Why didn't this baby come with an instruction manual?

I decided to start a blog to capture all the "adventures" of this new journey in my life.  I think it's mostly just so I have a place to vent to keep my sanity!

I am 29 years old and have a 6 week old beautiful baby boy.  I am a first time mom and also a stay at home mom.  I often think to myself on a daily basis--what was I thinking having a child?!?!?  Why didn't this baby come with an instruction manual?  Why did I quit my job to stay at home with him?  No one tells you before you have a child how much work it is.  No one tells you how much sacrifice it is.  No one tells you that 3 hours of sleep will be enough to function on (in a zombie-like state).  And no one tells you how rewarding it is when you look at your precious child and have never felt more love for anything in this world.

I have been with my high school sweetheart for almost 12 years.  We have been married for 5 of those years.  We waited over three years after we were married to start a family so we could "enjoy" life a little just the two of us--best decision EVER!  When I look back to the days when we could just pack up in 2 minutes and leave for a shopping trip I think to myself how easy life was.  Now a trip to the grocery store takes at least thirty minutes to get ready for--get baby ready and in carseat, make sure diaper bag is ready to go, get the dog inside the house, get grocery list, baby poops his pants, get him out of carseat and change diaper, get back in carseat, go to the bathroom quick, baby is crying and hungry, feed baby, change diaper again--by this time I have forgotten that I was going to attempt to go to the grocery store.

Some things that have changed since becoming a mom....

I never thought that the highlight of my morning would be when I find 5 minutes to take a shower.  Those 5 minutes of standing in the hot shower are like I'm in HEAVEN--just forgetting about my lack of sleep, screaming baby, piles of laundry, and messy house.  Then before I know it, I snap back into reality because the baby is crying in his bouncy seat sitting outside the shower.  Gone are the days of standing under the water for 20 minutes until there is no longer any hot water.  "Power showers" are now the way to go.  And no fail, just when I get out and am drying myself off, I realize I didn't shave my legs--maybe I'll find time next week to do that when I might have time for a 6 minute shower.

They say--sleep when the baby sleeps.  Yeah right.  I'd like to meet the person who came up with that stupid phrase.  If you sleep when the baby sleeps then when do you eat breakfast, do laundry, pay bills, make the bed, clean the floors, dust the house, vacuum the carpets, do the dishes, make lunch, check your email, go to the bathroom, shower, feed the dog, think about what you're making for supper, ETC?  It seems like my baby can sleep for a three hour stretch and I'll be like a crazy person running about the house getting stuff done.  But the moment I even think about taking a nap while he sleeps, then he decides that will be the day he will sleep until the moment my head hits the pillow and then wake up.  So no naps for this mommy!

It's amazing how fast you can do things now as a new mom.  Before becoming a mom, I'd do the laundry at a leisurely pace.  No need to rush, right?  I'd eat my lunch slowly--now I inhale it so fast so I can go get the crying hungry baby.  Like I mentioned before, a 20 minute shower has now been decreased to 5 minutes.  No more reading magazines while you go to the bathroom--who has time for that?

I'll end this blog entry with something to ponder...can someone please tell me how this happens?  A baby is sitting on your lap, poops, and you go to change his diaper and the poop is all the way up the back of the diaper and up his back.  The baby was sitting vertically!  How does poop shoot up backwards?  I just don't get it...