Did anyone not hate having a newborn?

[roarfeckingroar]

I'm pregnant with my first and quietly excited but having read the postnatal boards and general threads, it seems like everyone talks about the abject horror, misery, loss of identity, physical pain of a newborn / early months.

Is it going to be that awful? Did anyone not hate it? Did anyone enjoy it?

Or have I made the biggest mistake of my life, which is soon to be not even my own life anymore?

I loved it. I didn't expect too much in terms of sleep and I was happy to spend hours cuddling. It was lovely

It was utterly hellish for me, but I still didn’t hate it. It was just indescribably difficult.

I think it's important to acknowledge that some people don't like the newborn phase and that's fine. The last thing a new mother needs at 3am when she's exhausted is to feel guilty for not loving every minute. I think it's also important though to acknowledge that things change very quickly with a baby and if it's shit, it will get better (and the reverse). To be honest, I don't find it any better or worse than not having a baby just different!

I absolutely loved it. I loved my maternity leave so much. I am expecting no2 and can't wait again! Although it is going to be very different with a 4 year old around

I loved it, so much so I’m doing it again! But the best thing is that every stage gets better than the one before.

If you haven’t got it already I’d really recommend the Wonder Weeks app, I think it costs £3 or £4 but it’s really worth it, it explains how your baby’s brain is developing so you can understand what they can see and do at various stages and why they’re more grouchy some weeks than others.

I didn't hate it with DS1 but nothing prepared me for the exhaustion I felt. Before having a baby I had no issues going out or staying up all night and then function for a day on little or no sleep. I naively thought I'd be fine ... nope totally different

Ds2 again didn't hate it big wasnt then highlight of babyhood

DD I've been enjoying it far more but I know she's my last so I've been making the effort to and not leg myself get frustrated by lack of freedom, sleepless nights etc

I loved it. I think babies are much easier than children tbh.

I enjoyed it but I was lucky to have an easy recovery from birth, a straightforward start to breastfeeding, and low expectations that were pleasantly exceeded. My son slept only 45 minutes at a time from birth (we had no sleepy initial 24-48hrs) and needed to be in physical contact with me to sleep, which was manageable at the beginning because I didn’t expect any different from a newborn. He kept this up for 15 months though and I did get very tired later on! But I loved the newborn stage. And actually from my POV every stage has its lovely bits as well as its tough bits

It was my favourite part. I was a single mum with no help at all and Dd had reflux and barely slept more than 2 hours at a time for 6 months, but I still loved it. The sleep deprivation didn't bother me.

I wasn't a fan of the toddler years though... give me a newborn over a 2/3/4 year old any day!

It's my favourite time wish it lasted longer I felt like a new woman had so much energy can't wait to do it again in a few weeks .

I agree that it is ok not to love it, and people should feel able to talk about that

One of my favourite parts!!! They are just sooo teeny and snuggly and smell so nice!! It was a dream for all 3 of mine.. they slept all the time and just woke up every few hours to nurse. It was a very relaxing time of snuggling nursing and watching Netflix. What helped is my older children each went to daycare part time so I could have alone time with the baby. I also slept with my newborn beside me in the bed so night feedings were easy. If you use a dock a tot they can have a safe little sleeping space. I personally find ages 1-2.5 so much harder when they are just basically wild little animals lol who are angry and frustrated with learning how to walk and talk and wanting to do everything themselves.

Over 40 years now but I still remember the newborn phase of both our children.
DH and I tend to reminisce (as old folk do) quite a bit, reminding each other of little things that we loved and some that we didn't
Some rose tinted specs being used here no doubt but on the whole it was a lovely experience and we're lucky enough to have been able to do just the good stuff with our 3 DGC's.

The sleep deprivation is awful but I was besotted with my newborns and there was lots of loveliness around too.
I did have a couple of meltdowns too
Once I found a rhythm and routine that worked, it got better.
Generally, it was a warm and fuzzy time.

Loved it. DD was so tiny i tucked her in my singlet to eat breakfast !

I struggled a lot with my first, I had a traumatic birth and subsequent PND plus he had colic from birth despite being BF and I just wasn’t expecting that. I felt incredibly overwhelmed.

I was fine with my next three DC though and quite enjoyed the newborn stage. It is absolutely exhausting and you do lose yourself for a while but it’s not all terrible. They sleep for 2-3 hour stretches so you have 2-3 hours to either sleep yourself or watch Netflix .

It's fine not to love it and while I loved my second, it was bloody hard with two.
First time round was wonderful and calm. I loved the newborn stage and thought they were so beautiful and delicate.

I love newborns! They are adorable! My first was a crap sleeper but I still loved every moment. My second is the total opposite - a very calm, placid, good sleeper. I'm making the most of him being this tiny as I know how quickly he is going to grow! I never felt motherhood as a loss or miserable - I can honestly say I'm the happiest I've ever been now (and already broody for a third!). Imo pregnancy and childbirth are the worst bits!

I think it's important to acknowledge that some people don't like the newborn phase and that's fine. The last thing a new mother needs at 3am when she's exhausted is to feel guilty for not loving every minute

This is a good point. Even those of us who are saying they enjoyed it will have had instances of exasperation, frustration and confusion over this new noise machine that didn’t come with any instructions

Just something to make you laugh about the beautiful, sweet newborn that you fall in love with...

Could I just add in here, because I think it’s important to keep this in mind...
Even if you DO have a hellish newborn experience , you can look at it with a silver lining. I’ve loved every stage we’ve entered and never found anything past the first 6 months too hard. There’s bad days, but generally I feel like I got my “worst” stage over first, and the Mums in my Mums group are lamenting how difficult the terrible twos / threenager years are etc and wondering where their easy babies have gone!

I absolutely loved it. Words don’t exist to say how much.

I loved it!! It was my favourite stage and I've done it four times! Nothing better than a squishy little cuddle bug! The first week or so is tough as you're struggling with discomfort and breast feeding and the sleepless nights but it's made up for with the lovely little baby.

Haha at the time I thought “oh he doesn’t look all scrunched up like other newborns”. Um yes, he did

I loved having my first newborn although I found I worried a lot about every single noise and feed. I did not enjoy my second newborn as I was already busy with DC1 who was by then a toddler and I felt turn in half.