Are the first few months really that bad?

[LittleAmy]

I'm due to give birth to my first baby in July. I've heard that the first few months with a newborn are hell on earth. Is this true? Here are some of the snippets of 'advice' I've heard:

"Having a baby is like throwing a grenade into your marriage".

"You and your husband will fight all the time."

"Your relationship with your husband will completely change to one of point scoring and arguing over who does the most".

"He will look forward to his paternity leave ending".

"Your baby will demand feeding every few hours. Your boobs will be red raw."

"You might not be able to breast feed and thus feel like a failure of a woman".

"You will be knackered and hardly have the time/enegery to even wash".

"New born babies are boring. You don't get any feedback from them."

"Your house will be a tip. There will be no time or energy to tidy."

"A million people will want to visit - and remember your house is a tip".

"Also you look like a tip. No time to do hair and makeup."

"Sex drive takes a nose-dive. Almost becoming non-existent".

"You'll bleed for 6 weeks and it will hurt to pee."

"Postnatal depression - you become isolated and constantly weepy."

"Finish the nursery now because you will not have the time or eneregy to finish it once baby is here".

"You will lose any childless friends because you will not have time for them."

"No time to go out or even watch a movie on the sofa."

"3 hours sleep per night."

"Forget the things you love to do now - your love of books, video games, the gym, and the other things you do to unwind. There will be no time for leisure."

Sources for the above statements: books, forums, NCT classes, family and friends.

Strange how no one said these things to me when I was TTC.

[misschord]

Hi LittleAmy, my son is now 6 months old and I agree with BelleDameSansMerci - all of those things may happen but you will be so overwhelmed with love for your baby that you won't care.
It is very hard for people who haven't been through it to understand how much of a challenge it is to get anything done when you have a baby around, particularly if you are breastfeeding a newborn in which case you will be glued to the settee pretty much all day (no bad thing!)
As soon as it is possible, try to get out for a couple of hours and leave your DH in charge... and see what kind of state the house is in when you get back!!!
It will all be worth it, I promise.

[chocolatechomper]

Gosh, when you put it like that, it all sounds very negative. TBH, there is a lot of truth in there but it's not necessarily all true for all marriages and babies. Also, things aren't static, they are getting better all the time. For example, yes, it probably will hurt to pee at first, but it will feel less painful every day; you may bleed for 6 weeks (it was only 3 weeks for me with my first) but it gets lighter over time; your nipples may be tender at first but it does improve as you and your baby get better at it or, if it doesn't improve even with help from your HV, you may decide to bottle feed (as I did).

I think the things that I really wasn't prepared for, which I try to warn my friends about (without scaring them) are:

1. the first 3 to 4 days after the baby's born when the baby is trying to encourage your milk to come in - my first fed CONSTANTLY (she b/f for 5 hours one night!), my second cluster fed every 20 mins day and night. I was prepared for the feeding every couple of hours but that first few days were a real shock. BUT once my milk came in, it got more manageable.
   
   
2. you will doubt and question everything you do, and be beset by guilt most of the time. Was that just me??! I actually think it was the single worst thing about being a first-time mum. If I had believed in my own abilities a bit more, I would have been more relaxed, been less hard on myself and less traumatised by the whole thing. I think that's why subsequent babies are generally easier because you feel more relaxed about what you're doing. Basically a newborn's babies needs are pretty basic: they need feeding, changing, sleep and some play (not even much of that in the early days) BUT I made it so much more complicated for myself.
   
   I don't know if any of that helps. You'll do fine, just be kind to yourself
   
   p.s. my one new mum tip (if I may be so bold) is to make sure you have a supply of cereal in before the baby comes. If you are feeling too fraught to make yourself a sandwich or just want something quick so you can grab a nap while the baby does, a bowl of cereal is fairly nutritious (if you chose something reasonably sensible), usually has added vitamins and iron, and if you need to eat it whilst breastfeeding, you don't risk burning the baby when you drop some on their face!...not that my DC ever had muesli dropped on them

[twinklemom]

Little Amy, it is really difficult to predict how the things will be once your little one enters your life as all babies are different. Babies do not come from hell (even though it may look so initially), they are true angels and as soon as you get the first smile you'll know what I'm talking about. Things will be getting better as the time goes by or you'll be getting better at handling them . Don't stress out about what your hubby might say. Whenever he gets TMTH just think of a good reason to leave him alone with the baby for at least 4 hours, preferably longer. The results are amazing. Not everything is pleasant about caring for a tiny creature but it pays off believe me. Everyone survives and so will you! You are the strong one! Good luck!

