Anyone who actually enjoyed the first few months with a newborn?

[Marghe87]

I am just hoping to hear some good stuff from women who actually enjoyed the first few months of motherhood.

I read a lot about all the hard bits: breastfeeding, sleepless nights, colic, teething, being tired and feeling lonely etc etc… But I am sure that the goods somehow overcome the bads (I think?! Otherwise I don't understand why people would have more than 1 !). So have the first few months of motherhood been good for any of you? Or is it just tiredness and desperation one has to expect? :)

Me! All four time I absolutely love it. I had a relatively easy recovery from the births (c-section each time), found breastfeeding easy, had lots of support from my family & dh managed to have a reasonable amount of time off work. I have a post birth euphoria that lasts for months.

Nope.

4 children, youngest 6 months. None of mine have slept, still breast feeding every hour or so throughout the night, but I LOVE the newborn stage!

The first couple of months are absolute bliss compared to the carnage of the toddler years!
I’ve got two toddlers, and if I could shrink them down to newborns again and keep them that way forever, my life would be a million times easier!
Once you’ve figured out the basics of keeping the first one alive and make it sleep for more than 20 mins at a time, it’s plain sailing...they stay where you’ve put them - there’s no chance of them running away, you can go meet a friend for coffee and pretty much guarantee the baby will either sleep or feed through the entire thing. They don’t eat mystery substances, or swallow small household items that have to be fished out of poo, and they are oh so quiet (unless they are hungry/tired/poopy and that’s usually easily remedied and they are quiet again). Newborns don’t throw an epic tantrum because you’ve given them the wrong colour cup/wrong shaped sandwich.
Toddlers are loud, noisy, relentless little dictators
Newborns are beautifully quiet, cuddly, sleepy creatures.
Newborn wins this game of top trumps for sure!

Much prefer toddlers to babies! More fun and proper little personalities!

I love the newborn. It and it’s over too quickly. A baby who justs feeds and sleeps on your chest is easy. A nine month old baby who howls every time you’re not in sight and throws spaghetti on the floor is not so easy!!

Baby boy is 5 months. Except for a tummy bug recently, I have loved it.

They were definitely the toughest few months for me and she slept through from 7 weeks so don't know how I would have coped if I had a baby that didn't sleep well.

I still enjoyed it though, loved looking down at her wee face and then when she started smiling I felt much more appreciated.

My favourite spell was from 3/4 months to around 9/10 months when she started crawling. She used to be so content and would happily sit and play with a toy. She was always so happy and content, to be fair still is like this always happy. Wish I cld be like her sometimes lol

I loved it. So much that I remember being incredibly broody again at about 5 weeks in when I started getting to sleep a more reasonable amount again. I had a horrible pregnancy, hyperemesis mixed with SPD and with hindsight a side order of antenatal depression. I felt enormously better almost as soon as they delivered the placenta and even though I had a difficult birth and was quite tired and sore afterwards still was just so much happier than in late pregnancy.

I loved sitting on the sofa breastfeeding and eating biscuits. My baby would happily lie on a mat or in the swing while I had a shower so I always had time for a shower every morning. She wouldn’t sleep anywhere but on me during the day but after the first few weeks would sleep quite well in our cosleeper crib.

Obviously there were some downsides like healing from an episiotomy and sore nipples and feeling guilty for wanting to just sit on my sofa and cuddle the baby rather than dragging us out to baby groups. But overall it was a lot easier than the second six months which I didn’t enjoy anywhere near as much.

People seem to delight in warning you about the horrors but I’ve found it seems to all just get better and better as well as throwing up new stresses and challenges. I hate that ooh you think pregnancy sucks, wait till you have a newborn. Ooh you think it’s hard having a newborn wait till you have a toddler. Ooh you think having a toddler is hard wait till he’s a teenager. Like people are wanting to stress you out. Don’t listen to them. We all find different stages harder/easier/more fun but in the end there’s a lot of joy even in the hard stages and most people choose to have another one so it can’t be all bad!

@femalepresentingnipples thank you for your words

I didn't enjoy the newborn stage, I found it such an overwhelming and thankless slog. But the good news (or bad, depending on how you look at it) is that each stage is over almost as quickly as it begins. I much prefer the toddler stage, so much fun watching their little personalities develop and getting a decent night's sleep.

It definitely didn't put me off having more though!

Not with my first.

My second though, oh my!
Overwhelming joy and utter utter wonder at this amazing beautiful perfect miracle.
After years of infertility and then 7 miscarriages we gave up all hope of ever having a second child.

So I drank in every single moment of this baby, I would just sit staring at him breathing, wriggling, smiling, burping, farting, and hold his had.
It amazed me.
Loved it.

