not?!

So as you can see, a few things that still need ticking off the list but all in good time my friends. All in good time.

X

Destination Unknown

One of our engagement presents that has since gone on to become the bible of our wedding, is a beautiful Wedding Planner. It has six sections;

1. Wedmin
2. Diary/planner
3. Budgets and costs
4. Guests and gifts
5. Dressing up 
6. The reception 

And even within those it breaks it down further, so you really can't miss any aspect of your wedding day - whether you choose to plan something for every part or not.

Up until that point, we had all the tools to start planning and a date decided. But no venue. As I mentioned in my last post, we both wanted to find somewhere that gave us that 'wow' feeling, thing is, we just didn't really know what type of venue that was going to be.

We decided to spend two days visiting a variety of venues, making sure each one was different from the last. These included a couple of hotels, a room in a castle, a stately home and a barn. We were also conscious not to overwhelm ourselves with information as these things can get quite samey.

Fortunately there was one venue that we saw where we both had that moment. The this is the one moment. But not to jump the gun, we returned home and went through all the paperwork we'd accumulated over the two days. I mean, we could at least enquire about them being available on our chosen date? And maybe see when things need to be tied up by in order to make it ours? Ok ok. Why not?!

One thing that has boggled my mind though, is that through all the enquiries we've done, how everywhere seems to be inundated with queries for 2017 weddings - more so than 2016. Where are all this year's couples? Hiding ready for 2017? You're making me panic that I'm not organised enough!

So long story short, we have now confirmed our venue. IT'S HAPPENING.

X

The Wedding Planner

...I am not. But an organised person, I am and I went into this wedding planning thing with the best of intentions. My inner Monica Geller and OCD traits combining to make a bride-to-be who's totally got her shit together.

Something like that anyway!

After being completely overwhelmed with love and congratulations from our nearest and dearest, we decided to enjoy the engagement bubble before the wedmin began (and yes, that is an official term)

As part of the engagement loveliness there were also many a wedding magazine thrust my way; this is where the Monica/OCD part of me flourished. And my love of stationery. Tabbed pages for reference, including dream wedding dresses to venues, even down to the types of cutlery (!) You can definitely see why the wedding industry in the UK is so lucrative when there are just so many options - no stone left unturned when it comes to planning your perfect day.

But before we got all over-excited, it made sense that the fiancé and I tried to plan when we were going to get married. How do people even decide this?! It's such an odd thought process, trying to decide a time of year that you're particularly fond of. I can honestly say it hadn't crossed my mind before now.

So we decided our wedding date the following way: both our birthdays are in Spring, not a fan of a Summer wedding (and you can never guarantee the weather anyway), even if we went for November/January the venue will likely still feel Christmassy. Kind of left us by default September or October. And OH! Our anniversary is in October... Next year is our 10 years... And the date falls on a Saturday. Ta-da! It's decided. Our wedding date has been indirectly picked for us. How twee.

Now our date had been decided it was a case of venue hunting. This is where hitched.co.uk was super helpful, as it really is a minefield. You can look through all the magazines in the world, and pin as many images as you like on Pinterest, but I think until you walk into a venue and have that 'wow' moment, you won't really know what you're after.

So. 18 months to get organised. Plenty of time!

X

Name Changer

Now you're all up to date on what's happened since I was last regularly blogging, it gives me an opportunity to tell you why my blog has a new name, new feel and new topics.

I touched on it in the 'About Me' section, but essentially it's that there is more to me than having Crohn's - hence the name change. Hattie, etc. is more encompassing of me and the areas of my life, whereas Harriet's Got Crohn's as a name suggests that my illness was what made me up as a person.

I started my blog as a way for me to talk to everyone and no one about what I was feeling with regards to my Crohn's and the challenges that it threw at me. It also served as a great sounding board when I was having to deal with my biggest operation to date. It was a great tool in coping and it let me connect with a variety of people who were taking the time to read what I typed out.

