Take Time For You
Hello everyone! Today, I want to talk about being a new parent. I remember when people would say “oh, say goodbye to your fun life” once I told them I was having a baby. Now that Olivia is here, my life has definitely changed. It has, however, stayed fun. It’s just a different kind of fun!
I knew having kids was something I always wanted out of life. Having someone other than yourself to care for and love, and being able to mold them into an independent person sounded pretty neat. I also knew it would be hard as hell. Having had a baby in my life for the past (almost) three months, I can confirm those thoughts to be fact. It’s hard, but rewarding!
People say you lose a part of yourself when you have kids, and that it’s hard to get back to what you want to do. I have definitely noticed myself getting lost in the whole parenthood role, of course. But at the same time I don’t feel like I’ve lost myself. I feel as if I’ve just morphed into a new version of me, once that knows that I can still do fun things for myself…after doing what I need to do to take care of my child. Sure, it would be nice to do whatever I want like I used to. It would be nice to spend solo time with my husband that lasts longer than naptime. But I find myself cherishing my time more now that I have to share it with this tiny human.
I’m sure I’ll be feeling more or less free over the course of Olivia’s life. After all, she’s still an infant, and I’m still new to being a parent. I haven’t really had the chance to get totally away from my selfish wants. I don’t know if that’s because I’m making an effort to remember to do stuff for myself, or because of the age Olivia is right now making it easier to actually do that. As she gets older I’m sure I’ll remember this era of parenthood fondly, wanting for these long nights and days full of sleepy cuddles…especially when she begins to talk and walk!
Right now, I wish I could spend every moment with Olivia. Work makes that impossible, but I do get a lot of time with her. I also have the opportunity to have Me Time (even though Me Time looks much different than it did before I became a parent). I’m very happy with how things are going, however. I’m hoping that other parents that feel like they’ve lost themselves in their role can remember to do things for them so that they can remember who they are and what they like to do. After all, no one can really lose themselves. It just becomes a little harder to get to take the time to be themselves when there’s someone completely dependent on them! Cherish that tiny amount of time any time you get it. It’s important to be able to enjoy how life has changed, and it’s easier to do so if you enjoy that little alone time you can get!
Thanks for reading! I’ve had pretty bad writer’s block (which explains the lack of post from last week), so I decided to write about how I’m feeling about being a parent so far. I’m lucky in that we have a lot of help so that Matt and I can get that alone time we need to function. Hopefully new parents have people they can depend on so that they don’t drown in the postpartum stage.
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Hopefully my writer’s block doesn’t prevent me from writing another post next week! We’ll find out soon!
