Do you remember life before you had children? Those days when you would get a full night of uninterrupted sleep, handbags were for fashion not convenience, and you wouldn’t leave the house without a full face of makeup?
You take those things for granted when you’re not a parent but as a mum they fall much lower on the priority scale!
It’s easy to judge a parent and think they are exaggerating about how tough things can be when you’re not one yourself. It is not until you become a mum that you appreciate certain things, so here at mama mio we have compiled a list of parenting truths you don’t realise until you become a mum.
You don’t need 8 hours sleep a night
You heard it a thousand times while you were pregnant: ‘Make the most of your sleep now because you won’t have any as soon as the baby arrives’ or, ‘You think you’re tired now? Just you wait!’ .  Funnily enough, they were right!
So you are woken up four times in the night by a grizzly baby who just couldn’t settle. Does that mean you get to lie in and catch up? No way! There is a baby to feed, laundry to be done, a house to clean, dinner to make and you still manage to do all this everyday even with your sleep deprivation!
What being busy really means
When we ask people how they are doing they usually reply with a response which circulates around them being really busy. Ha! We challenge you to find any new mum that doesn’t feel like they are more busy than they have ever been in their whole lives!
When you’re just taking care of yourself you have to worry about washing and dressing yourself, feeding yourself, organising your social life and maybe getting yourself to work on time.
As a mum you have to remember to do all that as well as worrying about changing nappies, feeding schedules, nap schedules and all the unscheduled mishaps that occur along the way! And just when you have made it through the sleep-deprivation years, the school activities swoop down and you find you become a taxi service to different clubs and activities, or have stay up late to finish building a papier-mâché volcano science project. Being a mum is a full time job.
How little time you have to yourself
When you have small children, having no time to yourself just comes with the territory. They require your undivided attention because everything becomes a health and safety hazard, and even when they get older children require constant amusement and entertainment.
Pre-children you probably laughed when mothers said they locked themselves in the pantry or the bathroom just to get five minutes peace and quiet. Now you realise that comment wasn’t so funny after all!
It takes forever to leave the house
This parenting truth is one you will not believe until you become one. Gone are the days of running a quick errand or nipping out to the corner shop to grab something. You could have gone and got the milk and been back in the time it takes your child to put on their coat!
Whether it’s tying laces, tricky zips or one missing shoe, leaving the house with a child is an art that needs perfecting. In the meantime it is best just to resign yourself to the fact that you will always be late!
How to love unconditionally
In amidst all the chaos of being a mum, there is one parenting truth that you truly cannot know until you have experienced it yourself and that is your capability to love your child unconditionally. How is it possible to have so much love for this little being?
You may have ups and down as a parent, but one thing will always remain the same and that’s the unconditional, irrevocable love that you have for your child!
