Things that have changed me since being a parent

I've talked about this in another blog entry, or at least I think I did. But becoming a parent instantly changes you as a person and your life. It's so strange. My whole conversations have changed, I do things I thought I never would do. Being a parent is amazing. So here are things that have changed me so far since having Grant:

1) Most of my daily conversations now revolve around my child's bowel movements.

I  never thought I would constantly be talking about if my child poop today, and how discomforted he is that he hasn't pooped. I start freaking out if he hasn't pooped in a couple of days. As soon as I come home from work, the first thing that comes out of my mouth isn't "Hi honey how was your day?" but rather "Did Grant poop today?" It's amazing how having a baby can really change daily conversations.

2) I'm less rigid with my schedule and realize that everyday doesn't have to be planned out
I'm very type A when it comes to schedules. When I wake up, I have a list of stuff I would like to do, and when something deviates my plan, I freak out. I hate when unexpected things happen, to ruin my day of great plans. People who make last minute plans or changes with me, does not set well with me. Well know that I have a baby, I've realized being so ridiculous with schedules and plans is just silly. You have to go with the flow and be spontaneous. It's funny because today I had a list of stuff to do, I ended up not getting any of those things done, and instead I spent most of my day tending to a crabby whiny baby. And it actually didn't bother me, that I didn't get to my plans. I can leave the kitchen floor dirty for another day. My baby sets the schedule of me day, so I might as well let go being uptight about my daily schedule.


3)  I now hate when people who are not handicap or with small children use handicap bathroom stalls or fitting rooms.
 For times I ever used a handicap bathroom, before I had a small child or when I didn't have a broken leg, I'm sorry. I now understand the importance of not using the handicap stall! When a public restroom doesn't have a changing table, guess where it is? In the handicap stall! A few occasions now I've had to wait for the handicap stall, in order to change Grant's diaper. And when the person comes out, they do not have a small child or a wheelchair or anything hindering them from using a regular size stall. And the funny part is there are a dozen unoccupied stalls, but yet they picked the handicap stall. The stall I need to use to change my child's diaper. And this has been a problem with shopping places too! It hasn't failed that everytime I have gone into Kohls to try on clothes, someone is in the handicap stall! I have Grant in a stroller, because they do not have carts there that I can put his carseat in. And the strollers do not fit into a regulaur fitting room. So then I have to leave the stroller outside of the fittingroom, and get the carseat out, and put Grant in the room that way. And same thing, there are tons on regular size fitting rooms, unoccupied, but yet this woman is in the big fitting room, because appartently a regualr size room isn't big enough to try on clothes when it's just yourself in the room. Grr!! So I now understand the importance of the use of handicap stalls and rooms. End Rant for the day.


4) Coffee is my best friend.
I wake up like a zombie anymore, and pretty much won't function without coffee. I have caffeine of some kind multiple times in a day, just to stay awake.

5) Things I was never afraid of, now have turned me into a scary-cat. 
Now that I am responsible for another life, things I use to fearlessly do, are now petrifying to me. I'm so afraid my child getting hurt! A good example of this was what happened to me this passed Sunday. I was driving home from the pool, and Grant was in the car with me. We had a terrible storm, it was so windy I felt like I was driving in a hurricane. There we fallen tree limbs in the road. I was so scared a tree was going to fall on my car. Usually driving in storms don't scare me. They are annoying to drive because the visibility sucks! But I'm not scared by it. Well I was ridiculous in this car ride. I was shaking, crying, and praying Hail Marys (literally, I'm not even using the expression, I was in fact praying the Hail Mary while driving home) the entire car ride home. Grant was sleeping peacefully, but I was so scare I was going to crash, and something terrible was going to happen to us. If it was just me in the car I probably wouldn't have been so scare. But since I had Grant in the car I was just so afraid something was going to happen to him. When I came home Matt was laughing at me, because I was just so happy to safely home. Maybe I'm a scary-cat but it's for the good cause of caring for my child and genuinely being worried for his safety. 

6) I have a quicker reflex
With Grant constantly dropping his toys, I've developed the ability to catch things in mid-air right before the hit the ground. Usually I am terrible with catching things, this is why I don't play sports. I'm terribly uncoordinated, and clumsy. But I've been quicker with catching things. Grant really keeps me on my toes!


7) Wiping off drool, boogers,  spit up, and poop in unimaginable places, comes second nature.
 Spit usually grosses me out, and as well as boogers, and poop. But when a baby is a machine of producing gross things, I've become use to wiping and cleaning them off. I never in a million years think these things wouldn't bother me, or come to me as second nature, but here I am cleaning up poop explosions and walking around with drool all over my shirt.


8) I carry objects around now as if I'm carrying a baby.
Now that  I carry Grant all time, I have found myself now carrying objects as if I'm carrying Grant. A couple of weeks ago at work, I went into a meeting carrying cupcakes and everyone was laughing at me because I was carrying the cupcakes like I was carrying Grant in the car carrier. I never realized I did that until someone pointed it out, but I find myself carrying objects all the time now like they are a fragile baby.


9) I  truly value anytime I get to myself.
Now that I have a baby attached to my hip all the time, I really value the moments, I have some "me" time. Like right now, I finally have time to write my blog. I never realized I would value the time I have to blog or go on Facebook.



10) I've become the paparazzi to my own child.
I blind my child all the time with a camera flash. I take so many pictures of Grant. He is so adorable I just can't contain myself. Poor Grant, he gets bombarded by my camera flash multiple times during the day

11)I thought I was a very patient person until I had a baby.
 I am a very patient person. One of the reasons I like working with kids, because I have patience with working with them, even the most difficult ones. I.E. a kindergarten chasing another kid with scissors. But I didn't realize how much my own child would test my patience especially when he is Mr. Crabby pants, and can't stop crying and nothing will calm him down. The nice thing though is when my patience is running thin, I can pass him off to Matt :)


12) I feel 10 years wiser.
Only though I've been a mom for a total of five months, I feel like I know so much as a mother compared to what I knew last year. Being a mom is a learning experience, and I the more I learn the wiser I feel.












Comments

  1. I wonder, have you also found yourself swaying back-and-forth when standing for long periods of time, even if you're not holding a baby? My mother-in-law told me once that this happened to her after she had kids, and I've noticed that the same has happened to me on occasion. They really do manage to change you, in ways you don't even realize...

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  2. Actually yes I have! I've caught myself doing it a couple of times. lol.

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