[rossella78]

hi there
honestly it is perhaps the most intimate and personal experience a woman can have and all what you read might or might not be true according to how you determine your postnatal and your child first months of life should be: it's an extremely delicate time of their life it is when you imprint them so try to look at it positively, breath deeply, cry if you feel to but try not to complain, it's worthless!!!
i like to see it as a challenge between me and another me, the highest part which I believe is hidden in all of us and this is the chance to let it go out

i suppose nothing can compare to it

ps. my newborn is 7 weeks

[mumkingy]

I found the first year with my daughter the most magical time of my life. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her - and she communicated with me straight away.
'Getting nothing back from a newborn" is not something I recognise.
All the bad stuff, from broken nights, to sick covered clothes...from bleeding to crying..it's all nothing at all compared with the fantastic-ness of how much you'll love your baby!
My top tip to you? Practice saying 'yes please'. Start saying it now & keep practicing!! As soon as anyone at all offers any help at all, say 'yes please'. Let them wash up, mop up, walk the baby out in a pram, let them make lunch. Just say 'yes please' to anyone who offers to help and LET THEM!

[princessna]

Let's face it, people love to be the stars of their own little lives, they love to make everything sound dramatic, terrible and completely OTT.
--- the truth - yes it is hard because it is all so new and you have so many strange hormones in your body but it is a unique time in your life that you can never recapture and that is gone too quickly, and quite honestly, what is a few months in our long ... almost 100 year lives...
Maybe I am being boring and spoiling people's fun in perpetuating horror stories, for us the first year was hard, then it got easier as DS started sleeping better but we have all grown and in retrospect loved every minute of it.

[sharon137]

Oh wow! I havent read all the comments so this may have been said already - but I am a new mum of an 11 week old boy, and I am a bit shocked that people told you those things.
Me and my partner have become closer and so much more bonded since having our baby. No point scoring, just kindness and making sure the other is okay.
The sleep thing is different for everyone, of course, but I am now only waking up once for a night feed, and frankly, in the early days, you get used to feeling tired - its not the end of the world!!
As for not having time to put make up on or tidy the house - who cares? You have a baby!
There is plenty of time for movies on the sofa, and even on the nights where there isn't - again, who cares?? You will get the time back!
Newborns dont give you much feedback - we hve only jsut started to get coos and grins when our baby sees us, and he refers us to ther people now - but they are gorgeous, snuggly, helpless little people who NEED you, so they are not boring at all.
I feel bad that people have been so negative to you!!! This is the best thing you will ever do!!

[motherinferior]

Yes, it's awful.

The good thing is that one day it is over.

[LuckyC]

Yes.

But my LO is a month, and soooooooooooo sweeeeeeeeet, and I love her little self sooooooooo much.

[MarthaLovesMatthew]

OP, I had my first baby last September. So I'm a few months down the line from you...

I did not find that all of that 'advice' applied...

DH and I did not fight all the time. Sex drive didn't dry up. I did find time to wash. My house wasn't a tip and DD slept more than 3 hours a night.

But on the negative side, I had an infection after episiotomy, bad case of thrush which made breastfeeding painful for a while and DD was colicky.

Nothing can prepare you for what it is like...and for the first month or so, I felt permanently on edge, even when DD was asleep. A very strange feeling...almost like I was constantly on alert and ready to spring into action. That was exhausting.

But what is true for one person isn't necessarily true for another.

So don't let people scare you. Often people think they are helping by giving you all this advice. I was told all of the same when I was pg. What I think is true is that the first few months will be hard, but you will find your rhythm, with a bit of time.

And even if you don't, there is a ton of support available, through GP's, councellors, HV's, midwives and hopefully family and friends etc.

Good luck!!

[hairymelons]

There's no way of telling which way it will go for you. Some of the things people have said may be true for you, others not. And there will be stuff no-one has thought to tell you about!

A lot of how you feel in the early weeks will depend on your personality, your baby's personality, how the birth goes, how well you both are afterwards, how feeding goes whichever method you choose, the kind of support you get from OH/ family/ friends...the list of variables is endless.

Two things are for sure- it will be hard at times but it will be so wonderful too.

