You Know You’re A Parent When…
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You know you’re a parent when…
This weekend, I was thinking about all the weird things that I do that are purely a result of being a parent. Below is a list that I will be periodically updating as I continue along the journey of being a parent. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Do you do any of these things? Please comment below – I’d love to hear from you!
As a parent, do you ever…
- Sway side to side and then finally realize that you don’t have any kids in your arms to rock.
- Hum children’s songs in your head at work.
- After a long night trying to put your baby to sleep, you can’t think of any more kids songs to sing or hum. You can’t stand the thought of singing “Twinkle Twinkle” one more time, so you start humming some of your favorite 80’s tunes – adding a baby-like flair. (Ok… the 90’s for you young parents!)
- Try adding a little more funky beat or swing into some of those kids songs when humming.
- Dread seeing red lights when you drive because if you slow down the car your baby might wake up.
- Pray or recite mantra while driving… “Please no red lights, please no red lights”.
- Look like a complete goof rocking your car at a red light by pumping the brakes to help baby get back to sleep.
- Rock an empty stroller or baby carrier out of habbit.
- Have more children’s apps on your iPhone than adult ones.
- Laugh and force a smile when you stub your toe to cover up the profanity you’d like to yell at the object that obviously had it in for you.
- Almost tell co-workers to go wash their hands before eating.
- Wonder why people give parenting advice, especially when they don’t have kids of their own, and they certainly don’t watch Supernanny.
- Can’t remember the last adult movie that you’ve seen.
- Gone to work with spit-up or stains on your clothes from your kids.
- Didn’t care about what the stains looked like in public.
- Thought about the clever things you would retort if someone ever said anything to you about breastfeeding in public – especially since mom was covered up.
- Made a decision on which mall to go to based on the quality and cleanliness of their parent’s washroom.
- Sworn at the car seat while installing or uninstalling it.
- Placed a note on the door that reads “Do not ring the doorbell, please knock gently”. Although what you really wanted to write was “Ring this doorbell and you’ll lose your fingers! I dare you.”
- Shhh’ed your baby to sleep for so long that you’re out of breath and your lips are sore from staying in the same position.
- Upgraded cable TV to get Treehouse.
- Used the TV to get a little break, even though you swore that you’d never be “one of those” parents.
- Become exhausted because of one little word… “Why?”
- You go to a show like Disney On Ice and you spend more time staring at your kids to see their reaction rather than watch the show itself!
That’s all I have for now. I’ll be posting more as they come up and as our kids get older! Please add your own habits to the comments below! Us parents probably do a million weird things that we don’t even realize we’re doing.
Happy parenting!
Ha, ha, ha – great post with insights that only a “true” parent could appreciate. My mom and dad also understand how hard and challenging it can be to look after me too. From handling the #1 and #2 to the adjustments that have had to be made. You’re doing a great job and someday, your kids will be great people because you and your wife cared so much for them today.