What Social Life?

When I was pregnant with Micah, Brad and I swore that even though we knew our life would change we would still stay the same in several ways. We are both very social people and did not want to give that up once we had kids. I've baby sat for children of all ages for years and I thought I'd learned a thing or two about maintaining a social life even after kids. Sure, I might be able to bring a toddler to a family party or take a baby to soccer game. But maintaining a social life? Much harder than we thought!

When I quit teaching I knew right away that I would have to find a job as soon as possible because there was no way I could sit at home all day with nothing to do. Then, we found out I was pregnant and the search for a job was called off. Mostly. I still had a couple of months in the summer to fulfill. I only watched Lilie three days a week, but for those three days I knew I had something to do. The other two days I could go stir crazy. I often drove out to my parents' house just so that I could be in the same room with someone. Never in a million years did I think that I would be okay with staying home all the time.

But having a baby changes things. Now, most days I don't even make my way downstairs until almost noon. The only reason I get out of my pajamas is because someone is coming over or I have to run an errand. Even then most of the time I put on lounge pants (something I didn't even own until I had Micah!) and a T-shirt. Often, when Brad gets home from work he'll ask me what we did all day. I tell him I have no idea. I fed Micah. That's pretty much it. And yet somehow the time always seems to fly by!

Now, back to the social life part. I still get a little stir crazy and like to get out of the house. I still want to spend time with friends. So, last week when I had the opportunity to go to Olive Garden with the girls in my small group, I jumped at it. Of course, I took Micah with, but he did great, slept the whole time (of course, I had to feed him in the parking lot before we could head home, but he made it through the restaurant!). I was so happy, our first outing and he proved that it could be done! Then, Thursday, we had a doctor's appointment for Micah and needed to go to Target for some things. We also made plans to meet Brad's mom for lunch. Micah's appointment was at 1:20. After lunch, we walked around Lake Katherine with Grammie. Then, we needed to stop at my parents' house so that I could feed Micah. My sister and the girls were over so we spent a little extra time there with them. Finally, we left and headed for Target. We did not get home until 10:00. Again, Micah did great, only got fussy one time when he was getting hungry. Yay! We have a social kid, too! On Friday, I had an appointment and my dad picked me up early so that he could spend some time with Micah. After a couple of hours at my parents' house, my mom and I went to Archiver's to buy the materials for our birth announcements. Then, she took me to my appointment. That night, some friends stopped by to drop off a meal and meet Micah. Again, Micah did wonderful the whole day.

Then Saturday came. We were supposed to go to a family wedding, but from the very beginning of the day, Micah was not in a good mood. He was very fussy and wanted to eat all the time. The kid was practically attached to me the whole day. And the poor boy was so overtired he barely slept the whole day! We quickly realized that the busyness of the past couple days had really taken its toll on Micah. He wanted to be home in the comfort of his bed, able to be held by his Mommy or Daddy whenever he wanted. He just needed a day to relax and not have to be anywhere. So, we gave that to him. And just like that, I realized that having a baby had definitely changed my social life. I never would have guessed that I would be the person to not go to a wedding and just stay home instead. But I'm beginning to appreciate those days. Don't get me wrong, I still like to get out of the house. I try to get out at least once a day in someway: run to Target, go for a walk, whatever. But I really enjoy the days where I have nothing planed and I just get to hang out with my little boy. I still want to spend time with my friends and stay active, but my little boy is more important now. He doesn't like the fast-paced lifestyle. At least not right now. So, I'm perfectly content staying home and cuddling with him most days. After all, dinner out and shopping trips will always be there, but Micah will only be a baby once and I plan on enjoying every minute of it!

Now, a few pictures of Micah being social:

Going for a walk, something we do most days.



Family picture at Lake Katherine.


See? Doesn't he just look tuckered out?