Baby Blog: It's New Year's Eve And I Wish I Was Out. There, I Said It.

There is a particular parenting website which seems to love nothing more than running numbered features with headlines such as, '22 things you won't do now you have kids', ‘8 things only 20-something childless singletons can do’ and ’32 ways your life will never be the same after a baby’.

Headlines which after a while akin to '22 ways having a baby is like being in prison’.

I'll be having a great day when one of these, although intended to be light hearted, articles pops up on my Facebook timeline and I suddenly feel like my day could be even better - if I didn’t have a baby.

Then I feel angry. Then I feel guilty.

I've been having a slight case of 'grass is greener syndrome' recently, especially over the New Year period. I was actually frightened to write that. I think people will think it makes me a bad mum.

No one babysits on New Year's Eve - it's probably the one time you just have to accept you won't be going out.

So the last few hours of 2014 were spent at home with my baby... who fell asleep at 8pm. He didn't even make it to Jools Holland, the bore.

Facebook Smoke And Mirrors
Scrolling through Facebook I am ashamed to say I felt a pang of, frankly, dishonorable envy as all my ostensibly young, free and single friends posted 3am snaps of alcoholic beverages and fireworks.

The next day, one of these social media savvy mates confessed she had a pretty boring time and it was all nothing but pesky Facebook smoke and mirrors.

Staying in, even I was guilty of a bit of online duping.

Just because I’m now a mum doesn’t mean I don’t still value a like or two. And I was hardly going to post  "Haven’t slept any longer than four hours in a row every night for four months – tonight will be no exception" at the strike of midnight.

As a result, it turned out that savvy social media posts meant that while I was envying them, they were probably envying me.

Feeling Nostalgic About The Past
I've never even liked New Year. Still, it's only human to feel nostalgic about a previous chapter of your life closes. Who doesn’t sometimes wish they were back at school or university? Or, more drastic still, living at home with your mum and dad?

But while nostalgia never fails to paint a glossy picture of the past, it conveniently neglects to mention any of the rubbish parts.

School was as much about dreading double French and homework as it was about 3pm finishes and long summer holidays, but who remembers the bad bits?

In the same way I know I will look back at this time of my life and conveniently forget the 4am feeds, the eternal sterilising or the time Freddy pooed into his own bellybutton - actually, that is pretty etched onto my memory.

Nostalgia craftily looks at things through rose-tinted glasses so you can hardly blame anyone for hankering for the past in some respect - despite how great their current situation is, or will seem five years from now.

What Am I Really Missing Out On?
Losses are part of any major life change and, like it or not, once you become a parent you lose your freedom.

After really feeling my clipped wings for the first time on New Year’s Eve, it made me realise that there are some things I just can’t do anymore.

While it’s easy to say what life (or sleep) you COULD be having, it's better to focus on the life you ARE having because that’s the only one you’ve got.

I have given up things, but I've gained plenty. On New Year’s Eve I sacrificed a night out and instead arranged a lovely New Year's Day lunch with my friends, family and baby.

I'm sure eventually I will enter a nightclub again – however, I’m almost certain the wanting to go will actually be better than actually being there.

So my New Year's Resolution? To focus on the present, not the past and certainly not Facebook.

[Baby Blog: Young Mums Vs Society – Why Is Age Such An Issue When It Comes To Parenthood?]

[Baby Blog: The responsibility of motherhood is overwhelming me]

Do you feel like you miss out as a parent? Let us know in the comments.