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?

It's a good point that babies don't need entertaining. Yes they are completely incapable of doing anything else for themselves, and they eat and poo relentlessly, but they do sleep a LOT. They just don't sleep for long periods at night and generally sleep better in the day. Make the most of this and asside from having the luxury of sleeping when the baby does when you only have one, try and get out and about, get baby used to sleeping in a pram amornsking and it will do you loads of good. I highly reccomended finding out which cinemas locally do parent and baby screenings so you can watch films while baby sleeps through it. You don't have to be on house arrest.

I loved having a newborn.

Newborns are easy! I loved it both times, even with my 'difficult' second DC.

I think if this is your first baby AND things like feeding go smoothly AND your baby doesn’t have reflux or colic AND you have a certain mindset, it can be bliss. Having other children - particularly young ones who are at home and also need a lot of attention - can really complicate things and make it difficult to enjoy the baby. We had quite a hard time with my firstborn, mostly because of difficulty establishing breastfeeding/my determination to do it, but also because initially we tried to conform to the sanitized ideal of lovely baby who goes down in their cot with no crying. Once we’d worked out that wasn’t going to work for us, Everyone got a lot more sleep and things became a lot brighter. With hindsight, as they grew older too, I realised that actually having a newborn can be the easiest part, because toddlers and preschoolers are exhausting, and even older babies are hard work. With my youngest, my older children were at school, I’d worked out that cosleeping worked best for us and so never bothered stressing us both about going into the cot, and I’d cracked breastfeeding and knew how to establish it well. The newborn period was bliss - I got enough sleep, I watched a lot of tv during the day, delighted in all the snuggles, and took loads of outings, because she slept easily and for long periods, was easy to feed out of the house, and easy to carry if I wanted to wear a sling. I have never felt the loss of identity thing so once the other factors came together it was great. So I would say it depends, but if circumstances are right it can be wonderful! I hope it comes together for you xx

Just remember this is a place to vent when things are going crap. Noone comes on here and says I love my children my husband my home my life. My first baby was an incredible experience. We had beautiful times together. I do miss it. I'm now tired with 3. But I still wouldn't change it for the world

The newborn phase, and every phase after, has been so lovely. I've absolutely loved every second. Initially breastfeeding was hard, but after that bump all was well. I'd hear other mums in my NCT group talking about how difficult and tiring they were finding it all and I often found myself just nodding and pretending I could relate, but I couldn't. Because it wasn't difficult and I never felt tired (even though she's never been a great sleeper). I was loving it all.

I can't wait to have another newborn and hope I have the same experience.

I loved it. And I slept loads better than while I was pregnant too.

For me, it absolutely depends on the child.

I hated it the first time. I’d had a difficult birth ending in a forceps delivery and my DD was a highly strung baby with terrible colic. She screamed pretty much continually for the first six weeks of her life. It truly was awful, I’ve never been so tired and I wondered what the fuck I’d done to my life to be brutally honest.

My second was a dream. I had an easy birth, and he’s the most chilled little thing. He slept well early on and I spent some lovely afternoons on the sofa just gazing at him while he slept. I also had the benefit of knowing how quickly the newborn phase goes when I had my second. He’s now ten months and doesn’t want to be cuddled any more, he’s nearly walking and in to everything.

I apparently had an easy baby but I didn’t enjoy it when it was all new.
But I had issues with breastfeeding and tongue tie and long c section recovery and pnd

I’m pregnant again and keep worrying about the newborn stage but I’m hoping I recognise these things before they start making me miserable and I’m more hopeful of enjoying it this time round

I liked it. We didnt have many issues with breastfeeding etc and she slept quite well for a newborn. All day I just watched TV and cuddled her, it was lovely and easy. But I have low standards for housework etc - I think people feel like they have to be cleaning and tidying whenever the baby is sleeping which just makes you stressed!

Having a newborn is a piece of piss. They sleep most of the time, breastfeeding means no faffing with bottles/sterilising & its the perfect excuse to chill and binge on Netflix! 12-18 months was a lot harder as they're mobile without being able to communicate

I didn't hate having a new born. Of course I didn't like the terrible tiredness but that didn't last forever.

Don't be scared, op, we are all different and it's perfectly natural for people to post about negative experiences on a forum like this which is meant for sharing.

I’m 9 weeks in with my DD and I haven’t yet understood the ‘ooooh just you wait..’ ‘you’ll never sleep again!’ ‘Good luck!;)’ ‘make the most of your freedom’

I am absolutely loving it. I even love getting up at 5am when she starts stirring for a bum change and feed, it means We get you and get a full day in. Lots of cuddles, playtime and talking.

I use a sling which she sleeps in so I can still get the housework done and have time to have breakfast and lunch.

