My son is the one thing in life that I am really proud of. He is my entire world already and I love him more than anything. But I have learned so much since I found out I was pregnant. Here is my list of things I have learned.
1. When you are pregnant you will think you are huge and fat and get sad that you can't fit into your pants. But after the baby comes you will miss being pregnant. You will miss being able to put on a tight tank top and show off your belly. Because your post partum belly does not belong in a tight shirt. You will want to make sure that everyone knows that you recently had a baby so they will excuse you for still wearing your fat pants (or worse, elastic maternity pants) because you "are going to lose this weight soon" and don't want to spend money on pants that you will hardly even wear.
2. Somedays you will wish you weren't a mom. Not that you will regret having your baby, but somedays you will wish that you didn't have to pick him up every time he cries, and that you could go to walmart without having to pack a diaper bag and carry the heavy car seat to the car and have to worry about him screaming in the middle of the grocery store. You will start to miss going out for supper and drinking and staying out all night, even if you never did those things to begin with.
3. You will finally have extreme respect for stay at home moms, and will defend them in any argument. There is no harder job than keeping up a household and taking care of a baby 24/7.
4. Invest in some quality deodorant, dry shampoo and ponytails. Somedays your little munchkin will nap for an hour or so at a time so that you can shower and get ready, do the dishes, wash bottles, do laundry, pick up the house, and make supper. But sometimes he will decide to nap in 5 or 10 minute increments throughout the day. Making all of those things impossible. You feel like you need to celebrate the days that you managed to find time to shave your legs. I can normally always find time in the day to have a quick shower. But I definitely do not wash my hair as often as before. Not that washing my hair takes that long, but then I will have to blow dry it or manage it in some way before it goes bad curly and gets in my face and drives me nuts. And it will end up in a messy ponytail on the top of my head by noon anyways because babies love to pull hair.
5. Newborn t-shirts are the dumbest thing in the world. Cutest, yes but while you are trying to shove your brand new baby's head through a tiny little shirt hole you will feel like a monster for putting him through this torture. Sleepers are way easier.
6. Buying a million bottles when you are pregnant is also a dumb idea, even if you are planning on formula feeding like I was. I can almost guarantee that your baby will hate every single bottle that you buy at the beginning. When you finally find a good one you will buy a bunch of the same and then have a bunch of other bottles lying around.
7. Don't think that you will do things according to your plan. I guarantee you won't. I planned on just putting Owen into his crib from the beginning but bought a bassinet just in case. Well I kept him in his bassinet beside my bed until he was almost 4 months old and had a hard time actually putting him into his crib. I didn't plan on breast feeding from the start but I have several friends who planned to exclusively breast feed and I watched them struggle and breakdown over not being able to breast feed. It's okay to change your plans, I promise your baby will be fine.
8. Get used to fluids leaking from your body. Enough said.
9. Buy a slow cooker. This had to have been designed by a new mom. Making supper is no longer easy with a baby in the house. Nor do you even want to make supper. There were more nights than I can remember before I got my slow cooker that Brendon came home to no supper made, and I sent him out to grab us something because it was just easier. But now since I've gotten my slow cooker I have made awesome healthy meals with very little prep. Go get one. Now.
10. Two very important words: Diaper Genie. (But don't try and squeeze the air out of the bag with your face near. You will inhale nasty old baby poop. Brendon learned this the hard way)
11. It is okay to let your baby cry. He will not hate you, he will not suffer, he will survive. In my opinion it is not necessary to run and pick up your baby as soon as he or she starts to make a fuss.
12. People will drive you nuts. Everyone will try and tell you what your baby needs or what you should or shouldn't be doing. You'll be in the middle of the grocery store and your baby will have a 3 second sleepy cry in his stroller and a stranger will run over to you and demand that you pick him up or feed him. Ugh. Nothing drives me crazier. It gets worse when you say "oh he's fine he's just tired" and they argue with you. Like I'm sorry I didn't realize that you know my baby so well.
13. On a related note, friends and relatives that you haven't spoken to in years will just HAVE to stop by and see your baby and give you advice.
14. Don't compare your baby to any one else's and don't let anyone but a medical professional tell you that your baby is behind. Some babies can sit and crawl and walk early and some take a bit longer. It does not mean that there is something wrong with your baby. And anyone (besides a doctor) that tells you otherwise, can get bent.
15. Becoming a parent is the hardest thing that I have ever done but it is also the most rewarding experience of my life. Slow down and enjoy every moment because it will all go so fast.
xoxo
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