Guest post - Life Before Kids

It's an honour to have Rachel from activities4kidz here today guest posting while I'm out of action and I'm really grateful to her for taking the time to pen something for me. Today she's reflecting on how life has changed for her since having kids. There's certainly plenty here that I can relate to!

 

In my life before kids (now known as LBK), I was a twenty something primary school teacher who spent a fortune on clothes, shoes and nights out! I lived at home with my parents until I was twenty six weeks pregnant with our first, Harrison, so had no responsibilities! Now, with two boys under three, my life couldn't be any more different - and I wouldn't change it for the world! Seeing what my childless friends on Facebook are up to though made me think about LBK and what I miss most.

1) Sleep! I've gone now almost three years without a full, decent night's sleep. Harrison started sleeping through at seven months, by which point I was pregnant with Alex, and who sleeps the whole night when they're pregnant?! Alex is fifteen months old and is yet to sleep through. He rarely sleeps more than two or three hours at a time. Yawn....

2) Alcohol! The thought of going and queuing and paying for nightclub priced alcohol sounds like my worst nightmare these days, but what I'd give to go to the pub or have a glass (or bottle!) or three of wine at a friends house! I still breastfeed Alex so a big drinking session is out of the question. A glass of wine at home occasionally is about as much as it gets!

3) Drinking a hot drink whilst it's hot! 80% of the time my coffee is stone cold, or at best lukewarm by the time I've remembered it or had chance to drink it, and microwaved coffee is vile!!

4) Wearing clothes not covered in snot/milk/sick/good/other unknown substance! Yes, I've succumbed to the typical slummy mummy uniform of leggings and long tops, because after ten minutes whatever I wear is covered in something, and leggings don't need ironing!!

5) Listening to inappropriate music! I love hip hop, rap, rock - all full of sweary inappropriateness. I used to love blasting it out in the car. Now it's more likely to be Gangnam Style or the Hokey Cokey on repeat.

However, I have swapped those days for days full of giggles, cuddles, sloppy kisses and 'love you mummy'. I get to cuddle up to little warm bodies, see their faces light up when they discover something as simple as their own shadow, heat their little chatter about everything and anything, and that is more amazing than anything in my LBK.

Visit my blog http://activities4kidz.wordpress.com to see all the things we do at home, or follow me on twitter @activities4kidz