10 things about being a parent

So, as you may know by now, I have been a mum for just over 3 years. It has been an amazing 3 years and I can honestly say I would not change it for the world.

Being a mum has also taught me a lot! So here are the 10 biggest things I’ve learned since becoming a mum!

1.       Everyone has opinions. But honestly no one else’s opinion matters! You want to bottle feed? Good for you. Breastfeeding works for you? That’s great. You went back to work. Well done! You decided to stay at home? Great!  What works for you isn’t what works for others so let's try and stop being so judgemental yeah?

2.       Random strangers will touch your baby. And you will want to murder them on the spot. I’ll never forget taking Harry out for the first time and an elderly woman stopped me and started touching him in his pram. I briskly walked off (may have run, not going to lie) before I said something or became violent.

3.       Going on a night out really isn’t worth it anymore. Getting a babysitter can be the main hurdle here but then when you finally have someone to look after your money for the night the effort of getting ready and staying awake to make it all worth it seems too much to handle. Then there are the hangovers… not fun with a three-year-old. It takes a really good reason for me to put all that effort in these days.

4.       Family time seems like a good idea, but usually results in me shouting Sam huffing and puffing and Harry throwing a tantrum. Threenanger is not a fun stage of life. I’m dreading Harry’s teenage years!

5.       Kids are expensive. I can easily drop £150 on clothes for Harry that four weeks later no longer fit him. Then there’s me running around in clothes that I picked up a year ago from Primark (Yay for t-shirts for £2).

6.       Your body will never be the same. It has done something magical but it's not going to bounce back. No one ever told me about the postnatal bump, I always thought my bump would disappear as soon as Harry was born – How wrong was I? I also have zero bladder control now. Thanks, Harry!

7.       You will cry for next to no reason for the rest of your life. Harry grew out of a pair of shoes the other week and I burst into tears. I also cried my eyes out getting rid of his 18-24 months clothes. Sam must think I’m a mad woman honestly.

8.       Going to the toilet without an audience feels weird. Honestly. If Harry isn’t there, I feel strange going to the toilet. It’s a good strange though – not having to defend the stream of pee (and my privates) from tiny toddler hands make a nice change!

9.       Talking of pee, who knew you could get so excited about someone peeing in a tiny plastic toilet – Welcome to parenthood!

10.   Oh how your social media feeds change – My feed used to be full of pictures of me and Sam, dressed up or me and friends on nights out (there are a lot of drunk pictures of me out there on facebook!) then you have a baby and BOOM! Your feed and camera roll on your phone is now full of pictures of chubby cheeks and it takes you a full minute of scrolling to find the last picture of you that you took!.