Now however, I'm in a place where there are many exciting things that lie ahead and I want to write about these areas also. Remember as well that I am yet to be in remission - so it's not like I've got my rose-tinted glasses on! It just makes sense to me to have a blog that reflects where I am in my life now.

The shift in my mindset most likely began from being more than happy with the care I receive at Guys & St Thomas', so everything health-wise is less of a worry than it ever has been before. It could be down to the fact I love my job and I never really feel like I'm at work. Or it could be down to my family and friends and how despite all I've been through, they're still there supporting me and they should know that they fucking rock.

Also being that little bit older and more secure in my own skin has merely confirmed that I know it's ok to struggle when having a flare up, and that I can also make the most of what life throws at me. Good or bad. Christ, I'm almost 28 which as everyone knows is basically 30...and then you're middle aged. I've got things to do!

Don't fret though as there will of course be posts about my Crohn's, as it certainly isn't going anywhere, but now they'll sit alongside other topics too. And that's really bloody exciting for me!

X

It's only been 2 years

And my hasn't it flown by?!

A brief update wouldn't go amiss, otherwise you're probably wondering why do I even need to start reading this blog? Who even is this rambling person that just pops up online after a two year hiatus?

Well that person be me, my friend. Harriet, off of Harriet's Got Crohn's that has now decided to be called Hattie online. Sure. Let me try it out. See if it fits. And so far, I'm quite the fan.

It would be easy to say I don't know where to begin, but then that doesn't really help much with an 'update' per se. So maybe it's best I do a quick run through on the Crohn's to get the medical bit out the way and then we can talk about all the fun things that have happened and are happening!

So...

Can't remember what operation number I was on when I last blogged, but I've now had 14. Most recent being another pain in the ass one in December 2015. Care still under the Gastro team at Guys & St Thomas' which is hands down one of the best hospitals I have ever had the experience of being looked after by. They couldn't be more aware of what's going on with me individually and when I'm there I don't feel like just another hospital number. I feel like a person.

To be honest, that's probably why I haven't felt the need to blog for such a long time as - although I haven't been well - I've had a much better support system from the people qualified to help me when I'm ill. And it took me moving hospitals countless times to realise that it shouldn't be an unusual feeling; to feel like you're being looked after when you need it, by the professionals who are there to help you. So yes. Still very much team Guys & St Thomas'.

Meds-wise, I still struggle with the whole Humira injections and have been told off many a time for bad adherence. So we're currently on hold with that whilst they see if Azathioprine can do the job on its own for a while. If it can, ace! No more spring-loaded pens into the abs of steel (ha! Who am I kidding?! No steel here) Will make sure I keep you in the loop with that one. Meds, not my six pack development as that is totally not a thing.

Talking all things body...you may recall a post or 9 about the weight gain from all the medicines I've had over the years. Well the heaviest I got to was 75kg. Now at only 160cm it doesn't take a genius to work out that I was past the point of plump. Then the fickle finger of fate stepped in and through another flare up I went back down to my natural weight of 53kg. Only problem was that it was in a period of three months - so all eyes on me from a medicinal point of view. Doctors everywhere. All the tests. But since coming off the multitude of meds my weight has plateaued and we're doing ok!

No remission officially as of yet, but hey, it's already been 7 years since diagnosis and no remission. What's another 7 or so!?

I think that covers it from a health point of view. I'm sure if it hasn't I'll be blogging about it now I have definitely got the blogging bug back whilst typing this *excitable scream*

Hmm. Now what else has happened since I've blogged last. Oh I don't know. OH YEAH. I GOT ENGAGED.

Officially a grown up. A Mrs-to-be.

All very exciting. All very romantic. Many things to plan. Many things to think about. So many wonderful things to look forward to over the next year.

And that's where the glamour of Crohn's brings you straight back down to earth; when you look at wedding dresses online and consider the ease in which you can go to the toilet toilet. What a bride I'll be.

But now you'll all be there as part of the journey, too.

X