Parenthood

[so ashamed]

I'm a pretty stubborn person. If I say I'm going to do or finish something, I do, and vice versa. There hasn't been a lot of pre-kid ideas that I've reneged on, but there have been a few. For the sake of humility, I thought I'd share.

Boogie Wipes: I remember I read about "Boogie Wipes" (basically saline wipes for noses) on a blog before getting pregnant and thought they were such a gimmick- truth be told they're worth the $4 to make wiping a baby's snotty nose slightly easier during a cold.

Baby in the Bed: I swore Sawyer would never sleep in our bed, and while it has rarely happened, he has spent a few all-nighters on my chest. Sometimes you have to sleep, and after a few nights with only three or four broken hours of shut-eye, it happens (and sometimes on accident, too).

Schedules: I thought I'd be incredibly rigid about sleep/eat/play schedules, and it turns out I'm not. He eats when he's hungry and sleeps when he's tired and plays when he's not doing either of those things. Luckily those things happen in the same time-frame every day, but I'm not the type of mom that drops everything at 12:47 to put the baby down for a nap. We are incredibly structured at night, but that's just for our sanity.

Puffs: Oh, thank you Gerber, for these miracle little crunchy bites of goodness that allow me to make dinner, eat at restaurants, and clean the kitchen. I frowned on these snacks and their lack of nutritional merit before, but considering the serving size and mouth-to-floor ratio, I now have no qualms. Plus, they facilitate hand-eye coordination.

Judgement: I really thought the idea of others judging my parenting wouldn't bother me, that I'd be confident enough to tell them to screw off. And while I don't necessarily lack confidence in my skills (except the fact that he's still sleeping in our room... that's a tough pill to swallow), the fact that I know family members, and maybe some strangers, have opinions about how we do things really bug me. 

Caffeine Intake: I vowed to limit my caffeine intake to just a Diet Coke a day while breastfeeding. Nope. A morning coffee habit has been established big time. 

Dog Walks: This kills me more than anything, but my dog walking routine has suffered big time. Before Sawyer the dogs were walked once a day from 30-60 minutes. Now, not so much. I can't wait for warmer weather so that I can start swimming them a few times a week (sorry to the pool guy in advance...).

Things I've Maintained (So Far...)

Hobbies/Interests: My husband and I are still able to do the things we love. Maybe not to the same degree, but we haven't let ourselves become completely wrapped up in our baby.

Family Dinner: We still sit down to eat at night, in the dining room, away from the TV. Sawyer usually eats his dinner beforehand, but he's still in there hanging out with us. I still cook five nights a week, just like I did before he was born. 

Cleanliness: My car is still clean, we still don't allow food over the carpet, and toys get picked up after they are used (these are all things people swore we'd change our minds about).

Avoiding the Doctor: Sawyer had gone to the pediatrician for well-baby checkups and then once when I detected his torticollis. He's been sick a few times and we've debated, but he's gotten over his ailments without the doctor or antibiotics, something I feel strongly about (if he really needs them, they I'm 110% cool with it; I am not of the "he tugged at his ears let's get some amoxicillin" camp, though). 

Public Crying: Pre-kid I hated it when people let their kids scream and scream in public, especially in restaurants. I can't remember the last time he had a meltdown in public, but the few times he has we've taken him away from others. I know sometimes you have to hang in there, like when you have a cart of groceries and no help with you, but a crying baby at dinner is not okay.

Purchases: We try to not buy him tons of extra stuff. He has clothes, books, and toys from the holidays, but we don't buy him things every time we're out (not even close).