As cliche as it sounds, being a mum has genuinely given me purpose. I just love to look after my little person.

My anxiety about going places alone has gone away, I love to take her to the shops and for walks.

Honestly, take no notice of what people say, everyone is different and if you want to enjoy it, you will.

I loved the newborn stage . My son was a great sleeper, fed well and apart for a vivid colic was an absolute dream My son is now 5 and seriously hard work. We've been TTC for 3 years but no luck . When we do/if eventually have another I'm praying it's as easy a ride as my first

I liked it, done it three times now. Obviously there are moments when it is hard and you're exhausted but overall I'v found it to be a lovely time. I am very laid back though so not sure whether this helped when baby hasn't been 'following the routine' etc. Enjoy your baby op.

I found it truly amazing and have loved being a parent. Yes it's tiring and some days are hard but that's just life. Newborns just want to be cuddled, fed and spend a lot of time asleep.

Oh and I had my own blip the first two weeks because I was so pro breastfeeding and apparently so was everybody else because even when I realised I didn’t have enough supply no matter how much she fed, everyone just kept telling me to keep trying. It was only when the health visitor cane and I said no, I’m not doing it anymore, it doesn’t work for either of us. She said absolutely fair enough and that stressing about it will just increase risk of PND. So don’t beat yourself up when things that work for some people don’t work for you. It’s your baby, your family and your life. Do it your way. X

I had forgotten that DC2 had colic and reflux. I also had a toddler. DC2 didn’t sleep day or night and cried so much ALL the time. I tried to carry her around on a sling inside the house just so I could use my hands. I ended up getting a childminder to look after/carry the baby during the day as I could not cope. I remember crying on the phone that I didn’t want her. DC2 is five now and at school.. I didn’t think I’d ever forget it but it seems I did - that or I erased it deliberately from my memory.

DC1 was really enjoyable though. An easy baby who slept four hours straight from a couple of weeks old. I adored being in my own with my baby.

DC2 has a very kind personality but is still harder work than DC1 even now.

I absolutely adored it. And I know I'm probably not supposed to say this, but after working in a stressful and tiring job, maternity leave was like an extended holiday. I felt like a new woman :-)

I'd go out for coffee with friends, potter round, nap, mostly with a baby in a sling, and I'd pop her on the boob for 15 mins every 3 hours or so.

My PFB DS is 15w and I have genuinely never been happier.
It's certainly been stressful (lack of sleep, 'purple crying', nappy blowouts, trip to A&E with high fever etc) but it is so worth it to see his happy little smile.
I'm lucky in that my DH is a great dad and helps when he can (though works long shifts).
I've found baby classes and coffee with 'mum friends' really help, especially as you realise we are all having similar issues.
I already feel he is growing up too fast, it's so magical when they're tiny!
I do feel whether you enjoy it or not depends on your personality type as well as on how 'difficult' the baby is but, at the end of the day, they're only little once and it is such a blessing to be a mum.

I loved it! I've never been a great sleeper anyway but weirdly found it easier to as they advise 'sleep when the baby slept' randomly.

I liked the feeling of cocooning for a few weeks with the newborn and focussing entirely on her.

I liked doing all the Bottles and all of that.

I loved how gorgeous and tiny they were and how much they needed me.

I loved all the cute clothes

And I loved all the first times for everything.

I've got two teens now and although we have lots of fun they can also of course be quite challenging and I sometimes really miss when they were tiny.

Depends on type of baby you get, some like mine just scream non stop and you can’t even get to loo/heat food mind you to a cafe, then it’s a completely different story

I love the baby stages. It was really hard though until someone told me to relax and ignore those talking about "spoiling" babies. They reminded me that babies had spent 9 months having every tiniest whim dealt with instantly. They didn't feel hunger, cold, discomfort, wet nappies, scratchy clothes, nor were they ever not being held by their mother who loves them. Nothing was to light or too loud. Suddenly they're out and everything is different. The least I could do is nurse on demand and hold them close when they needed me. Even if it's just strapping them to me in a moby wrap and going about my day. After that it was a breeze and they quickly grew in confidence to self settle and to sleep in their Moses baskets etc. It's a massive change to begin with but if you embrace it it is much easier. My lot are 13, 10 and 7 now but have been pretty independent from around 2. Self soothing because they knew I was always there for them if they needed me but encouraging them to be brave and go in their own beds etc.

My favourite part too and I have 3 + step DD.

My last one was amazing and you would have thought it would be the hardest with others running around - enjoy it! It goes so bloody quickly 😞

Genuine confused here, why would a screaming baby stop you from peeing? A sleeping baby if you're stuck on the sofa fair enough (though thank goodness for slings for this reason) but if they are already awake, then what difference would it make (either carrying baby or putting in basket/floor briefly?