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It’s wild how quickly you forget those early days as a mother.
Suddenly you’re standing at your child’s first birthday, wondering how it could have been a full year since you were lying in that hospital bed, staring down at the tiny creature responsible for kneeing you in the ribcage for all those months.
We meticulously track their milestones, documenting the moments they took all their 'firsts' and feeling like they’ll stay forever stained on our swollen hearts. But now that my son is three, I can’t for the life of me remember when he first started saying "Mumma" or at what age we moved him from his bassinet to a cot.
It’s all a beautiful blur, even the tough stuff, because most of the time now, it feels like I was born yesterday, a mother to a beautiful three-year-old maniac learning everything there is about this hilarious and exhausting phase.
Of course, memories start creeping back as soon as you entertain the idea of going through it all again. Conversations with my husband often revolve around what we would do differently the next time — we’ve even written a lengthy list of the things that scare each of us, the things we need to make it work and the things we’re most looking forward to.
So here’s what I plan to change the second time around…
1. Forget about the once-a-week shop.
I’ve tried, okay? I’ve really tried. I’ve tried to just go to the grocery store each Sunday, armed with a detailed list including a breakdown of ingredients for all of our meals that week. But it just never works out. I end up spending a mint on that shop when I could have just run to IGA.