You know where we are when you are struggling anyways

[all4u]

No they can be magical - intense and tiring but magical and never to be repeated! We had our son in bed between us - he liked to suckle regularly but it hardly woke me up doing it. Mind you neither of us was overweight, drank, smoked or did anything to diminish our awareness of him. Our second, a daughter, hated being hot and literally wriggled up from under the duvet as a new born so she was soon popped into a Moses basket and soon had only a couple of feeds and slept through early. I suppose the best advice is tune into your own little character as there is no simple answer. From comparing notes with friends and family your own sleep patterns have a big impact - and there is not a lot you can do about those! Both of us are early morning people who snap awake with any disturbance and are fully compus mentis - but my sister cannot get up in the morning and her husband is impossible to wake - apparently he could sleep in a tank on the move when he did national service (he is Norwegian!). Babies learn rapidly what to expect and get into habits I think. Their children had a hard time of it...

Neither of ours cried that I can remember - we sorted it as soon as they snuffled and fidgetted. Still tiring though as you are on call but rewarding rather than stressful as you are constantly being appreciated! Currently bottle feeding four lambs and it takes me back...

[all4u]

Mind you I have to say that there is some truth in all of this list - but it is phrased extremely. The main thing is that it is only a few months and a tny part of your life. As to babies being boring - mine were fascinating but they are v. intelligent and alert (don't need much sleep!). Perhaps a not very bright baby might be boring but a placid baby can be a delight! Again generally parents and children match up rather well - but when the genes do not 'go' it can be v. difficult. But gene combinations, like parental sleep patterns, are not something we can do anything about. If it happens to you identify what is happening and use coping strategies - but avoid the blame game. My greatest fear was the prospect of having a child who was cruel, unkind etc whom I could not love and without whom the world would actually be a better place... Luckily it didn't happen!

[MumNWLondon]

ALMOST NONE OF THESE THINGS TRUE FOR ME!

"Having a baby is like throwing a grenade into your marriage".

NOT FOR US HAS MADE US CLOSER...

"You and your husband will fight all the time."

NOT FOR US.

"Your relationship with your husband will completely change to one of point scoring and arguing over who does the most".

NOT FOR US.

"He will look forward to his paternity leave ending".

NO HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO TAKE LONGER OFF.

"Your baby will demand feeding every few hours. Your boobs will be red raw."

NO BOOBS ARE JUST FINE THANKS. ALTHOUGH BABY DOES FEED EVERY FEW HOURS.

"You might not be able to breast feed and thus feel like a failure of a woman".

HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS BREASTFEEDING...

"You will be knackered and hardly have the time/enegery to even wash".

NO AS I CAN SLEEP IN THE DAY WHEN THE BABY DOES, AND I HAVE A BATH WHILE HE WATCHES IN HIS BABY CHAIR!

"New born babies are boring. You don't get any feedback from them."

THIS IS TRUE UNTIL AROUND 6 WEEKS WHEN THEY START TO SMILE.

"Your house will be a tip. There will be no time or energy to tidy."

TRUE - EMPLOY A CLEANER!

"A million people will want to visit - and remember your house is a tip".

SEE COMMENTS ABOVE RE: CLEANER, NICE TO HAVE COMPANY THOUGH.

"Also you look like a tip. No time to do hair and makeup."

DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH OF A PRIORITY HAIR AND MAKE UP ARE.

"Sex drive takes a nose-dive. Almost becoming non-existent".

I FOUND MORE SEX DRIVE WHEN BF AND EASIER TO GET TURNED ON...

"You'll bleed for 6 weeks and it will hurt to pee."

I BLED FOR 2 WEEKS AND THEN SPOTTING FOR 2 MORE. THIS TIME IT DIDN'T HURT TO PEE BUT IT DID WITH OLDER DC BECAUSE OF TEARING.

"Postnatal depression - you become isolated and constantly weepy."

NOT ME...

"Finish the nursery now because you will not have the time or eneregy to finish it once baby is here".

ITS TRUE MORE TIME BEFORE BABY COMES, BUT THERE IS LOADS OF TIME DURING THE DAY AS NEWBORN BABIES A BIT BORING!

"You will lose any childless friends because you will not have time for them."

DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU MAKE THIS A PROIRITY..

"No time to go out or even watch a movie on the sofa."

