This list is long; tough to edit and completely subjective depending on your experience….but I’ll give it a crack…
- Wet wipes make the world go round. Come on…how many of you admit to rushing out the door, noticing a little vom on your shoulder and madly swatting at it with wet wipes as you strap the kids in the car? Yes, they clean little bottoms, but apparently they also clean bike chains and vegemite finger marks off Husband’s white work shirts (well…nearly…good enough..)
- Call me old fashioned, but my dust buster is one of those relics that just keeps getting better with age. Once solids are introduced to your child, this item will be permanently charging in your house. Who can be bothered dragging out the full sized vacuum? Certainly not I.
- Didn’t want to put this first for fear of repercussions, but wine is exceptionally high on this list. Look…if they stopped making it tomorrow, I would survive (or turn to bootlegging; one must always broaden one’s skills). Kudos to Husband who ensures the fridge is stocked and certainly values the old adage, “Happy wife, happy life”. (Geeze, I hope your cool mates aren’t reading this, Husband!) On the liquid theme, I know many of you would rate coffee right up here. Weirdly, I never got the ‘you are an adult now and you should drink coffee’ memo; love the smell of it, hate the taste.
- Right now it is raining outside, with a ridiculous frosty top of 9 degrees. The kids are bouncing off the walls and I am faced with yet another load of washing. It. does. not. stop. In fact, considering the mud and crap of winter, it actually leads to more. So…sorry world…I vote in my clothes dryer.
- This one is to be whispered…my trackie dacks and uggs…just don’t tell those fancy pants playground mothers.
- On line grocery shopping saved my butt in those early weeks. I am slightly braver now (or bloody insane actually, now I think about it), but sometimes I rate the grocery shopping as an ‘activity’ for the kids…not sure if all the other patrons appreciate that sentiment quite like I do. But oh, in those first few months, logging on successfully, ticking those boxes and hitting send before it timed out was such an accomplishment. All power to the delivery people, who always had the time of day for a half dressed, vomit stained mad woman, leaping with joy at speaking to another grown-up; even if it was just directing the groceries to the kitchen bench….
- I wish I could say Spanx and sound all super classy, but what I will say is basic, high waisted, gut sucking, Bridget Jones knickers. I know you get it; no explanation required.
- I have chosen to go with my gut and admit to this one. I am going to add frozen peas to my list. I am no chef. All those glorious, ‘easy’ recipes designed to sneak veggies into kids food..? They just sometimes feel so out of my reach at arsenic hour (through my own lack of planning)…introducing frozen peas to the rescue! Is it considered a white lie if I tell them there is ice-cream in the middle..?
- Stock up on box set DVD’s and a good set of cordless headphones. If it is your first baby, you do have a lot of couch time feeding (this ‘luxury’ is blown out of the water if you have an older child to supervise). I passed my time with a ridiculous amount of True Blood (what was I thinking??) and…I must confess…Big Brother 2013 got me through those first few weeks of twice a night feeding on dark, cold nights… I would record daily shows and (honestly) jump out of bed in the night to feed and find out what Tim and the gang were up to. Bloody mourned the abrupt loss of my friends after the finale’.
- I didn’t have a smart phone when my first born was little. Once my TV viewing days (& nights) became numbered due to my distracted and fast growing little baby, I sat quietly, staring at the walls during night feeds, listening to the clock tick over. What a different experience it was when my daughter came along. I could subtly hold my phone low and I actually had contact with the outside world. I could use bubs feeding time to get things done; pay bills, send emails, etc…and bond with my baby…of course… But I found this basic adult contact was invaluable and a much needed outlet (which is perhaps healthier for me than #3).
10….10 already???? Obviously these are all just ‘things’ ; support, love and yes, help (!!) from family and friends, go without saying.
Wow….so much to get down…Betcha you are swimming with your own thoughts right now….let me know your number one…what would you struggle without?
Wow….so much to get down…Betcha you are swimming with your own thoughts right now….let me know your number one…what would you struggle without?
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