12 Jaw-Dropping Ways Your Life Changes After Kids

    You’re going to want to read this before you throw away your birth control.

    Mike Spohr
    by Mike Spohr

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. You will be $241,080 poorer.

    NBC

    That, on average, is what it will cost to raise a baby born in 2012 until their 18th birthday. Oh, and that quarter-million doesn't include college.

    2. You will change 3,796 diapers for every child you have.

    youtube.com

    Parents spend the equivalent of three 40-hour workweeks changing diapers.

    3. You will have less sex.

    NBC

    A survey of parents found that 86% had sex less often after having kids. Additionally, 73% said their sex life had definitely taken a turn for the worse after becoming parents.

    4. You will spend five months of your life doing laundry between the time your child is born and when your kid turns 18.

    AMC

    This doesn't include all the laundry your kid will bring home from college for you to wash.

    5. You will drive your kids 125,000 miles before they're able to drive themselves.

    20th Century Fox

    That's halfway to the moon. Seriously.

    6. You will lose 44 days of sleep in the first year of each of your kids' lives.

    Bravo

    You'll lose sleep after year one, too, calming your kids after bad dreams, fetching glasses of water, and staying up waiting for your teenager to get home.

    7. Your testosterone level will decline.

    BBC

    A study of more than 400 men in the Philippines found that they suffered a drop in testosterone after becoming fathers.

    8. Your body will change.

    NBC

    A survey of over 7,000 new moms found that 37% said they now had wider hips, nearly half said their breasts had changed, and 87% said their stomach still hadn't returned to its pre-baby condition.

    9. You will watch 6,570 fewer hours of TV than non-parents.

    AMC

    Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, extrapolated over 18 years, shows you are going to miss a whole lot of TV.

    10. You will also work out 1,404 fewer hours over those 18 years.

    Fox

    A Pediatrics study found that both moms and dads worked out less and had a higher BMI (body mass index) than their peers without kids.

    11. Your preschooler will require your attention 210 times a day, or 76,650 times per year.

    Flickr: tanya_little / Via Creative Commons

    That’s every four minutes, every single day.

    12. And, despite it all, you will be happy.

    ABC

    A Pew Research poll found that children were a significant source of happiness for parents, and nearly twice as meaningful to them as anything else in their lives.

    Are you a parent or parent-to-be looking for a little help figuring things out? Sign up for the BuzzFeed Parents newsletter!