LOADS OF TIME TO WATCH MOVIES WHILST BREASTFEEDING. YOU CAN GO OUT IN THE EVENING, EITHER GET BABYSITTER OR TAKE BABY WITH IN CAR SEAT.

"3 hours sleep per night."
NO, SLEEP IN 3 HOUR CHUNKS. HOPEFULLY YOU GET 3 SUCH CHUNKS!

HOPE THAT HELPS.

[mama2moo]

Ignore them, ignore them all!

Every baby is different and everyone reacts differently.

You will find you get yourself into a routine (probably when you dh goes back to work!) and you will be able to do everything you used to. I have 2 under 2 now and I manage to get dressed, do my hair, make up, eat breakfast, feed both children all before 8.30am!!

One thing no one ever says when you are pregnant is how much you will love your baby from the moment they are born! It is amazing and you may not love every minute of it but for the bad times there are million great ones

[Elasticwoman]

Marriages can also have problems through lack of children.

I never found my newborn baby boring.

Given the right help and support, 97% of women can breastfeed. Help is available through the breastfeeding organisations. The more motivated you are to bf, the more likely it is you will manage to do it for as long as you want.

My house was often a tip before children too, if I was working long hours.

You can manage the people who want to visit. Say no if you don't want people to come round. You can meet them elsewhere too - you're not housebound with a baby, once you have recovered sufficiently from the birth itself.

Sex might take a nose dive - but there do seem to be a lot of people around with children less than a year apart.

[mrspir8]

many of the above are true yes but you find ways to cope and adjust. On the whole it's wonderful and new.

Practical things to help:
get those visitors doing something when they come-just one little job. Wash-up for you, change the bedsheets, run the vacuum round, put some washing on or simply make a sarnie and a cuppa. Don't be afraid to ask and no one in thier right mind will say no.

When you get into the first few weeks a sling is really helpful.

Dont get hung up on sleep routines etc in the early days, just go with the flow as much as you can. Dont let health vistors worry you. Follow your gut.

Freeze a load of dinners that can be pulled out and cooked. Nothing too spicy plain and simple comfort dinners.

get mates to bring meals for your family.

try to get out of the house as soon as you are able-just a walk in the day light will do you the world of good. (due to spd and a c section with complications that was 3 weeksin for me.)

Remember in certain cultures it's commonplace for mothers to lie-in for 40 days-having massages and meals brought to thier bedside-give yourself at least that much time to just be. relax and be with your baby-sleep as much as possible-i wasn't very good at that bit. CO sleep if you have to-hold the baby if you need to. It's not possible to spoil a tiny baby with cuddles. Thye haven't even figured out they are not part of you yet.

Remember to let your partner do things his way-I was a bit too much of a control freak the early days. I did not let him just get on and learn how to deal with our baby in his own way. That made him reluctant and undermined his confidence a bit. It was much easier for him when i didn't hovver over his shoulder.

Sorry for the long post. Enjoy your baby. They are a source of joy and wonder everyday. The first smiles will make all of the housework melt away.

[susia]

I think a lot of that is true, I did find breast feeding painful (ended up feeding from just one boob!), bled for about 6 weeks (think that is about average?), and I can remember buying ready made sandwiches to eat in the evening because I was too tired to cook BUT...

despite all that I loved that time. I was a single parent from the beginning and I coped fine. In fact the first year was the happiest year of my life. I had a years maternity leave and spent that time getting to know my son, making friends and enjoying not rushing around. My flat wasn't a tip (apart from when he was ill), and I found a purpose to my life that I hadn't had before.

I was very lucky taking so much time off work.

My only advice though is to do the things now that you'd like to do like decorate, get a haircut, sort out paperwork etc because it will be difficult/you won't have the energy afterwards.

[jogojo]

I'm just leaving this stage with my little one now 4 months old. Can't say all this bad news applied to us. She has been a good (sometimes alarmingly good)sleeper and not at all boring. Partner had 2 weeks parental leave and 1 week holiday which was mainly spent cooing over our lovely little girl. Re: housework, cooking etc, I quickly lowered my expectations of what I could achieve and have now settled into a mutualy acceptable routine of doing very little of this kinda stuff except when partner is around to take over parent duties.

Good luck and stay strong.

[Katyathegringa]

"Having a baby is like throwing a grenade into your marriage". Check, but that says more about the parents than the baby!

"You and your husband will fight all the time." Check, but ditto above.

