It doesn’t matter if you adopted or birthed your child…it doesn’t matter if you are a caregiver who sends the child home to mom every day. Those of us who are blessed and entrusted with the care and keeping of a child – well, we get to experience miracles every day. The miracles of those first steps, the discovery of snowflakes, of stories told, and memories made. There are the hugs filled with love, shrills of laughter as you push them on swings and the moments spent quietly watching them sleep. I wouldn’t give up this gig for the world.

But as we all know, there are two sides to every story.

Along with all the wonderful memories are a few that we’d like to forget.

As a mother of 3, stepmother to 1 and dayhome provider to many, many more – I have compiled quite the list of memories I’d rather not have.

So for all the would-be parents out there, or soon-to-be moms and dads…I’m going to tell you what no one else will. I don’t know why these things are unspoken of before someone has children…because it can’t be just me who has had these experiences.

This is your last chance to look away. What you are about to read, cannot be unread.

• Picking up a child and sniffing their butt to see if they’ve pooped will become a normal thing
• You will pick your child’s nose and it won’t even disgust you
• Going to the bathroom without an audience will be a long-term goal
• Ditto for taking a shower
• Getting the play-by-play from your toddler as you shower or use the toilet will become your new normal
• Warm meals – I haven’t had one in 15 years. I hear rumors that it happens eventually
• Since we’re on the topic of meals, get used to eating food that’s been chewed on, sucked on or otherwise defiled
• Anyone out there have a dog or cat that watches you have sex? The same thing will happen with your kid. You’ll be in the middle of an “intimate moment” with your loved one and suddenly you’ll feel that gaze…and your toddler will be standing at the side of your bed…eyes the size of teacups. He won’t say anything; just stare condemningly at you
• Other people will struggle to understand your child’s attempts at conversation. They won’t be able to get the “apple” or “doggy” – these words will come out as a garbled mess.
• However, that same child will pronounce curse words with stunning accuracy.

Don’t say this won’t happen to you. It will.

 

• Newborn babies can squirt poop nearly 3 feet. I learned this the day I brought my angel home from the hospital
• Some babies have the ability to poop up the back of their diaper.
• Exceptionally talented ones can get poop up the back, out the legs and even up the front. My daughter remained exceptionally talented for 9 months
• Speaking of poop – when you give your baby a bath, keep a strainer next to the tub. You’ll thank me for that little tid-bit of advice
• One day, your child will lie whimpering on the couch. Suddenly, they’ll get “the look” and you just know that he/she’s going to vomit. You will be unprepared for this – and you will attempt to catch their vomit with your hands
• On that note – a child’s tiny stomach can hold way more vomit than your hands ever can. You will still try to catch it
• There will be times when you will be the one who’s shouting and screaming and whining (I refuse to call it a tantrum, but hey…if the shoe fits, right?). There will be arguments with them as they get bigger
• There will be eyes rolled, doors slammed and “I hate you” shouted more times than you may want to think about
• There will be times when you will think you are a horrible parent
• There will be times when you think you should never have had kids (and then, oh the terrible guilt you will feel for even secretly thinking that one!)

In the end – being a mother is still the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.

All of the horrible, disgusting, unforgettable things that I listed here – they pale in comparison to the unending, unconditional love that you have for your child.

After all…“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” ~Linda Wooten

 
Bio:
Heather Sandouga

Heather is a Professional Child Care Provider, owning and operating her dayhome since 2005. In the summer of 2012, Heather will graduate from Red Deer College’s ELCC program with a near perfect grade point average – despite the fact that she has 3 young children at home, and continued to work full time. Heather’s studies took her to Mexico in the spring of 2010, where she was able to work with many children in need. In her spare time, Heather writes about the laughter and chaos that comes with being a mother. You can read her blog here: http://www.delusionalmom.com/
 

Disclaimer
NextGen Speaks Out, our guest blogging series, is envisioned as a hub for information and discussion. NextGen is a non-political, non-denominational organization focused on giving all nextgeners a voice. NextGen does not represent the opinions expressed by the individual columnists.

