Motherhood; it’s hard, but worth every second of struggle (it is, it is!). But wow, there are times when your frustration levels reach fever pitch – times when the simplest of things are really, really quite hard – when you wished you had three hands, the ability to answer four people at once, and well, basically, clone yourself to meet every demand that hurls itself at you.
Here are 7 things that are super-complicated when you become a mother, and they could really be easier, don’t you think?
1. Car seats
There can be nothing in life more frustrating than trying to manoeuvre a squirmy octopus (child) into a car seat and strapping them in when they don’t want to be there. I know safety is paramount, but really, car companies and car set manufacturers need to get together and design car seats that just work. They should strap in easily without having to force you to climb into the back seat, crouch down while a toddler (or several) all scream at you when you can’t get the belt buckle into the seat. Ask any mother this question and they will agree!
2. Counting the formula scoops
This has to be the most annoying part of formula feeding – for anyone who has experienced this, you’ll know the everyday uttered questions like how many scoops did I just do? and Was that number 3 or 4? Argh, you pour it all back into the tin and start it over again. And don’t even get us started on the 3am attempts…
3. Mastering the art of folding a buggy
I once stood in the car park at Dundrum Shopping Centre for 45 minutes trying to erect a new buggy. Thankfully, my sister (also blonde) was with me and was equally as bemused as we doubled over in fits of laughter over our the lack of engineering skills neither of us possessed to put up a simple pram. Most buggies come with a YouTube tutorial to teach you how to erect and take down. A video tutorial to put up a mode of transport for a baby?! Something tells me there must be a more most efficient way to design these super-expensive wheels, am I right?
4. Answering awkward questions from your kids
Why do they ask such difficult questions all the time? I mean, the curiosity is cute and all, and their little inquisitive minds overfloweth with questions that really deserve an answer, but sometimes you really don’t know the answer to: ‘why don’t frogs have eyebrows?’ or ‘why they (girl) don’t have a willy’, or ‘is Jesus a scary ghost?’
5. Going to the supermarket
Every parent has been that parent. The one with the child having a complete meltdown in front of the tills. You know it’s coming, the pointing, the shouting, the demands. You stand your ground. The line has been drawn. It’s your dignity versus their screaming, right there in aisle four. You go through the meltdown motions – the fake walk away, the pleading, the bargaining. Will you ever make it back to the car? You hand over the chocolate.
6. Choosing breastfeeding-friendly clothes
There’s a fine line between looking fashionable, hiding your post-baby rolls but also having easy access to your boobs aka your newborn’s ‘happy meals’. The struggle is so real.
7. Letting them grow up
First, you have a newborn, and you are responsible for keeping it alive: feeding it, caring for it, watching its every move. Suddenly, they are three year’s old, you bring them to playschool, and your job is now redundant for several hours every day. It’s heart-wrenching to see them get older, you want to keep them all cute and pint-sized, but you also want them to grow and succeed and meet every developmental step – yet letting go is one of the hardest things you have to do.
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