Yes – Your life will change drastically.
No – You are not alone. & the life you used to know before isn’t happening anymore.
or in Dominic’s words – “Your life is over”
Note: This is how life has changed for ME. This doesn’t mean it has or will change for you the same.
A lot of people have asked me – What do I miss the most about my life before Ava? And, what is different now? So this is a little insight into my life.
Before we had a baby, I was able to be ‘lazy’. Yes, I miss the simplicity of just being lazy, to sleep in or just take randomly naps. Now as a Mom, I am constantly on the move and rarely get a second to myself. If I’m not taking care of her, I am cleaning, cooking, working out, or getting some rest in myself.
I deeply miss going to the gym! Even though you don’t need a gym to get in shape and I haven’t been using one, its just the different scenery I miss. It’s a nice luxury to be able to get out of the house and solely focus on yourself.
Late nights don’t really happened anymore, unless Ava doesn’t want to go to sleep. I don’t like to stay up much longer after she goes to sleep, because regardless of how she sleeps, I know she’ll be up bright and early in the morning again ready to rumble! Seriously, where do they get all their energy from?!
I miss going out for dinner. We really haven’t had a date night in a long time & we know how important it is for our relationship. Being so far away from our families, makes it more challenging because we haven’t had the convenience of trusted babysitters around us. Yes we can/do take her with us, but just to sit somewhere & not to worry about her would be nice every once in a while.
I see our friends (with babies) going out to dinner, in the movies or even at the club. I don’t judge them, at all. But it does make me curios if we would be doing those same things or the way we are now if we had more freedom. We are living 8 to 9 months away from our hometowns. I don’t know if our life would be much different if we were living near our friends & families, but I think about that often.
These are just the things I ‘miss’ the most right now. I do understand, they’re not gone forever, just on hold. It will get easier as Ava grows and becomes more independent. And one day she will tell me she doesn’t need us anymore, but she better not though!!!!
Nevertheless we are grateful & blessed for the life we get to live. We’re lucky to spend this much time together as a family, travel and experience different cities and cultures with each other. I know it will be fun to look back on and we’ll have some great memories to share with Ava. Her story will be unique.
Honestly, having Ava is the biggest blessing & we wouldn’t trade it for anything. The love we receive from her is priceless. Her smile makes us smile & just forget everything else. I don’t want the time to go by fast. Even though I am tired & it’s easy to feel like you can’t do it anymore – You wake up the next day & that feeling is gone. The new day always turns out better then you thought.
Dominic has a tight schedule. His days are usually filled with practice, games, media or charity days. Of course he has days off, but they are for recovery & to rest. We all need that. He is a great father & spends as much time as he can with us & it is helpful!
We (yes, Dominic as well) really admire single parents & have deep respect for them because we now know how tough it gets. It’s a new found appreciation for all parents, even our own! It’s not an easy job, but the reward is endless. There might be a lot of things to miss, but now we have someone we can’t imagine life without!
When I say Jasmin’s life is over, it’s not out of disrespect or degrading her.
It’s an exaggeration of the truth but still true! The Mother has the greater responsibility, she is who Ava needs at this time! She wants me & comes to me for love as well but her mom especially while nursing her is who she comes to for her comfort food! She still won’t let me put her down for naps! She may fall asleep randomly on me but actual scheduled naps or sleeps she’s not having it, she needs her mom! So yes it’s difficult for Jaz to escape & be free, her life/freedom is over
(for now). She always takes it the wrong way when I say this.
