No more horror stories! What was the best part of pregnancy/newborn life for you?

[dollymixturelulus]

I need some positivity!

The three weeks between stopping work with my first and the baby arriving. They were very relaxing.

Just remember staring at my beautiful boy for hours thinking how magical life is. Oh and sniffing his gorgeous head. It's awesome OP. Congratulations 🥳 💐💛

I now have a hormonal teen on my hands. And I adore him too 😊

All his kicks and movements in my belly and contact naps for however long afterwards. He was my little koala baby and I can't wait to do it again with DD in ~8 weeks 🥰🥰🥰

As my newborn was given to me, he looked up at me as though to say :So that's what you look like'!!! A moment I shall always treasure.

Loved feeling the baby kicking while I was pregnant. Found giving birth a positive thing as felt really connected to my body in a way I don't usually. I had home births and all four went well, three without pain relief which is why I felt that body/Mind connection I think.

I enjoyed breast feeding and loved the first six weeks as it goes too fast and then they move from snuggly stage to more active stage.

Dead of night breast feeds. Just me and the baby, I was all they needed, the perfect quiet and stillness.

When you feed and then they just drift off to sleep. On you because you are their safe place and they feel absolute peace with you.

Oh, and then someone brings you a cup of tea and a biscuit because you can’t move because the baby is asleep on you!

Ahh OP I just loved it looking back. I was very intentional with my time in later pregnancy and spend lots of time napping, practicing hypnobirthing, seeing friends and walking the dog. Labour was an amazing (vomit filled but amazing) experience. The first few postnatal weeks were beautiful but hard. I pushed myself day 3 when I woke up crazy full of energy and had to clean the house etc which is soooo not me!

if you’re expecting, I wish you all the best on this special part of life

Feeling him move inside me in the dead of night- the most intimate feeling ever, just you and them. Thought I’d loathe it and find it odd- quite the opposite

Thank you, I love these.

I didn't think it would happen for a long, long time so the horror stories are somewhat more easy to believe!

Vomit filled but amazing has made me really laugh thank you.

The thought that you made a baby inside you that is now an actual human being. Milk drunk face. Introducing them to friends and family. Just holding a newborn for hours.

The newborn noises
the squeaks and grunts and little murmurs
I could feel my heart filling up with each one

The milk drunk smiles on their faces when they go to sleep after a big feed
Breastfeeding in general, especially lying on my side when they snuggle in and we felt like pieces of a jigsaw just designed to fit together

From when the vomiting stopped in my first pregnancy (13ish weeks) to when the pelvic pain really kicked in (not sure, maybe 36/38 weeks? But it disappeared almost instantly post-partum) I felt AMAZING. Work was the least stressful it's ever been despite working on a huge objectively stressful project, and I was so happy and felt beautiful despite being the size of a house - I put on 20kg and loved it. I loved feeling baby move and it was just miraculous and amazing. I thought I'd grown spiritually as a person but it turned out to be hormones, sadly!
Smelling his little head, feeling him go to sleep curled up on me when he was tiny, feeding him once we got over the initial difficult bit and watching his little chin move as he swallowed, the point when he started smiling and recognising me and putting his arms up to me.... amazing. Pure love. Also, second baby when I was less scared and stressed, the whole newborn period was great. Birth was so easy I literally felt like I could do it once a week, the adrenaline rush was phenomenal, and going to sleep with her the first night knowing that this would be tiring but I'd be fine, and all the same early days stuff of how tiny and snuggly she was. Lovely!
Now they're 6 and 9 and seeing them be kind to each other is the best bit. They're in a good phase at the moment, getting on really well 75% of the time, and it's great.

Giving birth and seeing my baby for the first time
Being in hospital with my baby and sitting staring at her all night
Night feeds just me and her
My baby smiling at me when I walk in a room
Sleepy cuddles in bed - currently snuggled up with my 4.5 month old

Feeling baby move in your tummy, a beautiful bump, listening to hypnobirthing tracks, home births, skin to skin with brand new baby, those first weeks with a newborn are just an oxytocin filled haze.

The little imprint of an ear on your arm when they fall asleep on you, I considered getting it tattooed on permanently I loved it so much!!

Like a PP I fount the birth to be really empowering, in both cases baby was out with less than 6 pushes!

With baby 2 I think I had the opposite of PND- I felt amazing. Everything was wonderful. I know it's not always like that, but sometime it is!

I remember initially seeing my eldest after a long but honestly managable labour. gallstones were worse!

His eyes were huge and I was in love. I loved his little mohawk thought he was the most gorgeous child ever.

I remember the night feeds in the early days, it felt like we were the only people in the world and him staring at me, probably wondering does she ever brush her hair 🥰.

(He now towers above me and moves in a cloud of lynx)🤣

The second arrived quickly and looked like a cute frog, he was as cute as a button and was such a chilled baby. Made the cutest sighs. He now quizzes me on my Minecraft knowledge!

One tip I remember getting from a midwife that helped. when labour starts your brain can go into panic mode, it's the adrenaline. Take a deep breath look at the clock and remind yourself this time tomorrow I will be holding my little one, it settled my mind.

Waking up at 5.30 every morning by baby two having her early morning kickabout. Just me and her.

Once they were out, baby one was just a happy little potato who loved to snuggle. Baby two took ages to uncurl (because baby one took up all the room!) and she was so small she'd curl up into a little ball like a kitten in the crook of my arm.

Now they are both taller than me and full of attitude. But every so often they'll get into bed and curl around me like kittens again.

First time around, watching box sets without feeling guilty about not working (I usually work 60 hours a week at least, all evenings and weekends)

@Marblessolveeverything that's a great birth tip, thank you!

I loved people being nice to me when I was heavily pregnant.

Pregnancy - feeling him kick inside when he was still very small. Like bubbles or butterflies inside. Not so much once he was tap-dancing on my ribs and head-butting my bladder.

Tbh the first 3 months, DS (now 14) was a grumpy little sod, he’d cry more than I imagined, wake every 3 hours, we checked everything, thought it was colic, dr just said he’s a grumpy baby... then bang on 3 months he stopped crying non stop, he would sleep from 9/10 pm until 7am... it was bliss. After that he was the most happy go lucky lad.
dd (now 10) was easy straight off the bat... now she’s a nightmare 😂
I think DS behaviour stems from him being born at 1am, we didn’t get settled on a ward until about 3... and so his routine was disturbed straight away and so took him time to get back into it. Dd was born at 7.35pm and so was asleep again properly by 9pm . Just a theory, not scientifically proven 😊