some realizations

You don't realize how naive and how much of a know-it-all you were before you were a parent until you become a parent. :|

That said, here are some things that, before I had a baby, I said I would never do or things I thought would be different.

I'll never let my baby be pacified by something other than myself.

No pacifiers, no t.v., no swings! Parents are so lazy sometimes, I said. If my baby needs to be pacified then I'll just pick her up and hold her, because I'm going to be the best mom and I don't need all of those other things! Well, in my mind, that was all great, but sometimes my shoulder get sore and sometimes my arms hurt and sometimes I need to do the laundry, cook or clean my house. Sometimes, I just need a break! Sometimes when Aven cries, the only thing that makes her stop crying is looking at that stupid television. Plus, if that t.v. is on, she will turn her head like an owl to see it. We still don't use a pacifier, because I feel like my boobies suffice for that, but I have stuck one in her mouth a few times just to see what she'd do. She definitely just spit it out. "This is NOT a boobie!"

Breastfeeding will be so easy! (formula feeding mommas are just lazy!)

That's what our boobs are for: breastfeeding! I carry them around on my chest and I don't have to fill up a bottle and we're born to do it, right?! What could be hard about it? Turns out, it's not that it's hard to do, it's the commitment that's required on your part. Those first few weeks, you're nursing almost every hour! Prepare to leave to get somewhere an hour before you need to be there, because odds are, the baby will need to eat before you leave and if you don't calculate that time in, you're going to be late for where ever you're going.
The beginning of breastfeeding was one of the biggest commitments I've ever made. I now totally understand why some babies are formula fed. Especially if you're not a stay at home mom. I don't understand how working mommies even do it. Kudos to you if you're a working momma and you also breastfeed your baby. I don't know how I'd have the energy!

Being a stay at home mom will be great! 

(First off, I love being able to stay home with my baby. Not a lot of moms have that luxury and I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about it by any means.) BUT:
See above - "Sometimes I just need a break!" Sometimes, I get really lonely. Sometimes, I get so tired of being in this house, I just want to scream. Aven does scream when she gets tired of it. Going to the grocery store or just out for a drive can seem like a vacation now.

I'll never be one of those moms that looks frumpy and doesn't have time to clean her house.

HA! My baby doesn't sleep during the day most of the time. She's a great nighttime sleeper and will go to sleep at 9 or 10 and sleep until 7:30, waking up a few times to eat. So, when she does happen to take a nap during the day, the last thing on my mind is putting on makeup or cleaning my house. Most of the time I want to sit down, chill out, write a blog, get online, or watch a t.v. show. Plus, cleaning the house usually results in something noisy just waking her up.



So, with all that said, if you're not a mommy or daddy, you can give parenting advice all you want. Just know that on the inside I'm laughing, because until you've been there..you have no idea.