April 6, 2015

10 Things I Have Learnt in the 1st Year of Parenting

1. I am the QUEEN of multitasking

I thought I was a good multi-tasker before Isla came a long but the old Sarah aint got nothing on the new Sarah. You need to be super, super organised to have a full time job, be a good mummy, be a blogger/vlogger and try and be a decent wife/friend/daughter/sister/cook/cleaner all at the same time. Unfortunately, becoming a parent has not increased the husband’s level of multi-tasking.

2. There’s only so long you can blame the ‘baby weight’

Ah yes, the post pregnancy body. A thing that isn’t talked about too much in the run up to having your baby. There’s far too much to talk about baby wise, never mind getting a word in edgeways about your appearance (unless it’s to talk about swollen ankles). I believe there should be a special antenatal class that teaches you ‘what to expect from your body after pregnancy and childbirth’. It would open up a lot of eyes! Coming up to a year post baby, I definitely cannot blame Isla for my extra weight anymore!

3. I have a very, very unhealthy obsession with baby clothes

Follow me on Instagram, @theknottbumpandus, check out our weekly baby fashion linky on the blog or check out our shopping hauls on our YouTube channel and you’ll see what I mean…

4. Sensationalised media articles and TV programmes about parenting really pee me off

We’ve got enough on our plates trying to balance everything that comes along with becoming a parent, we don’t need articles telling us ‘our babies won’t be clever because we didn’t breastfeed them until they were like 12’. I think you’ll find that, quite frankly, how I parent is not actually any of your business and my baby is thriving. Thank you!

5. I am not an emotional stone

We always joke that I am a stone and my husband is the woman in the relationship when it comes to emotions but I’ve had a lot more ‘close to tears’ moments, both happy and sad, since I had Isla. The first 6 weeks were hard hard work which led to tears of frustration and, more recently, I’ve had a few almost happy cries when Isla has reached certain milestones, like walking!

But on a more serious note…

6. You think you know what love is…until you create a little person

It may not come to you in a rush all at once when they are placed in your arms, but believe me it will hit you and some point and it will hit you hard. You will marvel at this little being in front of you and it will fill you with a warmth you’ve never felt before. The only thing I can I can liken it to is how excited I get the day before Christmas. That tightening feeling you get and you want to squeal. That’s how full of love I feel when I look at Isla sometimes!

7. Life only changes if you want it to

Before you have your baby people line up to tell you that ‘life will never be the same again’, ‘everything changes now’, ‘you’ll never come out anymore’, ‘you’ll never have time for yourself’ etc. And in some respects life does change. Of course it does. At the same time, however, I do truly believe that life does only change as much as you want it to. If you want to use the excuse of being a parent to never go out and stay at home with your little family all the time then that’s totally up to you. Everyone is different and no one should be judged for how they chose to spend their time. I still like to go on nights out with the girls, go on date nights with the husband, go to the gym, have wine and take out nights at friends’ houses, travel to visit people etc. It’s all about organising things a little differently, that’s all.

8. I am a lot more relaxed as a parent than I was expecting

I’ve always been someone who researches, in depth, any little thing I do or buy so I was expecting to be a bit of a worrier when it came to parenting. Weirdly though, this hasn’t turned out to be the case! Even my mum said she was surprised at how laid back I am with Isla. We let her explore, we encourage her to go to new people, I didn’t have too much of an issue with her starting nursery, she’s only ever been to the doctors once other than hospital appts for Mr Cyst and yeah, the list goes on!

9. I am a lot stronger than I thought I was

From the scary things like the uncertainty of Isla’s cystic hygroma through to the smaller things like going to baby groups alone, I have developed a new level of confidence since becoming a parent. Once you’ve managed to create another human being and *ahem* pop them out, you can pretty much deal with anything life throws at you!

10. You make some lifelong (I hope!) friends through having kids

I moved to the South Coast a couple weeks before having Isla and I never imagined myself being properly happy here. It was a means to an end and a temporary posting but fast forward a year and I have made some really, really great new friends and we’re looking at seeing out the rest of Rob’s Navy career here. We are lucky to have met such lovely people, and fab little babies of course.

What’s the biggest thing you have learnt since becoming a parent?