Routine Interrupted – Mommy Blogger

02/25/2018

Teri Parkhurst is a marketing and communications professional who is currently on maternity leave with her first child, a beautiful baby boy.

If you’ve ever been pregnant, been trying to get pregnant, or have even casually mentioned that you’re thinking about maybe someday trying to get pregnant, you’ve likely been told by someone that having a baby changes your life. Of course, that’s true—but it’s hard to fully understand until that little one actually makes his or her appearance. And it might manifest itself in ways you hadn’t anticipated.

When I was pregnant I heard some form of that phrase from several people in a variety of contexts. Sleep would virtually vanish from my daily routine. It might be difficult to find time to shower, eat or pee. Work would suddenly feel less important. In fact, all of my priorities would shift drastically.

A few months in, I’ve found all of those are true to some degree, although not as dramatically as I sometimes feared when I was laying awake at night those last few weeks before my son was born. But one thing I wasn’t prepared for—a bit naively, looking back—was how much a daily routine and my control over the day would go out the window.

I’m sure this is not true for everyone, and if you’re one of those moms or dads who have things down like clockwork, I bow down to you. I’m truly impressed (and would like to know your secrets!). My son isn’t as interested in keeping a routine schedule from day to day as I had hoped, and this has been one of my biggest challenges as a new mom.

Full disclosure: I’m a planner and a little bit of a control freak. Becoming a mom has forced me to try and roll with things a little bit more. I found, even when the day is following some sort of recognizable rhythm, there are those things that sort of just pop up. You know, like a sudden need just as you’re leaving the house to change baby’s clothes for the third time that morning. Or your own! Please tell me this is a problem other moms and dads have occasionally…

So, as my son is learning how to exist in this world and my number one job right now is to help him do that, I am learning alongside him. Learning how to meet his needs first, and worry less about being a few minutes late (even though it still pains me to even write that sentence). Learning how not to worry as much about what time he is eating, and only that he is eating as much as needs. Learning how to take a step back from my expectations and go with the flow more than I’m naturally comfortable with.

It’s a work in progress but we’re getting there.