 
It’s May and Mother’s day has rolled around again. Mothers (of all varieties – Step-moms, Grand-moms, Bio-moms, Adopted Moms, etc included) have a large influence on us and our society. We want to take the opportunity to recognize and support the mothers in our lives and in our community by celebrating them not just on May 13th but all month long. This month we’ll be asking our bloggers (who are also all mothers themselves) to expand on the theme by sharing their stories and resources, and relating their experiences and opinons in a way that only a mother can.

Whether you are a parent, an expecting parent, or still savoring the child-free way of life, we hope our bloggers will provide an interesting, humourous, and enlightening (or perhaps eye-opening) peek into their lives. They might expose you to new information that you hadn’t heard about before, provide comfort in the knowledge that you aren’t alone, inspire you to make a small change to your own routine or encourage you to suggest resources to others.

We also want you to engage in discussion. Come on nextgener’s we know you have opinions and thoughts on these themes too. We’d love for you to comment, start a discussion, and share these posts with your networks.

Check back weekly as we will be adding new NextGen Speaks Out! posts regularly. We’re looking forward to it and hope you do too!

Disclaimer
NextGen Speaks Out, our guest blogging series, is envisioned as a hub for information and discussion. NextGen is a non-political, non-denominational organization focused on giving all nextgeners a voice. NextGen does not represent the opinions expressed by the individual columnists.

In a science fair project on penguins, the Grade 7 Nellie McClung student looked outside of her immediate world to see how her decisions affect the environment, specifically penguin habitats. The population of these adorable waddling birds are declining at an alarming rate.

This blog is a small peak into Alixx’s world and how she views it.

When asked why she chose to learn more about the environment and penguins and what she learned, Alixx replied, “This project came about because I wanted to learn more about the environment and how what I do every day can change the environment for the future.

I think the most interesting things I learned were that oil is more deadly than I thought it was and that there is way more garbage pollution than I thought.

Penguins are in the process of becoming extinct and they are very close to becoming extinct. This is mostly happening because of Global Warming. Global Warming is when lots of carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere and it increases the heat by one or two degrees. That may seem small, but in Antarctica it really makes a difference. Their entire home is melting due to humans.”

“Pollution is another big problem,”

said Alixx. “Oil coats the penguins and they can’t breathe or it causes ulcers and stomach bleeding. When oil coats the bird it can either make them have hypothermia or die of overheating. When garbage is in the penguins’ bodies it also causes ulcers and stomach bleeding.

People are too lazy to walk a few meters to a garbage can.

All over the world people just simply toss their trash on the ground or in the river, ocean or lake.

For those who want to learn how they can help, Alixx has some advice:

• “Use less electricity by turning the lights off when you leave a room and turn off the lights in your whole house when you go out and nobody’s home
• Walk to school (if you are close) instead of driving and burning carbon
• Try and have more than one person driving with you at all times.”

Alixx has taken her own advice to heart:

“I ride my bike every day. The way I think about it is: every time I ride my bike I save a penguin; if everyone in the world were to ride their bike more than driving their cars all of the penguins would be saved.”

She recognizes it’s not an easy commitment, “It is very hard,” say Alixx, “I think that everyone who tries should be honored. And for me, like I said before, I think about it as every time I get on my bike instead of getting into my car it saves one penguin.

I know everyone has a car and it is way faster but you really can make a difference [by driving less].”

The border of hand-cut penguins on Alixx’s project shows that time and devotion have gone into the project – the environment and penguins have a great advocate on their side.

Lend a hand, or share a ride, to help reduce your own impact on their environment. This spring, why not help too by reducing your car trips by walking more, cycling to a destination, or trying not to drive alone as often. Visit: TheWayWeMove.ca to learn more about how you can curb your travel habits to help the environment – and the penguins.

 
Bio:
Alixx Tanner and Dot Laing