Things I've learned as a mom

Before I had children of my own, I used to be very critical of other moms and say to myself, that I would never do this or that. It could be anything from how they treated or disciplined their children to how they dressed and wore their hair. I used to wonder why most moms seemed to "let themselves go" and I would never let that happen when I had kids. And I vowed I'd never chop my hair off and stop wearing make up or stop getting mani/pedi's. And I also remember how each of my friends would seem to fall off the face of the earth when their babies came into the world, they never had time for me anymore. And as time went by, with myself still being childless, we would have less and less in common.
But now here I sit eating a big bowl of crow. I am that mom now. I throw on whatever doesn't stink and is weather appropriate. I'm lucky to shower every 3 days and shaving never happens as often as it should. The dishes pile up so fast, I can't keep up. I'm good with the laundry, but for some reason, putting away the clean clothes is so hard for me! Why is that? And yes, I chopped my hair off after Aidan was born. Thirteen inches in all. My nails are short so I don't scratch Aidan by accident or get diaper rash cream under my nails and who has time for mani/pedi's anymore? If I had time for any kind of pampering, I'd rather get a massage. And of course, I have no time for my friends now either. Odds are, if you call me, it's not going to be a good time for me to be able to talk, so you'll get my voicemail and I may never call you back. I intend to, of course. But life is happening and by the time I do have a moment to talk, I'm too tired for conversation and I'm falling into bed. You are better off emailing me or texting me. Then I can respond when I have a free moment. So if you are one of my friends that feels abandoned by me, please do not take it personally. I am busier than I can even explain to my own husband and it takes me a day or more to get back to my own parents when they call, if I remember to call them back!! That's the other thing, my memory is gone. Pregnancy brain turns into mommy brain, and it's permanent I'm afraid. I had to break down and buy one of those pill cases that are marked with the days of the week that old people use so they don't forget to take their pills. Well, I couldn't remember if I had taken my prenatal and other daily meds, and I didn't want to risk taking it twice that day in case I was remembering the day before thinking it was today. Confused yet? So am I. No doubt that this will all be x2 when baby #2 gets here. To all my friends who became moms before me, I get it now. I have a big bowl of crow to finish, so bye for now.