I was driving to aerobics the other day and saw a car with all of the back windows covered in sunshields. It made me chuckle as I remembered bringing child one home from the hospital. I thought about how protective we are as new parents. We spend all the money on new baby equipment, we get all the latest baby gadgets and are so sure of how we will raise our child. And it will certainly be better than the parents of the annoying kids at restaurants.
Then we get sent home with a teeny tiny person. And everything we thought we knew about parenting goes out the window. I remember that husband and I were freaking out because the nurse asked us if the car seat straps were snug. We spent ten minutes making sure it was secure and that our base was snug too. Then we started driving home and child 1 began crying and I freaked out again because it was not time for the baby to be crying. Our child was out of control, it was only three days old but I was convinced there was something wrong with the baby. The husband was very calming and assuring as he laughed at me.
How was parenting different than you expected it to be?
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2 comments:
When the parent(s) bring home child #1 the outside world becomes a huge, foreign, potential assualt on the teeny tiny creature that God has entrusted with your "oh so not ready to take this on due to lack of experience and knowledge" care. And this is just between Labor and Delivery and the hospital front door. Then, after much shortness of breath, sweaty palms,almost complete depletion of your fight & flight neuro transmitters, you safely get your charge in the door and breathe a loud sigh of relief.
The most outstanding thing I remember about how it was different was the ease of which we settled into a routine. All the fear and trepidation I felt was assuaged by the calm and deep penetrating eyes that looked back at me everytime I gazed into that beautiful, round, pink face. Which, by the way, was no less than 80 or 100 times an hour for the first few days atleast! :-) mta (mother of the author)
It is much easier to say how you think you will parent than to actually carry out that plan. Sleep deprivation, cranky children, and numerous other factors wear you down and you find yourself doing things you said you would not do (like letting them watch TV all day, for instance). Never say never!
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