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 baby DD thinks that DS is the most hilarious person EVER in the WHOLE WORLD.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Guess I probably do need to just get on with it then...

I now appreciate sleep (the kids and mine) more than I could ever have imagined.

I love my pillow. I'd like to spend longer with it.

When they let you have a lie in and bring you a cup of tea and breakfast in bed unexpectedly and unload the dishwasher without you asking as they can see you're getting frazzled but they're still young enough to want cuddles and snuggles on the sofa. Missing the baby/toddler early years but love getting to know my children and the people they're growing to be.

I love my pillow too, didireallysaythat. I miss it

It's a cliche but it really is different when they're your own. I'm still not that into kids in the general way. Other people's range from cute-at-a-distance to fucking irritating. But I would walk through fire for my own DD, and after she goes to bed me and DH sit around simpering in the most nauseating way about how wonderful she is.

Which isn't to say I never get touched out or tired or impatient of her twatting around like four year olds do. I also turn evil if I don't get any time off to read a book undisturbed. But mostly it's a joy.

The first year was crushingly difficult and I thought, often, I had lost my mind. But every second was worth it because my 4 year old DS is brilliant.
A few joyful bits among millions:
The way my DS (PFB & only child) holds my face with his little hands and says "I love you the best in the whole world."
Watching DH & DS play (gentle) lightsaber fights with one of the 3 million variations of lightsabers that have overtaken our home, with DS saying to his dad in his tiny voice "if you strike me down, I will become more powerful."
Watching him become utterly obsessed with space and planets and his little brain try to make sense of it all.
Helping DS learn to read and understand stories, whilst praying hard that he has my love of books and reading.
DS singing John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" in the car and him telling me (everytime) "this song is about me isn't it mum?"
Listening to his terrible fake American accent when he sings certain pop songs.
DS telling jokes that make no sense and have no punchline but make him laugh so hard it makes me and my DH laugh, so he thinks he has told a great joke.
...as I say, he is fricking brilliant.

I wasn't prepared for all the people I love, loving my little boy so much. It's amazing to see how happy they are just to get a little wave or a cuddle.

Having a best friend who is so wee yet so fun and lovely to be around.

After struggling for years with fertility I think about how lucky I am every day.

I loved putting sun-screen sticky boys in the bath after a really great summers day. I love them going in all sticky and sandy and coming out clean and soft. Wrapping them up in a nice soft towel. Their little heads nodding before you could get them into the cot.

Holding little soft hands

The little sigh when they relax and rest their heads on your shoulder.

They were just adorable. Except now they are 9 & 7 and are bolshy stinky boys. And it's great too.

His smell. And he's four. People always say ohhh, that delicious baby smell. For me, he still smells utterly edible. I sniff him a lot! Utterly divine.

And his soft beautiful skin. So precious.

The way his whole face lights up when he is laughing - shiny eyes, infectious little smile.

His crazy dancing. I like disco. DH is more rock/metal. I thought I'd have a disco baby, but he is a rocker!

I am pregnant again, and oh, my heart melts when he gets right up close to my belly and talks to the baby, telling her 'hurry up and come out. I can't wait to meet you!' (other times he tells me he doesn't want a baby though, as he doesn't like them. Oh well.) And when I tell DH that the baby is kicking and does he (DH) want to feel, a little four year old hand joins in trying to feel for kicks too.

Just DD. If I could have had her custom made to my exact specifications she wouldn't have been as perfect as she is!

Of course, she's not actually perfect - she's 5 feet & 10 years of mess, hard work and occasional lippiness, but she's the perfect DD for me and she tells me I'm her perfect Mummy .

Now she's older it's lovely to help teach her to become more independent and the feeling of pride when she manages new things and becomes more and more her own person. But she still likes me to cuddle her at bedtime until she starts to doze and still looks just like she did as a baby when she's asleep.

Splendide - keep trucking, it will come eventually. I had awful PND (it's the main reason DD is an only child tbh). I was diagnosed when she was 4 months. I have a photo taken of her at 5.5 months which is the first one I ever looked at and got the 'rush'. By 7 months we'd bonded and as you can tell we have a great relationship now. It's so hard to imagine things improving when you're stuck in the middle of it, but they can and they do. I'd really recommend the book 'Life After Birth' by Kate Figes. I found it hugely helpful in making sense of what I was feeling.

I'm nearly 49 years old and I still have an excuse to play on the swings and slides in the park

My two are teenagers, and I think still what I enjoy most is watching/ listening to them together. When they were tiny it was all "let's 'tend" as they played complicated fantasy games together (the best was when they got up on their own and played and dh and I could stay in bed).

Now it's when they counsel each other or just mess about together.

Of course they fight and argue too!

