Life

Ashley Batz/Romper
5 Ways New Parenthood Is Hilariously Similar To Adolescence

by Kate Brierley

Oh, adolescence. What a far-off time in our lives filled with changing bodies, raging hormones, blemished skin, and a massive amount of insecurity and self-exploration. Thank goodness that phase of your life is over, never to return again — amirite?!

Eh, well... that may not be entirely true, at least for parents of the world who are doing their best to keep it together during year one. Just think about it: new motherhood and adolescence are actually eerily similar life phases. Both experiences are painfully awkward, woefully unexpected, and will probably make you cringe a little (OK — cringe a lot) when you reflect back on them, but the comparisons don't end there. Date nights, for instance, come with a curfew for teens and new parents. Or maybe you remember how eager you were at both points to hang out with someone... anyone... whether it was your friend group at the local mall, or your mom group at the local coffee shop?

See? As it turns out, the awkwardness of going through puberty may very well have prepared you for the earth-shattering newness of motherhood — if not in a bit of a roundabout way. Though neither of these life phases feel overly graceful, both of them do share plenty of triumphs along the way. To prove that you've always had what it takes to get through this scary newness of parenthood, we partnered with Plum Organics to show you five times that the first year of parenthood feels a lot like adolescence, and man oh man are these moments spot-on.

Your Selfie Game Is On Point

Allison Gore/Romper

As a teen, snapping a selfie meant layering on too much blue eyeshadow and using a disposable camera to take 20-something random photos, then have them developed in the photo department of the drugstore. The surprises were endless!

Now, I'm that mom making silly faces and singing even sillier songs, trying to get my babies to look at the reverse camera on my smartphone and take a decent selfie to show our loved ones we're alive, relatively clean, and managing. The surprises (and supply of blurry photos) are still endless.

Procrastinating Homework Is Still Your Strong Suit

Allison Gore/Romper

Oh, the middle school injustice of having tests in multiple subjects in the same week! I had a hate-hate relationship with math, and was the kid who would delay studying for a test until the last minute, throwing myself a pity party over my notes and text books. These days, I still have my hate-hate relationship with factoring, but my ire for studying has expanded to include how to get spit-up stains out of my couch. Someone please tell me why I put off reading up on this stuff until it's the last option I have?

Exhaustion Has Become A Way Of Life

Allison Gore/Romper

Remember those teenage days when you wanted to sleep in as late as humanly possible? For me, my alarm clock was my worst enemy — even when it would jar me awake at 11 a.m. on a Saturday. A few years and two babies later, I want my little ones to sleep in as late as humanly possible. As for me? I can't. Especially throughout the first year of parenthood, my inner mom-radar that tells me when my babies are awake wouldn't allow it. More coffee, please.

You Obsess Over The Latest Technology

Allison Gore/Romper

Between curating the perfect playlist of songs to burn onto CD-Rs for my friends, to yearning to own a brick-shaped cell phone some day, I was busy learning — or wishing for — the latest and greatest tech during my adolescent years. Now that I'm a mom of two, I'm still just as excited about the tech scene, but it's a lot less mixtape strategy and a lot more white noise machine sourcing and video monitor setup.

You're Always Riding A Roller Coaster Of Emotions

Allison Gore/Romper

As a teen, I'd find myself swimming in a puddle of my own tears over a breakup with a boyfriend I'd never actually spoken to in person, but only exchanged notes in the middle school hallways with for two weeks. These days, I'm the kind of mom whose hormones surge so furiously that I cry just looking at my beautiful baby and imagining a world where someone might possibly break his adorable little heart one day.

This post is sponsored by Plum Organics.