The Great Trade-Off

I always knew that motherhood would change me. That was no surprise. In fact, when I was pregnant, people would often say “Oh your life is about to change FOREVER” with this ominous tone, like I had no idea what I had signed up for. And I would think “I sure hope so!” Can you imagine living your pre-baby life post-baby? I sure can’t. But for me, that was a good thing. I always knew I wanted children, and at the ripe (almost rotten) age of 32, I had done enough of the childless things to know that I wanted to do more of the child-full things. And so it began. Here are just a few of the many ways my life has changed. As a disclaimer, this is not a complaint list at all. I intend to print these blog posts out and include them in my scrapbook so I can forever remember my thoughts about this time. So with that… I have traded the following:


1)  Cute handbags for black bags under my eyes.  On the upside, black goes with everything!

                                                             Look at those bags!


2)  Cute stylish little tank tops for nursing tanks, tshirts, and yoga pants (no, I haven't worked out a bit since baby Kate was born).  I can't express how pathetic my wardrobe is at this point, but I am thankful for the comfort and stretchability of spandex! 


3)  Bottles of wine, for bottles and whine!

4)  Pumping weights (yep, my little 8 lb weights count) for pumping milk.  One day I might write a blog about the many similarities between me and a cow!  Really, I just might do it!

5)  Abs of steel for abs of flab. (For the record, the abs in my head match those on the cover of any ab video you see advertised. The mirror tells a very different story, but we all know mirrors lie. Rolling your eyes at me? OK fine. Go try on bathing suits in department store lighting in the dead of winter. See? Now you think mirrors lie too.)

6)  Rocking my skinny jeans for rocking my baby to sleep. In another 20 years skinny jeans will be cool again. I’ll just pick up the trend then… when I’m 53. Yikes! As a side note, I really do wish I had a picture of me in my pre-baby skinny jeans. Then again, it just might make me cry.

Me in the new uniform- a tank and stretchy, baggy pants!

7)  My own urge to party all night, for my daughter's urge to potty all night. In truth, I haven’t “partied” in a long, long time. Longer than I care to admit, actually. But should I feel the urge to again, I’m already conditioned for surviving without any sleep. So feel free to invite me to your next all-nighter. I can totally hang with the 8 week-olds.

Not exactly the middle of the night, but you get the picture. 

This was taken when Kate "graduated" from newborn dipes to 1's!!

8)  Singing along to my favorite songs on the radio for singing lullabyes.  You are My Sunshine, Kumbaya, All in the Golden Afternoon, & Baby Mine to name a few.  Plus, llistening to Baby Einstein Cd's!

9)  Hanging out on Facebook for hanging out on Babycenter.  I can't get enough of Babycenter and I am so thankful for all the Moms on the August 2010 board.  They have been so helpful- lots of information and laughs since I found out I was pregnant, and I actually made a few online Mommy friends!

I'm sure you noticed that many of these "changes" have to do with my appearance.  So I'll just put it out there, I'm vain.  There. I like to feel good about myself and that is evident in my appearance.  I don't wear fancy designer clothes, but I like to take care of myself and that is something I haven't had time for lately.  I know I'll never have time to take care of myself like I did pre-baby, but there are some things I can start doing right now.  Excercise and eating right!  Today starts operation motivation!  Dad, Holly, Kendra, Ken, and I have a pool going to see who can lose the most (percentage) by Christmas!  I think I'm going to win :)

In the mean time, stay tuned for my post about the cow!