A Baby Does Change Everything. Part Two.

I thought I'd finish off sharing how my thoughts and expectations have changed since becoming a parent. This is a continuation from Part One.. I figured if I made one big list it would be way too long! We'll call it a prelude to Mothers Day.


I thought my husband and I would take turns getting up in the middle of the night.



BUT



That didn't happen. I think Tyler has gotten up less times than I have fingers. You just always hear stories about how both parents are exhausted from getting up multiple times with their new baby. Well, our story is only about an exhausted mom that got up multiple times with the new baby.. mostly because the well rested dad doesn't have boobs.

I thought I would cry when Mason was born and be overwhelmed with emotions.

BUT

To be honest, after hours and hours of painful contractions, my grand finale was the epidural for my c-section. I was already on top of the world when they pulled a baby out. He cried, I didn't. I blame the drugs.

I thought I would be excited to share and let all my friends and family hold my new baby.

BUT

I was not! After all, I got to keep him to myself for several months. I wan't prepared to share, sometimes even with my husband. I eventually got over this.

I thought I'd love my husband even more and our marriage would improve after adding baby to the picture.

BUT

That was not so. While this may be true now, it was not at first. Everything my husband did seemed to annoy me more than usual. Little things he did, or didn't do for that matter, drove me crazy and made me angry. Those hormones are killer, I'm telling you. Maybe I just felt that way because I was the exhausted mom who go up all the time with the new baby. Everyone claims that seeing their significant other holding the baby they made together makes them fall even more head over heels. After doing the research, I learned that most marriages actually go downhill after adding kids to the mix. I do love my husband more, now.

I thought when people said you'll be tired when the baby comes that it would be no big deal. After all, I've been tired before.

BUT

I had no idea. If you haven't had a newborn, you don't know how exhausting it is. You can't prepare yourself for something like that. When people give you the advice to "sleep when baby sleeps", take it!

I thought I'd be ready to leave my baby with someone else, at least by 3 months.

BUT


I was not and am still not. Mason has been left with his Aunt Lindy for less than 2 hours while I got new tires put on the car and last week with the Double G's (great grandparents) for 20 minutes while we met with the pastor about his baptism. That's it. I have the intense need to know where he is/what he's doing/how he's feeling at ALL times. I'm not sure when or if I will ever get over this.

I thought I was going into motherhood blind and I'd have to learn how to do everything. I wasn't really a baby person.

BUT

I'm a natural, just like every other mom out there. Instincts have guided me on my path of parenthood and it has been a smooth ride, for the most part. While I have had to learn many things, it wasn't in the way I thought I would. There's no need for books and research (although I still occupy a lot of my time with these things), no frantic calls to my mom daily. You learn as you go. The baby tells you what he needs. While this can be scary and confusing at first, as your relationship builds and you get to know one another, everything becomes easier. You learn that babies change. One day to the next can be completely different and you learn to adapt.

Being a mom is hard and easy.

Being a mom is scary and comforting.

Being a mom is exhausting and energizing.

Being a mom is the biggest, most wonderful blessing I could ever ask for.