Things They Don’t Tell You

Newborns don’t sleep.

Everyone knows this. Once you’re pregnant everyone and their mother not-so-jokingly tells you how much newborn babies don’t sleep. Even those rude people who don’t have children remind you of this fact.

What they don’t tell you is that lack-of-sleep is just a part of parenthood, no matter your children’s ages.

They also don’t tell you getting a 4-year-old dresses is akin to negotiating with a terrorist.

They don’t tell you that your dining area will never be clean and you will clean what used to be a week’s worth of crumbs off the floor after every meal.

They don’t tell you that even once your child is potty-trained you’ll still be responsible for monitoring their bowel movements and wiping their little butts for years. Years.

They don’t tell you that you will likely never eat a hot meal again, as you will spend all of your time convincing your child to eat.

They don’t tell you that even if you lose all of the baby weight your body will never be the same again. It will function differently, it will function poorly, and it will be squishy.

They don’t tell you that you will question your sanity ever waking minute.

They don’t tell you that you will struggle to remember why you ever thought you were busy before you had children.

 

They don’t tell you, because they can’t tell you, that your love for them will be so consuming, so pure, so innate, that you won’t remember life without them.