I won't go on and on with the cliches of the joys of motherhood and other mushy mommy statements, although I find they are all true for me. Liam J. is the best thing my husband and I have ever done, individually or together. At any rate, this is not what I want to share tonight. I mean motherhood literally makes you tougher, well, if you are around for it at least. Not long after my son was born it became apparent that I would develop arm strength. I have always had pitiful upperbody strengh, not uncommon for women, and lugging around the baby carrier/car seat to doctor's appointments, grocery stores, etc. made my triceps burn. Seven and half months later they no longer burn and I notice his regular weight gain less and less. In terms of sleep, I have learned that I don't need that much. Granted I may have the people skills of a zombie but I can feed, entertain, comfort, and diaper a baby in any condition - sick, blind (I wear contacts), asleep, injured, you name it. I used to gag at certain, shall we say unpleasant smells. Diapers cure you of that problem. I knew baby poo was gross but I had no idea that something so tiny on a liquid diet could pass half his body weight in a rank, multi-textural, colorful way. My husband asked me when we started feeding the baby peas when he was only two weeks old! An aside, if you are a new mommy or mommy-to-be, diapers are diapers and brand doesn't make too much difference when they are little but wipees are crucial. Pay for the quality wipees, they need to be as thick and cloth-like as possible because poo sticks and clumps and smears and you will regret it if you have cheap, weak wipes. Finally, the inspiration for this post (I think my longest thus far) is my son's projectile vomiting episode (he's fine thank you). My 19-20 lb baby spewed out enough volume with enough force that I literally had vomit on me from head to toe. I had it in my hair, on my neck and an ear, the entire front of my shirt which was soaked through and got my bra, down my chest, down my pants, his face, his chest, his legs, the highchair, the sofa, and the floor. There was so much on me I was literally dripping with it. Sorry if you are squeamish but I have OCD tendencies and am known as the napkin queen because I hate to have "stuff" on me, especially my hands and skin in general. Yet I changed clothes, wiped down myself, my son, and the carpet and furniture without missing a beat. Motherhood makes you tough. I may be rough around the edges more often than not but I am certainly stronger for it (and happier, I would deal with anything for my sunshine boy).
Looking for fun, clever clothing for your child? Tired of dressing them like a walking advertisement for a theme park or television show? Visit the children's section of
Too Long Dog. While you are there pick something up for yourself as well, you deserve it.
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