It’s something you’ve dreamed about for a long time, you think you’re ready for it. You have friends and family with children, so you feel prepared. But you’re not, because no matter what you think. This blog post will give you an insight on being a parent and the realities of the first year….

Sleeping

So many people said to me, sleep when the baby sleeps. But no matter how hard you try you can’t, in fact I found that I couldn’t sleep much at all. I was lucky to be able to go over my parents during my maternity leave so they could watch him. I would quite often curl up on their sofa because the night before he’d been up every 3 hours.

Now at 18 months old he sleeps 12 hours a night (most nights.) However, I did spent most nights sitting at the top of the stair in tears listening to him. I would sit there for hours before he would go off to sleep. So many people had said that would help us both and I believed them. I still do.

Nappies

You have to have a routine. I hadn’t realised this till I started to change his nappy as he got bigger. When he was able to roll over and crawl off.  Then it gets more complicated as they get bigger. Poo gets everywhere, you hold their feet as they get bigger. Most of the time you’re washing and you get excited when stain remover gets the marks out.

My tip: if you have a baby that won’t keep still for love nor money keep him distracted with anything. Sing a son, give him a toy or have something that is safe that isn’t a toy. My son loved playing with my keys, but not a good idea when he’s holding them above his head. I would make up songs, it started with Old McDonald. He had so many animals on that farm.

Toys

The amount of them are unbelievable and he’s only 16 months old.  I feel lucky that I’ve got loving friends and family around us to get him such lovely gifts. I can’t complain about the amount because he loves his toys. However the small toys get stuffed and poked in the smallest of gaps. My tip is get a long handed wooden spoon. This comes in handy when that piece of Duplo or small ball gets wedged in the radiator. Yes it actually happened.  I’ve spend many times getting toys from out under the sofa or behind units that cannot be moved!

Eating

Kids eating is an education in itself. We started weaning him at 6 months because he would take food off us which was a clear cut sign. He started not wanting milk so I started to blend foods and he loved it. I even kept a diary of the flavours he like, trying different things all the time. I spent so much time on this, because everyone said that it’s the best time to get different flavours.

Then the teeth arrive

Then you go back to square one, his favourite flavours aren’t his favourite flavours anymore. In fact he hates them so much he spits them out!  You have days when you just want to just go back to giving him milk because it’s so much easier to give him a bottle.  The book you’re writing his favourite flavours in doesn’t even exist anymore it’s now in the bin because you’ve given up on trying to give him food!

Then there’s the cup issue. He won’t have a sippy cup because it’s more fun to throw on the floor. You end up spending so much money on different cups because you think he needs a different one. When in fact all he wants to do is give you the run around!

Hang in there because it does get easier temporarily then as they get older you get a different issue. Once they get used to their teeth they’re normally fine. Just don’t do what I did and give in to it. Stick with your decisions because at the end of the day you’re the parent.

It’s so worth it when they smile.