Sometimes I find myself wondering what all will truly change once we become parents. There are the obvious things of course, like financial situations and overall priorities, schedules - but I'm starting to realize how much will truly change, at least for the next handful of years.
For instance - getting ready to go somewhere will not only be a difficult task, since Baby will need to be watched and/or entertained (if it's awake) - but also bathed and dressed and fed and changed. And then getting into the car to leave will not be such a simple task either - gotta haul out the carseat, and the diaper bag (which you've remembered to re-stock ahead of time). I'm thinking that a baby will add at least a couple hours into my routine, what with all the stopping in the middle of makeup and hair and getting dressed to do various motherly tasks and then getting Baby ready, as well.
In a way, I think it's a little lucky we're the first among our friends to have a baby and the first nearby of our parents' kids to have a baby - because everyone will want to hold it and play with it. This should make meal times with family and friends a little easier, since it won't all be on us to feed ourselves and feed Baby and keep Baby quiet and all that... but there's a line. At some point, our friends will wish we could all be hanging out without real responsibilities - and at some point, no matter how much we know our parents will love this child, they won't be remotely interested in helping feed or change the baby when we're all hanging out.
Scott and I went to his parents house on Saturday morning to carve pumpkins. What in the world will I do at times like that? I was elbows-deep in pumpkin guts, and so was everyone else. We were out in the garage, and it was sort of chilly. So do we leave Baby inside with a monitor, and then when it cries, just run in and wash our hands and take care of it? I have no idea. And what about parties? Our friends like to get together around once a month at someone's house and eat and drink and listen to music and be merry. Do we find a sitter that often and exhaust our babysitting resources that early in the game? Or do we take the baby with us and stash him or her in a bedroom and go check up on it every so often?
And don't even get me started on trips. Not only does Scott's family take a road trip to their cottage in Pennsylvania every July (2 full days in the car each way with a 3 month old?! No way.), but Scott and I had big dreams of long weekends and cruises that will have to wait quite a while, now. Don't get me wrong - I'm not upset about being pregnant, not one bit. I'm just wondering if I'm even beginning to cover the bases as far as what all will be different. The short and simple answer? "Everything." - but I'm afraid I'll neglect to think of something that will change, and be disappointed when it happens and I wasn't somehow mentally prepared. There I go again - always wanting a plan in a world of things that you can not plan for.
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