What I have found unexpected is just how much I enjoy spending time with them (and showing them off). They are both bigger than me now and really just at the dawn of their independent lives and I do marvel that dh and I made them not really so long ago.

I have a Dash Cam in my car and today I discovered how to watch the playback. I didn't realise there was sound too though, and amongst the singing (me) to the radio and the swearing at other drivers (also me), there are the conversations between Dd (8) and me. Most are absolutely heartwarming and have made me realise that I'm not as bad a Mum as I thought I was.

Today we played fireman.

I got stuck in the mud and Fireman (DS) would come and rescue me. Ten minutes later I would get a call

"Fireman mummy come rescue me please. I am stuck in the mud"

We might have been watching too many fireman sam

But this game lasted two or three hours

DS is 15, and just hit puberty, but he's still great fun to be with most of the time. He still likes curling up on the sofa with us to watch films, and he makes wise comments that startle me, or witty comments that crack me up. I love it when we're all chatting over dinner, and having a real relationship. I wasn't expecting that after my relationship with my parents at 15...

When my 4 year old wants to push her baby brothers in the buggy she says "mummy, you be the Darling and I'll be the Mummy". As I call all my children Darling she thinks all children are called Darlings!) So sweet.

This is the loveliest, loveliest thread! Have a big smile on my face and am almost tempted to wake DS to cuddle him (I won't though - obvs!)

I too love bed cuddles - in the day sometimes I just flop onto our bed and he laughs out loud and drags himself up too then collapses on me smiling and giggling.

I also burst with pride every time he claps himself for achieving something (19 months)

This sums it up best though - I finally realised how special and precious it all is and that the practical, tiring stuff really doesn't matter

bigtroubleinlittlenappies.com/2014/12/10/tiny-insignificant-motherhood/

I'm not sure if this really counts, since my baby hasn't been born yet but at 33 weeks pregnant we're more and more able to interact with her. I love it when my husband talks to or strokes my bump and she kicks in response or when I tickle her knees or feet and feel her wriggle. She also has great taste in music and keeps dancing along to my favourite songs. I've spent a lot of pregnancy feeling anxious/ sick/ achey but at those moments when the baby responds to something we do I feel so happy and so excited about meeting her properly soon.

Discovering that a timid, shy, hesitant kid (me) can create a gregarious, confident, outgoing one That is so brilliant, I really hope I can manage that feat too!

DD is 3 mo and has a special noise she reserves for the things she really loves - her rag doll and her mobile. Her face lights up and she croons "gooo" (with lots of slobber, but never mind). Then this morning I went to wake her up and she beamed up at me and went "gooo" and it was the best feeling in the world. She loves me!! My god she loves me!!!

I was just thinking about what to add when my 4 month old decided to roll over for the first time so I'll add that! I was so proud of her!

I also love her still moving her lips as if she's feeding when she's asleep.

And sometimes she looks at me with real wonder and smiles, it's like she's thinking wow my mummy is beautiful.

I also love hearing my DH do her bedtime nappy "ooh you pudding" "oy will you let me do your legs" "are you winding me up" "where you going" "squish!!" etc... She winds him up moving her legs and shuffling, she never does it to me so it's definitely a thing she does to tease Daddy.

The company/conversations are getting more intriguing as they grow older! My home is full of little grown ups now instead of just little kids.

My DD is 6 months and it's just more wonderful than I ever could have imagined, she makes me laugh all day long at the moment. Some of my favourite bits:

That moment when she finally gives in to sleep and her head rolls off to side. So utterly innocent, peaceful and precious.

Kissing her candy floss soft hair, particularly fresh out the bath. I spend my day kissing her hair (and little face).

The arm flapping, bouncing up and day and squealing when she gets excited, and how she gets excited about just about anything - but most of all when my DH walks in from work.

The giggles. The most wonderful noise in the world.

Her fascination with the tiny details of our world - a cushion needs five minutes of very careful, close up exploration. When she spots something and her whole body leans right in to explore it.

Oh, and when those super loud hand dryers or another new loud noise scares her, the bottom lip goes and the little cry starts - but a big hug from Mummy, a bit of a bounce and everything is ok. So gorgeous.

It really does get more and more fun every single week.

Still carrying a stone of baby weight from 11 month DS yet 3 year old DD has just informed me that the only thing that is stopping me from being a ballerina is the fact I'm not wearing a dress today.

DS is poorly and has been up through the night but it gave me time to sniff his shampoo'd, fluffy hair and inhale his washing powdery scent from his babygro.

Waking up to kisses off my 13 month old dd every morning without fail.
And that 6 yo ds is so funny and amazes me with what he can do and how much he actually knows about random crap! .
Being able to watch pokemon and dragon ball z again and snuggling up reading books with both of them sat fascinated by it (ds by the story and dd by me talking and she loves to try and read her own books)