12 Things I wish I knew before I became a mom

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Severalwomen I know are getting ready to become moms for the first time and I couldnot be more excited for them. I love being a mom! It is such a crazy whirlwindof an experience that I started to recently think back on when I was firstpregnant and what I wish someone had told me about becoming a mom. This listoriginally started as a top 10… but it quickly bloomed into 12. Here goes:
 


1)     Everyoneis different. Pregnancy, labor, and delivery can vary from person to person andalthough people love to share their stories; that does not mean that your experience will be anything liketheirs {do not be freaked out by everything you hear, but do be smart andeducated about what is happening to you.}. 2)     Sleepwill never be the same again. Cherish every minute of relaxing uninterruptedworry free sleep that you can. I had no idea {no one ever really does} that 8hours of uninterrupted sleep would be so incredibly hard to achieve -postchildren. 3)     Babiessleep a lot at first, but it is only in about two-to-three hour increments. Theyneed to eat every two-to-three hours, so you will have to be awake to feed themwhen they wake up. So in the early days YOU are only sleeping in two-to-threehour increments as well. This is normal. I have found that I can do a lot ofthings on very little sleep. I may only speak gibberish and come off as a bitloopy, but I can change an explosive diaper at two am without batting aneyelash and go right back to bed as if nothing happened. You can get used tothings you never thought you would be able to get used to. 4)     Donot be intimidated by registering for a baby shower. I know this is easier saidthan done and I was extremely overwhelmed when it came to registering for mybaby shower. I took my mother with me to register and it helped me a lot, but Ialso thought only about the one baby I was having and not the longevity of theproducts I was registering for {for example – I registered for a travel systemwith a stroller that would only ever accommodate one child at a time. I wish Iwould have gone with a stroller system that had the capability of expandingwith my family.} I have also helped others register and they have told me thatit was extremely helpful having someone who knew about baby stuff help themregister for baby stuff. 5)     Itis okay to ask for help – I still struggle with this. There is no such thing asa perfect mother. While it is true that some people have fantastic motheringinstincts, everyone struggles and no one knows everything. It is okay NOT to besupermom.6)     Bathroomtime will no longer be private time. I cannot remember the last time I took anuninterrupted trip to the bathroom. 7)     Thereare all kinds of moms {stay at home moms, work at home moms, working moms, anda gazillion other variations in between}; don’t beat yourself up over whichcategory you fall under and don’t judge others based on what they do. No one isbetter than the other. It is all about what works best for your family and foryou. I am blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom. I love what I do, but Iknow women that would go bananas if they stayed at home instead of going towork. I also know women that have to work, but wish they could stay at home.Remember that everyone’s choices and circumstances vary. Don’t beat yourself upover your choices, but don’t think that you are any better or worse than anyoneelse either. 8)     Whenall else fails, laugh. As a mom you are bound to be pooped on, peed on, spit upon, vomited on, and God knows what else! Some days you are just so tired thatyou want to cry {crying is perfectly acceptable by the way} and you don’t thinkyou can handle any more poop. And then – WHAM- its 2am and you get the joy ofchanging an explosive diaper that covers not only the baby, but you and the bedthat you are changing the baby on… laugh. This happened to me and I startedlaughing so hard I woke up my husband who was sound asleep next to me. Althoughhe looked at me like I was crazy, I could not stop laughing. I laughed theentire time I cleaned up my baby, I laughed the entire time I stripped andremade the bed, and I laughed the entire time I cleaned myself up. Then when Iwas all laughed out I crawled back into bed and went back to sleep. Lookingback on this event, I still laugh.9)     Trustyour own instincts. Everyone and their mother will offer you advice. Advice isall fine and dandy {and sometimes there is someone who will actually offer yougood advice}, but YOU are mom. This is YOUR baby and YOUR family and if youthink something is wrong, there might be something wrong. You are your child’sadvocate.10)  Everything takesabout 10 times longer to do when you have children. There is no quick trip tothe grocery store. You will have to pack a diaper bag with essentials to takewith you to the store {diapers, wipes, ointment, pacifiers, bottles, toys…},you will have to prepare yourself as well as your child/children for leavingthe house {bathing, clothing, socks, shoes, car seats…}, you will have to carefor your child while shopping {load and unload from the car, pacify throughoutthe store…}, and you do all of this while trying to look/feel sane – yeahright! 11)  Motherhood isnot super easy, but it is not the end of the world either. Life changes, peoplegrow, and things happen. Facts of life. Yes, your world will never be the sameagain, but you should still carve out some time for yourself. Do something justfor you, be it five minutes alone with a cup of coffee hidden in your closetwhile reading a new best seller or a fitness class with girlfriends once aweek. ME time DOES make you a better mom. Have some guilt free mommy ME time.12)  Being a parentis expensive… seriously. No… I am not joking at all! Being a parent isridiculously expensive. Baby stuff is not cheap. And even when you think youare getting a deal, it is still not cheap. All the little things add up and thebig things are crazy expensive too! Aside from a crib and car seat, there are agazillion other things that you will spend money on {diapers, wipes, bottles,formula, baby laundry detergent, food… the list is endless}. Hand me downs arefabulous and freebies such as gifts are a HUGE blessing.  Whatare some things that you wish you would have known before becoming a parent?Was there anything that completely shocked you?  Http://MomMart.blogspot.com