They were not lying when they said, “you’ll never truly know until you experience it for yourself.” The truth is, no matter how many parenting magazines or mummy blogs that you read, you’ll still run into plenty of surprise as a new mum. Wise words from Jennifer who blogs over on Mom Tricks, who today has the floor for #MyFiveThings and her five things that surprised her as a first time mum….

Parenting is messy and disorganized and so unpredictable. All children are different, so one-size-fits-all solutions and tips just don’t work—at least not for everybody. I spent my fair share of time watching educational videos and going to mummy workshops, but I still encountered many surprises when my little boy came along.

Chances are, if you are going to be a new mum, you are going to undergo some of these little surprises as well. Some of these surprises are more common than others, but is vital to your sanity that you are well prepared for what lies ahead.

So, here are 5 things that came as a total surprise to me as a new mother.

1. When’s the last time I took a shower?

Yes, I know this sounds utterly repulsing, but it is so true! Being a brand new mother is completely time consuming. You’re always doing something; feeding/nursing, pumping, changing nappies, folding countless bibs covered in drool and spit-up.

It is so easy to completely forget about yourself in all of this. When my little boy, Alexander, first came home, he was all that I was thinking about. If he was not sleeping, he was with me; which as you may very well know was about 22 out of the 24 hours of the day.

I mean I was just completely absorbed in his every little need. I can remember about the fifth day that Alexander had been home with us that I had to ask myself, “when’s the last time I took a shower?” I hadn’t taken a shower at all since I had gotten back from the hospital!

2. So much laundry!

I had no idea that such a small little person could produce so much laundry! As having been just washing clothes for myself, I was accustomed to only doing laundry about three times a month. Once I had Alexander I was doing laundry about three times a week!

He would spit-up just as soon as I could get him dressed and, if he wasn’t spitting up, he was having a major nappy blow-out. Alexander could easily go through five whole outfits a day and this doesn’t even include the clothing of mine that got covered in spit-up or poop!

3. Now, where did I put that again?

I spent months slaving over Alexander’s nursery. I repainted the walls, picked out the perfect crib and changing table, and I organized the heck out of that room. None of this mattered once little Alex came home.

Clothing never stayed folded, blankets were strewn all over the place at times, and nappies were all over the place. It was nice to think that I would use that cute little nappy organizer that I hung from the end of the changing table, but when it’s a diarrhea disaster, you just rip right into the package and pull out the first thing you grab onto—even if it means pulling out three other nappies with it.

4. When did this become such a hassle?

It is hard to remember what is felt like to just run to the store. Now, going to the store takes about five times as long and is much more energy consuming. Before Alexander, all I had to do was grab my wallet and go. Now, I have to get the whole nappy bag prepared.

I need five changes of clothes, ten bibs, one-hundred nappies, and a million pacifiers. I know this is an exaggeration, but this is exactly what if feels like to pack a nappy bag. You feel like you are packing the whole nursery! All that packing just to grab some milk.

Then, on top of that, you have to get them all situated in the cars seat, transfer them to the carrier, trek the carrier throughout the entire store, transfer baby back into the cars eat, and then try to get everything back inside while carrying the baby. Part of being a mummy is turning a ten-minute trip is now a forty-five-minute trip.

5. He’s growing so fast!

Time is a funny thing when it comes to parenting. I always like to describe it as the days going by slow, but the weeks just fly right by. Parenting is exhausting and often times it feels like there will never be relief from all of the stress that it can bring.

However, looking back, it’s like everything happened just a few weeks ago. I feel like Alexander should still be a newborn and he’s almost six years old! This is one of the most common mummy tips: savour what you have, but you’ll be so surprised by just how fast that they grow.

I wish there was a way to properly warn you, but it will still take you by surprise. They just grow up too fast. I’m afraid to blink my eyes and open them to Alexander’s high school graduation. That’s how fast that they grow and all right before our very oblivious eyes.

Bottom line, it is hard to prepare for motherhood. You’ll have plenty of your own surprises and maybe you’ll run into a couple of my own surprises, but it will all be worth it. Being a mother is one of the best things that has ever happened to me and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Read more from Mom Tricks on the blog here and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Picture credit: Freepik