What have I learnt about being a mum?

9 years ago today I entered motherhood with not a clue as to what was ahead of me.
You can’t possibly know what it will feel like becoming a parent until you are in it. And for me, initially, it was like wearing roller skates and going down a very steep hill.
It did of course get easier but as every parent knows the challenges just change as you go on.

What have I learnt since becoming a mum?

1.Parenting is unlike anything else, even babysitting, which someone once told me was good practice (it’s not).

2.You will feel such overwhelming love for a person your heart will feel fit to burst.

3.Sleep will become the most precious commodity in the world.

4.Your house will never be tidy again.

5.You become both stronger and more vulnerable than you ever knew, in equal measures.

6.Your body may or may not take a bit of a battering (think pelvic floor, c- section , diastasis, hips, back…) but there is always something you can do to help and plenty of expert help to guide you.

7.Time by yourself is precious.

8.You cannot do it all.

9.It may look like everyone else has it nailed. They don’t. People only show what they want to be seen.

10.Trust your gut. You know what’s best for your family, better than someone you bump into in the supermarket who tells you ‘just leave them to cry they are doing it for attention’ etc etc.

11.Kids say the funniest things.

12.Your children will love you no matter what.

13.I could survive solely on my kid’s kisses and cuddles.

14.You may lose yourself a little bit but you are still in there. Hold on.

15.You probably won’t hang out with your non- parent friends so much. You will miss them.

16.It’s okay to slow down.

17.Don’t always try and resolve everything straight away. Time to cool off can be invaluable for resolution.

18.Kids do gross things.

19. At times you may constantly feel like you are failing. You aren’t. You are human and doing your best most of the time.

20.Lego is very painful to step on.