I'm due to have a much-wanted baby next year. It's mine and DH's first child and will probably be our last, given my age (I'm 36, soon to be 37).
However, since falling pregnant I've been reading some of the child-related threads on Mumsnet and it's made me really question whether we've done the right thing in ttc.
There's one thread in AIBU right now where the OP talks about how difficult it is to hold down a job with a young child, with lots of posters who describe trying to juggle everything and how stressful it is.
I've read other posts where people say they can't wait for the kids to go to bed every day so they get some adult time. Then there are the threads where people say they wish they hadn't had kids at all, because the reality is so different to what they'd expected - which also makes for quite terrifying reading.
I'm worried that this child is going to make our lives so incredibly difficult and stressful and that we'll massively regret the decision to start a family.
It scares me that I'm doomed to be stuck in sick-stained joggers with greasy hair for the next five years, with barely any time to use the toilet, let alone take a shower. I've read other MN threads where this is the experience people describe.
Please tell me there are some good sides to having a child and that it's worth all the stress? Or do lots of people genuinely regret having their kids and wish they were still child free?