Things I Learnt After Having A Baby

• It is possible to cook an entire meal without making any sound.
• There is nothing gross about discussing poo at length – its colour, texture and smell.
• There is nothing earth-shattering about going out without combing your hair, just running your fingers through your hair would do (even if your hair is longish).
• 8 hours beauty sleep is a myth. It happened too long ago to be real.
• That your pre-baby body was perfect after all.
• You get used to your baby screaming in the background while you talk on your phone.
• Cold food does not taste that bad after a while. You are lucky to be able to have meals at more or less regular timings. Never mind the potty or pee breaks in between – for your baby, not for you.
• It is possible to finish any kind of food in 2-5 minutes flat.
• It is possible to survive with all the cushions lying askew, and the entire home looking as if it has been carpet bombed with toys.
• There is nothing awkward or embarrassing about having conversation with your little one across the door, while you are on bathroom break.
• That real life imitates game where the difficulty levels keep increasing every day.
• That eating out or catching a movie is a thing of past. Unless you are okay with eating alone in the restaurant or watching the movie alone, while your husband keeps the sonny boy entertained, outside the restaurant/theatre.
• That you could bore your single friends to death with all the baby talk despite their not-so-subtle hints.
• That your dress would tell your husband in the evening what food kiddo ate (or did not eat) during the day.
• Beauty treatments like facial, pedicure, manicure would become an annual indulgence, instead of monthly routine.
• That you would be itching to finish the last few pages of that great book, but could not.

And

• That a smile from your little one would fill your days with beautiful moments, and your heart with warmth and love you never knew existed before.
• That you would not trade that for anything else in this world.

Reema Sahay is a stay-at-home mom who spends her days running after her very curious toddler, ‘the star’, and catching up on books when he naps. She writes about charms and challenges of life at Pen Paper and shares her passion for books at Recommend Books. She sometimes feels that her 5.5 years stint in Marketing Communication was in another life.