1. "I will never babyproof!" Before having a baby, I insisted that I wouldn't 'baby proof', I would simply teach my baby what not to touch... the magazines that are not yet destroyed are still stubbornly sitting on my coffee table, but the toothbrushes used for cleaning baby toys have been moved to a higher location... I'm doing more and more 'proofing' every day...
2. "I will not change how we live." This was referring to things like having company, going out with friends, eating out at nice restaurants... As much as we would like to continue our lives as they were - things change - sometimes it's necessary to come home early so that baby can to to bed and be happy - and so mommy and daddy can be happy... And as much as I would like to have had a baby who sleeps through ANYTHING - our house is not that loud on a regular basis, so we try to be quiet when she's sleeping. I had a friend give me this advice - her daughter would sleep through loud hockey games - but these were people who did this sort of thing ALL the time... we are just not those people.
3. I will be taken for granted. (This isn't really one I said anything about, I was just shocked when I discovered it) Until I had a child, I had NO IDEA what it felt like to be a parent, and as a child I had no inkling of how my parents felt about me - and how much they sacrificed for me, whether I knew about it or not. My kids will also have no idea how I feel about them, and how much I am willing to sacrifice for them until they have children of their own. And I'm ok with that.
4. "I'll have so much free time when I'm at home on mat leave!" Ha... ha... ha... I don't think I really need to explain why this one is hilarious... Although I do know some Moms who seem to be able to juggle their world's flawlessly - and I am so in awe!
5. "I will never be impatient with my children." Ok, so I probably knew this one wasn't actually true, but sometimes I'm shocked at how callous I can be.
6. "I will be consistent with my kids." This applies largely to discipline. I am very aware that the best way to discipline is to be consistent - putting feet on the table is not ok, and is never ok. Letting Celia get away with this even once will confuse her and give her reason to believe that she doesn't always have to obey... and I'm not ok with this. However, I have been guilty of being tired, and seeing Celia's foot creep up onto the table out of the corner of my eye - and I have pretended I didn't see it... I know this will sneak up and bite me in the butt someday, but for now, I remain an imperfect and sometimes lazy human...
7. "I will keep my daughter's hair short until she is old enough to care for it!" I'm not here yet, but I can already see that this one isn't going to work out. As you can see from pictures of Celia, she has almost no hair - at nearly 18 months - and I am desperate for some hair to play with! At this moment, I imagine myself letting it grow long so I can braid, and curl, and primp... I can't wait!
8. "I will not co-sleep with my children". I had probably already decided this one wasn't such a big deal after talking to a number of friends who co-slept, as well as some friends in the medical profession who theorized that all of the 'evils' associated with co-sleeping were based on partial information. Such as, yes babies were sometimes suffocated, but the reports never seemed to publicize how often the mother was on drugs or ill in some other way... Anyway, after barely being able to move after an episiotome, keeping my daughter in bed with me for night was really the only reasonable option for me.
9. "I won't give my kid candy until he/she is old enough to ask for it". Ok, so I may have stuck to this one, but Celia has these annoying people in her life called 'Grandparents' who seem to think it's the worst thing in the world to deprive a child of pure sugar. I'm not sure why, but for some reason they can make me feel like an evil parent and I'm swayed. I hope this is one of those 'not really a big deal' situations...
