You know your entire life is about to change. You listen to others giving you advice about how your lifestyle will be dramatically different. Yet, you don't really know. How could you? Instead, you nod and start planning to bring the baby backpacking with you during your maternity leave.
The main thing is that the minute you have a baby, you grow up, a lot. Suddenly, there are sacrifices to be made and plans to refine. Things you never bothered with are now extremely important and as boring as it sounds, the sensible option is usually the right one for your new little family.
Here's what I wish I had known before I become a mother:
1. Sleep deprivation is a real thing. Trying to function on extreme tiredness becomes the norm. I've seven years in and I can count on my hands the number of full uninterrupted nights sleep I've had. Don't fight it.
2. Supermarket shopping is now my hobby. Doing it alone in the evenings is the equivalent rest as a week-long trip to Hawaii.
3. Doing grown-up things like setting up life assurance or health insurance is essential. You also have to know about pensions and vaccinations. I wish I knew you would need a calendar for a calendar and your notice board becomes your family HQ. At least LIV insurance makes it convenient and simple to use.
4. You will research like a fiend - looking up every search engine on how to swaddle, how to stop teething pain, how to control tantrums, how early is it to open a bottle of wine...
5. Your to-do list will never be done. Never. Accept this and move on.
6. Leggings or yoga pants are a necessity. I practically trip over my children in my haste to get to them after a long day spent in 'real' clothes. Pro Tip: If you have seen nobody of significance that day, it is entirely acceptable to wear the entire same outfit again the next day.
7. Your child will do an explosion up the back of their outfit 10 seconds before you leave the house. How bad it is depends on how late you are. Running 10 minutes late, it will be quite bad. Running half an hour late and it is sure to be monumental.
8. I wish I had known the new love I was capable of. That fierce, want-to-bite-their-cheek kind of love (you don't) that makes you feel like the luckiest person in the world. You realise that all the changes you are making and sensible things you are doing are simply for them and their well-being. Nothing else matters except keeping them happy, safe, protected and loved.
Yes, parenthood changes you dramatically, but it is usually for the better.
