by Shayla Johnson

Created on: September 10, 2009

Nothing changes your life more quickly than children. For many of us we were planning for the change and looking forward to it. The only thing is the change was usually greater than expected. Things never seem quite so bad when you are not the one experiencing them. Not that having children is bad, but you may find yourself saying, Oh, feeding a baby once in the middle of the night isn't so bad. You're right. It's not so bad, until sleep deprivation sets in from the possibility of waking several times a night just to put the pacifier back into that beautiful little mouth. Then you are unable to take a nap during the day because when the baby sleeps is the only time you have to get caught up on the other house hold chores that have to be done. Here is the reality check.

Having children is the greatest chaotic choice of your life. Children will bring a greater sense of love and life to you, which you never knew could exist. Granted you know that you will love your children, but when you hold your child for the first time, you will feel a love so deep, that you never knew it was possible. A love that allows this small child to hold the strings to your heart. You will find yourself crying when he or she cries. When he or she receives the first set of shocks you will seriously feel as if they stabbed you and not your baby. When your little one blesses you with the very first smile and coo, you will feel you heart literally melt inside of you. How can someone so tiny have such a huge impact on you? Welcome to being a parent.

Parenthood brings out the best and worst in us. Like I mentioned previously we do not operate well on sleep deprivation. You will find yourself being snappy and even grouchy. I remember when I was pregnant with my first child, I actually y laughed at people who said my life would never be the same. Oh what do they know, I'd say, I will just take my child everywhere I go. I don't have to adjust my schedule. She will go where ever I take her. They have a little thing called car seats now days.

Oh what a fool I was. My daughter showed me. I found myself completely rearranging my day to fit her nap cycles and feeding times. You cannot take your child everywhere you go. Sometimes it just isn't safe. For instance, my husband and I love to play golf. I said I would just strap my child in the car seat, buckle her in the golf cart and continue to play. Wrong. There are flying golf balls on a golf course, let alone it is over a hundred degrees in the summer. After I had her, I was like are you kidding me? I am not taking her on the golf course. What if a ball hits her? What if she has a heat stroke? You get wise real quick. My daughter was born in June towards the end and I wanted to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. Well with a 2 week old baby, that just wasn't possible for me. Mosquitoes were rampant and you cannot put bug spray on an infant. So needless to say we had to watch the show from the inside of our house. No camping, no cook out, and no partying. You will find you have to make some self sacrifices when you have children. Not that they aren't worth every single one of them.

Children take you from a level of being concerned with yourself, to being concerned for someone else. They teach you to love life, and find happiness in the little things. They definitely take control of your schedule and also your house. It will look like ToysRUs landed in your living room. With all that being said, children will change your life, and it will never be the same again. Life will be better, and you wouldn't change it for the world.

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