Parents reveal the hilarious moment they realized life had changed

Standing by the sink washing the last few dishes, you glance at a text from a friend.

She’s off out and wants to check you definitely can’t make it.

The hilarity of the situation somehow manages to lessen any jealousy you might feel. After all, as she’s looking a million dollars ready to hit a VIP launch party and the miniscule amount of make-up you did have on is washed off and you’re ready to hit the sack.

It’s times like this that the realisation of being a parent often hits you.

Just a year ago you would have been by her side in your designer clothes, not walking towards your bedroom in nightwear your grandmother would be ashamed of.

In an attempt to help parents laugh at the trials and tribulations that are part and parcel of having kids, one blogger recently asked moms and dads to share their stories about when it dawned on them that they were parents.

From learning to appreciate the taste of a cup of tea that had been microwaved to heat it up to realising you now relish a solo trip to the supermarket as much as you used to enjoy a trip to the spa, the experiences shared by the blogger behind runoutofwomb.com were hilarious.

So much so that we decided to dig out a few of our own.

For the woman behind the UAE-based blog tuesdayschild.me, fashionista Heidi Raeside, it was when she ran out of baby wipes that the realisation hit her.

She says: “Licking my finger or a tissue to wipe something off my son’s face and him squirming in ancient traditional reaction.”

For Jessica Howard, it was when she considered how much time she was spending googling poo.

It was overcoming an obstacle and realising life would be filled with many more that it hit mum of three-year-old twins Rachel Askin.

She says: “I had just pushed my double buggy with car seat attachments and two grumpy two week old twins to the top of a very large hill – in fact it was like a mini Everest - in a quest to sort double reflux at the doctors. With every push of the pram I felt like I could feel my C-section stitches ripping at the seams. I got to the top of the hill and did a mini cry and looked to the sky in a very dramatic fashion and said to myself: ‘This is it. This is my life forever!’ Touch wood things have all been uphill since metaphorically speaking of course.”

For dad of one Afsar it was his new TV habits that helped his role dawn on him.

“I don’t understand Arabic but I remember the TV still playing Arabic cartoons long after my son had fallen asleep. It hit me that life really had changed.”

For former Dubai journalist Marwa it was learning to let go of the things she used to love. She says: “My toddler is always picking random things up and running around with them. During my time working in magazines I was sent lots of beauty products to review. I don’t have many left and they’re prized possessions now so when I saw my little girl throw a Dior eyeshadow in the bath I almost cried. I remember thinking I could no longer have anything special ever again and that was the life I’d signed up for!”

For Claire Mooney it was a change in travelling habits: “When you pack for a holiday and don’t take a ‘going out’ outfit but do take a loo seat.”

And while realising you’ve lost glam you to a new googling poo-you is sometimes a disappointing, it’s not all bad.

Grandma and mom of three Yara Khalifa says: “I think I realised I was a mom when a stranger got angry about my son crying. I’m a shy person but I didn’t hesitate to remind this person that he was a baby and what did she expect. That defensive streak made me realise I was now a mom with children who I would do anything to protect. I like having that strong side now!”