Friday, April 13, 2012

Musings of a New Parent

As the mother of one 8 month old daughter, I am in no way an expert on parenting, motherhood or child-rearing. But as I was rocking Cora to sleep today and thinking about what life was like before we had her I was amused by how much is so different than I thought it would be and how drastically our lives have changed in the last 8 months. Here are just some of the things that I’ve observed about being a parent:

1. People who don’t have kids and say they are tired have no idea what they are talking about.

2. Trying to lay a sleeping baby in a crib is a time consuming and temperamental process that requires a careful hand so that body heat is not lost too quickly, therefore waking the sleeping baby and starting the process of getting them to sleep all over again.

3. I can tell how dirty my floors are by merely looking at the knees of Cora’s pants.

4. When we actually get a chance to go on a date and get a little time away from Cora, the whole time is spent talking or worrying about Cora.

5. When teaching a baby to crawl or walk you sound like you’re talking to a dog. (Come on Cora! Come on! Come to mommy!)

6. In the time it takes for labor to be over, everything you have to talk about with people that do not have kids disappears. Mostly because all you ever want to talk about again is your kids and how wonderful they are, and let’s be honest, even people that do have kids can only take so much of that.

7. Everyday chores, such as cleaning the kitchen floors become overwhelming tasks until they get on a good nap schedule. Even then, chances are they’ll wake up crying while you’re in the middle of mopping.

It’s exhausting, emotionally and physically draining and the most time consuming thing I’ve ever experienced. But at the same time it is so rewarding and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

No comments:

Best Day EVER!