What It’s Really Like To Be The First In Your Friend Circle To Have Children

Everyone has preconceived notions about what parenthood will be like. I know I certainly did. I anticipated that there would be a lot of sleepless nights, spit up, dirty diapers, and crying. From the moment that I knew I was carrying my precious boy I began preparing for life as a mom. I already knew that I would be a pretty kick-ass mom because I’m super chill and what kid wouldn’t want to hang out with me all day right? The things that never crossed my mind would be the changes in my relationships with friends. Prior to getting pregnant I had my life in order. I had an apartment, an amazing fiancé, I was financially stable and I had some really incredible friendships. The friendships that I had were solid and would endure the test of time. As women we formed a tight bond over our love for similar things like wine, chocolate, partying, and fine men. There was never a reason for me to think that these friendships would change once motherhood entered the picture, but boy was I wrong. For a while after my son was born our friendships stayed the same and everyone was happy to fawn over our new little love bug. Now fast forward to 2 1/2 years later and some of those friendships have dissolved. Looking back, I wonder if it was difficult to connect with me now that I wasn’t so carefree and easily accessible or did I seem foreign and un-relatable. There was no chapter in any book that mentioned the possibility of this. So, for me, this was unexpected and out of the blue. Becoming a parent has been the most rewarding and interesting journey that I’ve ever taken; my journey as a parent has led to so many life lessons and new discoveries. However, every person’s journey into parenthood will be different. If you find yourself as one of the first in your friend circle to have children, here are actually a few fun factors to take into account:

• The friends that stuck around are most likely lifers

• Having a child is a great excuse for getting out of activities that you really never wanted to do in the future. The “my babysitter cancelled” excuse works every time!

• When my friends are having children for the first time and are all running low on sleep and cranky my child will be self sufficient and therefore I will be getting a ton of sleep

• Snapback! Yes, it is true that when you have a baby in your 20’s that your body bounces back faster than when you’re in your 30’s

Most importantly: Smile and enjoy because after all the journey’s just begun!