Early last year, Alyssa came into our lives. I still remember clearly how it was like in the delivery room; the first sound of Alyssa crying when she came out of her mother’s womb, how she first opened her eyes and looked at me, and how it felt when I first held my baby girl. It was beautiful, and we knew our lives would literally change forever. We just didn’t know how much it would change. It’s been over a year now, and this is our life is after a baby:
Sleep is for the weak
During the first 6 months, the girlfriend and I have to wake up every 2 hours to feed Alyssa. After 6 months, we’ve had to wake up twice every night. When Alyssa was 12 months old she finally slept through the night a few times, we were happy, then she continued waking up at 4am for milk, then we had to wake up in the middle of the night again. I tried to get some additional sleep in the afternoon, but most of the time I get poked in the face or slapped in the tummy by this small little being running around the house
Cleanliness
The girlfriend and I used to pride our house for being clean and organised. It was pretty easy to keep a clean house because we’re simple people and don’t need a lot of things. When Alyssa came about, she literally took over the house, I didn’t know a baby needed soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many things! It was still ok, we were still able to keep things under control. But when the white walkers came she started walking, that’s when we gave up. Just that day, I found one of her small toys in the fridge. Few days back, I found some of my things underneath the sofa
Poop
I’ve never had to deal with so much poop before. One time, Alyssa had such a massive poop that it oozed out from the top of her diapers. Another time, she had a poop when we were driving
Going out
Before Alyssa came about, we can be out from the house in 10 minutes. Now, life revolves around her wake up time and nap time, and there’s a tonne of things that we need to pack before we can even leave the house
Baby Shark
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.
These are things that you probably always read about on the internet, and they are true! I probably won’t be able to finish listing down everything even if I keep writing for a day. But some changes that we’ve had are a little more interesting and unexpected, and I’d like to share them with you. These are changes that are not so visible to the eye; changes in our mentality and views
Mothers are great
Since Alyssa came about, I realised that the bond between a mother and a child is the strongest thing in the world. The way Alyssa depends on her mother and the way she dashes towards the door when her mother returns from work is just, beautiful. We’ve also started to understand the reason behind some of the things that our mother’s used to do for us, and we look in awe at other mother’s who have 3 young kids, how do they even manage it?
A new perspective on life
What used to be a sleek, open concept, modern concept house design that we’d like to own looks like a death trap to us now.
Stairs without railings? Are you crazy?
Fancy looking glass side table standing on 3 legs? The fuck were you thinking?
The world is a scarier and more dangerous place when you have a baby in your life. Having said that, we do try our best to give Alyssa the exposure she needs to the world, without putting her safety and well being at risk
Our relationship as life partners
One year plus into having a baby, we’ve realised that it’s not sunshine and butterflies everyday. We’ve learned to be more tolerant for one another and we’ve also depended on each other more than ever. It takes a strong parent team to raise a healthy, functional, happy child; and we’re determined to do so. Shifting from honeymooners to parents is a big step, and it comes with a lot of responsibilities
Changing priorities
We used to plan for the next movie, the next weekend outing with friends, and the next big ticket item we want to reward ourselves with, but that has changed. Our priorities and planning has all revolved around our child. Our going out plans have changed to accommodate her nap times. Our investment plans have turned into her education plans. Our conversations are mostly about Alyssa and the things she does and our plans for her
…and my baby woke up from her sleep and walked out of the bedroom
What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you if you have similar experiences!
