Remember when I talked about how The only constant thing in life is change? I think I have never spoken truer words in my life! Life with a little one is ever changing. There are days where life seems to be flying by. Those are the days when she's doing something crazy or new and makes me realize how quick she's growing up. But as I promised prior to her birth, I'm not going to lie to you and pretend it's all unicorns and butterfiles. The reality is that other days life is stagnant and slow. Those are the days that I realize we're slowly developing a routine and the worst part is she seems to like it! jaja yes, babies like predictability and routines. They're little scientists who analyze everything and they thrive on the feeling of "i knew it!" when they know what's coming. For ex. Kiki gets really excited when after dinner we walk towards the bathroom and she hears the water pouring. She knows it's bath time, book time, bed time. Anyway, it is clear our lives have changed and on a daily basis we strive to keep our routine and keep it interesting within it's "relaxed" parameters :) Here are a few more things that I've added to the list of things that I hadn't realized I'd do or experience as a mom:
You qualify as a "good day" any day in which you eat breakfast before 10am and lunch before 3pm - no explanation needed. Little ones find very interesting ways of keeping you from eating. Whether it's a full diaper, their own bellies growling, a random I'm tired way before nap time, fussiness, you name it. They smell when you're hungry and they put on their show then. It improves over time, Kiki is getting better at independent play while I eat. Sometimes I put futbol (soccer) on for her, kid loves it, and it gives me time to eat. I'm excited for when we can sit to eat together.
You sing baby songs even when little one is not around - Unless you're not into singing to your kid, ever, then this has to have happened. When LO is around you're usually singing at home, when you're in the car and they get fussy or to prevent the fussy, when you're out for a walk, at bath time, even at meal times to get them to open their mouth. Well... the habit sticks. You'll catch yourself singing when running errands without the kid, when doing the dishes, when driving alone... it happens and it's ok. Honestly it's better than singing that catchy annoying song you hate!
You become a pro at making up lyrics - So... yea there's a lot of kiddy songs and I royally suck at lyrics. I probably can't even sing a national anthem without the song playing in the background. I was even singing "Itsy bitsy spider" wrong (Thanks Mary for pointing it out). I make up my own lyrics, tailored for Kiki, her preferences and our story. I've gotten really good. Hopefully she won't get all selfcentered with songs being about her jaja Anyway, it's also a great skill to have when you want to sing a song that's not appropriate for your little one. Doesn't matter now cause she doesn't understand, but in a few years my dubbing will come in handy. Soon to come, a post with Kiki's own versions of kiddy songs.
You have dreaded questions - Life must be going pretty well if you're a mom and there are no "touchy subjects" for ya. For me I've got to main dreaded questions - how are you feeding her? or any variation of that question that basically asks if I'm breastfeeding. And how is she sleeping? - if you follow me on instagram or facebook you know we've been struggling. Either way I'll be elaborating on both of these things in future posts.
You got no time for that pain to go away on its own - gimme the meds! - remember when you had a headache and you'd wait it out because you don't want to fill your body of chemicals, or cause you don't want to get used to painkillers and meds, or whatever other reason? No time for that, slept in a bad position and have a neck ache? gimme them muscle relaxants. It's too hot and I got a headache? gimme that ibuprofen. Honestly, there just is no time for it to sort itsefl out when I need all my energy to keep up with Keeks, so yea I'm just grateful I rarely get headaches, but I have noticed that I no longer wait them out.
Because as she grows, I discover that I'm growing and changing too... stay tuned for more additions to my "you know you're a mom when... list"
Missed Part 1? See it here