Friday, October 4, 2013

How Parenting Changes You



Becoming a mom has changed me in more ways than I can count, and I'm sure will continue to change me for the rest of my life. I want to talk about 3 big changes that I have experienced since becoming a mom (not to mention how I can shower & get dressed in under 10 minutes now, seriously why did it use to take me 30 minutes to shower).

1. Taking better care of myself. This started when my husband and I started trying to get pregnant. It intensified when I found out I was pregnant. Then when Bel was six weeks old, and we found out she had a dairy soy intolerance it forced us to eat the healthiest we have ever eaten. We cook at home every meal now, fresh & healthy meals. I feel the best I ever have. I have almost no headaches and have energy. Changing the way we eat and cooking fresh healthy meals started off for Bel, but now that I have gotten healthier for my child I wonder why I never did it for myself. This healthy lifestyle change started because I want my baby to grow up eating healthy meals but will continue because I want all of us to eat healthy. Plus, I found out a lot of the healthy homemade things I thought were too hard and time consuming are not that hard (like homemade pizza dough, making homemade mayo & sauces, & cooking at home every meal). My next goal is to get into a great exercise routine. So if anyone has suggestions for fun workouts to do with a 15 month old please let me know.

2. Sympathy for other parents. Before Bel I had little tolerance for loud, over active, needy children. I never said anything to the parents, and I never disliked the kids, but it was frustrating to be around. Now I understand. I find myself in the situations I saw before but from the other side. I am now the mom in the grocery store trying to keep my child from screaming and pulling things off the shelf. I am now the mom who sings, makes funny faces, and lets her child play with her phone just to get through a shopping trip. I now pass parents with out of control kids and instead of silently judging them I send them a sympathetic look of "stay strong you can do it". I also find my heart hurts for other parents. We recently had to go to the ER in the middle of the night (for my husband's foot) and while we were there I saw a single dad with a baby Bel's age. She was sick and had been in and out of the hospital for weeks. My heart broke for that dad & his baby girl. I know how I feel when Bel is sick, and I just wanted to cry for them. I also see commercials and tv shows with sick children and my heart hurts. Not that I wasn't a sympathetic person before having a baby, but I understand the feelings so much more now. Having Bel has made me a better person.

3. My ideas of entertainment have changed. I am now entertained just playing with my baby. I can spend an hour ringing the doorbell on Bel's Little People house and watching her open the door to let me into the house. All because she loves it so much. I can sit and watch Baby Einstein, because it makes Bel happy. I can tickle, making funny faces, and blow raspberries for hours to keep her laughing. TV shows that I never use to miss I will forgo in order to spend a few more minutes playing with Bel in the playroom. I don't miss going out like before baby because being with Bel & my husband is the best entertainment in the world.



I am growing & learning every day from the best teacher in the world. My life is so much different than before I had Bel, it is 100 times better.

How has becoming a parent changed you?

You can also find me on Pintrest @DairySoyFreeMom

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