By Kristin Whiteside 
I’m still in the early stages of motherhood. To say that parenting has rocked my world would be a complete understatement. I mean, who knew that 2 little beings could create such an abundance of love, so many emotions and so little sleep. I thought I knew, but really, you don’t know until you have kids.
Change happens fast for moms. You get pregnant and all of a sudden there is a long list of no-no’s in your life. No alcohol, no sushi, no soft cheese (the best kind by the way), no caffeine, no hot baths or hot tubs and no stress. Um, this list is causing me stress! I’m a wine loving, cheese eating, coffee drinking gal and all of a sudden you’re telling me no more for 9 months?! OK, deep breaths, I can do this. It’s what’s best for my baby. Then your body starts to change and it feels like there is an elephant constantly stepping on your bladder. Seriously again? I just went! By the time those 9 (let’s face it, it’s really 10) months are up, you are so ready to get that baby out. Even if you don’t have the slightest clue about being a mom you are going to fake it till you make it!
Dads on the other hand go through the process at a much slower rate. Well most dads anyway. I’ve heard of a few dads who went along with their wife’s list of no-no’s during the pregnancy, so their wife didn’t have to go through it alone. Lucky ladies! My husband said he was going to refrain from the no-no list and he started off good, but eventually he was begging for a beer and after that first beer the list became non-existent. He made up for it with constant back, foot and head massages, and late night runs for Mexican food. So I can’t really complain.
When the baby is born nothing can prepare you for the first night. You are so overwhelmed with emotion, extremely exhausted and totally in awe. You want to sleep but you can’t stop staring at the tiny miracle lying next to you. Or maybe that tiny miracle is crying so much you can’t sleep. Either way, from that moment forward, life as you know it will change.
Here are 8 ways parenthood will change you…
- Your top listened to Pandora station switches from Hip Hop BBQ to Disney Children’s Radio. You even catch yourself humming or singing the songs throughout the day. I mean, the Zootopia theme song is super catchy. Am I right?!
- A night out no longer consists of meeting up with friends at 8pm and stumbling home in the wee hours of the morning. Nope. Now a night out is having dinner and being home by 9pm. 10pm tops.
- There is no such thing as a quick trip anywhere. Need to run to the store to pick up some milk. Sorry, what should take 10 minutes is actually going to take 30 minutes. Maybe 40 if you have a toddler who has decided they don’t want to get in the car.
- Never ending laundry. Remember the days when you could do laundry once every other week? Ya, me neither. But man, how glorious would that be?!
- You become OK with using the bathroom in front of an audience. Alright, so you might not be completely OK with it. But unfortunately you have no choice. Even if you close and lock the door, your kids will still peek under and try to ask you a million questions.
- There is a race against time to get anything accomplished. I swear, I somehow fell into another dimension after having kids, where time magically accelerates to light speed. There is NEVER enough time in a day!
- Saturday mornings are no longer about lounging in bed, drinking coffee, and catching up on the past weeks shows on your DVR. Now thanks to your human alarm clocks, you’re up at the crack of dawn, with eyes barely open trying to muster up some sort of nutritional breakfast, or frozen pancakes. Whatever, it’s too early to think straight!
- You love in a way that you never knew possible. When I met my husband, I thought that I couldn’t love another being more. Well, I was wrong. The love you have for your kids is truly indescribable.
Becoming a parent changes things. There’s no way around it. I say, embrace the change. Belt out those Disney songs and be sure to have strong coffee on hand. Who needs sleep anyway?!
by Charissa Bates 
by Crystal Ligon 
by Ashley Butler 
by Alaine Flynn 
by Amy Keyes 
by Krystal Sieben 
by Megan Kewaza 
by Lisa Ingrassia 
