Follow Me

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

The Slippery Slope To Fanny-Pack-Ville

When I got pregnant with my first son, I didn't think there was any way I would fall into the "mom trap"- that dreaded state of "I don't have the time for makeup today," or "I can't even manage a shower so why bother getting dressed at all?" You see that is how it all starts...

I was 22 years old and just married when we started trying for our first baby.  Trying isn't really the right word because it only took a month for me to get pregnant (we were lucky, I know).  I was so excited.  I began daydreaming of what my life was going to be like as a new wife and mother.  I wasn't deluded.  I knew having a baby was very difficult and I read all the books.  However, I did picture myself looking fantastic and fresh with perfect hair and makeup in all of these little daydreams of mine.  At least as fantastic and fresh as I've ever been.

Then the baby came and I quickly realized how silly those dreams were.  This little person took up every moment of my life (and I wouldn't have had it any other way).  He screamed if I put him down so showers were out of the question until my husband came home from work.  I nursed around the clock so what was the point of putting on a shirt?  These habits quickly escalated into me lounging around in pajama pants with my hair pulled back every day and my makeup brushes gathering dust in the bathroom.  My wonderful husband put on a good face and pretended he didn't notice my plunge into slob-town but I know he was hoping I would at least be showered on his way home from work every night.

Now, I don't want to sound as if those days were awful.  While I was extremely sleep-deprived and falling into some poor hygiene habits, the time I was spending with my new son was completely worth all that and more.  It's just that it's hard to feel like more than a milk-machine when you're half-naked and covered in spit-up all day.

This stage quickly passed and I was back to cleaning myself again in a few short extremely long months.  There was a change in me though.  I didn't have time to apply much makeup, if any, most days.  I wore sneakers exclusively, terrified that I would trip and drop my baby in heels. My wardrobe consisted of exclusively nursing-friendly clothing which is pretty boring and plain. No jewelry unless I wanted to be prying it out of my son's impressively tight little fist all day. I was never a major fashionista or anything but this was frumpy even for me.

I'm telling you all this because I know how easy it is to fall into that mom trap. I never made it as far as fanny-pack-ville (where would I fit the diapers?) but I came quite close.  It's so easy to cut corners from your own life when your little ones are demanding so much time and all you want to do is catch up on some sleep.  We are all guilty of it.

Now, my older son is almost 3 years old and we also have another boy who is 5 months old.  I have emerged from my slob-mom phase recently and I'm ready to start putting some more effort into myself again.   This blog will be partly about my family and partly about my mark. products (I'm a mark. rep and a lover of their products), but mostly it will be about the little bit of time I set for myself every day so I can feel like a woman as well as a mother and wife. And after all the puke and poop I've cleaned up, I think I deserve those few moments to myself.

I hope this blog will inspire other moms to invest a little more time into themselves.  It will really keep your spirits up for the otherwise selfless job of being a mother.


2 comments:

  1. That's so amazing that you were able to find a balance in your life, I can't imagine having children and getting married at 22 because it's such a demanding job and I like how you kept it real and were honest about how hard, but how rewarding it can be :)

    -Ezi

    ikintoo.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me!

      Delete