Thursday 13 - Thirteen things I have learnt over the past year as a parent...

1.  Babies are like sponges.  And parrots.  It's never too early to pay attention to the things you do...or say... but sometimes it can be too late!

2. The sound of silence can be both good and bad - depending on the circumstances surrounding them.  Bad silence often involves lots of swearing and the potential removal of permanent marker from an area of the house.  Good silence often involves me and hubby with our feet up, enjoying a wine or beer!

3.  Your dinner time can be as early as 5pm and as late as 8pm.  Going out for lunch and dinner with a toddler automatically eliminates the option of choosing something you enjoy, but rather something that you can share with your child and nearly always involves fries and vegetables.  Choosing restaurants is guided by a) their ability to serve food quickly so you can be in and out before monster destroys the place; b) their tolerance of prams (and roominess to manouvre them around chairs and tables); c) whether they have a kiddy room to let off some pent up energy (the kids, not the parents!); d) their provision of high chairs, with bonus points for the ones which don't have squashed chips permanently embedded in the cracks and crevices!

4.  Clothing with only one grubby hand print, spewed on section or spilled food is now considered 'clean' and it's perfectly acceptable to go out in public with these clothes on.  Works best with dishevelled hair and no make-up.  Two prints / spews / spilled food sections is also acceptable as long as you take your child with you.

5.  You will subject yourself to pulling the silliest face or make the silliest sound or move, just to hear your monkey giggle over and over.

6.  Parents can be so judgemental.  Every parent generally makes the right decision for their child. One family's 'Right' might differ from another family's 'Right' - and that's okay.  What works for some may not work for others.  It's too easy to judge without knowing the full picture.  I was once guilty of this, pre-kids. Not anymore!

7.   A clean outfit for a child only stays clean if you leave it in the drawer.  The time it takes for the outfit to get dirty is relative to the importance of the event you are planning on leaving the house for, with the probability of dirtiness increasing if you are running late.

8.  The day monkey understood what the nappy tabs did should have rung alarm bells.  Instead, I ignored the warning signs and paid the price the next morning. Think: contents thrown all over the room, smeared into the cot sheets and wiped all over his body - yes, just lovely.  No, I didn't take a photo... I was just horribly mortified.

9.  Your child can have a thousand toys to play with but will insist on dragging your favourite costume necklace, hairbrush or high heel shoe around the house, refusing to give it up.

10. Toys don't have to be expensive.  Common household items are great and everything that gets recycled at home goes via monkey's toy box first.  It's a bonus if these items float and can be easily fished out of the loo. 

11.  You don't need a dust buster if you have a dog.

12.  The dog doesn't love Lachie as much as Lachie loves the dog.  The dog has conditional love - he loves Lachie when he has food.  And only then.

13. The meaning of unconditional love.  Up until a year ago I think this was just something I learnt about in religion when I was 11 or 12, and thought I understood but didn't really know how it felt.  The moment I held Lachie in my arms our eyes locked into each other and I truly understood how powerful love could be and how you would do anything and give up anything to ensure that this special person was safe and loved as much as possible.


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