"Your relationship with your husband will completely change to one of point scoring and arguing over who does the most". Check Check Check, again depends on the parents but if your other half is not a hands on dad this could be an issue.

"He will look forward to his paternity leave ending". I doubt it very much.

"Your baby will demand feeding every few hours. Your boobs will be red raw." Check, but there are so many things you can do to soothe them (creams, frozen peas, cabbage leaves) and a feeding baby is preferable to a screaming baby!

"You might not be able to breast feed and thus feel like a failure of a woman". Check (well for the first few days until we got the hang of it), but I think that the obsession with breastfeeding is subsiding a bit these days, so if it doesn't happen then DON'T kill yourself over it.

"You will be knackered and hardly have the time/energy to even wash". Check, but the only reason I had problems having a shower is that DD always decided to throw a wobbly just as I was going for one, so ended up having 30 second showers!

"New born babies are boring. You don't get any feedback from them." Check, but I really think that it depends on you; some women are so completely mesmerised with babies that they are happily occupied with them all day - I am not one of those women unfortunately so did find it boring being with her all day, every day. But I didn't have many resources close by like children's centres or friends with babies - so get yourself involved in local groups to occupy your days and stave off the boredom. And also, they do give you feedback - just in their own little ways (which you will get to know).

"Your house will be a tip. There will be no time or energy to tidy." Check, but come on, give yourself a break - every one else will I am sure.

"A million people will want to visit - and remember your house is a tip". Check.

"Also you look like a tip. No time to do hair and makeup." Check, I started to wear makeup again when DD was about 6 months!

"Sex drive takes a nose-dive. Almost becoming non-existent". Check, but again this isn't universal I don't think.

"You'll bleed for 6 weeks and it will hurt to pee." Check; the bleeding maybe not 6 weeks, but the peeing yes for me - I wish someone had told me that one!

"Postnatal depression - you become isolated and constantly weepy." Check, but it isn't a given and if you follow my advice about getting out (the boredom paragraph) it would definitely help.

"Finish the nursery now because you will not have the time or eneregy to finish it once baby is here". Check check check.

"You will lose any childless friends because you will not have time for them." Nooo - you just have to make sure that you involve them (or give them the option of coming to christenings, birthdays etc) and there is nothing stopping you meeting up for lunch etc - even with baby in tow. It depends how accepting they are of babies mind you. There's no denying that you will loose some (a lot for the first few months) of your social life, but anyone who is having a child and expecting to maintain their old lifestyle is living on another planet.

"No time to go out or even watch a movie on the sofa." As above, but re. movies, it really depends on how good a sleeper your baby is. DD was a baaad sleeper and I ended up going to bed with her so no movies for a few months, not the case now though.

"3 hours sleep per night." Sometime 4 , but you just don't know until you know how your baby is going to sleep.

"Forget the things you love to do now - your love of books, video games, the gym, and the other things you do to unwind. There will be no time for leisure." Check for the first few months, but things do start to get back to normal in these respects when you've established a routine.

OK - so there are a lot of "checks" above, but although in principal a lot of them are indeed the case, they could be to a greater or lesser extent depending on so many variables. And for each check there is another wonderful experience waiting to counter it.

There is no denying that it is damn hard work, and you will wonder what the hell you've done at times - and there is no shame in thinking that.

[BornToFolk]

Totally agree with LaTrucha that life suddenly becomes all about the baby. It's a massive shock to the system to go from only looking after yourself to having a tiny, helpless person totally dependant on you.

For me, that was the hardest bit - accepting that my time wasn't my own anymore and I don't think that you can really prepare for that.

It does get easier though. When I was pregnant I visited a friend who had a 7 month old. We went out for dinner and her husband stayed at home with the baby. When we got back, he was watching a film. I kept thinking about that when DS was tiny, looking forward to the time when we could go out for dinner and watch films!

[fillybuster]

It'll be fine, honest I do understand why you're panicking, but books like that, even if they mean well, are enormously unhelpful.

If it helps, the best advice we had before dc1 (and #3 is due pretty soon, so really, it cant be that bad!!!) was to assume that the first 8 weeks would be absolutely hell and to dig out our blackest senses of humour....as long as you can laugh with each other, even when its all going horribly wrong and you're completely sleep deprived, then you'll be fine

And, FWIW, we found going into it with that attitude really helped...it never got as bad as we thought it might and our relationship was strong enough to cope absolutely fine with the stress....and having a baby together does strengthen your relationship in the long term as long as you share the load.

