For some time now I've been pondering how my life will be different when we do get our child. I have this vision of baby stuff everywhere, late nights, early mornings... but it's really quite vague.
I've spent a lot of time in the work force now and the change will surely throw me into a tailspin. Will I keep up some of the good habits I've developed or will I be too exhausted to even try? Will I shower every day? Will my living room ever be presentable for company again? Will I wear make-up anymore? Or will I buy a pair of purple rimmed glasses to throw on when unexpected company stops by so they'll be so distracted by the vibrant purple color that they'll never notice that I either haven't put any make-up on or that I've been too tired to wash the old layer off and it's now 3:30 in the afternoon of the third day... sigh.
So many unanswered questions. Fortunately none of that scares me. I very much want to give the role Stay At Home Mom a try. Along with questions of personal hygiene I wonder how adventurous we will be with our new addition. Since babies come with a lot of stuff will it cut down on our desires to travel or will it just be a matter of strapping the extra stuff to the top of the car?
We currently have a vacation/anniversary trip planned for the first week of September. We are driving to New Mexico and staying at a condo there. (I know, who vacations to New Mexico?? Apparenlty we do.) We plan to stay at a ski resort (minus the winter weather) and hike a few trails, try new foods and just enjoy each other's company. So what happens if we are chosen as parents before then? I like to think that we'll still go. That we'll be brave enough (or is that stupid enough?) to go ahead as planned with little one in tow. But honestly I have no idea. And I suppose that I won't have any idea until faced with the situation.
So, just throwin' this out to you dear readers. What changes did your first child bring into your life besides the obvious no sleep? Anything from left field? Trials? Joys? Feel free to leave a comment. Even if you haven't commented before, I'd love to hear.
I've told you before, Sammy travels SO easily and has since he was a baby. If you start them young, they get used to it. And OF COURSE it's different, but doable.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other stuff? The first year was hard on me. We still did things, but it took me about a year to figure how to do "life" and "baby" at the same time. Well, sometimes I'm still figuring it out! But the make up and the house being clean (which CAN happen with kids, I swear! Remind me to tell you about my friend...), all of that comes back as you figure it out.
Where in NM are you going? That's our vaca plan for next year (with my 20 year reunion thrown in there) since Isaac's pretty much only seen my parent's house and NM is just so darn pretty.
A couple of other thoughts. First...you HAVE to travel or our dream of a great cruise together as families won't come true!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I think the real left field thing for me was how much I felt I was BAD at motherhood. I thought (well, kinda) that it would come easier or more naturally and it didn't. I really had to work at it. But I had a really hard first year.
http://hurstfamiliezeitung2.blogspot.com/2010/05/sometimes-i-look-like-raccoon.html
ReplyDeleteI decided my comment would be too long. So I blogged it. Enjoy :)
Make sure the baby takes a pacifier! I didn't give Brody one and fully regret it. Once you get a baby, I'll tell you more than you want to hear of all the things I did wrong, I will do better with the next baby.
ReplyDeleteYes, you'll still wear make-up...somedays! You'll quit going to the gym early lol. You'll be exhausted everyday...but all worth it!
I hope this baby comes soon!
I think the advice should be "you'll do what your baby needs / what works for you" because my pacifier advice would be "AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS"! Ha!
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show everyone is different.
In my first year of motherhood, I had regular before baby type days and total survival mode days. So maybe the makeup won't go on EVERY day, but you won't be a shell of your former self either. It's all about balance. Some days the scale will tip towards cleanliness (home and personal) and some days...not.
ReplyDeleteYou can/will still totally travel. You'll just end up packing more stuff for the baby than for you and your husband combined. :)
None of my babies took pacifiers and it was nice not to have to break them of the habit, but at times I felt like the human pacifier and really wished I wasn't, so I'm torn on this one.
My best piece of advice for new mothers is to not waste your energy on the guilt. At the end of the day, if your child is still breathing and you aren't completely insane, it's a total win.
Love it! I do plan on the pacifier if the child will take one. My nephew doesn't, which would be fine if he was mellow but he isn't.. sometimes you just need a coping device.
ReplyDeleteStill plan on traveling, right there with you Tawnya!
lbs: still breathing is good!
Oh and NM, Taos or right close. Not actually there but about an hour away. WE plan on spending time there though.
I've never been to Taos, but have always wanted to.
ReplyDeleteHowever...I LOVE NM and think it's a great place to travel. I'm kinda looking forward to next year's whirlwind tour of my home state.
Well let's see... I just got out of my Pj's about an hour ago and it is now 5 in the afternoon. Ok it's not always that bad and like the other comments you do wear makeup at least half the time. I will say this and I can relate about being in the work force for so long before having a baby. You do tend to miss being in a social setting. It's an adjustment and some days are hard. But it really is a blessing to stay home with your baby. Honestly what gets me through the hard days is exercise. Yes your tired but taking a little time to exercise gives you the mental and physical strength to get through your days.
ReplyDeleteI hope that things happen soon for you and congrats on the house.
Tawyna, I completely forgot that you were from NM. We're pretty excited to go and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteTrish, good to hear from you!! Are you guys gonna be this way for the 24th? and though I don't have a child I really really hope that I can still excercise (and yes Brenda it more than likely won't be at 5 am anymore!) but it's really one of the things that gets me through the day now. I can't imagine surviving without.
With the impending move and the home that is all ours it really just feels like things are falling into place! It's only logical for a child to be next when the time is right. It feels good to be excited about it again!
I completely agree with what everyone said. The thing about traveling now is that we do take Zach everywhere. We feel that we had ALOT of "us" time where all we would talk about is "when we have a baby..." and now that he is here we just have him with us and love it! The hardest part for me was missing the social part of working, but I never for one tiny part of me want to go back to work, I just love being home. Some days you do get up and dressed and ready, and other days you just don't and ITS OKAY!! That is what I had to keep reminding myself that its okay to just sit and hold this baby and take a nap, because it just is! My piece of advice (apparently I have a lot of them!) is to just enjoy each day and truly take it one day at a time, even though as a new mom it might feel like Groundhog day at times! :) So super excited for when this happens, it is a magical time in your home/life, hard/tiring/wonderfully magical!
ReplyDeleteOn the pacifier thing...I'd so rather have a crazy week of weaning a kid from a pacifier, than months and months and months of wishing my kid took one. Especially in the car!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the oldest kid you would adopt?