11 Thoughtful And Funny Parenting Quotes From Jenna Fischer
Jenna Fischer has consistently made people laugh on TV’s “The Office” and “Splitting Up Together,” so it’s no surprise her takes on parenting are just as funny and relatable.
The actress and author of The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide has two kids ― Weston, 7, and Harper, almost 5 ― with writer and director Lee Kirk.
For her 45th birthday on Thursday, HuffPost gathered some of her most compelling quotes on motherhood, ranging from thoughtful to empowering to downright hilarious.
Check them out below.
On The Advice She Would Go Back And Listen To As A New Mom
“I think anything I would tell my younger self, my younger self wouldn’t listen to anyway. But [I would probably say] the same thing my mother told me when I became a new mom, which was, ‘Everything’s gonna be OK. You’ve got this. You don’t have to stress or worry, you don’t have to take anything too seriously.’”
On The Idea Of Having A ‘Post-Baby Body’
“It’s such a weird thing that after having a baby, you’re supposed to look like you’ve never had a baby. Well, I’m proud that I had a baby! I don’t see any harm in celebrating that.”
On Underestimating Herself
“I had really underestimated what I was capable of because, before I had [Weston], I thought I needed things that I didn’t really need. I want nine hours of sleep, but it turns out I don’t need it!”
On Expecting Her Second Child
“Everyone’s telling me one plus one does not equal two. One plus one feels like four.”
On Her Son’s Love For Ikea
“We lived sort of on a hill and we didn’t have sidewalks, so we would drive to Ikea when [Weston] was a little toddler. We would get coffee, and then we would let him toddle through Ikea, and then we would end with an ice cream. It was super safe, everything was really soft. But also he loved that there were arrows on the ground, he loved following the arrows, and then there’s the kids’ section of Ikea. Ikea really is the Disneyland for 18-month olds.”
And Her Kids’ Adoration For Target
“I thought it was funny the time they turned [a leftover box at home] into a Target. I was like, ‘I guess we’ve been going to Target a lot. We’re playing Target right now.’”
On The Body Image Pressures That Come With Having A Baby
“I’m actually angered by the ‘posing in a bikini six weeks after having my baby’ [trend] ... Who cares if our boobs are hanging low and we have a little more junk in the trunk? We created a human being, everybody. Let’s celebrate!”
On Her ‘Office’ Co-Star, Angela Kinsey, Having A Kid Before Her
“All I can say is thank God she stayed friends with me because I must have been so annoying to her! Until I had kids I just didn’t understand why she couldn’t go out to my birthday dinner at 9:30 at night. Then, of course, once I had kids I was like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I eat dinner at 5:30 now.’”
On Breastfeeding
“There’s this message out there that you can breastfeed yourself skinny. For half of us, it’s true, but for about half of us breastfeeding makes us hold on to a weight. Every time Weston dropped a feeding, I dropped a pound. My body wanted to hold on to the weight to feed him.”
On Keeping It Real With Her Mom Friends
“I’ve definitely sent my mom friends pictures of my kids’ poop when they were babies. The biggest thing when you have a baby is, like, the color of their poop, the consistency of their poop, what does this poop mean—it turns out green poop isn’t necessarily bad!”
On The Biggest Surprise Of Motherhood
“How much I love every single part of it, and how I have an endless supply of patience and energy I didn’t know I had in me. Even the grunt work ... I enjoy it!”
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
