10 Things That Change When You Become A Mom

When we are young, we just can't wait to be married! Its a dream us girls plan nearly from the day  we are born. We carry around our baby dolls and dream about being married to daddy one day just like mommy. Cute, yes. My oldest daughter asked my husband the other day if she could marry him when she grows up. I think he thought it kinda strange, but in research about child behavior I find that it's perfectly normal for a little girl to think that daddy is the perfect person to marry one day.

BUT, Does anyone ever warn us that once we are married and have children that our lives will completely change? That all of our wants and needs go out the window while we are taking care of our families? At least, that's the attitude a woman SHOULD have when she has a family. I've sacrificed a lot in my life since being married and having children. There are some women who manage to have families, and yet their lives do not change at all. They still do the things they want, go where they want, and pursue their dreams because they hire someone else to do the "mommy duties", or they simply just ignore their children and the children end up raising themselves. I'm kinda in the middle now. I, for years, followed my husband wherever his ministry took us, and stayed at home doing nothing but taking care of the kids all day and night. But, I've learned in the last year or so that I CAN still do that, AND have some time for myself. I was in a deep depression because I never was able to do anything for myself, or have any time alone just to vegge out. I really wore me down. I've learned that you've got to put your family first 90% of the time, and leave at least 10% of your time to just be alone and do something nice for yourself. Get your nails done! Get your hair cut! Go shopping by yourself! If you don't have anyone to watch your kids, rent them a movie, pop some popcorn and tell them to stay there and do not move for at least an hour while you take a hot bath with the door locked or read a book or some other thing you enjoy!

Here is a list of things that Change when we become moms:      :)

1)Sleep is a word that you must just erase from your vocabulary! Especially if you're a mom of a newborn. However, it doesn't get that much better as they get older. Even one's that start out in their own beds at the beginning of the night find a way to sneak in your bed.

2)Clean Clothes. At some point in your day your child WILL find a way to ruin that brand new top you wore for the first time today with their little spaghetti fingers! ALWAYS keep a spare outfit in the trunk. Clean laundry is also a challenge because I find that I always wash their clothes first to make sure they have something to wear, forgetting about myself-leaving me in sweats and a t-shirt for the third day in a row! LOL

3) Vacations IF you are able to take vacations at all, those vacations you once knew are a thing of the past! Your vacation is no longer about relaxation and that special alone time with your significant other. No, your vacations now are about what the kids will enjoy-Destinations with plenty of activities to keep them busy and entertained. While you may have a good time watching them have fun- from now on its all about THEM :)

4)PUKE is the new "normal". If you're like me, before I had children I could not stand the site or even sound of someone throwing up. If I saw or heard it, it was all over for me as well!  But, when you're little one is sick as can be, throwing up all over you and your bed, your "mommy gut" kicks in and you simply do what you have to, and tho it may gross you out a bit, its no longer the same issue as it was before.

5)Non-Mommy Friends Disappear  You are no longer "cool" or fun to hang out with when you have children. After about the third time your friend calls you to come hang out or go to a party and you say, "I cant, I don't have a sitter" or "I cant, my baby is sick", you probably won't hear from that friend as much as you used to. No matter how good a friend she/he may be, if they don't have kids, then they don't have the same restraints as you, and they are going to want a friend who has the same freedoms to do those fun last minute plans out on the town!

6)Taking Showers/Baths are now considered a LUXURY! I've always been afraid to take a shower or bath with the door closed or locked because I'm just so afraid something might happen without me realizing it. Therefore, my relaxing bath time turns into the baby playing with the bubbles, and insisting she join me, while the older ones comment on every body part I have still visible from the bubbles, as I try to grab a towel to cover myself. I've learned I have to pick my bath time wisely to actually get anything relaxing out of it.

7)MINE is no longer YOURS. Now, everything you have your children think is theirs as well. Am I the only one who sneaks a Dove candy bar to my bedroom and hides beside her bed so she doesn't have to share?

8)FOOD My little one will sit forever and not eat a single thing off her plate. But, put her in my lap and she will eat every bite on MINE. For some reason the food on mommy's plate tastes so much better than she same food on her own.

9)Weight Many women will never see that size of dress they wore or weigh the same as they did before having children. Mainly because your body changes so much during pregnancy, but also because we get so busy rushing our little ones around that fast food and anything that is convenient becomes part of your normal routine. Fast and convenient almost always equals unhealthy and/or full of fat.

10)Personal Appearance Before having children, I would never, ever, EVER let another human being see me without my hair done and full makeup. I also tried my best to always wear something cute, just because you never know who you are going to see while you are out. But, after having babies, I've come to realize that no one cares what I look like, and what does it matter now anyway? I mean, I've got my man, who else do I need to impress now? My main problem is not having the TIME to get myself all dolled up before getting the kids out the door in the morning. I'd much rather have that extra 45 minutes of sleep that make sure I'm wearing mascara. However, in the last year I've begun to care a little bit more about myself. I may not get fully dressed or makeup on before taking the kids to school, but now I at least attempt to go home and make myself cute before being seen in public :)

These are just a FEW things that change when you become a mom. We might can touch on some more of those later...

One thing is true no matter what changes we go through or have to make once we become a mother, and that things is ITS WORTH IT :)