10 Things I Thought Would Be Different About Motherhood

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When I found out I was pregnant with Blaire in June of 2013, I knew my life was about to change dramatically. I also thought I knew how it was going to change. HA! If you’re a mama, I have a feeling you’re going to LOL at these. If you’re not a mama, you have friends who are moms. You have a mom. You think you know the basics. You think you know what it’ll be like. I know I did. While motherhood is sooo different from person to person, there are some things that unite us. Lack of sleep. Love for dry shampoo. All the worry for our precious babies. AND the fact we had no idea how much these precious babies would change our lives.

1. I thought I would never wear maternity clothes.
   WHY?! WHY did I ever resist maternity clothing? Maternity leggings are the best thing to have ever happened to my pregnant self. A close second — maternity jeans. I wore those jeans until Blaire was 4 months old. Hell, maybe even longer. And my maternity leggings? I still wear them. No shame.
2. I thought being pregnant guaranteed amazing hair and glowing skin.
   I didn’t get either one. My hair didn’t get longer or thicker. My skin actually got worse. But guess what? Even if you grow long, thick, beautiful hair during your pregnancy, it’s probably going to fall out. All of your beautiful, new hair and then some. It’s called postpartum hair loss. And it’s not fair.
3. I thought my maternity leave would give me a chance to do so. many. activities.
   Lolol. I had Blaire via scheduled C Section, so I worked right up until the day she was born. And I had quite the list made for my 12 weeks of freedom. I was going to paint our ugly orange bathroom. Maybe even paint the kitchen? I was going to be so crafty and Pinterest it up all over this house. I was going to steam clean the carpets. I would have all of the laundry done, ironed and put away at all times. There wouldn’t be a house cleaner than mine. Instead… I adopted the popular motto of sleeping when the baby sleeps. It was incredible. And guess what? I don’t feel a single bit of guilt. You never get that precious bonding time back and I’m happy I used every bit of it to soak in my newborn baby.
4. I thought I would continue to shower regularly.
   If I felt like a shower, I could just place my precious baby in her crib. Or her bouncer. Or her swing. And skip on into the bathroom. Couldn’t I? Nope. If I had the energy for a shower AND Blaire happened to be asleep in her swing I would get the baby monitor out. Set it up. Hop into the shower. It never failed — Blaire would start crying. Like clockwork. And I thought I’d be able to let Blaire cry it out sometimes. Maybe just for 5 minutes while I washed my hair. Nope. Never. Ever. Hey, that’s what dry shampoo is for anyways, right?!
5. I thought my baby would sleep in her crib after a few weeks. Maybe one month, tops.
   If it wasn’t for me leaving Jason alone with Blaire overnight when she was 11 months old, I’m not sure when we would have ever transitioned her to her crib. I know my husband thought I was crazy. Yes, her room was right across the hall. But that’s so far away in mama/baby distance. What if the baby monitor goes out? What if I don’t hear her? What if she stops breathing? What if she wakes up and is scared? What if. What if. What if. I had so many reasons. Turns out, Blaire slept really well in her crib. Guess it was more comfortable than the pack and play we had her in for all those months. Not that she doesn’t still sneak into bed with mama and daddy, because she does. But hey, she starts out the night in her crib so that’s good enough for me!
6. I thought I would work on her baby book every month, maybe even every week.
   This is going to sound silly, but I am so nervous to write anything in her baby book! I’m such a perfectionist, but I love writing with a pen, hate writing with a pencil. I am so afraid I’m going to make a mess of it! Still. To this day. There are probably three things written in it. All the rest is chillin’ in the Notes app of my iPhone.
7. I thought crying it out would be easy.
   I was wrong. So wrong. I still hate letting Blaire cry it out. Now that she can speak, it’s even harder! Between cries as she’s yelling, “Mama” I can literally feel my heart breaking! Some nights she stops crying quickly, other nights she never stops crying so we break down and lay with her. Whatever makes you happy and results in sleep, right?
8. I thought breastfeeding would be a breeze.
   Why would I need to attend the four hour breastfeeding class? Breastfeeding is natural. Which means it’s easy, right?! Who knew you had to know how to hold your baby to help her latch. Or how to get her to latch. Or how to know if she was swallowing. So. many. important. details.
9. I thought I would make all of my daughter’s baby food.
   But seriously — how do you start? I had no idea what consistency her baby food should be. Should I buy some at the store just to see what it’s like? Try to copy it? That’s what I told myself. But, as it turns out, there is quality baby food out there that doesn’t require you to turn your kitchen into a laboratory. I can’t imagine how many hours of my life I got back here.
10. I thought I knew what “tired” was.
    When you’re 9 months pregnant you think you know what tired is. You get up to pee 7 times every night, for heaven’s sake. Well “9 months pregnant tired” has nothing on “I’ve gone 2 months without sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time” tired. Just sayin’.

Okay. So those are the top 10 things I thought would be different about motherhood. Do you have anything you thought would be different? Please share in the comments below! xo