Expectations vs. Real Life Parenting

As a new parents, we were all a little bit unprepared for what came next. Parenting is hard and it takes a time to get into this new role that life brought us.  Today, we are going to talk about our own projection of parenting and what it actually looked like in reality.

Sure, you maybe have been in contact with kids, babysitting your niece or nephew or something similar. However, occasional contact with other people’s children can’t really prepare you for taking care of your own 24/7.

I was totally unprepared for the lack of sleep! My husband told me that he’d ‘teach our baby to sleep’. Naively I believed him. Ha ha ha! I quickly realised that lack of sleep was part of being a parent to a young child.

I used to babysit my little cousins when I was in college and hated it when they went back home. I would wonder why anyone would want their kids away. I love little tots and loved having them around. Ha! Now I really wish someone could take my kids away for a while. I love playing with them and still love kids but really, moms need a breather.

I think that that seeing my older sister raise 4 kids, and then my younger brother raise his 4 as well (both before I had mine), really helped prepare me for what parenting might be like. I KNEW it was going to be challenging – especially because I’m an introvert who has always needed lots of “downtime” to recharge and lots of sleep to feel good. Still no one could have prepared me for what life with a young child is like. However, the best part about it is that no one can possibly explain how much you are going to LOVE your child, and how amazing it feels to be a MOM.

I read tons of parenting books so I thought I’d be ready for anything, so I was totally unprepared when the best advice didn’t work! I had to learn to trust my gut and do what was best for each of my kids.

Nothing prepared me for the lack of sleep and the immense feelings of responsibility. You are responsible for another little person and they are relying on you to do the best for them. Attending classes, reading books and talking to friends can only take you so far in your preparations. It’s only when you actually become a parent, that you realise the full extent of the job! It’s surprising though as well how your instincts do kick in (most of the time!).

I was a babysitter and thought that children were fun and not so hard to deal with. I was totally delusional about the whole raising another person situation. I was sleep deprived, depressed, and spent a load of time either covered in puke, piss or poop. On the plus side, my delusional state allowed me to see the beauty of the gift I was given every night and every morning. Nothing prepared me for the mounds of love that I pour into my mini me’s.

I had no idea a newborn could be so demanding! I also tried to do too much on my own without asking for help, which really drained me out. I also felt that I needed to entertain my baby all the time – which was a big mistake, because then he wouldn’t stay a minute without me.