“What life is really like with a newborn?”

Life with a new born? Are you among the lot that thinks motherhood is a journey filled with joys, adorable smiles, cuddles and fun? Ha! Think again and get this naïve fantasy out of your head. Motherhood is a journey that starts with all that pregnancy nightmare and if that is not indicative enough of how it’s going to be than I don’t know what is!

The day you bring your newborn cuddly bundle of joy home, get ready to sign off all your rights to that tiny creature who will have you wrapped around his middle finger in no time. And you will become a full time servants with no “me” time or personal rights whatsoever. Get ready to become a sleep deprived zombie.

Why? Is that an arched eyebrow I see there? You are skeptical? Let me give you a sneak peek into the life with a newborn baby that comes without any kind of an instruction manual.

Is that the Alarm Clock?

You will be wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of crying. No it’s not your alarm clock. In fact you won’t be needing one now that you have a baby to keep you on your feet all hours of the day. If you think you are going to wake up with a smile on your face and start cooing at your infant, you are sourly mistaken. Here is how it actually goes:

You are awake. You’ve fed the baby. You have changed the diaper. You are holding the baby and cooing and rocking him or her. But the sound that woke you has not stopped still. Hold on! What are you looking for? A mute button? No, you are not going to find one. No matter what time it is you have to bear with the crying and think of all the possible ways of quieting down the baby. What? You cannot think well at 3 A.M.

Here’s a newsflash, “the concept of time is no longer relevant in your life.” Throw out your alarm clock and get this clearly through your head that you have to tend to the baby irrespective of the time.

You are always needed

There is a tiny human always in need of your attention and has a sleep cycle that does not match yours. If you think you can sync the baby’s cycle with your own, think again. Be ready with diapers, milk bottle, a change of clothes, tonics, medicines and every other essential at all hours. And if none of these things are required than you will be needed for cuddles and snuggles. And that my dears, is the best part. It makes you forget all your tiredness and crankiness over being treated like an inferior being. You are back to gushing over your bundle of joy.

Diapers, Diapers and some more Diapers – no wait, there are baby wipes too!

Diaper changing is an art that you will become an expert in only after spending less than a week with your newborn. A soiled jumper, a red tush, rash ointments, dirty diapers, clean diapers, diaper explosions and a life of wiping behinds will become the norm for you. My friendly advice to you is to start buying diapers and baby wipes in bulk if you do not want to go through the situation of a filled diaper without a clean diaper at hand!

I can catch some zzzz’s while the baby is sleeping?

Are you for real? Let me disclose the truth here. This unsolicited piece of advice came from people who have not actually gone through parenthood yet. The time in which the baby is sleeping is the only time you have for all other chores of your life such as; Laundry, cleaning, cooking etc. yes you might at times get the rare commodity of catching up on your sleep during the baby’s nap time but it’s not something that can happen on a daily basis.

Get ready for the big Four

Welcome to the club of gross bodily fluids and wearing them all over you! Snots, puke, pee and poop are the four things that will no longer gross you out once your baby starts coating you with them at random intervals and odd times.

Thank God for baby floor seats

Your hands will be always full and you will have to learn to cook, eat, clean and poop single handedly while the other hand keeps hold of the baby. Make the smart choice and buy yourself a baby floor seat to make your life a teeny tiny bit easier where you can be free to use both hands without having to constantly worry about the safety and security of your baby.

Here is a sound choice of floor seats for infants and what mothers think about them.

Keep the pediatrician on your speed dial

Make sure you have your baby’s doctor on your speed dial for all the times he might sneeze too much, or catch a cold or starts pooping 15 times in a day. This sensitive tiny human cannot be treated with home remedies without sound advice from the doctor. So be careful not to take any such risks under any circumstances.

Be ready to be ridiculously tired, insane and extremely happy

Having a baby will take away all your sleep time meal time and down time but at the same time it will give you extreme joy and fill your heart with boundless happiness. For some time your life will be turned upside down and you will have to manage things insanely but it will also be a journey that will make you simultaneously smile and cry at every turn, because there is nothing sweeter than seeing your newborn growing up every single day and learning new things.

Related: Find the perfect high chair for your Infant