Before I became a mommy, I had the same judgmental view of the procreating members of our society that many childless people have: I thought of them as old. Passé. Yesterday's news. Uncool. Not with it. Lame.

I didn't see this as a nerdiness that grows over time, determined by how high the elastic on your mom jeans rides up past your bellybutton. No, I saw moms as dumpy from the moment they are wheeled out of the hospital, bundled baby in arms.

Now that I'm a new mommy, I'm floored as to why our society would push this image of the loser mama, because not to brag, but I have never been more of a rock star.

No, seriously.

When I was in college, a night of partying would inevitably lead to sleeping on my desk during my 8 a.m. class the next day. Drool on my hands, clumped mascara making linebacker lines under my eyes, I'd lament the utter outrageousness of asking students to function so early. It's, like, not even right to torture your students. Ya know?

But now that I'm a parent, I look back on those long nights of partying in college as mere child's play. I used to think one Thursday-night keg stand session warranted a full Friday in bed. Pfft, amateur.

Nowadays, I am up all night, every night, hand wrapped around the bottle. And I don't just stay up late these days. Oh, no, I've got far more rock star status than that. Instead of simply staying up late as I did in my younger years, now I also get up multiple times a night, pulling myself from my warm bed, all in the name of rock(ing my baby to sleep).

If the outrageous sleeping habits of new moms aren't enough to secure every new mom's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the postpartum wardrobe should do it. Designed to elicit jealousy in the most enamored of rock groupies, new mommy clothes are made to be taken off as quickly as possible. Shirts open in the front; bra cups unclip; and pants are buttonless. Everything we wear is made with the intention of easy access. Perfect for Mardi Gras, spring break, breast-feeding your baby and getting your chest signed by your favorite musician.

And I thought going to class in pajamas was sexy.

It doesn't end there. Like a rock star on tour, I have mastered the 60-second shower, sing the same few songs every night and often wear the same clothes a few days in a row — occasionally inside out and backward. Because, ya know, like a rock star, I get dressed in the dark.

Rock stars have women throw their bras at them onstage. Sleep-deprived, I occasionally forget to wear a bra. They trash hotel rooms; my bedroom is constantly trashed by an onslaught of Cheerios and Goldfish. They are often found with drugs on them. I, too, travel with zip-close bags filled with white powder. The lifestyle similarities are endless.

Perhaps it is not the similarities between new moms and rock stars that should be surprising but rather their differences. We moms live this totally crazy rock-style life without groupies, roadies or any other kind of assistance. While the younger, cooler, childless demographic chugs energy drinks and pops Adderall to keep up with all the tasks at hand, new moms run on adrenaline. Rocking our jobs, bills, baby care, projects, chores, mealtime, cleanup, playtime, discipline, hugs, baths and shopping while relying solely on the pulsating energy generated from knowing that if you slack, if you drop the ball, you will bring on the apocalypse. Now, how rock 'n' roll is that?

It's time we change the world's perception of the mommy and have everyone see us as we truly are. Masters of our own REM cycle. Energy-infused. Bottle-clutching. White powder-toting. Occasionally braless. Multitasking wonder women.

Yes, as the years drag on, we may lose our cool a bit. We may wear jeans with elastic bands and use the wrong slang words. We may have outdated hairstyles and struggle to keep up on the latest tween star. We may not always catch all the balls we have in the air. But that doesn't mean we aren't just like rock stars.

Case in point:

Mick Jagger totally wears mom jeans.

Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/katiedidhumor. To find out more about Katiedid Langrock and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.