I'm currently feeding newborn number 4, who is four weeks old tomorrow. Newborns are great! They eat all of your time, but they are not complicated. My days are very simple at the moment and that is fun...(elder DC are all at school!)

Also, they smell great, you might get a post birth high which is awesome, people feed you cake and coo over the tiny human that you made which feels awesome, everyone is pleased to see you, people tell you that you look great a lot!

I have 4 children and adore the newborn stage. My youngest child started sleeping through 7-7 at four weeks and I was devastated

I absolutely loved it

Yes I had broken sleep at night, but I also had naps during the day and so many snuggles in bed or on the sofa

DDog and I went for lovely walks with DS in the sling, I went to the baby screenings of grown up films at the cinema, I watched hours of terrible TV while breastfeeding and eating flapjacks

I would do it again in a heartbeat. They were my happiest, most relaxed days

I absolutely adored the newborn stage, I genuinely enjoyed every single part of it. I just found it amazing that I could sit for hours with him just sleeping on my chest and it was the best thing ever. Enjoy op! Everybody finds different stages better/harder than others so even if you find the early days hard you can relax knowing the best is yet to come for you!

I loved it. Loved it. I hated being pregnant with a burning passion despite very very easy pregnancies both times. I was so terrified with my first, I thought I'd die of not sleeping having never been a night owl ever, I'd never pulled an all nighter or anything. I was scared I'd be stuck on the sofa, I need to be up doing stuff. I wondered if I'd made a horrible mistake. And then my first was born. I loved her so much, it was that which overwhelmed me more than anything else. She used to have a 6amish feed and she'd go back to sleep for an hour or two if I put her back down but I didn't, I just used to make a green tea and hold her snuggled on the sofa and look at her while I watched Sky News with Eamonn Holmes. She was a late spring baby so from 2.5 weeks in when DH went back to work we'd go out in the morning and she napped in her pram then out in the afternoon while she napped in her pram. I vividly remember walking round the park and sitting in a bench to MN with a bottle of this bizarre lemon water I used to make, it was amazing. The best time of my life. She had a bit of silent reflux and I hadn't wanted to bf anyway so I ff and it worked well for us. I used to bath with her every night (DH works v close to home so was around in the early evening) and then he'd take her for dressing and a feed while I washed and did little bits I needed to. With my 2nd it was a bit harder because I had dd too but he was a late Autumn baby so we'd do the school run then go for a long walk and then just snuggle on the sofa until school run time again. There were hard bits, dd had silent reflux as I said so there was lots of pissing about with bottles/ formulas/ Gaviscon etc but she wasn't too badly affected. DS developed wild reflux, he puked A LOT and I'd forget he'd been sick in me and do the school run with a white patch going from my shoulder all the way down my top and not notice until I got home but I didn't care. Both mine walked early and I found it very hard going from there, they're both stubborn little mules and would try to slip the hand and run off. I'm rambling on here but I'd give anything to keep them as newborns. I'd have loads but I hate pregnancy and don't enjoy toddlers as much!

I loved it 💖 its not easy but was absolutely in a bubble of sleepless love and cuddles. I was in awe of what my body had made. Of course there were hard bits but although mine is only 10months now id still love to just get even 1 more day of newborn him

I love, love loved it. I was amazed this beautiful boy was created by myself and my DH.
The down side was that it goes so very quickly. I loved watching him grow and develop, just amazing !!!

With my first I had pretty bad anxiety, partly because he was ill when v small and partly the shock of going from my life with a high pressure job, doing what I wanted, to being on mat leave with a small human holding me hostage! So whilst there were lots of moments I loved, I did find it all a bit stressful. I currently have a 4 month old and am loving every minute with him, even the stressful sleepless ones . He is a pretty 'easy' baby but I'm guessing at least part of that is down to being relaxed as he's my second.

I loved it :) just remember to put everything into perspective. I look back fondly on those early days xx

I loved having little babies. It's the only time in my life when I have felt really fulfilled. It was really tiring though and that goes on for a long time. Try to relax and enjoy your baby. They are only little for a very short time - everything else in life can wait.

I agree alwaysaworrier fulfilled

My son I did enjoy it, my daughter I did not. Both my kids hate sleep. My daughter also cried all day due to reflux. Then when my son came along I was prepared for being knackered and lots of crying and he didn't cry much. He catnapped but I was so ready for no sleep I was ok. I did hit a brick wall every so often when my sleepless nights crept up on me with him, but overall enjoyed it. Knew what I was doing. Had friends and got out and about. Everything around me set me up for a more enjoyable experience.

Don't listen to anyone who tells you what to do.trust your instint .go with it.and enjoy your Baba as it goes far to fast they are baby's five min