Things I've Learned, so far...
Over the last 14 months I’ve learned a lot about being a parent. They’re not really the kinds of things you read about in parenting books, either. It’s all pretty much no-brainer stuff that you would think is obvious, but probably things you don’t think about until it actually happens to you or someone points it out. I suppose some of these aren’t true for everyone, but they’re definitely true for me.
Showering daily is a luxury.
Poop, vomit, drool and other bodily fluids are not quite as disgusting when they're coming out of your baby.
Breastfeeding, while one of the most natural things a woman can do, is really very difficult (at least for me).
Breastfeeding is totally bizarre and the way it works amazes me. Just thinking about my baby girl or hearing a child cry made my breasts fill up with milk. The amount of sleep you get, the amount of stress you have and the amount of water you drink all have a huge affect on how much milk you produce.
Even though breastfeeding is completely natural, there is a lot of legislation about breastfeeding in public and where it's acceptable and where it's not. Currently, federal law leaves it up to the states to "do something about it" and if a particular state doesn't have any laws specifying acceptability of breastfeeding then it's legal to breastfeed in public, but if someone asks you to stop then you have to. That is profoundly ludicrous!
EVERYTHING takes longer when you have a kid.
Even if you think you know your own home inside and out, your kids will find hiding places you never knew existed and when you finally find them, you will know what happened to all those pacifiers and socks!
Children get a kick out of using hiding places to hide things that parents think are really important and then watching their parents search high and low, on tippy-toes and hands and knees in utter amazement that a child’s pacifier could just vanish off the face of the earth.
As soon as you have a baby, you become secondary. People call to find out how the baby's doing, not really to talk to you. If the baby could talk, they'd just call to talk to her. Friends whom you haven't been especially close to in recent years who have kids suddenly want to hang out a lot more. Relatives send messages to your email, but address them to the baby.
The entourage of stuff that goes along with babies nowadays requires a 1,500 sq. ft. house of its own.
There are about 9 million shades of pink. Eibhleann has close to half those shades in her closet, I think.
I am amazed at the number of things I can do with only one hand.
There is so much stuff that we do every day that we don't think twice about, but when you have a kid you have to think twice about. Did you know that you're not supposed to give anyone under the age of 19 aspirin? I didn't until I read about it on a baby site. It can cause serious health problems.
There are some insane stores out there for all-things-baby. I just got an email from PoshTots.com that cracks me up. If I shop now I can save 15% on my purchase of $800 or more! That's not a typo. I have to spend $800 to get a 15% discount. For real!
Using "baby" words to describe things drives me absolutely nuts! I will not use words like "hoo-hoo", "ha-ha", "pee-pee", "potty", "wee-wee", "binky", etc. Eventually the kid's going to grow up and need to know the actual words, so why not start using them now?
Priorities, thoughts, actions…they all change when you have a baby.
When Eibhleann is crying, nothing else in the world is more important than finding a way to make her happy again. Every time she cries it breaks my heart a little.
There are no words in any language that can sufficiently describe how much you can love a child.
This whole experience of having a baby has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love having a family and spending time with them. I love being a part of something that's greater than just me. I'm so excited!
Showering daily is a luxury.
Poop, vomit, drool and other bodily fluids are not quite as disgusting when they're coming out of your baby.
Breastfeeding, while one of the most natural things a woman can do, is really very difficult (at least for me).
Breastfeeding is totally bizarre and the way it works amazes me. Just thinking about my baby girl or hearing a child cry made my breasts fill up with milk. The amount of sleep you get, the amount of stress you have and the amount of water you drink all have a huge affect on how much milk you produce.
Even though breastfeeding is completely natural, there is a lot of legislation about breastfeeding in public and where it's acceptable and where it's not. Currently, federal law leaves it up to the states to "do something about it" and if a particular state doesn't have any laws specifying acceptability of breastfeeding then it's legal to breastfeed in public, but if someone asks you to stop then you have to. That is profoundly ludicrous!
EVERYTHING takes longer when you have a kid.
Even if you think you know your own home inside and out, your kids will find hiding places you never knew existed and when you finally find them, you will know what happened to all those pacifiers and socks!
Children get a kick out of using hiding places to hide things that parents think are really important and then watching their parents search high and low, on tippy-toes and hands and knees in utter amazement that a child’s pacifier could just vanish off the face of the earth.
As soon as you have a baby, you become secondary. People call to find out how the baby's doing, not really to talk to you. If the baby could talk, they'd just call to talk to her. Friends whom you haven't been especially close to in recent years who have kids suddenly want to hang out a lot more. Relatives send messages to your email, but address them to the baby.
The entourage of stuff that goes along with babies nowadays requires a 1,500 sq. ft. house of its own.
There are about 9 million shades of pink. Eibhleann has close to half those shades in her closet, I think.
I am amazed at the number of things I can do with only one hand.
There is so much stuff that we do every day that we don't think twice about, but when you have a kid you have to think twice about. Did you know that you're not supposed to give anyone under the age of 19 aspirin? I didn't until I read about it on a baby site. It can cause serious health problems.
There are some insane stores out there for all-things-baby. I just got an email from PoshTots.com that cracks me up. If I shop now I can save 15% on my purchase of $800 or more! That's not a typo. I have to spend $800 to get a 15% discount. For real!
Using "baby" words to describe things drives me absolutely nuts! I will not use words like "hoo-hoo", "ha-ha", "pee-pee", "potty", "wee-wee", "binky", etc. Eventually the kid's going to grow up and need to know the actual words, so why not start using them now?
Priorities, thoughts, actions…they all change when you have a baby.
When Eibhleann is crying, nothing else in the world is more important than finding a way to make her happy again. Every time she cries it breaks my heart a little.
There are no words in any language that can sufficiently describe how much you can love a child.
This whole experience of having a baby has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love having a family and spending time with them. I love being a part of something that's greater than just me. I'm so excited!
Comment
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Comment by Anci on September 30, 2008 at 3:47pm - I get the most negative comments and advice from other women. It's odd. yeap, it happened to me too.I wonder why that is...
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Comment by Eibhleann's Mommy on September 30, 2008 at 2:47pm -
I've learned a lot by being a mom...more than I ever thought I would.
Women, in my experience, are not the kindest creatures to other women. I don't know why that is since we have so much in us to love, nurture and take care of others. I've noticed, too, though that I get the most negative comments and advice from other women. It's odd.
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Comment by SAEBausch on September 29, 2008 at 3:31pm - Breastfeeding is one of the most natural but strangest things ever, and even in a "you can legally breastfeed anywhere you want" state I get a lot of nasty looks from mainly women if I am in public, even being covered and sitting there with my husband! You are so right on the bodily fluids thing as well. The aspirin thing I knew, the no water for babies was the one that took me by surprise!
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Comment by Anci on September 29, 2008 at 3:28pm
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you couldn't have said it better!
keep blogging, you're great!!
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