Things one forgets ( at least for a year or two) after becoming a mom:
Keeping a clean house : Remember how you prided yourself on having a spick-and-span house, where not a thing was out of its place and you spent time decorating it with delicate knick-knacks? Well, now you can forget it. Once your baby learns to explore, your house starts resembling the china shop which was visited by a bull. Knick-knacks are replaced by toys scattered everywhere and cleanliness, what is that?
Unless someone creates a Chitti-like robot which can set everything in its place in a jiffy, get ready for the eyebrow raising, head shaking and tut-tutting of people who come home.
Unless someone creates a Chitti-like robot which can set everything in its place in a jiffy, get ready for the eyebrow raising, head shaking and tut-tutting of people who come home.
A good night's sleep : Ever asked a parent of a newborn if he/she had a good night's sleep? Don't! Because you will only get annoyed reactions with a stare of disbelief. Once a baby arrives, throw away your alarm clock because it will soon appear that an alarm is ringing every few hours in the night with alarming regularity. But not to worry...a few months down the line, you would be so accustomed to it that you don't even need to hear your baby cry to wake up and do the needful.
A dose of entertainment : Yes, pre-baby period was a rosy life of nights at the theatres preceded or followed by dinners at restaurants. Post-baby, takeaway is the answer to restaurant food. Thank god for small mercies! As for watching movies in theatres, if you have a particularly restless boy like mine, the only movie you will be watching is the one on the small screen. Because as we learned, watching a movie in a theatre with my son was equal to making my husband learn of the upcoming movies by sitting outside the movie hall with our baby (who was amazingly calm once he was outside). But well I enjoyed the movie! At least, someone wins.
Ever eating when you are hungry : After baby arrives, eating food when you are hungry is no longer the norm. You only eat when the coast is clear, the storm has calmed down and your baby is appeased. Also, there is never a guarantee that your meal will not be interrupted, by your baby soiling himself or worse, but really common, your baby begins to poop. Oh god, why right when I am eating?
Getting time for yourself : A mom has only one agenda everyday - what and when do I feed my baby? Once they grow old enough for solids, mom's life worsens. So the whole time the only thought in mom's head is gotta cook rice for baby, make juice for baby, make him drink milk, give him snacks ....you get the idea. Any free time that is left, which is when baby is thankfully asleep, is not spent in vain. Household chores ( you just can't leave a house dirty no matter how hard your baby is trying to do so) take up the little time that you had alone. As a result, no time for hobbies (refer my first post), only emergency visits to beauty parlours, any kind of shopping done within strict deadlines (without baby) or flash forward shopping while running around the mall (with baby, of course), rare chances of going out alone, and tv- watching or cellphone-talking with constant interruptions and background music.
Going out empty-handed : There was a time when I practically walked out swinging my arms without carrying any baggage. Now, I have to carry diapers, wipes, food, water, milk, a dress, napkins, cell phone, house keys, and everything else in the now-quintessential diaper bag. You can forget your baby even but never forget your diaper bag. Because god forbid, you forget it, your baby will instantly teach you a lesson that will make you remember to carry it everytime everywhere. And be prepared - the one thing you forget to put in it, the baby will need that one thing ONLY when you are out, which leads to disapproving stares from hubby who can't understand how you could forget it in the first place.
Having a moment of rest : Every moment that your baby is awake is duty time. Moms cannot afford a moment of relaxation especially when baby starts crawling or learns to walk. Example :As I was writing this blogpost, my son who was busy roaming around the house, reached over to the top of the dining table where I had placed a dish with mango pieces and dropped it on the floor. The one moment when my eye was not on him! Lesson learnt : Never blog or do anything that takes my attention away from him.
And most important of all,
Your worries, tensions and headaches : Yes, it might appear that you have sacrificed a lot for your kid, forgoing many things that you liked to do earlier that you are now unable to do. There are times when I get tired, frustrated and annoyed with my son. But when he puts his arms around me, clumsily climbs on to me and plants a big kiss on my cheek and then gives me a grin, I know that there is nothing better that I want than this - spending my days with him. Being with a baby really makes you forget about everything else that amazingly no longer matters to you. Because, the moments of bliss - seeing your baby smile for the first time, learn to crawl, stumble his way towards you, make a cute gesture, speak the first word, imitate an action - are those moments that make you forget all that you gave up for the child who is your life now.
