The Little Things

I knew that having a baby would change my life. No late night romps with my husband. No more sleeping until 11 a.m. Still, I never anticipated losing out on the little things. Here are just a few of the unexpected ways my daughter has rocked my world.

I used to blast the radio in my car and sing at the top of my lungs. Now, I'm lucky if I get five minutes of my favorite station in before she screams, "Wiggles!"

Before baby, I could spend an hour in the bathroom just grooming. Ten minutes to pluck my eyebrows, twenty minutes to shave my legs, another twenty minutes to put on makeup, and so on. Now I have just enough time to brush my teeth, wash my hair, and get dressed. That’s how long one Baby Einstein video is.

I never could have imagined how much space a baby takes up. Her stuff spills out into every room in the house, including the kitchen. I had to clear out two cabinets just to fit her bottles, formula, medicine, and bath toys.

I always thought bedtime would be my favorite part of the day. Time for myself, a chance to do the things I love like write or read a book. Ha! Instead, those hours are spent catching up on chores. Only after the house is back in order can I sit down for a few minutes of bad TV.

The concept of time has totally changed. Before, if I was stuck in line at Motor Vehicles for 2 hours it was excruciating. It felt like forever. With a child, two hours is nothing. It's not even enough time to do the laundry, empty the dishwasher, put toys away, answer e-mail, return phone calls, etc. All the things that need to get done before baby wakes up and demands your attention.