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 adored it, I had 4!!
Each stage has its pros and cons I guess. Yes, you don’t get much sleep when they are babies but they are so totally captivating that you don’t really mind! Toddlers are exhausting but funny. Tweens can be rude but you see their personalities really settling. Teenagers can be tricky but also sometimes they tell you their inner thoughts.
Enjoy the baby stage, they are off to uni/work/life sooner than you know 😢!

I didnt hate having a newborn. The first few weeks were an emotional rollercoaster and adjustment but DH was super supportive and ds was a good baby.

However, the older ds gets (20 months now) the better and more amazing he gets so I look back on the newborn stage fondly whilst not wanting to go back to it iyswim.

The heavenly, intoxicating smell of baby head :).

Yep bf with ds was hell but largely because the expert midwives had lied. However ds was an amazing miracle. And dd a bigger one.

I hated the first week as neither of us were getting any joy from breastfeeding. After that I loved it but sleep deprivation nearly killed me off.
She then slept through from 13 weeks to 9 months when teething hit with a vengeance.
At times it’s hard because it’s not just you anymore, you have this whole other being that you have to think about all the time.
I think the first is more difficult because it’s all so new... you have no idea if what you’re doing is right and the worry over little things can sometimes be overwhelming
We’re now at 15 months and I long for the days of being able to put her down for 5 minutes and she’s still in the same place I left her, I’m lucky if I get 30 seconds to do anything.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing

I loved it, babies were small and snuggly, I had no major birth trauma (stitches after DC1) with any. I breastfed and co slept and had the perfect excuse to watch TV or read and have baby snuggles while I was looked after

I do sometimes think I am unusual in Mumsnetland as DH is supportive, his and my family are close, loving and understand boundaries

Hated it. Colicky baby didn't stop crying for 3 months. Day and night

I loved it, although I missed sleeping and my youngest 2 were c-sections so I was still in quite a bit of pain for the first few months after they were born. Loved everything else though, the way they look at you, the cuddles, the teeny tiny socks.

I loved it, it was a very happy time and I found it easy to look after a newborn.

I LOVED it. It was the best time of my life so far. I have three kids. First time was the easiest for me. It was difficult to deal with the sleep deprivation. But I had a supportive partner and we made it work. I only did housework that was necessary and I wanted to. The house was manageable and not a horrendous mess.
Me and the baby together came first. We had mornings in bed, cuddling feeding and drinking tea. We wandered the shops and meet people out for lunch. I did not succumb to pressure to go to every baby group going or meet early in the morning. We did life at our pace and loved every moment. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I breastfed which I think helped just in the sense it was easy to get out the door as I only needed nappies and wipes, no bottles or sterilising. But ultimately I don’t think it would make much difference, it was more that I put us - me and baby first.

The newborn phase was easy for us. Sleep, feed repeat. If anything I was a bit bored.

I didn't hate at all. Just sat around having cuddles, staring at my son, breastfeeding, watching Netflix and drinking tea!

Yes the sleep is hard. It is. But I was having lazy days so it wasn't like I was out for hours. I started going to baby cinema after two weeks which was lush and just went for little wanders and coffees.

I loved having a newborn. Much more than I thought I would.

I found the toddler years much harder though.

I loved having my newborns too. So much easier than older babies who move and toddlers!

I’ve been lucky enough to have three newborns, and I absolutely loved it. Nothing like newborn cuddles!

I loved it. Lots of snuggles on the sofa and no work pressures. To be honest I have loved every stage. Spent half an hour tonight chatting to my 13 year old before she went to sleep. She is becoming an amazing young woman who I am immensely proud of ❤

I found the newborn stage really lovely and chilled, especially with my first baby. Newborns are so light and portable plus can’t get up and move about themselves. Found it easy to get out and about as well as get stuff done in the house. My newborn slept a lot too. It was the older baby stage I found more difficult and the toddler stage very hard indeed. I know others who have said the reverse though.

Loved it.
I'm very jealous of you having all that lovely part of your life in front of you.
Enjoy!

No, it’s a culture shock, especially with your first, & it’s not always easy, by any means, but it is also a very special time. I even really liked the night feeds with dc3, 4 & 5 in particular (even though they were the 3 most awful sleepers 5(2) still is. It was the only time it was truly me & them, no tv, no siblings, not even any traffic noise. Just us.

They don’t throw almighty strops for anything/nothing at all either

I loved it, so much so that I now foster newborns (my own children are 28 and 29).

I loved the newborn stage for lots of reasons. I had awful pregnancy sickness so once each baby was born - I have 3 DC - I was just so delighted not to be nauseous or vomiting anymore that the tiredness etc just didn't seem that important.

I was also lucky to have found breastfeeding easy each time, and we co-slept too, so for me, when I think back to the newborn days, I remember it as a blissfully cosy time of feeding on the sofa, or in bed, reading lots of books on my Kindle (less so with second and third DC of course). The newborn stage is a joy, for me.

In contrast I find the toddler phase horrific tricky: physically demanding, messy, loud. Luckily my youngest is nearly 4, so those days are behind us.

I hope you enjoy the newborn stage OP - my advice is to really immerse yourself in it if you can. It flies by.

I'm pretty introverted though so staying at home all day with someone who doesn't talk is pretty much my thing!

Ha ha, this is me as well.

We were lucky that DH gets 12 weeks paid paternity leave, so I had a lovely time with our newborn. Sleep was interrupted but I never felt sleep deprived as DH would get her up and hand her to me. Those early weeks were just about us as a family (and help from wider family - my mum dropped off most of our meals for the first month) and it was lovely to focus on simple things and exploring the local area with our baby.

Love having a toddler now. I'm dealing with more of it on my own, but I make use of loads of outside activities and classes. This has the advantage of outsourcing a lot of the need for new ideas, social interaction and dealing with mess, but still able to have bonding time with dd.