10 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Became a Mom

I saw this on Amanda's blog: Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom and had to join in!

1. Pregnancy is hard. Seems like something you'd know, but I swear each time I was pregnant, from week 5 all the way to the end, I was shocked at how hard it was.

2. Sleep deprivation makes you insane. Hubby and I never have fought in our marriage like we did on those long, exhausting nights with a newborn. Nothing makes me happy when I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.. per day.

3. Older kids are fun! As silly as it sounds to me now, when I had young toddlers and babies, I could not imagine having a CHILD. Like 5yrs and up. I have loved having my older kids! They are so witty, silly, funny, and if you take the time to deal with them in those really hard years (ages 2-4ish) the discipline part is just EASY when they're older. (well, until the teen years hit I'm sure.)

4. I would drive a minivan. I never saw that one coming.

5. Buying clothes for kids is more fun than buying clothes for me. This could really be classified under a more general "I'd get less selfish" file... but seriously, I had no clue that I'd LOVE shopping for my kids the way I do.

6. You worry... a lot. From their friends, to their health, their grades, and their spiritual life - my gosh you are constantly battling being a worry wart.

7. You never 'really' get tired of your kids. We all need breaks from our children, but I really wondered how I'd handle being with my kids every single day before I had them. I could have never guessed that being away from them would simply make me scurry to return home! Nature takes over I suppose.

8. Your friends will change, based on how you parent. A lot of my friends don't parent exactly the way I do, but we do all have a similar view of raising our kids. It's very hard to be friends with someone - even if you really liked them in the past - if you can't appreciate each other's parenting styles.

9. It's expensive. It doesn't have to be super expensive to raise kids if you just take care of their basic needs. (oh wait.. yes it does..) but when you add in the extras it's kinda mind boggling what kinds of money you're willing to HAPPILY shell out on jazz and tap shoes, baseball caps and uniforms, and trips to water parks and the zoo. Add in all of the other stuff and you really spend most of your money on your kids. What's odd is you don't usually care...

10. It can be addicting. I really love my kids, and other people's kids. I always have been a 'kid' person. I did not realize that having a baby, for me, just made me want to have another. Having a table full of children makes me think of how we could fit just one more chair there. (I'm looking for a bench now..) I am glad that I've realized that God keeps this desire in me so that we'll help other children, and not just keep having our own. Exciting!

Has anything really shocked you about having children that you did not expect? Do your own "10 things" list and link me in the comments!