Mommy Overload

Jeanette is quickly approaching the 6 month milestone and as I look back at the last six months, I see nothing but MOMMY.  I have become so engrossed in becoming a mother that a little piece of me has been lost, and that is probably okay.  This is a big change, but I am starting to realize that I am a person too outside of being a mother.  All I seem to read these days are books about babies, articles about babies, stories and blogs about babies (okay maybe not ALL of the blogs I read, but most), I still read birth stories, research on c-sections, VBAC and the list goes on.  I used to enjoy trashy celebrity gossip, buzzfeed lists and even an actual magazine like Martha Stewart or Country Living.

I only seem to talk about Jeanette and have maybe lost sight of the other parts of me like my career, my friends and my family.  It has been a hard pill to swallow.

I had lunch with some of my college friends over the holiday weekend and of course the subject of family, babies, motherhood and relationships came up.  I had Jeanette with me and my other good friend is 7 months pregnant, one of the other girls just recently got divorced and the other engaged.  It was a good group to have together because we are all at different points in our lives, but guess what.....we are still good friends!  Sure, it's harder for us to get together now and sure the conversation is taking place over a breakfast at Bob Evans and not a keg at a frat party but we are still, deep down those girls who met in the dorms in college.

On that same afternoon, Andrew and I had our first date since Valentines Day.  Sure we still go out and do things, but we almost always have Jeanette with us.  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to just sit and have a long lunch, to shop and not push a stroller around and to just spend time together.  I love being a mom, but there is still a part of me that needs my "me" time and my "couples" time and my "friend" time.  I was so thankful to my mom for babysitting Jeanette so we could ahve some time alone together.

I think all of us become overwhelmed sometimes no matter our situation.  We become consumed by being mothers, our careers, a new relationship, a marriage, a loss or a major life change.  We often let those moments define us, and at times I think that's okay, but it's also important for us to remember who we are deep down.  From now on, I'm going to make it a point to make a little bit more time for myself, my friends, my family and my husband.