I don’t mean their birthday, I mean your birthday.

Surely I can’t be alone in thinking birthdays are better when you become a mum?

I’m celebrating my seventh birthday as a mum this year and I’ve come to the conclusion that grown-up birthdays are a whole lot better when there are little people around.

With the exception of ‘big’ birthdays, between being a child myself and being a mum birthdays became a bit, well, boring. That’s all changed since the arrival of the kids though, and here’s why.

5 ways birthdays are better when you’re a mum

1. The day becomes an event again. The kids count down the days, there’s lots of whispering about presents and their excitement is contagious. You find yourself looking forward to your birthday in a way you haven’t since you were a child yourself.

2. There’s the potential for more presents. One from each child, if you’re really lucky.

3. There’s a chance you’ll get an afternoon off in the lead up to the big day, when your other half takes them into town to buy the aforementioned presents. Which is a gift in itself.

4. It’s an excuse to eat cake. Buying or making a cake when it’s just you or you and your other half around seems a bit extravagant, but when there are kids in the house it’s expected. Because like my oldest quite rightly points out, you can’t have a birthday without cake.

5. You can blag a day off. As a knackered mum you can legitimately milk your birthday for all its worth: no dishwasher emptying, no washing machine loading and definitely no wiping. Because with the exception of Mother’s Day, if you can’t have a day off on your birthday, then when can you?

Have you found birthdays better since becoming a mum (or dad)? Do you find yourself getting more excited than you did pre-kids? I’d love to know!

If you liked this you may also enjoy reading:

10 simple ways to look after yourself as a mum

Things I wish I’d known about my lady bits

10 weird ways pregnancy changes your body

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