We all do it. And then we sit back and laugh. So, laugh with me! Mommas to be, get ready!
The word never. Basically, any sentence that had the word "never" in it I wish I could take back. Once that pure exhaustion hits, or the hunger, or the stress and emotions of being a momma finally set in. Guess what. You do that one thing you said you never would. I said I would never let my child sleep on me during the night because I didn't want to create bad habits that I would later have to break him from. Well, then that one night Jay had an extremely bad coughing fit and couldn't calm himself down. Where did Drew find me...on the recliner with a precious baby sleeping soundly on my chest. Drew sweetly kissed my forehead and went back to bed. That was his way of telling me he was proud of me for getting over the fact that I said I would never do it. I finally realized I was not creating a bad habit, but meeting the needs of my baby. Never sometimes shows stubbornness and desire to control. I had to learn that the hard way.
My stroller and car seat will remain in perfect condition. What. Was. I. Thinking. I used to think that car seats and strollers that showed wear and tear were gross. I used to see stains on a car seat or stroller and think that it's so easy to just wipe it up. And then, Jaylen entered the picture. We have put close to 450 miles on our stroller in a year. Our car seat is used every day. I learned quickly that babies don't warn you when they are going to spit up everywhere (and always when you have nothing to use to wipe it up well), crumbs get into every single crack and crevice of the stroller, teething crackers stick to everything. I have taken on a new thought process when I see a stroller or car seat with wear and tear...it's been well loved and had many miles of memories made in it. (Also, someone should start a car seat/stroller car wash type thing. Drive up, get it cleaned well, drive away. I would be your number one customer.)
My child will always be very well dressed. Between spit up, blow outs, sweat, and drool sometimes we're lucky to have clothes on at all! I used to always wonder why parents let their kids run around in just a diaper, I mean it is cute but what's the reason. Now I know! Baby skin is much easier to wipe off than changing an entire outfit 17 times in a day. Add in the fact that we were in a pandemic and weren't really going anywhere nice so once the pile of clean onesies ran out it was time for just a diaper. It's an added bonus to be able to squish those rolls and blow raspberries on his big ol' belly whenever I want during the day!
I will find ways to feed my child all kinds of food. It's almost like I thought he wouldn't have a mind of his own. Again, what was I thinking? The kid hates avocados, no matter how many times I try to give them to him. Strawberries bring out the best sour puss face I have ever seen. And some of those pouches get spit out as fast as I can squeeze them in. Feeding a small child is a huge reality check of just when you think you have control...you have zero.
I am so tired. HA! I am sure Drew would second me on this, we used to say that all the time. And were we tired before kids? Yes! Are you allowed to be tired before kids? Absolutely. But for us, with-a-kid-tired is a whole new level of tired. I would give anything to have my pre-kid tired back. I didn't fully understand mom brain tired until about 2 months ago when I was convinced that our water heater had died. I text Drew and let him know. He came home to check it out and realized that ALL DAY I had the faucet handle on the cold direction. Folks, all day. All. Day. Thank God, I didn't call a plumber. He would have legit laughed at me.
Even with kid toys, my house will be organized and clean, ready for people to come over whenever. Don't get me wrong, my house is clean. It's just not up to my pre-kid standard of clean and organized. I'm slowly starting to get over that (with much help from my sister with two children regularly sending me pictures of her house). When I was making our baby registry for Jaylen, I was so overwhelmed by how much stuff a child needs that I partially convinced myself we didn't need it all. Well, we now have it all because I was so very wrong. It's necessary. And it's big. And it's an eyesore (still waiting for someone to create a farmhouse/antique baby furniture and toy line so it matches my decor). On top of that, we are blessed to have a son who seems to love sports, especially throwing things far across the room. During the day it is a constant battle of clean up, throw things, clean it up again, throw things, clean it up, throw it one more time before bedtime. I love having an open door policy at my home, come on over whenever. I just cannot promise you that I will let you in if toys are scattered about! Thankfully we have a beautiful yard!
I won't have a hard time working and being a mom. Swimming started in April and I was stoked for my "break" from being a full time stay at home mom. I am so thankful for my many, many swimmers. Jaylen is the luckiest kiddo ever because he has the best nanny that stays with him at home while I am swimming. It's the perfect set up, really. I was excited to get back to swimming but the days are long (8-5pm). There are many times during the day that I wish I could just run in and give him a squeeze, run around with him for a bit, feed him, lay him down for his nap. They are so little for so little, it's tough being right outside the doors knowing that he may reach a milestone as I am spending time with another kiddo. How do we as moms find the balance of needing a break and not wanting to miss anything at the same time? It's tough!
How could you possibly forget an essential item like a diaper? I will never forget the day a friend told me of a time where she grabbed the diaper bag, went to the store, had to change her child's diaper only to realize that she forgot to check the diaper bag for diapers and she didn't have a single one. I simply couldn't understand how that happened. Then there was the day I took my own son to swim lessons and forgot swim diapers. Mortified (more so because I am a swim instructor) I walked up to his swim teacher with a naked baby just completely ashamed to even tell her I forgot the most essential item for his lessons. She was so gracious and understanding. But woah, I was then able to wrap my head around how this happened. Babies need so much stuff. It's actually insane. The fact that I grabbed 99 of the 100 items he needed for that day is something to celebrate. Not beat myself up over. Also, I think it's easy for us moms to forget that we are humans. We forget things. And life will go on.
I can't wait until... I would always say, "I can't wait until I can bring my baby to a park" or swim, or play a sport, or starts school. The list goes on. Having Jaylen I have realized I can wait and need to enjoy every second of every stage of his life because... (see #10).
They don't grow up as fast as everyone says. It goes by so darn fast. In two weeks we will have a one year old. In one year he has grown so incredibly much. We have done so much to create fun memories. He has become familiar with so many friendly faces. It really does speed by. 365 days. Sounds like a long time, but dang. It's not. I am so, so, so thankful for the technology we have today so that I could capture as much as possible from this whirlwind of a year and continue to capture the next many years of Jaylen's fun times.
See, I said some pretty dumb stuff. But when you aren't in it you don't know. And I still say dumb stuff because I'm not in the next phase of being a parent. All you can do is sit back, laugh and learn! So thankful for everyone who has helped me to learn along the way.