Mommyhood defined....playground style!

I have been a mom for almost 4 years. Overall if I had to represent these years as a mother in a single picture it would look like this.

Here's the breakdown.

Stage One:

Being a new mom is like being a perpetual drinking fountain. If you're a nursing mother its a pretty literal comparison. And my girls were like the kids in the front of a very long line who keep on guzzling like they'll never see water again. For over a year for each girl it felt that like tap was always on. Even though after breast-feeding in so many situations I felt like a total pro, there was the occasional completely awkward moment (i.e. nursing on airplane sitting next to a creepy man). I'm thankful for their sippy cups. 

Stage Two: 

After a while when I started feeling less like a drinking fountain for the majority of the day, it was because I had turned into a swing. Always carrying the baby. It didn't matter that there were plenty of other swings around who would gladly take a turn. My kids seemed to be very particular about who held them. "Just take a break" seems easy enough until you finally do leave to your baby screaming and come back home to a still screaming baby, who you're told screamed the entire time. Sometimes it's easier just to hold them...almost every second of everyday. Always their favorite time to swing was during mealtimes and bedtimes. 

Stage Three:

Overtime kids lose interest in always swinging and thankfully aren't as thirsty. Wonderful! Until you realize your body has turned into a jungle gym or anything else that they can ride, hang, or jump on. Right now I'm at Stage 3. Its a stage where motivation to exercise is hard to come by because most of the day I feel like exercise equipment. I have random bruises on my body, my arm...and neck muscles should be huge, and it would be nice to be married to chiropractor. But unlike Stage 2 my kids are no longer particular about their jungle gyms and when 6:00 rolls around my park shuts down and it's Daddy's turn. Or anyone else who cares to oblige. 

So all in all I would say its tough to be a playground. It's a very noisy, dirty, and rather smelly job. And while it was REALLY nice to stop feeling like a drinking fountain all day and night and it will be lovely when my children stop hanging off my limbs, I don't ever want to know what it feels like to have kids who are too cool to play at recess.