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There are many things for each unmarried or child-free couples out there to know what is like to be parents. A child brings a lot of happiness, that's true. But you also need to know the other side of having a child that will turn your life upside down. Although you cannot truly understand what it's like to be a parent until you become one, you can feed yourself with worthy information to keep your future children from hurting yourself and your relationship (and by worthy information, we mean the things that no parent-to-be would want to hear.) Here's a list that goes beyond pregnancy, childbirth, strollers and diapers. Here are the crazy, tiring, unbelievable things every couple should read before deciding on having a child.
You can't beat the hormones
Even if your pregnancy was an easy one, when hormone kicks in, your whole body will react in different way. Most hormones are ugly and are responsible for ruining your mood. The post-partum hormones could be even worse. You'd feel easily irritated over a simple thing. You'd cry for no reason, you'd feel ugly, you'd hate everyone, sometimes feel like you're left out and no one loves you. You'd know you don't mean most of the things you'd say or do. Sure, hormones can give you good hair and flawless skin, but it can have a pretty ugly side to it too.
You forget how it feels to have 8-hours of uninterrupted sleep
Your sleeping patterns will change the moment your child is born. In the first months, you will experience sleepless nights. Your newborn has to adapt to a new life, she/he needs to be fed a few times in the middle of the night, leaving you sleepless, restless and totally exhausted. Embrace your panda eyes because that might just very well be your new look!
You're constantly juggling between "to-stay-up-late" or "to-hit-the-bed"
When your child finally asleep, you're always in-between two choices: to stay up late so that you can (finally) have your own time to watch TV or read a book while sipping a cup of hot chamomile tea, or to go straight to bed. Often times, the 'me-time' wins and you end up being a zombie the next morning.
You have to be the first to wake in the morning to have coffee while it's hot
If you're not waking up earlier than your child, chances are your breakfast will become your lunch and your cup of coffee needs to be reheated for several times. No, you won't need an alarm clock. You'll be waking up in a hundred ways, including whining, crying, kicking, or all of them. Remember, you're a parent.
Forget your favorite drama series. It's all about cartoons and kids show
You probably need to call your TV provider to ask if they offer the ability to view recorded programs if you really don't want to miss a show. Meanwhile, you're going to love singing and dancing along with Hi-5.
Your house is filled with toys, tons of them.
Your child will ask for way more toys than they need. Even if you're not that type of parent who showers a child with toys, soon you're going to realize that your kid has too many. Thus, your house will always look like a toy store.
You'll be so fed up with people and their parenting advice
When you're a parent, you'll meet other parents. Some can be judgmental and gossipy. You must believe in yourself that you know what your child needs and you're doing fine being a parent. Find a group of parents that has the same values to support you. Go to the experts if you have some health-related issues about your child instead of going to the Pre-K mommies at school because they might not know any better than you do.
Your child will scream out almost everything
Whether your child is hungry, angry, tired, sad, hurt, or even happy and excited, to scream loud is the way to express them all. You should always be able to keep up with it. A pair of earplugs won't help that much.
You'll tell your child to do something once and repeat 38,037 times
Almost every child has the ability to develop several strategies to put things off as long as possible. Next thing you know, you'll find yourself saying over and over to your child to do something and for 30 minutes later you'll notice she hasn't done what you asked.
You'll be better at taming tantrums, including the ones in public
It can be tough to keep yourself calm when your child is throwing a tantrum. It can be exhausting and embarrassing at the same time especially when the meltdown is in public. But as you're getting better at knowing and understanding your child, you will also get better at handling their tantrums.
No matter how crazy and difficult it is to become a parent, you must also take care of yourself in order to adequately take care of your children. It seems selfish but it's not. Take a break once a while from the craziness of parenthood. In order to adequately take care of our children, we must also nurture ourselves. Remember: "It takes happy parents to raise happy children."
