Worst Parts of Parenting

There are so many great things about being a parent. It is amazing how a little person so small and needy can become your complete world overnight. It is truly hard to put into words the wonderful aspects of parenthood.

That being said... I can easily describe the worst parts- many of which people do not prepare you for.

Here is my personal list of the worst parts of parenting:


1. Cutting baby fingernails. I hate it. Like really hate it. When they are a newborn they tell you to file the nails down... really?? I tried that- the file did absolutely nothing. The kid still had sharp, pointy claws that cut their face and more importantly, my boob. It seriously felt like my cat was clawing my boobs during feedings. Not cool. Not only that, but newborn finger nails are TINY. And extremely thin. Trying to get the nail clipper in between the nail and fingertip without cutting the finger off always gives me an anxiety attack. Which is why my boobs were always clawed.... As if cutting newborn fingernails was tough.... once the baby becomes somewhat mobile... game over. You now have to get the baby to sit still enough in your lap to cut 10 fingers... I mean fingernails... while they are squirming around and trying to get away... and probably crying. So. Much. Fun.

2. Changing a squirmy baby's diaper.  Once a baby is mobile, you have to wrestle them squirming around like crazy while changing poopy diapers. At times I have had to hold my son by his legs, holding them in the air as his body bends upside down into positions I didn't think were possible. Other times, diaper changes involve having to pin him to the floor or changing table as his body tries to maneuver side-ways and upside down. You would think they would be happy to have the poop cleaned... but no- being independent and mobile is much more important. Needless to say, no matter how much effort I put into keeping them from getting shit (literally) everywhere, it always ends up getting all over the baby's and my clothes as well as the changing table. Baby for the win.


3. Getting into car seat. I have written about this before. Kids are born with the ability to resist car seats. Even little tiny newborns who can hardly move find a way to manipulate themselves into a position making it impossible to strap them in. Once they are older, getting into the car takes a good twenty minutes and about every ounce of patience you have. Bending themselves backwards, screaming, flailing arms... you need 6 arms in order to secure the straps correctly. Oh, and not to mention the fact that your toddler will run from you seat hopping because she is a big girl and doesn't need a car seat.

4. Teething. I do not think I can say enough about how much I despise teething. It makes my kids cranky. It makes them not sleep. It makes them scream. It makes them not eat. It lasts FOREVER. When Rory's final tooth comes in, I am going to throw a huge party!

5. Middle of the night wakings after sleep training. I believe in sleep training. Luckily I have two amazing sleepers. They both responded awesome to sleep training. But that makes it that much worse when there are interruptions to their wonderful sleep habits. Once you are used to getting some sleep- going back to multiple night wakings is awful. And you would think it only happens every couple months... WRONG! Sleep regressions are no joke. They happen around 4 months, 9 months, one year, 18 months.... And they last for WEEKS. Add that to the nighttime wakings due to teething, growth spurts, and whenever they get sick... you should basically just expect to be awake multiple times a night for the rest of your life.

6. Pooping in the bath tub. This is no joke. And it does happen. And it sucks. Especially if the tub is full of toys when it happens. Or when there are two kids in the tub. So gross.

Raegan's Room

Life has been crazy the last couple months. I was coaching a high school swim team during the afternoons, so the hubby was on dinner and bed duty almost every night. On top of that- he was going to work extra early so he could leave in time for me to go to coaching. We have also had a couple weeks of colds and ear infections and UTI's..... Needless to say, we have all been exhausted. 

Now that life seems to be returning to normal, I can get back to work on my projects- this blog included!! 

I have been having fun finding cute, cheap projects for the kids' rooms and the playroom. 

Here is a tour of Raegan's big girl room!

This stuffed animal holder is my most recent project. They are planters from Lowes. All I did was hang them up on the wall and now she has a place to put her baby dolls and stuffed animals rather than piling them in a basket. 

Raegan moved to a "big girl bed" when she was about 20 months old. She used to have a railing on the bed but the hubby broke it when she REALLLLLLY wanted him to lay with her. She never really needed it anyway because the bed is so low to the ground to begin with. 

Also shown is my other project- IKEA spice rack bookshelves! All I did was paint them and put them on the wall. Both Raegan and Rory are easily able to access their books. Rory especially loves putting the books back onto the shelf.... 

The rest of the pics are just other pics of her room.