Truths of Parenthood

It's been said it a million times - Nothing can prepare you for parenthood. Now, there are things that tell you about parenthood, give you advice, etc. but I didn't really see the truth or understand before being a parent.

When you become a parent your eyes are open to an entirely new world. These are just a few of the "truths" I've discovered in the short 6 months of being a parent:

1. Motherhood is slowly watching yourself turn into the people from "What Not To Wear," and not caring. This was the first quote I saw and immediately went, "Oh my gosh, this is my life." When I was in college I use to watch "What Not To Wear" all the time. I'd look at the mom's on the show and think to myself, "how do you not have enough time to dress a little nicer?" After Claire was born, I'm pretty sure I wore the same 3 v-neck t-shirts all summer, and I honestly didn't care one bit.

2. You use baby wipes for cleaning up random spills, clean the dash on your car, window sills and your entire bathroom. Absolutely! We've used wipes to clean the car (and they work really well), I use them to kill bugs, clean up the car seat when poop gets a little crazy...they're always right there, you carry them with you all the time, why not use them?

3. Motherhood: Basically just Googling how to do stuff. Chris will ask me a question, "are we supposed keep doing this?" or "when should she be holding her head up?" My answer, "Google it."

4. My alarm wears cute jammies and smiles at me when I wake up. While I do set my alarm every morning, Claire is usually up and talking to herself before my phone goes off. She is a very happy baby and full of smiles in the mornings. Even though sometimes I'd like more sleep, when I walk in to her room and see her adorable smile, I don't mind being woken up. Plus those footie pajamas - how can you not want to cuddle them in those?

5. Currently approving my kids friends by which parents I think would drink wine with me during play dates. Chris and I were just talking about this the other day. I don't care so much about the wine, but we can't wait until Claire is in school and making friends so that we can have friends again!

6. Just when you think you know love, something little comes along to remind you just how big it really is. I remember telling Chris, "I think I would be ok if I couldn't have kids." I loved our family the way it was; Chris, me and the dog. When I was pregnant, I was so worried I wouldn't get "that feeling" when my baby was born. I hadn't felt it when I found out I was pregnant, or really during my pregnancy. Sure I got excited when I found out we were having a girl and when I got to see her during ultrasounds, but I never got "that feeling". Then that first night alone with Claire in the hospital I found love.

7. When in doubt, choose the kids. There will be plenty of time later to choose work. I tend to overload myself. I have a hard time saying no to people and always am staying busy. This year, with Claire, I've learned I can't do it all, and more importantly, I don't want to do it all. I'd much rather spend my time with her. Slowly I'm learning to tell people no. Slowly I'm letting things go. Sometimes it's a challenge, but the reward is far greater.