Being at home with a baby can be frustrating when all your friends are out having fun together while you’re changing diapers. Much as you love spending time with your little one, you can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy when you see photos of your friends enjoying a night out without you.
Social media has no doubt made this worse. Seeing your friends have fun on social media can leave you feeling left out. The photos, the status tags, the check-ins and the endless in-jokes can be hard to swallow when you’re sat at home covered in baby puke.
Missing a night out
Here are a few important things to remember when you’re missing a night out with friends because you’re busy being a mom:
- Your baby won’t be a baby for long
This is so cliche that you probably get told it a zillion times a day by every woman of a certain age you happen across while out and about. It’s hard to believe it when you’re stuck in the daily grind of feeds, changes and naps, but it’s true. They really don’t stay little for long. In a few seconds, you’ll wake up to find it’s your child’s first day of school and you won’t be able to believe it’s here already. Your baby won’t be little forever, so don’t worry, you’ll be out and about again one day soon. In the meantime, soak up as much of those baby snuggles as you can.
- It’s only a night out
Nights out are fun, but that’s all they are. You aren’t missing out on the night of the century, you’re just taking a backseat until you feel ready to dazzle the dance floor once more. If they’re good friends, you can probably predict how the night’s going to go anyway. Someone will drink too much, someone will say something they shouldn’t and someone will disappear before the end of the night only to be found kissing a stranger round the corner. You’re not missing out tonight, and you’ll be back out with them all soon enough anyway.
- It’s nothing personal
Your friends aren’t going out of their way to leave you out. They haven’t singled you out and tried to come up with ways to leave you out. They’re just doing what they’ve always done. Right now, you may not be able to go with them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still love you. They miss you when you’re not there, but they know you’ll be back as soon as you feel ready.
- It’s worth it
It’s easy to get disheartened from time to time, but it’s important to remember that motherhood is worth it. Motherhood is simply one of the most amazing experiences. The way your heart swells with love the first time you hold your baby, the way your baby is soothed by the mere sound of your voice and the way that you will do anything and everything to protect her. How amazing it feels when your baby looks at you and smiles, or giggles at you when you play with her. These are the moments that make up motherhood, and when you think of it like that, they’re well worth missing a couple of nights out for.
- You can still socialize
You might not quite be ready for a night on the town yet, but that doesn’t mean you need to hide away indoors on your own. You can still have fun with your friends, even if you’re not yet ready to have your first night out. If you’re not ready to leave your baby yet, why not invite your friends round for a sleepover? You could hang out on the sofa, eat junk food and watch some of your favorite films. If you’re ready to leave your baby for a couple of hours, why not organize to meet friends for lunch somewhere close to home? You don’t have to miss out because you’re a mama, but you may need to tweak how you socialize at least for a little while.
How do you make sure you still get to enjoy some quality bonding time with your friends?
Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.
