Let us count the ways life changed after we had our daughter Olivia: less sleep, less alone time, anxiety about whether or not we are good parents, and did we mention less sleep? But then, leaving work on time so we can see her little face light up when we walk into daycare. That is the moment when we realized that we must be doing something right.

When having a child, you gain a new perspective on life. It’s like the world is a much scarier place because the worry kicks into full affect. Even when Olivia is simply playing at the playground, our mom radar kicks in. Making sure she doesn’t get hurt, or germs from her play buddy. Also, little critters and worms are like an amazing adventure. She is just amazed by the #LittleWonders in life, it’s like she has no worry in the world. So we truly see the world now through her innocent eyes.

Before, it would take Ebony and me about 30 minutes to go somewhere. We would get dressed and head on out and, most importantly, we would always be on time. After we had Olivia, we soon came to the realization that we had to feed her, change her diaper, gather her stuff, get her in her car seat, and too many more things to name. And then, we had those occasional diaper accidents where finding the nearest changing area seemed impossible. We finally learned that we need to add an additional hour to leave the house or otherwise we are just late.

Now that Olivia is four years old, we don’t use the bathroom alone anymore. In fact, this is the time she decides to ask her questions about whether or not she can have the latest toy that she wants. Weirdly enough, she finds us most vulnerable during this time. Hmm, wonder why!

Finally, we've learned how to get Olivia to sleep faster and asleep longer using JOHNSON'S® 3-Step BEDTIME® Routine. Now that her quality and quantity of sleep has improved, sleep for us is not just a prayer answered. Before, she was our personal alarm clock. She would wake up every morning at 7:30 a.m. like clockwork. We can't believe we finally nailed her sleep regimen, so now we can sleep longer.

It always amazed us that we adjusted to the lack of sleep. Despite the lack of sleep we still thought it was all truly worth it, waking up to the sound of your child saying “Mom and Mama, are you up?” Or, when she refuses to go to sleep at her set bedtime because “I’m just not tired, can I just play?” So you just give in and say, “Yes baby, just for five minutes.” These are the things that make it all worth it. Besides, doesn’t sleeping on the toilet at work qualify as sleep?

So, although our lives changed after having a child, we are creating memories with Olivia that we cherish that make it all worthwhile!

I am a contributor for JOHNSON’S®, the sponsor of this community, and compensated for travel and attendance at events. Every idea and word written is my own.