How Has Life Changed?

When I was pregnant with Hannah, I was one of those persons that feared the worst. I thought we were never going to be able to leave the house. I thought my kid would never sleep through the night. I thought that she would cry constantly....

because that is what you always hear parents complaining about.

"Sleep now because once the baby comes you'll never get any sleep!"

I was a soon-to-be-mom that had never changed a diaper. I worked a fabulous 10-5 job (the joys of being freelance!). How early was I going to have to wake up to take care of this bundle of joy?

But once Hannah was born, I knew I didn't care how many sleepless nights there would be. It was worth it! I just had to go with the flow and everything would be okay.

And 'with the flow' we went and I attribute that 'laid back attitude' to why Hannah was such an easy baby...heck, Colson was an easy baby too!

Hannah was a sleeper from the get-go. We joke that we didn't see her eyes until she was 9 months old. But no really, she was always asleep. And it didn't take long for her to begin giving us 4-5 hour stretches at night, then 5-6 and 6-7. If I remember correctly, Hannah was giving us 8 hours of sleep at night by 6 or 7 months old. By 1 year it was 12-13 hours and we still hold pretty true to that today, at 3.5 years old.

Hannah hardly ever fussed. She was a happy baby. We were able to take her to a restaurant and she would either be content sitting in her seat or she would sleep (surprise).

With Colson, he was awake more than Hannah ever was, but he was giving us 8 house of sleep at night before Hannah did. He was sleeping through the night around 5 months old. At 16 months old he sleeps just as long as his sissy...if not longer. Last night for example, he went to bed at 7:30 and he's still asleep--at 9:30, as I type thins. (But he did have a busy day yesterday.)

Colson, just hung out and went with the flow when he was little...just like his parents.

We were never bar goers or anything so we were not deprived of a lifestyle like that. We were alway home bodies so having Hannah and Colson did not really alter our lives in that sense.

Now that the kids are getting older we tend to stress a bit more. Having two mobile kids is a lot to constantly keep an eye on. But they know their boundaries (most of the time). I can go into the kitchen to cook and I know that my kids will not start climbing the furniture! Set the boundaries early and trust me, your life will be a lot easier in the long run!

Now that they're older, it's harder to go out so if one of the grandparents can watch them, we take advantage of that. Now, when I say go out, it's usually to the grocery store. So if the grandparents can't watch then we just take them with. Not really that big of a deal.

Now I don't want to glorify our life because there are things that we can't do anymore. We can't stay out late if we do go out, because the kiddos need to be in bed around 8:00. We can hardly ever relax when we do go out with them because we always have one eye on each kid. Especially now that Colson walks, he just wants to explore everything.

I don't want you to think that we are some crazy parents and we just let our kids do whatever either...because we are far from that! We are just parents that let our kids be kids but we teach them right from wrong in the process. If we have to punish then we punish. It's all in the repetitive nature of your parenting that teaches your kids how they are supposed to act and behave. And we try to end bad habits and behaviors before they become a 'way of life' for the kids. Sometimes it's easier said then done, but all things take time and work.

One big thing that I never expected, was to become a stay at home mom. It was always known that I would go back to work...and I did go back to work for some time. But the economy went to shit and so did my job. The person I was 'freelancing' for no longer needed an extra hand so I was forced to work from home. That slowly evolved into me becoming a SAHM and honestly, it was the best 'unexpected' ever. I cherish the gift of me being home with the kids! I love it! Although I would be lying if I said there weren't days where I wish I could just have some alone time for a while!

So while life may not have changed to drastically for us (boring people), it has changed in a way that has filled our hearts with a love and joy that I never thought was possible. I knew I would love my kids, but I didn't fully know what the existent of that love would be. It is an overflowing love! An unexplainable love! We were pleasantly surprised with how well both of our kids slept from the beginning and we count our lucky stars for that...because it could have been (and can still be for any future children) very different.

But...We'll just keep on going with the flow for now! It seems to have worked for us! :o)



Link up with Growing Up Geeky and tell us how your life has changed (or hasn't changed).