Really Quickly

My definition of the two words "really quickly" has changed drastically since having a baby. Certain things that used to be really quick are no longer really quick....

For example...

Running into the grocery store...or the post office....or the bank
pre baby: 5 minutes
post baby: 15 minutes, after taking out car seat and diaper bag and purse, lugging inside, shopping, checking out, unloading groceries, then figuring out how to put the grocery cart away...is it close enough to put baby in car or does baby need to come with you in his seat to put the cart away.....

Getting ready for work in the morning....or church...or sports event
pre baby: 45 minutes
post baby: 3 hours, in order for Micah to only have one bottle while I am work, I feed him at 5:30 and 8:00 am before I leave for work at 9:00 am. In between, I am getting ready and getting him ready.

Grading papers...or cleaning the house....or any task needing to be done....
pre baby: 30 minutes
post baby: 2 hours, baby has fallen asleep and was put in his bed, that lasted ten minutes. Then baby wants mama to hold him. So I do, until he is passed out again, lay baby down, grade more papers. Baby wakes up again....but is still tired....goes back to sleep on mama....repeat....sometimes there are one or five dirty diapers in the mix too...oh, and if it takes long enough he might get hungry also....

And yet, other things that used to take a long time....have become tasks that can be accomplished "really quickly"....

For example...

Eating
pre baby: 30 minute dinner
post baby: 5 minutes (no, that is not heathly for digestion, but it is what it is) YES, I get to eat dinner!

Showering
pre baby: 20 - 30 minutes ( Yes, I was a long showerer!)
post baby: 0 - 10 minutes, YES, I get to shower today! Thank goodness for dry shampoo.

Sleeping
pre baby: All night long
post baby: 3 hour cycles....(until he started sleeping through the night) YES, I got 6 hours of sleep! I will be so energized tomorrow :)

Oh, Motherhood....you are quite a teacher of perspective....