Wow! Can’t believe I made it to part 5!! Well here I go… stuff I’ve realized, learned, was totally surprised by, or needed to reiterate!

62.  There’s a new kind of tired in town… it’s called parenthood. Get your coffee. It never… ever… goes away. 

63.  As a mom, you will hear every tiny sound your baby makes. Your husband, can and will sleep through e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Literally. 

64. It no longer matters what time you feel like having an adult beverage. Motherhood can drive you insane some days and sometimes taking the edge off is not a bad idea. 

65.  I’m pretty sure babies know when you’re about to lose your mind. Because then they finally do whatever you wanted RIGHT before… like nap for longer than 5 minutes or not wake up as much at night! 

66.  I could stare at my son sleeping forever.  And not in a creepy way of course. 😉

67.  Baby steps. For. Everything… progress, learning something new, a new skill, training/creating new habits, breaking old habits etc. 

68.  Two steps forward. One step back. Every time. You make total progress, then they regress a little and test the waters… and repeat.  I’m pretty sure that’s close to the definition of insanity. 

69.  There is no right answer. And it will drive you nuts. 

70.  Overthinking things will also drive you bananas. 

71.  Consistency is key. Being consistent is important but things will never, ever be consistent. What does this mean? Stick with your routines, use the same verbiage, support and reassurance. But things are ever-changing with babies. 

72.  You’re not alone. Even though you may feel so frustrated, lost, sad, exhausted, and defeated… you are not alone. 

73.  Baby giggles cure all. 

74.  A break without the baby is never a true break for moms. When you get a free moment you’re trying to play catch up – do laundry, dishes, clean, prepare for the next day, make dinner etc. Moms never seem to get breaks. 

75.  Do what feels right. You can read 1 million articles and they can tell you a different thing each time, but in the end, you just need to do what’s right for you. If you are doing what is supposed to be right according to 10 other people, but yet are feeling completely exhausted, defeated, and your gut tells you this isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing, then it isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing.  There’s no use and having a baby that was unhappy and a mommy that is in tears all the time. 

76.  The dynamic with your {single, married without kids, married but trying} friends will change. That and even those friendships with those that have kids but have different perspectives and parenting styles will change. It gets messy, folks. 

77.  When your child becomes mobile it is a blessing and a curse. It’s awesome they can occupy themselves more independently, tire themselves out, and move to what they want to move to. But, they get into everything. Everything. Nothing is safe anymore and you better get baby proofing if this is the case!

78.  Dads get the best behavior. Moms get the totally unguarded behavior. What do I mean by this? Babies let their guard down more with mommy. With daddy it’s often fun and play time because if the dad is working, they don’t spend as much time together.  Also… the fact that their food source is built into mommy definitely doesn’t help sometimes. 

79.  Having three dogs and a baby is a blessing and a curse. The dogs are protective and the baby gets used to being around animals… but the dogs can be overly protective and also bark at anything and everything. Oh and the amount of fur everywhere is insane. 

80.  Almost eight months later you’ll still be losing hair. I swear I’m going to be bald with how much I’m losing. 
I think this is a good place to stop for now. 😉Thanks for reading and to be continued…!