She Works Hard for the Mommy v. 11


Hello there! My name is Heather and I own a certified at-home bakery, Heather's Hot Buns. A little about myself, I am from Florida and was adopted and raised by my grandparents. My grandpa is an entrepreneur; I have always looked up to his adventurous spirit. My grandma was a stay-at home mom for most of our childhood. She was at every swim meet, every school activity, she was our biggest supporter and fan. My end goal for adulthood was to emulate both of my grandparents  BUT like most high school graduates, I had no idea how to get there. My high school required us to apply to ten colleges. My grandparents said if I went out-of-state I was on my own financially and rightfully so since I could have gone anywhere in Florida for free. I started researching how I could afford out of state tuition and viola, the Navy came up on my search. I applied for a NROTC scholarship for Nursing and waited, and waited, and waited. They accepted me into the program and gave me a list of schools to choose from. Like any mature 17 year old, I shut my eyes and blindly pointed to a variety of schools all around the country (and a few in Florida although I sent in blank applications....sorry grandma!) and applied. Purdue University was one of those schools and the rest is history. Through an odd twist and turns of events, I dropped Nursing and got a bachelor's degree in Nutrition, Fitness and Health (ironic huh? now I sell sugary delicious treats!). I commissioned in the Navy and went on my way to my first tour in Yokosuka, Japan. 
Eight years later, here I am. I separated from the Navy January 2019 but my last day of "working" was November 13, 2018. My baby girl was due December 27, 2018, I always said I would NEVER have a Christmas baby. I share a birthday with Thanksgiving and I was always bitter about it as a child. Unpopular opinion, I do not like Thanksgiving food! However, life happened and we were about to have an (almost) Christmas baby. I will never forget that Tuesday, November 13th. I was MISERABLE. I hadn't slept in weeks, I didn't feel like eating and I had this uncontrollable itch. The itch was so bad that I had to sleep with ice packs on my arms and would scratch so hard I gave myself blood blisters all over my body. I had noticed a severe decrease in fetal movement, I am sure my husband thought I was just going through another one of my anxiety riddled rants. I turned to my friend at work and said, this baby is coming early, I can feel it. Everyone looked at me and rolled their eyes. Four hours later I was on my way to the hospital. First they did a 20 min test which turned into a 12 hour test which turned into 2 days of being strapped to a hospital bed. I was still so itchy that I scratched my knuckles raw on the hospital bed. All I could think was that I wanted to shower and MOVE! Did I mention I was miserable? On the morning of the 15th, they let me shower before I saw a specialty doctor for an ultrasound. At 11:54 AM they told me I was having an emergency C-section and at 12:56 PM our beautiful baby girl was born. 
I had all these dreams about how labor would be, many of them were nightmares but I never entertained the thought of a C-section. I felt, shocked. I never thought I would be told I couldn't see my baby or that the first time I would see her was in the NICU, or that she would have a breathing and feeding tube with little prick marks all over her arms from the IVs. The first time I saw her, I knew I could never leave her. That I could not work a 9-5 job. If I hadn't stuck with my gut, she could have been a stillborn from the buildup of my bile acids (hence the itching) and the umbilical cord being wrapped around her neck twice. I didn't want to miss a single milestone because each one was not a given, she had to fight from that first day to be in this world. I decided what was best for ME was to not chase money but to chase memories and I was determined to pave a path to be able to stay at-home with her.
Here I am now, striving to be as strong and inspiring as my grandparents...a stay at-home mom with a small business. This is the best of both worlds for me. I understand some people are a better Mom by working. I totally get it, there are days where I think it would be nice to have a break from home-life, to chase a goal outside of the home. It makes for a very tiring day, I wake up early to bake cookies, decorate, finish packaging or check my messages. Then she wakes up and the fun begins. I spend my mornings reading to her or building various structures with blocks that she simultaneously demolishes. She loves chasing the vacuum around and watching the dogs bark and chase each other out back. It is funny how things that were once nuances turn into fun activities.  I think the best part of being a Mom is how a little human change your perspective on pretty much everything.  I have two goals each day, to make her belly laugh and to be the best wife/mom I can possibly be.
I think when you have a passion for something, you will find time to do it. I LOVE being a part of people's special events with my baked goods and I LOVE being a Mama Bear. I LOVE the look on my customers faces when they see their vision in cookie form. I LOVE the look on my daughter's face when she accomplishes something new and waits for me to acknowledge it with a scream of glee and clapping. The best compliment I can get is a big smile and a hug from my customers. The best feeling in the world is when she is filled with so much love that she surprises me with a kiss on the cheek or a hug. That makes the lack of sleep worth it. Laughing with her all day makes the lack of sleep bearable. I spent eight years in the military counting down the days to "freedom" and wishing time would go by faster. Now, I want to freeze time for a while. I hope everyone gets to the point of happiness that you too want to freeze time instead of wish your time away. Whatever will get you to that goal, do it! Do not take life or the people around you for granted. 
If you are a NICU Mama and need support, someone with a entrepreneur spirit but not sure how to make your dreams a reality, or really want a yummy cookie you can contact me through email (heathershotbuns@gmail.com), direct message me on Instagram (@heathers_hot_buns_bakery) or on fFcebook (@HeathersHotBuns).