Do you have to give up Gaming when becoming a parent?

5 years ago when I was still in Uni I was an officer in a hardcore World of Warcraft raiding guild. We were the 3rd best guild on the server and aiming ambitiously for the number 1 spot. Our raidleader/guild master was amazing. He was calm, collected, had great overview and... his wife was pregnant.

Will diapers replace my keyboard and mouse?

A month before the due date, he announced that he was not going to renew his subscription when it ran out and that he would be quitting World of Warcraft cold turkey as he didn't feel he would have time for the game when his child was born.

The entire guild of course was shaken, but I think the most prevalent feeling was confusion. Can you not have a gaming hobby when you are a parent?



Now years later I find myself in the same situation. In less than 3 month I am suddenly going to transform in a mother. But does the addition of the honorary title of mom mean that I have to give up all the other titles that is now identifying me? Do I stop being a gamer, a nerd, a girlfriend, a friend, a daugther and a colleague?

This might sound controversial, but even though I have always wanted children I have also always been terrified that it would end my playfull existance. I love gaming and nothing is more relaxing to me than sitting down during a weekend and "waste it away" in front of the screen playing one of the many hundred games I have collected through my life.

So in 3 months will this all have to end? Will I no longer be able to pop on Skype with my friends for a 1.5 hour gaming session of Dungeon Defender? Will it be the end of wasting 3 hours messing about in the Sims 3? Can my boyfriend and I not get so emerged in a session of Path of Exile that we forget time and get to bed way too late (at least way too late for poor low energy pregnant me?).

I suspect that the answer is yes and no. I think my gaming habbits will have to change. I wont be able to dedicate myself to a 5 hour first kill attempt on the newest raidboss, but I will probably still have time to build a couple of houses and lay down a road in SimCity before I have to pause the game and go on feeding/playing/diaper change duty.

I think it is important that when you become a mom you don't replace your other titles with this, but add it to the list of things that define you. I will aim to continue being a girlfriend, colleague, daugther, gamer, geek, while also being an awesome mom.

For all the gamer moms out there. How did you handle your transition into your new role? How do you manage to fit in gaming during your (I suspect) very busy every day life?