Readjustments

When you have a kid, it's all about readjustments in your life. Below are a couple of "areas" which i think needed major readjustments when Peanut first came into our lives:

a) Sleep
The No.1 major change you need to do. No longer can you wake up whenever you want. Think you can laze around in bed till 10am, while sipping a cup of hot coffee and reading the papers on the weekend? Think again. You'll be lucky if you can sleep past 7am, or she doesn't slap you awake first, or knock your coffee on the bed. I have been the unlucky recipient twice when she whacked my face cos i was still sleeping. And no, pretending to sleep doesn't work when she's all awake and bushy-tailed and might get herself into trouble if she's left on her own device.

And bedtime. For the most part it's been okay. Some days she just needs to drink a bit of milk before she falls asleep. There are some days when she's still rummaging through my drawers at 1130pm at night. I have tried various means to make her go sleep. From counting sheeps, to pretending to sleep, to holding down her down on the bed (gently la of course) so that she'll get the signal that she's supposed to sleep, to singing various nursery rhymes. Most of the time i'm successful; other times i'll be too tired to try, and will just try to stay awake until she gets too tired and fall asleep herself.

b) Eating
Yes, meal times are no longer the same, especially when she's older ( 1 year plus and above). She now wants to be "'part" of mealtimes. If I drink something, she wants to drink as well. And God forbid if there's a straw in my cup, for she'll be drawn to it like a magnet and will want to start stirring the drink and drinking from it. So i have to get the waitress to get me a cup of water with a straw in it, just so that she can have her own drink too, and leave my coffee or tea alone.

And I now order baby friendly food. Meaning, i'll eat food that i can feed her with too. No curries or other spicy stuff .And me and DH are still not doing the "you take care of her while i eat first". We like to eat together so we try our best to fit her in into our mealtimes. Not easy, but still doable for now.


c) Going out
My gosh, going out. It's like preparing for war. Before we even step out of the house, there's a whole bunch of things on the checklist which we need to get ready. Milk bottle, water bottle to refill her water, sippy bottle, hankie, milk powder, porridge (and if we're going out for the whole day, two set of thermos for lunch and dinner), a small blanket / cloth, extra clothes just in case she wets herself, small toys, her snacks, wet wipes, diapers wtf! I no longer bring my handbag out. I just toss my wallet and phone into the diaper bag, and hope I don't forget anything. I'll usually bring two bags out. One diaper bag, and one of those recycle bag so i can chuck those stuff that needs to be within reach fast inside. By the time i'm done, i'm exhausted. And coming home after a day's out is another event. I need to wash the bottles (i prefer to wash these myself, rather than asking our helper to do it) and unpack most of the stuff. Phew.

d) Choosing your destinations
Nowadays, we tend to go to places that has more space. Places that can accommodate our stroller. Like those cafes and restaurants. And places that has clean baby changing rooms. I think Gardens by far has the best baby changing rooms. The room is clean, it has a sink and toilet in it, and it's spacious. In baby changing rooms in other malls, they tend to just have the changing table and the sink. No toilet. How in the world do they think mothers who are out ALONE are gonna use the toilet and pee?? We can't possibly push the stroller into those normal toilets. These toilets are usually very cramped, and there's no way you can park a stroller inside.

e) Your shopping habits
There's no more time for facials, massages, or whatever u wanna pamper yourself with. And shopping? I think online shopping is a haven for mums out there. And even when you wanna go out and shop with baby, i always feel that i need to be fast when browsing for stuff, and you know some shops are just so small to bring the stroller in you'll be bumping into those clothes racks, and mannequins? And oh ya, you gotta pause and stop when salesgirls chat you up with the usual questions "berapa umur bayi you ni?? Can walk already? Lelaki ke perempuan?" Oh and these doesn't happen in shops alone. It happens in restaurants and lifts too! I don't mind la actually, who doesn't wanna talk about their own baby right? :) And you can get interesting info and facts from other mothers out there too at the same time.

f) Your outfits
Cannot wear high heels anymore when you're out with a baby!!! I don't want to trip over and fall when i'm carrying Peanut. So it's all flats. And I normally wear a blouse with a not so low-neckline, lest your baby pull your collar and expose you for all to see. :P

g) You gotta have four, scratch that, SIX pairs of eyes and a new pair of lungs.
Peanut is at that age where she's curious about everything. She'll stick pencils into her ears, attempt to drink my hot water, open and close drawers, pick things up from the floor and put them into her mouth and goes Yummm and it's all up to us mamas and papas to shout "NOOOOOOOOO......" "STOP IT" "DON'T TOUCH THOSE!" "DON"T GO NEAR THERE" I feel myself turning into my mum screaming at all of us when we were kids, but honestly peeps, there's no other way to do it other than raising your voice when you see them picking up some dirt on the floor and putting them into their mouth when they're like 10 ft away and you're too far away to physically stop them. So, shouting a bit, helps. It helps to distract them before it happens. And your eyes need to be on them 24 /7 like a cctv in the bank. No compromise.


So many things to change eh? But that's life when u turn into a momma. It's all about changes and it's all worth it! xoxo.