First time parents-to-be: don't you just love them?

[SoupDragon]

Was talking to one the other day and he said "Oh yes, we're all prepared... we've got the nurserypainted."

My how I sniggered to myself. And remembered that I was just as niave* pre-DS1. :)

I can never spell this sdding word!

Friend asked what maternity pads were for....

The hard part is knowing whether to smile and let them find out, or whether to attempt to remove their delusions. The poor woman with the baby waking every 2 hours could probably have done with advance warning! Although maybe someone did warn her, and she didn't believe it.

I used to think that, since babies sleep for 16 hours a day, you're only left with 8 hours when you have to look after them. This is the same as doing an 8-hour day in an office, isn't it? So what is so difficult? Fortunately I had the sense not to say this out loud to any parents!

Isn't it funny how everything when you're pregnant is leading up to 'the birth' - decoration, suitcase for hospital, birth plan etc.

And then life gets back to normal......

Or, that's when the trouble really starts!

"I was fine looking after the cat at night when he was poorly" pmsl :o

ah! but when you have number two don't you realise just what a doddle only having one was?

when i found out I was pregnant again when dd1 was 6 months I thought..well, it won't be too bad as by the time the baby's born she'll be talking and quite independent and I'll be able to reason/explain things to her!

lol at marthamoo and putting her cat down

It is a piece of piss with one compared to two, good god.

I remember when my mil took dd1 for the day and I was left with dd2 and it was so easy in comparison.

Actually HC you never can tell. Ds slept from 6pm to 10/11pm from about 3/4 weeks old (10pm onwards was another matter ). So my recollection of early evenings with a newborn are the only oasis of calm in the whole time. I know it is pretty unusual - the 6pm screaming/colic is more usual.

However I agree it is pretty funny to hear all the expectations. Can work the other way though. I always assumed our evenings would be a nightmare (niece and nephe both had bad 3 month vcolic and I remember even 12 years later how bad it was) but they were the calmest bit.

I think the bext thing is to expect nothing (easier said than done).

Mother nature wreaked her revenge on me for thinking i was a good parent when in fact, my first child was/is, in fact, a very good sleeper/feeder/eater etc. Had nothing to do with me at all.

DS, has been the total opposite. I love him to bits - he has taught me ALOT about humility....and eating humble pie.......

ha ha ZP . I also remember thinking 'when I go back to work he'll be almost 1 year old, he won't be a baby any more so that's OK'

I was guilty of "can't get him to stop crying" comment although in my defense the poor little fella was starving an my boobs were working very well.

Fortunately i found MN before the birth so was prepared for not being able to get any/much houseworky type things done and drummed it into dh too. He spoke to his sister and said "Piggiesmums worried she'll never be able to get anything done" and his sister said oh you'll do it while they're asleep!!!

Hers are 6 and 4.

I think she has a short memory!

She also has her parents on the doorstep and afaik doesn't know about MN :o

oh I know lazycow, it is just the tone of it "the baby will sleep...."
VVV my friend had two perfect children - and was Mrs Smuggy McSmug
then came the third one
hahahahahahahahaha

boobs weren't working

Actually I was TOO prepared

I heard all the horror stories and was so stocked up with cans and tins and frozen food that I have only just bunged most of it out and dd1 is 3!!

I was almost prepared for nuclear war.

Despite having two awful babies who never sleep I still manage not to live on Chicken2Nite

i was in denial that a baby would change our life. i painted what had been a nursery dark colours for a study for me (so the babies all had to sleep in a very adult themed room), we dug a deep fishpond in the garden (wtf were we thinking?) and i bought a new bike and squash racket shortly before the birth.

would babies change our lifestyle? absolutely not!

My best friend (no children) is forever saying "It must be so nice to only have to work part time"!

lol at all of these. the girl in the bed next to me when i had dd2 was a 1st timer. in the middle of the 1st whole night she was calling for the midwife every half an hour as her ds wouldn't stop crying. the mw kept saying 'he's just hungry dear' and the girl said 'no, he must be ill; he's never cried like this before!' and the mw said 'how would you know deary, he's only 10 hours old' pmsl!

also reminded of the card my year 10 class sent me when i went on maternity leave. one boy write 'enjoy your time off work, have a lovely relax with your baby'

Friend pre-baby -'Why would anybody sit their children in front of rubbish like the Teletubbies? I'd never let my children watch that.'

Then she had twins...

my most embarassing boob was when before children i had a friend's horse while she had a a baby. she'd had a c-section and when her baby was 5 weeks old i said to OH, i can't see what's up with x, she's not bothered by horse at all now shes got the baby - only been to see the horse once!!

Now, I was the opposite. I was telling everyone that my life as I knew it was going to end when the baby arrived and that even making it out to the shops would be a miracle. I really thought that I was overplaying it and that folk would say "ach it's not as bad as that", but nobody said that to me. And then I found out it was actually true!!

I was talking to a pregnant friend recently about DD2, who is a determined sort of two year old, and said that I find I do have to pick my battles and decide when to concede (admittedly, this is most of the time on account of my manifest inferiority).

"But isn't that up to her to work out?" said friend, with the blithe assumptions of someone who has never had to deal with a two year old...

MI, MNers who meet my 2yo dd2 keep saying, 'Ah yes, you should get together with MI's dd2, they'd get on well.' Never quite sure how to take that...

But I know where you're coming from wrt battles. Before dd2 I used to watch the tyrannical toddlers on supernanny/little angels with the detachment of a David Attenborough natural history programme. Nowadays I can see all too clearly that the only thing between us and them is a few bad weeks and no childcare...

"Children clearly need boundaries," I would say, smugly

Must broker that meeting, and stand well back...

MARTHAMOO....cant tell you how much im laughing at your post ...about ..... the ....caaaaat!