Mama Speaks

Childcare.  It is probably one of the most difficult decisions a family has to make when there is no option (or desire, in some cases) to be a stay-at-home-mom or dad(SAHM/SAHD).  Go through 9 long months of pregnancy, a number of hours or days in labor and pushing (or going through major abdominal surgery aka c-section...which is often unnecessary-but that's another post, another day) to bring a precious baby into this world.  Then, spend the next 6 weeks sleepless, attempting to feed and soothe a crying baby, and try to manage to shower a few times and maybe choke down a brownie or two.  Oh wait, what now?  That's right, you get to go back to work before you've even fully recovered or established solid breastfeeding (again, another blog, another day). And you have to leave your baby with someone else.  Sometimes, we are lucky enough to have someone in our life that we love and trust that can care for our precious lil bitty.  In my case, I was luck...

Life can be separated into two phases: before baby and after baby. When I became a mom, I feel like I started a whole new life... Before baby...I slept in on weekends.  I napped often. After baby...sleeping in consists of that extra hour A sleeps compared to the work week (during which we have to wake her up). Before baby...I loved buying myself cute new shoes, just for fun. After baby...my feet grew 1/2 a size, rendering my cute shoe collection useless.  (By the way, aside from the crocs I bought several months back, I just bought my first pair of cute sandals since having A.  That is a LONG time to go without wearing cute shoes...) Before baby...I loved going out all the time with my friends. After baby...I feel lucky to get to talk to my friends and see them once every couple of months. Before baby...I enjoyed going to the gym and working out for hours on end. After baby...I wish I could figure out how to afford the gym and how to find the time for it...