Till I was a mommy....

Aside from all the serious aspects of motherhood, I have been thinking lately about the things that just never crossed my mind until I was a mom, such as:

• What to do when you have to go to the bathroom. Seriously the first couple days when I was home alone and our baby was mobile.....I was like, "What do I do with her?" I can't leave her alone cause she'll get into something. She doesn't like to sit on my lap cause she just wants to grab/shred the toilet paper which I won't let her do and then we're in a struggle over the TP while trying to go to the bathroom..........mmmkay. So thankfully girly likes to just stand at the bathtub and peer inside (and through toys inside). Solution!
• Unloading Groceries. Most people probably have a different situation cause they live in actual houses with driveways. : ) But we live in an apartment with a busy parking lot a few flights down. Again, when she just sat in her carseat it was noooooo problem. But once she was crawling/walking I didn't want to leave her in the car in the busy lot.......but I don't have a bouncer or walker to toss her in while I frantically run up and down. So it comes down to the crib. Which I hate cause I feel like it messes with sleep training, since this one time she gets to come out when she cries cause it's not actually nap time. I wish she would just play in there while I unload so I didn't have to sprint up and down the flights of stairs with arms full of bags while listening to her scream, but oh well!
• When you don't get to shower before your husband leaves. This is sometimes the hardest for me! I am busy making his lunch and helping him get out the door while trying to feed her, etc. and before I know it he's gone and she's up and at it and I have not showered :( Do you wait till nap time? Again, this is where the crib comes in. And again I hate it cause it messes with sleep training. I have tried just letting her stand in the bathroom but she kept pulling the curtain aside and drenching herself......kind of entertaining :) haha
• I know this is a given.........but seriously!!!!!! How easy it was to just "run out the door". Before Juliana's birth, when my friends/family would call and see if I wanted to grab coffee or lunch I could legitimately run out the door. Now when I say, "ok I'm running out" it means, I need to pack her bag, prepare her some food (haha, it was easier when she was JUST breastfed, food with you everywhere....tmi!) throw make-up on, ponytail done, choke-able item fished out of her mouth as we then walk out the door :) 
• How little I could "accomplish" in a day and still feel like I was running around like crazy. Not to tute my own horn cause I'm sure this is true for many of you.....but seriously before I had Jules I could get so much done in a day. I could run a million errands, work a shift, clean the house, make a nice dinner and end it with watching a movie with my hubs. There are many days lately that the end of the day is nearing and (apart from taking care of my child.........ahem) and I realize I have only finished one basket of laundry.
• BUT........Wow what I can do during nap time! It didn't take me long into motherhood to realize, Oh, I'm not going to get much done while she is awake. Nap time is key!!!!! Are you ever in awe of how much you just got down while they were taking their precious 2-3 hour nap!!!?? (unless of course I spend it blogging..........then nothing gets done!)
• I honestly didn't understand what Stay at Home mom's did all day. For any of you that have been asked, even with the best intentions, "so......what do you do all day?" I used to think, "I've babysat......I know what it's like!" I thought stay at home mom's daily agenda consisted of play dates at the park (oh my how stressful), playing with their kids, and being a housewife plus a little more. What I didn't understand was the enormous responsibility of raising your child. Of pouring into them and teaching them all day long. Of how many times you could play the same game, read the same book and play peek a boo :) 
• Of how much love could fill my heart. I have to be honest, I used to get a little upset when people would tell me, "You don't know how much you can really love someone till you have a child". I loved my husband, my family and my friends and didn't appreciate people telling me that I didn't really know what love was since I wasn't a mom. But I think what they were trying to say, is I didn't know the feeling of my heart swelling with love so intense for something so small and that it was up to me to watch, care and love this tiny one. She is a part of me, and apart from all these silly things I never thought of, I could never trade the privilege of being her mommy. I am in love with motherhood :)