Of course, every woman who becomes a mother knows their life is about to change drastically. Whether it be because of lack of sleep, a lot less time to yourself and/or with your partner, or financially.
I think we all have a relativity good idea of how life changes when having a baby. Even before giving birth we kind of know what to expect but every experience is going to be different regardless of the usual aspects of being a new parent.
Life as a mother for me over the past year and a half has definitely changed but even with many changes, it’s been the best and most rewarding way of life possible for myself. I’m here to share my experience of how life-changing becoming a mother has been for me and what has been impacted the most.
Stay at home mama
I haven’t worked in a year and a half. Me and my boyfriend decided that the best and most financially responsible act as parents for us was for me to be a stay at home mama while he goes to work. Our bills aren’t super expensive and we get government help as well so it’s easy for us to do this and it’ll be what we continue to do for a while since we have another baby on the way.
If it works, why knock it? It’s kind of weird for me to imagine going back to work as this has become a lifestyle I’m super comfortable with. I do miss interaction with other women and THIS is a 24 hour a day job that never ends.
No pay, no 30-minute lunches, no breaks. But then I think about how annoying people actually are and I get to spend so much time with my little girl.
I’m living my best life and it’s so worth every moment.
More family time
As much as I know how deeply I’m loved by family, they never came around before I had a baby. Now, it’s like I can’t get them to stop asking to come over and sometimes I need a break.
I’m the first one to have a baby in the family in a very long time so the family is obsessed with my little girl. As much as I don’t mind them coming to see Ocean, I find it totally rude and annoying how they don’t even bother to say hi to me or ask how I’m doing.
As soon as they bust through the door, they try grabbing Ocean and completely ignore me. I’m not the petty type and I get it, I try not to take offense from it and quite honestly I’ve gotten used to it but damn…like HELLO TO YOU TOO.
My daughter has brought so much love into the family these days, we have many more family gatherings (not just holidays) and it’s like her energy has made people realize how beautiful life is and not to take advantage of the crazy family we have.
My closet space was reduced
We live in a one-bedroom apartment luckily with a large walk-in closet. We converted the closet space into a little nursery for Ocean and it ended up working out perfectly.
For a person like myself who literally has a whole storage unit full of clothes, it was hard making space at first. Not only does my little girl have a shit load of clothes (thanks mom) but so does my boyfriend so I had to get rid of A LOT in order for all of our stuff to fit.
Over the past 16 months as a mom, I’ve realized I like to know what I have and not struggle every day to find what to wear. Usually, anything comfortable will do, I kept a majority of neutral clothing to mix and match and it had made my life so much easier. Plus it’s nice for Ocean to have her own little space to herself that’s not too far away from me and Jon.
I wake up with a purpose
There’s absolutely nothing in the world that I love more than waking up to see Oceans smiling face in the morning. There’s nothing better than a happy baby in the morning.
Before having her, I would sleep in and waste a lot of the day away doing nothing. Now, I just want to make the best of every single minute with her. I don’t mind putting other things aside because my time with her is limited and I want to soak up every minute of it. I love having a task every day, it keeps myself busy and life seems way more fulfilled that way.
I’m inspired to be better
I’m more inspired to make something of myself. No, I’m not over here trying to be president of the United States. But someone my daughter can look up to. Even though she doesn’t know whats going on NOW and I know even when she does grasp reality she won’t care for a while, I want her to be able to look back when shes older and think ‘my mom was a badass’ or ‘my mom was a hard worker’.
Whatever it be, I want her to be able to look up to me as someone she admires and wants to be like. I’m also not saying she needs to be the person I am, I just want to set good examples and be a role model of what it’s like to have hobbies, to be passionate, to never stop doing what you love.
Before having her in my life, all I was ever interested in was watching Netflix shows, which reflects a lot of what my mother was known for in my eyes (and there’s nothing wrong with that).
BUT I want to be greater than that in her eyes.
Comfort is key
It’s not that I don’t have time to do my makeup or play dress up. I’m a stay at home mom and my child is easy. I have the whole day to doll myself up but in reality, I don’t really care to do so every day.
I love staying comfy and not worrying if my shirt is gonna get a stain or get wrinkled..because it most defiantly will. I haven’t worn makeup in almost 2 years and life is easy and a whole lot cheaper. It makes the days that I do decide to get dressed up a lot more fun and noticeable by my man. (LOLing) but in all seriousness, we all know how clueless some men can be when it comes to that.
Having to take care of a baby all day is hard work so I try my best to make my life more easy and comforting in any way I can.
