House Changes

Have you noticed yet how much your house has changed now that you have a baby? I don't mean the feeling in the house (though that has really changed, too), I mean the way your house looks.

Before we decorated for Christmas my husband and I went through all of the toys around the house and put everything that was no longer age-appropriate into garage storage. This really made me look around and see the change our house has gone through over the last year.

When you first move in to your home with your husband (or significant other) you are so excited to make it your own space. You spend time picking out the colors, the decor, the furniture. Then, you get pregnant and slowly things change. We live in a two bedroom condo so for us the second bedroom turned from an office to a nursery. Then, you have a baby shower and you start purchasing things; so you have a swing in the master bedroom, a bouncy chair in family room and a baby bath on the spare bathroom counter. Once your baby arrives some of the artwork that you worked so hard to pick out for your home is quickly replaced with pictures of your new favorite person.

Next comes even larger things - you get the exersaucer, the Bumbo chair, the bouncing chair in the doorway and maybe even a walker. These things are large and take up quite a bit of space. Some furniture may even be moved out to make space for these items. They are also helping your little one gain strength in their legs which means, now that they are pulling themselves up, you need to clear off the tables. Those beautiful candle holders, picture frames and magazines get put away.

Once the crawling begins you babyproof. Things are now looking more plain in your home and you have the safety devices around- the bumpers on the edge of the fireplace and coffee tables, electrical socket covers, and cabinet locks. The most obtrusive are the gates. Boy do those change the look of the place!

Now, as my is daughter getting older we have so many large toys around. The things that she can pull herself up on, the basketball game, and things with wheels to help with walking: the house is evolving as the baby is growing.

As I was cleaning up toys tonight after Brett went to bed I just kept smiling because even though the house looks so different than it used to it has the best feeling in it now. Such love and happiness fill the house as our family grows together. Who cares if my trinkets are no longer on the tables- I'd rather have my baby girl and trip on toy!