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15 signs that parents have superpowers

You get your child to fall asleep – every night. You change hundreds of diapers full of nasty surprises. You comfort and feed your baby in the wee hours (despite your own severe and chronic exhaustion). What more proof do you need that parents of young children have superpowers? Read the whole list!

BABYBJÖRN Magazine – Parents with superpowers: they change or ‘investigate’ thousands of diapers.
Your superpower? You’ve changed thousands of diapers and ‘investigated’ even more!
Photo: Johnér

From your very first day as a new parent, you seem destined to struggle with the feelings of guilt that come as part of the deal. Am I doing enough? Am I a good parent?

Relax; you’re already doing more than enough.

Also read! 8 reasons you’re a great mom

You’re a superhero because…

  1. You read hundreds of bedtime stories.
  2. Or ONE story hundreds of times.
  3. You change thousands of diapers.
  4. And cautiously ‘investigate’ even more.
  5. And often end up with the nasty surprises inside (yes, the number twos) all over your hands, especially when washing your hands straight away is not an option.
  6. You change diapers in your car (badly parked after coming to a screeching halt)/at the beach (under a barrage of disapproving stares)/in the stroller at a restaurant with no baby changing facilities/in filthy public bathrooms and in many other theoretically impossible places.
  7. You get your child to fall asleep. Every night.
  8. And back to sleep another 5-15 times before morning (and anything after about 4 a.m. counts as ‘morning’ to a baby).
  9. You comfort your baby and breastfeed/bottle-feed them every night. Despite your own severe and chronic exhaustion.
  10.  You abandon your freshly brewed coffee as soon as your child cries or calls for you. Even though the thought of that coffee was the ONLY thing keeping you going.
  11.  You somehow extract enough sustenance to power through the next 12 hours from a mouthful of leftover baby food, half a cup of coffee (cold, naturally) and two lint-covered pieces of hard candy you found in your pocket.
  12.  You manage to fit everything you need (plus a little more) into your diaper bag. Despite the above-mentioned exhaustion and sporadic nutritional intake.
  13.  And if you do forget anything, there is no stopping your ingenious improvisation. Baby bodysuit + water = baby wipe to remove poo. Baby hat + water = also a baby wipe to remove poo.
  14.  You learn the subtleties of a foreign language called ‘crying’ in record time. All by yourself. Without any classes or dictionaries.
  15.  You take care of a tiny newborn person AT THE SAME TIME as you recover from pregnancy and childbirth. Superpowers, dear parent, superpowers.

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Share this list! Many parents don’t realize that they perform superhero acts every day.

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