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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

What are the best bits about having a baby?

146 replies

Lemondrop99 · 08/08/2017 14:36

Ok so the "what's so hard about having a newborn" thread has scared/depressed me. I know it'll be hard but there must be reasons why people do it all over again with second, third children etc.

So I thought we should have a thread to balance it. Those of you who have already had a baby, what were the best bits of that first year? Anything you found surprisingly easy when you thought it would be hard? Perhaps solutions you found to turn a tough phase into something enjoyable?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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Glittermud · 08/08/2017 14:41

Wine

howthelightgetsin · 08/08/2017 14:41

The little milk drunk gooey eyes
Them sleeping on your chest
Leaving the house and going through the mental list of what valuables do have with me / did I lock the door etc and then you realise you have the only thing that matters in the whole world strapped to your chest
Breastfeeding, when it gets easier and you just feel so proud that you are the one keeping the baby comforted and fed and you feel so amazed at what your body can do and how amazing women really are.

oatybiscuits · 08/08/2017 14:42

Sorry, there's nothing surprisingly easy about having a newborn. But the new depths of love you find in yourself for this tiny little person are just amazing, as is the strength to deal with things you'd never have thought yourself capable of before. An awful lot of being a mum is thinking 'I can't do this.' Then doing it. You'll be fine 😊

redphonebox · 08/08/2017 14:45

Nothing surprisingly easy, sorry but when they gaze up at you with their big eyes and smile and giggle at you it is bloody amazing.

Tessa84 · 08/08/2017 14:45

@Lemon, just to say that I think your thread is a wonderful idea :) I'm expecting my first so I cannot comment.. but marking my spot to read and thank you :)

taytopotato · 08/08/2017 14:47

Baby smell

Baby smiles when asleep (I took a video and it still makes me smile whenever I watch it)

Baby cuddles- I used a wrap/sling so got a lot of cuddles.

MagicMoneyTree · 08/08/2017 14:53

I haven't read the thread but I'd been scared by all the horror stories about how awful tough it would be with a newborn. It wasn't half as 'bad' as I was expecting, so I suppose hearing all that helped in a way. I braced myself for the worst and we were fine. I'm not saying we didn't have broken sleep or nightime screamathons or any of that. We did. But it was totally manageable. So to answer your question, for me the part I thought I would find the hardest (sleepless nights) wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I coped better than I thought I would. But obviously everyone is different - and every baby is different - which I'm sure I'll discover when baby 2 arrives!

What people can't prepare you for - because it's impossible to put into words - is how much you love your baby. I didn't get that rush of love people describe when they gave him to me. I was pleased to meet him, obviously, but the shock made it all a bit surreal. What I couldn't possibly prepare for was just how much I love him. It sounds like a cliche but it actually feels like your heart grows to make room for all the love you have. Every time they do something that makes you beam with pride it feels like your heart gets a little bit bigger. It starts with the little things like having a good feed or doing a big poo and then you get things like smiling, laughing, sitting, crawling, first words, etc and a hundred million other little things that just make your heart ache. For me, that's the absolute best thing about having a baby - all those achievements that happen every day that make you beam with pride. It really is indescribable.

HeartburnCentral · 08/08/2017 14:53

You sit watching them sleeping and think everything about them is absolutely perfect 💖

adlertippa · 08/08/2017 15:02

I'm breastfeeding my 6 week old as I type... he's just bloody brilliant. I think we steeled ourselves for the first few months to be pretty exhausting and a bit grim and it's been a total surprise at how enjoyable it actually is. It helps that he's despite a difficult birth he's been an easy baby, fed well from the start, no colic etc. I've also got good support from my partner and friends, and he's my PFB so not multitasking. He's up a few times in the night but I'm less tired than when I was working night shifts in the emergency services.

And the good stufff... we co-sleep so I wake up with him and watch him stretch his little head and neck out like a sleep tortoise and stretch. And when he's fed and he's like a little sleepy doll. He's just started smiling which is the best, I can't wait until he laughs.

All in all we just adore him and I'm so excited to see him grow up and show him everything. I've barely posted on mumsnet since he was born because I presume people will just find me irritating and post s, ha.

Original poster

Lemondrop99 · 08/08/2017 15:04

By surprisingly easy I just mean like, I'm basically expecting

To tear, have stitches and be in a load of pain post recovery
For breastfeeding to be hard and hurt
To never sleep again

But I know some women don't have stitches or are surprised by how fast they recovered from their c-section. Others have no problems at all establishing breastfeeding. Some (ok, not many!) babies sleep through quite quickly.

That's all I meant really. There must be some things which aren't as bad as the mum was expecting it to be.

OP posts:

Original poster

Lemondrop99 · 08/08/2017 15:05

And thank you for the lovely stories so far

OP posts:

LastOneDancing · 08/08/2017 15:06

Becoming a mum filled a huge hole in my life that I didn't even realise was there. I am complete (soppy cow).

