What are your unexpected joys of parenthood?

[milkyman]

Today I skipped and sang down Sainsbury's aisles with my 2yr ds. Life doesn't really get any better.

When the three improvise a really good choreography on a totally invented tune. It's hillarious and cute and makes me really, really proud - I can't sing OR dance OR anything remotely musical (DH is the musician at home).

How much fun you can have winding up your teens by being 'embarrassing'....

I was dreading the teens...it's hilarious!

I love seeing their characters develop. They are so sweet it sometimes makes me want to have more and then they start fighting.

Splendide, hang in there. I don't have PHD but I found the first six months as a parent incredibly hard. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Now DD is 16 months she beings so much joy into my life.

How warm DDs hand is when I collect her from school. Brushing her long, long hair. Hearing how excited she gets when she figures stuff out for herself.

How excited DS is to see me when I collect him from nursery. His adorable voice and the way he speaks, adding in loads of words when 3 would suffice.

watching old disney movies

I was a goth from the age of 11, and dismissed them all out of hand without seeing them.

I now make the DC watch the Lion King and Beauty and the Beast pretty much on a continuous loop. And I know all the words.

I just had a moment. Emptying dd's (6) coat pockets before I wash it and found wrappers, slide, gloves, lipgloss owl... Like a tiny window into her life separate from mine. Now I've written it down it sounds shit, but at the time I loved it...

I know what you mean about the coat pockets, finding stones they like, sweeties being saved and folded up leaves - it's great.

Seeing how my two adore each other (DS age 7 and DD age 4.5) is the most joyful thing, and something I didn't particularly think about prior to having kids. Of course they scrap occasionally, but essentially they think each other is great and laugh a lot together. When I look over and see them laughing together I feel so content. When I'm with DH and they're being cute together we look at each other and have a little kiss, because we're like, yeah - we did something good here.

Before you all had kids, did you all find kids cute and adorable, and think that the little joys of parenting would be this kind of thing?

(This may come across as a bit critical or something - it's really not intended to. I am currently depressed, thinking about TTC because I need to if it's ever going to happen, but can't see that I could be anything but apathetic, joyless and grumpy as a parent, which is what's currently stopping me... I find kids a bit noisy and in-your-face and overly intimate, and i know that would have to change if I were to be a good-enough parent)

Teenagers.
I was not looking forward to teenagers but they are great. Really great.

No, I didn't particularly like kids before having my own - but I knew I'd make some great children and couldnt wait to have them! (my first was born when I was 33).

I don't actually like kids, particularly other people's

I even work with the little fuckers

I am nowhere near your natural mummy of ikkle babeez but I seem to have done ok

ineedacleaningfairy

DS used to pronounce 'quack': 'cunt'. In a really deep voice.

Kiritekanawa not at all! Had no particular interest until I had a niece, and then my interest was confined to her, but nothing to what I feel for my own. Since having my own I am a lot more open and affectionate with other children too, as I see them through the prism of my own experience a bit more. A bit like having a dog made me disposed to like dogs more generally I suppose

I had a now or never moment, had never felt broody... Love my children fiercely now. Still get grumpy, give them entirely boring days, tear my hair out with the tedium of it sometimes...but genuinely skip with joy at others, and sometimes look at them doing something mundane but absorbing to them and think it's an extraordinary privilege to have them and watch them grow. It's what you make it, but for me the special part of motherhood is the juxtaposition of the insanely mundane with amazing moments of pure joy.

Earlier today I handed a squawking baby to my husband and left them all to it for ten minutes as I felt all touched out and couldn't take any more noise. In the afternoon I was whizzing down a hill on a tiny bike to big giggles.

Thank god for JesusInthe! I thought AnyFucker had killed the thread there!

Watching her eyes close as she drifts off I to an involuntary nap. The slow, heavy blinking, the way her eyes roll back - she looks blissed out

My 15 mo DD holding my hand melts me, the way she laughs and finds certain things so fascinating her attempts at talking and her absolute love of books.

Dd at 13m gives spectacular hugs. And she now joyfully hugs her soft toys and pats them on the bottom like we do her which is just so sweet. Seeing her taking pleasure in giving love.

Kiritekanawa, no, never particularly liked children. I can tolerate them a bit more since having DD, until I get to the point when they need to go away right NOW. DD is cool though, and I like most of her friends, and most of the time I like my friends' kids (generally people you already like tend not to bring up kids who are vile brats, I find).

Oddly though, I bloody LOVE cats since I got my own. :S

Unexpected joy of DD, and long may it continue, is that she makes friends easily. She's a lovely, sociable child who people like. Obviously swapped in the hospital, but I'm keeping her.

Love this thread. I never anticipated how much hilarity there would be - DS makes me laugh every day with his surreal stories and songs about jellyfish clocks, bouncing banana earthquakes and 'my golden sprinkle church' ?!?

Peeking in at him sleeping before I go to bed is also a nightly joy... though he may not be too impressed if I'm still doing it when he's a teenager. heh heh.

Lovely thread, I haven't read all of it yet but I love it when DS (2) gives DD (5.5 months)a kiss or a cuddle or strokes her face when she is crying.

And when he is pleased to see me and gives me a lovely cuddle. When kisses any bruises he sees on my legs. When he gives me a big kiss and I say "ooohhhh lovely thank you" and he smiles at me.

So very many lovely things.

It's also fabulous when he does something that I've asked him to do... Simple things like putting something in the bin or passing something to me for DD. He is such a sweetie.

I love DD's smiles. And how she lights up around DS.

kirite - opposite for me I think. Before I had kids I found kids cute and adorable and funny and thought it would be one long fun fest with a few hard bits thrown in.

Now I have realised although I can like children perfectly well as people, I struggle with the childish parts - I don't like them being sticky, I despise toilet humour, I don't like them being loud and shrieky and excitable and boisterous and in your face.

However - the overintimacy just isn't an issue when they are yours, really it isn't. I'm not the kind of person who got teary when they said I love you for the first time or finds my anger evaporating from a kiss/cuddle etc, but it's just nothing like an unrelated child being intimate.

You do sort of get used to the noise and when they are yours you can tell them to bloody well shut up (maybe a bit more nicely!) rather than having to wince and bear it. If you have one child then you can skip a lot of the mindless noise because that only really seems to happen with groups of children all together, but on the other hand if you have 2+ you won't have to do as much "playing" because they tend to go to each other for that.

What I do like is seeing them develop and grow as a person, some of the funny/cute observations through a child's eyes, and the older DS gets the better company he is and the more fun to spend time with too. It seems like most of the bits I'm not keen on tend to be mostly restricted to young children, too, so that helps especially if you're thinking long term.

With DD it's her laugh, the little giggle that escapes when something small delights her; it's the most innocent unaffected thing I've ever heard, I can practically see little musical notes float up to the sky.

With DS it's the pure physical pleasure he gets from being with me. He lays his cheek on mine, gets very still and I can practically feel his heart slow as he properly relaxes, because he's with his mummy.

honeyisbeepoo love your post!