First Year of Motherhood: Today I Put Dawn on my Toothbrush

Written: May 18, 2019

  There is nothing quite like a title about putting Dawn on your toothbrush to grab an audience’s attention.  But guys, I really did this K  In my sleep deprived state, I put Dawn on my toothbrush.  Why is Dawn even near my toothbrush you ask?   Oh because when my daughter was a newborn, we thought we had to wash her pacifier anytime it touched the ground so we had Dawn upstairs in case it happened at night.  I wish I had just put Dawn on my toothbrush, realized it and laughed.  NOPE.  I put the toothbrush in my mouth.  I don’t know what obscenities I have said in my life to earn that level of soap in my mouth, but I apologize to whoever was offended enough that I deserved this.

I could stop there, but this situation is so much more than just a funny story (it is a really funny situation to picture, me with my crazy undone hair, dark circles and bubbles in my mouth). This occurrence is just one of many actions out of character for me due to the exhaustion of learning to be a mother and parenthood in general.  Andy and I were total rookies to this.  I know, I knowwww. Everyone is a rookie when they have their first kid.  Andy and I were like uber rookies though.  Neither of us had babysat or changed a diaper before.  I am an only child and he is the youngest by 9 years.   We both are independent and are used to our alone time.  We are ready to bolt if we are in a room full of children running around.   Then we have this adorable little sweetie and she turned our world upside down. 

A bad night of sleep used to be 6 hours of sleep. 6 hour nights are good nights now.   We used to keep our house relatively clean.  The other day Hannah got ahold of a dust bunny bigger than her hand.   It was like a little tumbleweed.  And it has plenty of tumbleweed friends all over our house.   We had a time frame when I was still on maternity leave where this was all slightly better, but then we started sending Hannah to daycare and she has been sick more than she hasn’t been sick.  I hope the Dawn scenario is starting to seem more acceptable.  Well maybe not acceptable.  Let’s go with relatable.

Andy and I are laid back people who do not thrive in dramatic times.  So it’s been tough year from the end of pregnancy to now.  It’s been like a roller coaster with very short breaks to get off of it, catch our breath, and then get right back on again. But at the same time, I never knew a little girl could make me forget it all with one smile. She has made me a better person and helped me realize my worth. She has put so much in perspective. I am so thankful for her and she is seriously the best.  I would brush my teeth with Dawn every night as long as I got to be her Mom.