5 Things I Stopped Doing After Becoming a Mom

I love being a mom, obviously, but there are a few things I started thinking about that I can no longer do. So, this is half serious, and half for some comic relief. 😛

ENJOY.

Also, this is really hard to write because Graham won’t nap. Or sleep. And it took me about 3 weeks to get this done. And I only finished it because I am in Panama right now helping a friend with her yoga retreat. YOLO.

5 Things I Stopped Doing After Becoming a Mom

Wearing white. I pretty much own a wardrobe of gray. With the occasional black, but black shows cat hair, so I prefer grey..ge (grey-beige), or MAUVE which is about the most color I can stomach.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE wearing white because it is so versatile and flowy and carefree – but I’ve given up. As soon as Graham eats something, he nestles into my shoulder. When he has boogers – they. are. everywhere. As soon as PJ or Carmen have chocolate ice cream, it’s on my pants. RIP white summer jeans. WHY.

Having a lunch break / sitting down for lunch. (or should I say, “eating lunch”, period? lol) The other day, I made my lunch at 12:30 but I didn’t eat it until 3PM because G wouldn’t nap unless I was holding him (in a very specific position). I also pretty much exclusively eat the scraps of what I make for the kids, so I try to keep everything as healthy as possible for all of us.

Sleeping in. hahahahahahahhahahahaha. Literally have not done this in almost 5 years. Even if I have the opportunity to step out for the night and sleep in a hotel – the ghost cries, need to pump, or my internal clock will wake me up early, for sure. You feel me? Like I said, I’m currently in Panama and while I don’t have to deal with the 4:30AM duty right now (thanks, daddy!) I do, still, have to wake up to pump at 6 and then, well, I’m up.

Spontaneity. I can remember (rare times, but still) getting home from work and making plans to go see a girlfriend that night…you know, just to make dinner or watch bad tv. Now? Obviously I can’t get up and leave because there are 3 kids who need something. But I also can’t get up and leave with them for fear I am missing something (diapers, wipes, food, milk, pacis, extra underwear, I AM GETTING ANXIOUS JUST MAKING THIS LIST), or something will go wrong while we are out. Yesterday, PJ laid on the floor of the cupcake place, crying. She didn’t want to leave.

Going to the bathroom alone. It’s not worth it. As soon as I walk away, the girls are old enough to find me and Graham is crawling over to get to the toilet. I *am* able to get an alone pee in before I shower at night provided 1 of the 3 are asleep. The newborn stage isn’t bad because you can strap them on and sit down to pee (though getting your pants back ON is always a challenge…) But this crawling stage for Graham is proving troublesome because he wants me to pick him up as soon as he has found me, tumble all of the toilet paper off of the roll, or try to put his hands in the toilet. Carmen and PJ just like to ask me questions like why is my pee red sometimes. That is a lot harder to explain than I thought. lol

BUT, all this aside, I wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, if it were solely up to me, I’d probably have more. The cuddles, the coos, the snuggles, the “I love yous”. The opportunity to make a human who has pieces and personalities from you and your favorite person. It’s the most beautiful experience even if it is a wild time right now. 

Though right now might be crazy – it won’t always be this way, and I’ll miss having someone there with me while I pee. 

Is there anything you stopped doing once you became a parent?