{"id":2179130,"date":"2025-04-06T13:25:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T20:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/?p=2179130"},"modified":"2025-04-11T12:10:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T19:10:47","slug":"weird-things-parents-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Things You Swore You’d Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before our babies arrived, we had some sense that parenthood would be a rollercoaster. But there\u2019s quite a bit \u201cthey\u201d didn\u2019t tell us would happen. Sure, we expected diapers<\/a> and spit up and long nights<\/a>, but what most of us didn\u2019t expect was the gross, comical, and downright bizarre things we\u2019d do for our kids in the name of love. As a mom of almost five kids, I\u2019m both straight embarrassed and mortified, but also strangely proud, of the crazy things I\u2019ve done to keep my kids safe, healthy, and happy.<\/p>\n

According to a 2023 Pew Research study<\/a>, 62% of parents say the job has been at least somewhat harder than expected, and 26% say it has been a lot harder. Mothers had higher rates of thinking it was harder than planned than fathers did. Yet most of us (96%) feel like we are doing a good job or even a very good or excellent job. So here\u2019s to chugging along, making it work, enjoying the tiny, hysterical, sleep-deprived moments<\/a>, and raising our babies. We\u2019ve become new people along this journey, thanks to the unexpected things we never thought we\u2019d do but would<\/em> do all over again.<\/p>\n

1. Sway at all times and even rock the grocery cart.<\/h3>\n

When you’ve got a new baby, rocking and swaying are the status quo, whether you’re frantically pushing the stroller back and forth to get your tiny human to sleep at the mall or trying to get them to stop wailing in the middle of the night. My body was in near-constant motion until I passed out in yesterday’s clothes at the end of each day. But I never expected to find myself rocking my hips back and forth while whipping up a sandwich for lunch or rocking the cart at the grocery store with no kid in sight<\/em>. Yup, this is the new normal. Wonder how long it’ll last. (Spoiler: years.)<\/p>\n

Related: The Weirdest Permanent Body Changes after Pregnancy<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2. Clean a pacifier that fell on the floor with your own mouth.<\/h3>\n

So your kid is screaming at the mall. At the store. At playgroup. And your only paci hits the floor\u2014nipple down, of course, because that\u2019s how it goes. In the absence of a sink, you stare at the baby, debating what nasty disease you are going to get, then say screw it and pop it in your mouth, and back into the baby\u2019s. No? Just me? Well, that\u2019s embarrassing\u2026<\/p>\n

3. Store leftovers in your pockets.<\/h3>\n

Once, I found a half-eaten cheeseburger in my pocket. I\u2019m embarrassed to say I have no idea how long it was there. Hopefully only a few hours. This is because eating a sit-down meal as a new parent is virtually impossible. So, we hover around the counter, shoveling in food<\/a> when there\u2019s hot food to be found because another tiny, whining bundle of joy comes first. We eat while we are feeding the baby, while we are driving, and pretty much any other time we can. And when there\u2019s no Ziploc to save our food, apparently we make do.<\/p>\n

4. Fish a potato (or other insane object) out of the crib.<\/h3>\n

Why, oh why, was there a raw potato in my crib? Parents of a toddler and a baby<\/a> might be able to relate. Maybe the toddler thought the baby was hungry? Maybe he thought it was a ball? Not sure I even want to know.<\/p>\n

5. Take a bit of time to fall in love with the baby.<\/h3>\n

Diaper commercials would have us think that birthing a baby is followed immediately by love at first sight, an instant bond, a magical moment that we will remember forever. But research shows about 1 in 5 parents<\/a> actually don\u2019t feel that immediate bond in the hours after birth, and that\u2019s totally okay. It makes sense\u2014you\u2019re exhausted from an often difficult delivery, you\u2019re learning brand new responsibilities to keep this other human alive, and it\u2019s just not always instant.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> if that feeling keeps going, check in with your healthcare provider, as it can also be a sign of postpartum mental health concerns.<\/p>\n

6. Change a diaper on a truck tailgate.<\/h3>\n

Parents find creative places to change their babies, from the floor of an airplane aisle to the bed of a truck. This is partially not our fault\u2014many bathrooms are still poorly equipped to accommodate parents (especially dads) and babies. But it\u2019s also just convenient. It\u2019s kind of hard to take a baby to a park and make it all happen with a bathroom that\u2019s a mile away.<\/p>\n

7. Fake sickness because parenthood is just too tiring.<\/h3>\n

Can\u2019t make it to a party? A girls\u2019 night? An evening work function? Of course, many a mom has blamed the baby\u2014\u201cOh sorry, the baby\u2019s coming down with something.\u201d Then, it\u2019s off to early bedtime and a hot shower, because momming is just too tiring sometimes<\/a>. If you feel lame for not going out, then so are all of us. We need a break.<\/p>\n

8. Leave home half-dressed.<\/h3>\n

The new parenting days, which we\u2019ve always referred to as the \u201cfog,\u201d mean that your standards go down\u2014and then down again. Basically, you have none. So, if you\u2019ve headed to the grocery without a bra or gone through the carline at your other kid\u2019s school in your pajamas and slippers, you are us. We are you. And that\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n

