Motherhood is one of those periods where a woman has to sacrifice her needs, wants or desires and put that of her baby or kids first. It can be hard for some women to accept this. Your kids practically run your life from the moment you get pregnant.

They determine what you eat, drink, wear, where you go if you should travel or not, the type of car to buy and the kind of investments to make. It is inevitable because as babies they rely a lot on you for everything.

But as they grow up, it is important to take your life back from them and follow your dreams, career or just relax a little and take good care of yourself. It's important to regain control of your life.

I was lazy to do some of these things and now I'm facing the consequences as I realize that my kid still controls my life.

How To Stop Your Baby (Or Kids) From Running Your Life

Understand their tantrums

Pay attention to their tantrums, understand them and find a good way to manage them which doesn't make them realize that you are still the boss.

My daughter developed the habit of crying for stuff and at first, I kept saying she is a child and will outgrow it but it is getting worse and now I have to deal with it.

It's important to understand these tantrums early in order to manage them before they become a problem because when a child throws multiple tantrums it takes away much time from your hands because you have to deal with them each time.

Not that kids are not allowed to have tantrums, they are and will always have those tantrum moments but they need to understand that you are in control of what they get and not the other way round.

Sleep train

Wouldn't life be great if your kids fall asleep easily? Or sleep longer despite the noises around? It would change my life!

I know nothing about sleep training (I haven't even Googled how it is done. I need to do that!) but I know that I need it. My daughter tries to sleep through the night now but it actually took more than a year for her to start sleeping through the night. Meaning she woke up every night to breastfeed or eat before going back to sleep for more than a year. And in the day she is a light sleeper.

Because of this, I had very little time to do anything else.

It's therefore very important to get your kids to sleep more if you want to have more control of your life.

Wean your baby

I breastfed for one year plus and I enjoyed it. Didn't even want to stop but I had to because I needed to create some more time for other things. When a child stops breastfeeding (I breastfed directly. No pump.) they can be fed by someone else while you get something done.

I still miss breastfeeding my daughter but things have got to be done.

Related: How Weaning My Child Affected Me Physically And Mentally

              How To Manage Sore Breasts When Weaning Your Baby And Prevent It From Sagging

              Why I Stopped Breastfeeding My Baby At One Year Three Months Instead Of Two Years As I Planned

Make them used to other people

This is coming from a mother whose one year plus is so attached to her. When a child is used to other family members it's easy to leave him/her with them for a while so that you can take time off or do some work.

My daughter denies everyone especially now that I weaned her. I'm with her most of the time and it makes it harder to get much done either with my career or house chores.

It is hard to stop these little ones from controlling your time and consequently your life but it is necessary if you intend to relax, find time for yourself or pursue a career.