101 things being a mother taught me

I have the privilege of writing alongside some really amazing mom bloggers who are telling everyone their stories of motherhood changed them. Some of their accounts moved me, some were plain emotional. Turns out I have no such whirlwind thoughts about motherhood to be honest.

Motherhood did not change me, it only enhanced those parts of my personality that were already present. It also brought to the fore those things about me that I did not know myself but everyone else knew about me. So, instead of launching myself into an unreal account of how motherhood changed me (cos it didn’t), let me recount things that being a mother singularly taught me.

101 things being a mother taught me

1. Sleep is underrated.
2. Loving someone unconditionally is possible.
3. Smiles make everything better.
4. A baby lights up your life from what seemed like perpetual darkness to a room flooded with abundant happy light.
5. Post partum tears are real.
6. So is post partum depression.
7. Not feeling a flood of emotion when you look at your baby for the first does not make you a bad mom.
8. Being bothered about the baby is now my second nature.
9. Checking on a sleeping baby every five minutes is also in my second nature.
10. I used to get easily offended by remarks about the baby.
11. I’ve taught myself indifference in light of the above remarks.
12. Maternal instincts don’t kick in as soon as you have the baby.
13. A breastfeeding mom is a mom who eats anything when a nursing session is over.
14. Breastfeeding feels like the most difficult part of being a mother initially.
15. Breastfeeding turns out to be the easiest in reality.
16. Watching a movie is a luxury.
17. Speaking of watching a movie, it’s usually on the mobile device.
18. You are always humming a song and most likely that song is ‘Wheels on the bus’.
19. Google is my best friend.
20. Google is my worst enemy.
21. You have researched every parenting technique in the book.
22. Before the baby was born, you thought you would follow one parenting technique. But after the baby comes, you are doing everything that suits you and the baby.
23. Date nights are obsolete.
24. My husband suddenly became the father of my baby and that felt HUGE!
25. Nothing pee and poop related can gross me out now. I’ve seen it all.
26. Times when I am exhausted, are the times when the baby decides to be extra active and extra cute.
27. I tried to stick to the no screen time rule very strictly. I failed.
28. It’s ok if your baby tastes cake or a chocolate once in a while. Unless it isn’t a habit, she is good.
29. Getting the baby to smile is the only thing that matters sometimes.
30. Late night conversations with the husband can happen in whispers. And can still be stimulating and fun.
31. If the baby laughs when I fall, I will fall again a million times till she stops finding it funny.
32. I will rock the baby to sleep if that’s the only way to get her to sleep.
33. I will sing a song all night if that is the only way the baby sleeps.
34. I’ve mastered the art of working single handedly. Quite literally.
35. A baby is much tougher than you think.
36. A stroll in the park is all the vacation you need sometimes.
37. On most days, I am patient.
38. Some days however, I lose my patience. That’s when I shout at the baby. And then she looks at me with big puppy eyes and I die.
39. I cannot cook but I am constantly saving recipes and looking at cooking videos because I want to cook for the baby when she grows up.
40. I have to be a top class baker.
41. I am already debating the school options with the husband.
42. I am always reading up on Montessori and Home schooling.
43. I have sports related dreams for the baby, ones I could never fulfil.
44. I have basically decided to live through my baby.
45. But I have also decided to let her do anything she wants.
46. I have a thousand dreams for my baby. And they are only increasing.
47. The shopper in me has only become relentless.
48. Reality shows around kids make me angry.
49. Ok wait, reality shows in general make me angry.
50. Sad and scary news in the world makes me worry.
51. The safety and security of my little world is all that is of the highest priority.
52. Only I can make a joke about my baby falling off while walking, or someone close to me. No one else can.
53. If my baby loves you, I love you more.
54. Being a mother is being comfortable with my own style of parenting, however imperfect it may be.
55. My search for the perfect bedding set is always on.
56. How my day shall progress depends on how happy the baby and the husband wake up. And also my house help’s attendance.
57. Scrolling through Pinterest is my new hobby.
58. I’m always planning some party for the baby in my head.

59. Whether or not it becomes a reality is another issue altogether.
60. I’m always recording every baby milestone, however small it is.
61. Procrastination is my hobby.
62. Anything natural and organic makes a way into my house. Cos baby.
63. My choice in music has become more singular. Anything that the baby approves.
64. Any frustration with housework finds its vent on the husband.
65. Never talk about how well the baby is sleeping, cos jinx.
66. By that same logic, never talk about how well the baby is eating.
67. Laugh at the concept of jinx and nazar and still practise ways to ward off evil eye. Cos being a Mom is being a hypocrite sometimes.
68. No attention to the arm that is now cramped and paining cos baby refuses to be put down.
69. Finding a comfort tool in babywearing.
70. Finding my own way of weaning for the baby.
71. Keeping little knick knacks of the baby as keepsake.
72. Have an almost new copy of ‘What to expect when you are expecting’ hoping you will read it some day. Maybe the next time you get pregnant.
73. Make scores of diet plans which all go down the drain when you are feeling particularly hormonal.
74. Hormones hormones hormones!
75. Breastfeeding will make me lose weight, let me snack healthy.
76. Reality: Breatfeeding leaves me animal hungry each time and I end up gulping down carbs like a monster.
77. BabyTv is our new family channel.
78. Everything I own must be colourful now.
79. Complain about how I have had no time for a haircut or an eyebrow trim.
80. Refuse to leave the baby home when someone actually volunteers to babysit for a few hours.
81. Cry for hours on end when the baby falls off the bed when you weren’t looking
82. Cry for hours on end when the baby hurts herself.
83. Tell others you are the cool mom and deal with everything with poise and calm but freak out in the confines of your room.
84. The baby’s laugh is the most beautiful sound.
85. The baby’s smile melts you into mush
86. Constant need to keep the floor clean cos baby eats all kinds of dirt off the floor.
87. Breatmilk cures all the little ouchies.
88. YouTubing while the baby nurses is my momentary escape.
89. Baby needs new clothes. More reason to shop.
90. Making grocery lists every day only to forget something later.
91. Hoping that the baby enjoys her food.
92. Missing the baby bump.
93. Hide and seek is the best game ever.
94. Planning a new family holiday every other week.
95. Hoping to become a DIY expert.
96. Shooting down people who conversationally make comparisons between my baby and other babies her age.
97. Vow in life to make the right decisions and everything for the betterment of the baby.
98. You want to make the world a better place.
99. Promise to self on one particular frustrating day that I will have no more than one child.
100. Regret having that thought almost immediately and already planning the next baby.
101. Cannot imagine my life any other way without the baby.

This post is a part of the blog train- 2 started by Pooja Kawatra of Mums & Babies where she has brought together mothers from across the globe. Do read her blog post on How Motherhood has changed me – http://www.themumsandbabies.com/2017/09/how-motherhood-has-changed-me/ and more on the blog train here. I want to thank Dhanya of  https://dhanyasuresh.wordpress.com for introducing me and I invite the lovely Sonia of http://www.peachyfuzzycuties.com to board the train with me to share her valuable views on the same.

Sonia is an artist, traveller and amateur photographer, mom blogger and a full time mother to an 18 month young boy, Arjun. Head over to her page to get to know how motherhood changed her.