I didn't know how much you could love someone until DS1 came along. It's wonderful (but frightening at the same time). Those moments when you just watch them play and... oh the love.

I got a huge sense of pride and satisfaction watching this tiny person grow & thrive and thinking 'I did that'.

I think overall it was easier than I anticipated but the hard bits were harder IYKWIM.

NerrSnerr · 08/08/2017 15:07

When my 4 month old wakes from a sleep he looks around, sees me and gives me the biggest grin, as if he's thinking 'it's ok, there you are'. He has does huge giggles when I sing 5 little men in a flying saucer to him.

Spam88 · 08/08/2017 15:10

The smiles when she wakes up and sees me 😍

In terms of not being as bad as I thought it'd be, I tore in several places and had stitches but weeing didn't hurt at all. I was dreading that first wee after seeing loads of posts on here about how much it stings!

Heatherbell1978 · 08/08/2017 15:12

Babies are very cute😍As you're probably already aware the newborn experience varies so much depending on what 'type' of baby you have. I had my DS shortly before friend had her DD. I suffered hugely with sleep deprivation and didn't have any time to myself due to breastfeeding. Her DD slept through from week 2 and she never bf so was able to go out fairly early on. Our maternity leave experiences were very different. She loved it as she also had a very easy going baby. Her year was full of long walks, coffee and cake! Mine was a lot tougher. I am doing it again though. DD is 5 months now. She's not an easy baby but we're getting there. She loves being in the buggy so I'm also getting the long walks, coffee and cake that I didn't last time!

NerrSnerr · 08/08/2017 15:12

My eldest was/ is a rubbish sleeper but I still get nostalgic thinking about those hours breastfeeding, watching DVDs overnight. When she was one and we had a heatwave we'd take her out in the car if she hadn't gone to sleep by midnight and have long country drives (and then she'd easily be transferred over). It was tough at the time but I forget the bad bits.

user1493413286 · 08/08/2017 15:13

The sleepless nights are hard but probably not as hard as I expected as you do adjust then baby starts sleeping a little bit more and it gets easier.
I was also surprised to find out how much i liked breastfeeding despite it being hard that only I can do it.
The love and amazement you feel in them is the best bit; there's nothing like it

chips4teaplease · 08/08/2017 15:15

Waking up in the morning to see her asleep next to me, and to every day feel an amazing rush of love for her. There's nothing like it.

Discovering I was someone much stronger than I'd thought I was.

Her exquisite beauty. I recall, she fell off the bed (oops) when she was nine months old, and landed on a pillow. I got to the room to see her sitting cross-legged like a pixie, on the pillow, rubbing her baby eyes, wearing nothing but her tiny vest. I can see her now. So absolutely lovely and adorable. When you have your baby, life is full of moments like that. This morning she phoned me and she and her dd (aged 5) told me all about their plans for the day.

Some parts of the first year are very hard - the first three or four months especially, and there's more 'hard' to come, later. But it is worth it. It is so worth it.

AccrualIntentions · 08/08/2017 15:16

Love this thread and also marking my place as a fellow first time mum to be

demirose87 · 08/08/2017 15:18

The first time you do skin to skin straight after birth, their milky breath and hearing their little sighs right in your ear. Also love the smell and feel of a newborns peachy head.

LittleWingSoul · 08/08/2017 15:21

Ok all the soppy stuff above but here's one more in the vein of what I think you were hoping for OP... I thought I'd be bleeding all over the place post-partum and it was really nothing more than something like a medium-heavy period which lasted a week.

Prepared myself with loads of muslins for a sick baby - neither DC were sicky or needed burping and all that jazz. Because I've said that out loud DC3 blatantly will be!

LittleWingSoul · 08/08/2017 15:23

Oh and the waking through the night tiredness wasn't a thing for me either. I'm lucky my DH has never just 'left me to it' with regards to little sleep, if anything I get loads more than him as he wakes early with the DC 99% of the time. So having a sort of agreement about sharing the burden of sleepless nights with your DH could definitely help you!

SleepingStandingUp · 08/08/2017 15:24

My son holding onto the hair at the back of my neck or my ear for balance.

The smell after a bath

Their weight in your arms

Seeing your partner grow into a parent

The first time they hold your finger (alto traitor newborn geld the nurses finger first Hahaha)

MeltorPeltor · 08/08/2017 15:24

Big tits and baby smell.
Oh and the fact it's totally acceptable to be eating cake at 3am whilst watching TV, because you know, baby needs feeding :D

Orangebird69 · 08/08/2017 15:26

Breastfeeding. I love it. Cosleeping. Seeing their little face as soon as you wake up. Just watching them sleep.

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