9. Gone down a terrifying Dr. Google research hole at 4 a.m.<\/h3>\n

Nothing good happens at 4 a.m., especially on Google<\/a>. But, we\u2019ve all decided at one time or another that our baby\u2019s rash is rabies or that a spot on his face is cancer. Of course, our go-to pediatrician is used to those early morning MyChart messages, right? Luckily, we are usually just completely sleep-deprived and totally wrong, but it\u2019s one of many things that will keep us up at night because of how much we love our kids.<\/p>\n

Related: 11 Things Parents Don’t Need to Stress About (According to Doctors)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the gross to the terrifying, new parents go above and beyond for their kids.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187728393,"featured_media":2211594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"city":[14331571,551419385],"ml_tag_age":[700852499],"ml_tag_interest":[700854333,700853790,700852977,700853723,700853183],"ml_tag_season":[700852481],"ml_tag_holiday":[700852449],"class_list":["post-2179130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","category-parenting-advice","category-postpartum","city-baby","city-national","ml_tag_age-adults","ml_tag_interest-bubble-bath","ml_tag_interest-grocery-store","ml_tag_interest-new-parents","ml_tag_interest-sleep-deprived","ml_tag_interest-spit-up","ml_tag_season-fall","ml_tag_holiday-non-holiday"],"yoast_head":"\n9 Weird Things Parents Thought They'd Never Do - Tinybeans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"9 Things You Swore You'd Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tinybeans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tinybeanskids\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/weird-things-parents-do-baby-mom-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alexandra Frost\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tinybeanskids\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tinybeanskids\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alexandra Frost\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alexandra Frost\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fa0d362b2534c907629d73c4be789990\"},\"headline\":\"9 Things You Swore You’d Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\"},\"wordCount\":1039,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\",\"Parenting Advice\",\"Postpartum\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\",\"name\":\"9 Weird Things Parents Thought They'd Never Do - Tinybeans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"9 Things You Swore You’d Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/\",\"name\":\"Tinybeans\",\"description\":\"Make Every Moment Count\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Tinybeans\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-Icon250.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-Icon250.png\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"Tinybeans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tinybeanskids\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tinybeanskids\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tinybeanskids\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/tinybeans\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/tinybeans\/_created\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fa0d362b2534c907629d73c4be789990\",\"name\":\"Alexandra Frost\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd268c952fc0b182e2cb0e37a8122f415a1e2888114fa88b344abe25e56d15fa?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Ftinybeans.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2FGray.png&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd268c952fc0b182e2cb0e37a8122f415a1e2888114fa88b344abe25e56d15fa?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Ftinybeans.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2FGray.png&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alexandra Frost\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/author\/tnyalexfrost\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"9 Weird Things Parents Thought They'd Never Do - Tinybeans","description":"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"9 Things You Swore You'd Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)","og_description":"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.","og_url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/","og_site_name":"Tinybeans","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tinybeanskids","article_published_time":"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/weird-things-parents-do-baby-mom-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alexandra Frost","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@tinybeanskids","twitter_site":"@tinybeanskids","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alexandra Frost","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/"},"author":{"name":"Alexandra Frost","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fa0d362b2534c907629d73c4be789990"},"headline":"9 Things You Swore You’d Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)","datePublished":"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/"},"wordCount":1039,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Parenting","Parenting Advice","Postpartum"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/","url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/","name":"9 Weird Things Parents Thought They'd Never Do - Tinybeans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-06T20:25:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-11T19:10:47+00:00","description":"If you've ever found a potato in a crib, a half-eaten sandwich in your pocket, or changed a diaper on a tailgate, you must be a parent.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/weird-things-parents-do\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"9 Things You Swore You’d Never Do as a New Parent (Then Did)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/","name":"Tinybeans","description":"Make Every Moment Count","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#organization","name":"Tinybeans","url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-Icon250.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/cropped-Icon250.png","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"Tinybeans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tinybeanskids","https:\/\/twitter.com\/tinybeanskids","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tinybeanskids\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/tinybeans\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/tinybeans\/_created\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/fa0d362b2534c907629d73c4be789990","name":"Alexandra Frost","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd268c952fc0b182e2cb0e37a8122f415a1e2888114fa88b344abe25e56d15fa?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Ftinybeans.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2FGray.png&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd268c952fc0b182e2cb0e37a8122f415a1e2888114fa88b344abe25e56d15fa?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Ftinybeans.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F07%2FGray.png&r=g","caption":"Alexandra Frost"},"url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/author\/tnyalexfrost\/"}]}},"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/weird-things-parents-do-baby-mom-2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/187728393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2179130"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2211501,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179130\/revisions\/2211501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2211594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2179130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2179130"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=2179130"},{"taxonomy":"ml_tag_age","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ml_tag_age?post=2179130"},{"taxonomy":"ml_tag_interest","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ml_tag_interest?post=2179130"},{"taxonomy":"ml_tag_season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ml_tag_season?post=2179130"},{"taxonomy":"ml_tag_holiday","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tinybeans.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ml_tag_holiday?post=2179130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}