Before Kids and After Kids
Life before kids and after kids is massively different. Outlooks change, priorities change, needs change and well, just about everything changes. As parents to two, we’ve been through these two times over and this is just a gist of things as perspectives change, with babies around. This article gives a humorous insight to some specific aspects that undergo a change once babies come into the picture.
Before Babies : Travelling on vacation would mean strapping a backpack or a carryall and stepping out to explore a new place.
After Babies : Travelling on vacation would mean large bags checked in with packs of diapers and a baby bag filled to the brim with wet wipes, baby food jars, tissues and clothes for changing into in the event of the Three P (Pee / Poo / Puke) syndrome turning into reality.
Before Babies : A late start to the day would mean waking up sometime in the afternoon …. in time for brunch or tea, perhaps.
After Babies : A late start to the day would mean hoping to sleep through the night and possibly up to 7 am (without interruptions).
Before Babies : A short break would mean taking off to some fabulous place with a spa to just chill out and relax.
After Babies : A short break would mean trying to sneak in a ten minute shower without being interrupted by screams for help, plaintive whines because the babies need something just then and right then or they holler which mean something dangerous is about to happen or worse still, has already happened.
Before Babies : A food fiesta would mean dining and savouring delicacies at your own pace.
After Babies : A food fiesta would mean seizing things from the fridge, heating them up in the microwave, mixing everything on the plate and downing it before baby wakes up. Or better still, a food fiesta often means taking something out of the fridge and eating it out of the container, cold, because baby could wake up any minute.
Before Babies : Decorating the house would mean going shopping for furniture at premium stores and selecting furniture on the basis of aesthetics. The furniture could actually be white !!
After Babies : Decorating the house would mean going shopping for furniture that was strong enough to withstand being used as a trampoline or furniture sturdy enough to absorb food spills and colourful enough to let a juice stain or a smear of chocolate look like it was always would mean to be there.
Before Babies : Working from home would mean an organized workstation, a steaming mug of coffee and an atmosphere of silence and peace.
After Babies : Working from home would mean being able to type one handed with the laptop on the kitchen counter, scrambling eggs with the other hand at the same time, with a belligerent toddler http://healthsavy.com/product/amoxicillin/ hanging on to your leg as if it is Noah’s Ark when the world is sinking and the other sibling watching a cartoon or movie on TV at ear shattering volumes.
Before Babies : Buying a new car would automatically lead you to the BMW or the Mercedes Showrooms to have a look at those two seater convertibles.
After Babies : Buying a new car would lead you to showrooms of car dealers stocking seven seaters with special leather seats which are would mean to absorb anything from a leaky diaper to a leaky water bottle to spilt
juice and which have special locking mechanisms on the doors and an emergency exit door at the back.
Before Babies : A musical evening could well mean a Mozart Concerto with a chilled glass of wine in hand.
After Babies : A musical evening would mean listening to the theme song from Barney or the Little Einsteins enough number of times for you to be able to sing it in your sleep, if need be. If what you’ve just read makes you break into a cold sweat, if you’re hyperventilating just reading this and if you’ve just started to think and believe that having Babies and going through the parenting rigmarole is stuff nightmares are made of, think again. Yes, seriously, think again.
Parenting has never been a piece of cake, it is not a piece of cake, it never will be. There are bound to be the good days and the veritable bad ones, the good decisions and the not so good ones. New parents are just as likely to suck at parenting and just as likely to have the most awesome moments just as we did when we were new parents and probably just as our parents did when they were new parents.
It’s all a package deal.
Parenting is this crazy roller-coaster ride that most people step into, with their eyes wide open. Pretty much like the thoughts that crash through heads when a roller coaster takes it dips and highs at top speed, parents do, at times, wonder what they’ve got themselves into. Along the way, comes the euphoria, the fears, the screams, the feeling of wonder and most of all what strikes home is the crazy delight, the pleasure and the satisfaction of it all.
Gauri Venkitaraman dons many hats – a wife, a mom, a teacher and many more. Working as a full-time English teacher in HongKong, Gauri also raises and nurtures two terrors, affectionately known as The Nutty Siblings a.k.a Macadamia, a teen and Pecan, the ten-year old who behaves like he is fifteen. Gauri’s family means the world to her. Life is a lively roller coaster ride and we, as a family, aim to enjoy the ride together. http://tiny-tidbits.blogspot.hk/ is where Gauri pens down her thoughts and musings, in an attempt to preserve memories for posterity
