What Having A Kid Does To You

While having a kid is one of the most amazing experiences ever, there are some things that come along with pregnancy and the changes to your bod that are not so cool....or at least here's what has happened to me and other mamas I know.

• Baby weight - this one is a bit obvious and I've posted my detailed thoughts on this little topic back in March. You will see flab in places you have never seen flab before, but it will go away. Or if it doesn't, you just get used to it and accept it as your new fuller figure. Don't get frustrated over it and let it consume your life, though, because as they say it took nine months to cook that little one, it should take nine (or fourteen as in my case) to get rid of it.
• Baby brain (or Momnesia) - I didn't believe my memory could get any worse, but it did and has remained awful ever since giving birth. I am a scatterbrained mess at times. However, with the overload of information pertaining to baby, lack of sleep and complete upending of your life as you know it, I suppose it's understandable to forget what you went to the grocery store for.
• Living in sweatpants - there were days during maternity leave where I wouldn't see a shower for a full 24 hours. There were days I wouldn't get out of my sweatpants or PJs at all and I considered it acceptable. This never really happened in my pre-baby days, unless I was terribly hungover. So I suppose it was more frequent than I'm making it seem, now that I think about it.
• Preggo mask - this is one of my least favorite after-effects of pregnancy. My sister had it and I've read that it can run in the family, so thanks genes. It's caused by the intense hormone changes that your body experiences during pregnancy and may go away or may not. Based on the fact that I've had it for a year, I'm assuming I'm stuck with this for the long haul and now I need to figure out how to treat it. I've tried skin lightening lotions and they've only mildly helped - I'm thinking I need to see a skin doc. As you can see in the picture below - it's on my forehead, cheeks, the bridge of my nose and my upper lip. I've had to change from a tinted moisturizer to a full-fledged foundation and a different powder, which masks it somewhat. Overall, it just sucks.
• Teeth - I'm embarrassed to say I haven't been to the dentist since having little man...but I have a good reason. After my sister's first kiddo, she had 13 (yes, thirteen) cavities! I am not shitting you! So instead of hitting this potential problem head on, I'm hiding from it until I absolutely have to go. I got a really fancy electric toothbrush from Nick for Valentine's Day (yep, a toothbrush for the love holiday, thanks honey), I floss and I use mouthwash, so I should be good, right?
• Emotional mess - I now cry at everything, no really everything. TV commercials, if the hubs & I have a small feud (like, I'm talking a disagreement over what we're having for dinner), early on when Cruz would cry, a sad story in a magazine, when I'm overly frustrated at work....and I know Nick thinks I'm a crazy person each and every time.
• Inability to squeeze off - I understand this may be a little TMI, but this is one of the most unwelcome effects of pregnancy. It starts toward the end when you are really huge and you find yourself peeing a little when you sneeze, laugh with too much gusto or cough a little too hard. Then, you give birth and you think, ahhh, thank God that won't happen to me again. But it doesn't go away. And the kicker? Your nipples leak, even if you aren't breastfeeding. Just for a couple weeks after, not forever. But still...come on! I feel like I lost a couple of sexy points with all of the aforementioned.

If you're lucky enough to get preggo mask yourself, prepare yourself for these questions...
Is that dirt on your face? What's wrong with your skin?  What's that brown stuff?
It isn't awesome.

If you've had kiddos...what other wonderful things did you encounter? If you haven't had them yet, aren't you now so pumped? :)