Good luck

[fillybuster]

Oh, and I'd like to add:

Arguments? No. DH is great and pulls his weight...and didn't let me get too bossy/proprietorial about the baby.

Bleeding boobs? No, the worst you should expect is some small blisters as the skin toughens up. Anything else and there's something wrong with your latch.

No breastfeeding because it didn't work? Sod it. It doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things.

Sleepless nights? Only for the first few weeks. My dcs both slept through (11-7) by about 10 weeks...and generally slept 7-11, 11-4, 4-7.30 by about 5 weeks. Which is managable if not perfect.

Cleaning/tidying? If you can, get some help. Otherwise just agree with your dh that you'll both do the minmum to get you through and everything else can wait.

Boring babies? Yes, but they quickly grow into brilliantly interesting children

Books/films etc? Never watched so many or read so much as after the births of each of my dcs!

Gym? Give it about 8-10 weeks to recover from the birth and establish some sort of routine, then go for it (assuming you can find some childcare) or go in the evenings.

Sex? It comes back

Childless friends? Wonderful people who don't just want to talk about babies all the time and keep you sane and plugged into the modern world!

[izzybiz]

I have had 3 children and personally find the newborn days some of the easiest!

I am super organised with a newborn, I ff so I sterilised and did bottles each evening, still managed to shower and wear make up when going out.

I love nothing more than a nice walk out and about with people stopping to tell me how beautiful my new baby is

Sleepless nights for me go on for about 3 years anyway, you just get used to less sleep!

Dh and I have been fine, sex is 100 times harder when there is a teenager in the house believe me

My youngest is 19 months now and he is hard work, frustrated as he cant tell me what he wants yet, into everything a little monster!

Enjoy the newborn stage, it doesn't last long enough!

[Fibilou]

"Having a baby is like throwing a grenade into your marriage".

"You and your husband will fight all the time." True. When he's not here I'm resentful, when he is here he pisses me off

"Your relationship with your husband will completely change to one of point scoring and arguing over who does the most". Definitely true imo

"He will look forward to his paternity leave ending". Not true - but I couldn't wait

"Your baby will demand feeding every few hours. Your boobs will be red raw." Yes to point 1, no to point 2

"You might not be able to breast feed and thus feel like a failure of a woman". Don't know, was determined to BF at any cost to self

"You will be knackered and hardly have the time/enegery to even wash". Bollocks. It's all a question of time management; I bathe daily as I bath with DD as part of her bedtime routine so kill 2 birds with one stone

"New born babies are boring. You don't get any feedback from them." Tosh. They are fascinating, you will be fascinated as you made that baby. And you do get lots of feedback

"Your house will be a tip. There will be no time or energy to tidy." Rubbish. Mine is tidy - I make the time/energy and still spend most of the day entertaining DD. Again down to good time management

"A million people will want to visit - and remember your house is a tip". Yes they will and see above

"Also you look like a tip. No time to do hair and makeup." Rubbish. again I was determined not to let this happen - I am currently wearing foundation, powder, lippy and eye makeup. DD is 3 months

"Sex drive takes a nose-dive. Almost becoming non-existent". True

"You'll bleed for 6 weeks and it will hurt to pee." Hurt to wee for about 2 weeks. Bleeding only significant for about 1 week

"Postnatal depression - you become isolated and constantly weepy." I didn't even get the 4 day baby blues

"Finish the nursery now because you will not have the time or eneregy to finish it once baby is here". Totally true

"You will lose any childless friends because you will not have time for them." That's up to you.

"No time to go out or even watch a movie on the sofa." Again not ime. We are Rotarians and went to a function when DD was 2 weeks old - we just took her along in the carseat. Newborn babies are remarkably portable.

"3 hours sleep per night." DD sleeps from 8pm until 4.30 then goes back off again until about 6.30. She has only ever woken a maximum of 3 times in a night - and that was a very bad night for us

"Forget the things you love to do now - your love of books, video games, the gym, and the other things you do to unwind. There will be no time for leisure." I agree with this although you will find new leisure activities

It's not all doom and gloom - despite having very little practical help from DH who works incredibly long hours I have found motherhood relatively easy so far. I was prepared for Armageddon so I think it is best to be prepared for the worst then be pleasantly surprised.