Please tell me nice things about motherhood

[anonmom1992]

Hi, soon to be first time mum here (DS due November)

Throughout my pregnancy I have found that I have received a lot of comments like “be prepared for sleepless nights!”, “you’ll never be you again” etc. All of the negatives of motherhood which I understand there is some, this month is probably my last chance of a good nights sleep, my life will change dramatically and my free time will be pretty non existent.

Mums,
Please share with me some nice parts of motherhood? I know there is a lot, one being the indescribable love you feel for your child (already feeling it but can’t imagine how much it’ll grow when I lay eyes on him for the first ever time ) but I feel like every one has been telling me the negatives rather than positive aspects? I would love to hear any cute stories you have with your children too

He's 3 months today so I'll go with my top 3:
Watching him grow and develop
The all day cuddles
His smile

Ooo and a bonus!
How much closer he has made me and dp, he is my best friend, but since having our son, we're so much closer.

The smiles, the cuddles, the I love yous. When they start talking.
And the love. It's the small moments and the feelings you get from those that accumulate and just keep on growing.
I haven't always felt like it, found the early months tough and I'm not maternal, well I wasn't, but it's amazing honestly.
Sometimes can take a while to settle into it.
Congrats and enjoy your baby when he comes.

You love them so much you could burst but it's also amazing to see how much they love you! I realise this will all change when they reach their teens but for now my DC aged 9 and 6 think I'm the best person in the world!
The snuggles are so nice.
The sweet and funny things they say.
Reliving the best bits of your childhood with them.
You have an excuse to act like a kid again.
Watching them grow and develop and thrive. Watching their excitement over small things. Seeing them experience things for the first time.

I wrote this really quite bad poem when my first baby was 6 months old. The sentiment was very real, even if the poem isnt very good!

I wonder if there is much original to be said
About a mammy’s love for her baby.
But you are brand new
And I have never been a mammy before
So surely there must be something distinctive to be said,
As this love, from me to you, is unique in the world.

When I was pregnant, I thought that I might miss my bump once it went
As I had gotten so used to carrying around this soon to be person.
It was a nice sort of company.
Weeks, maybe months after you arrived I was asked if I missed being pregnant.
I realised that it hadn’t even crossed my mind in all those days since your birth.
I didn’t miss it at all, because I have you and the reality of you is so much better than any soon to be, any imagining.

Your realness is so wonderful
The actual existence of those little arms and legs that wave to be picked up.
The delight to be found in your open mouthed smile and shiny eyes.
You are a little bundle of need and confusion and bewilderment and joy,
Of tiredness and hunger and wonder and fear and delight.
And I love you so much.

When I push you in your buggy or carry you into town I find it hard to understand when people don’t stop to admire you,
I am confused that not everyone smiles at you.
Can’t they see that you are the loveliest baby in the world?
Aren’t they delighted by you?
It’s a little like falling in love
And believing that everyone else must secretly be a little in love with your beloved too, for how could they not?

Maybe there isn’t much original to be said
About a mammy’s love for her baby.
But the love is very real
And original in its uniqueness between us
And that is good enough.

Don't let the negativity down you down. It's honestly not that bad, actually it's great. Much better than being pregnant for one.

My DS is 8 months now and he makes my heart ache with joy.

People always like to regale you with negative stories. Does my head in.

DS is just the sweetest, most chilled and joyful baby I know.
I love him more than I thought possible. I love when he falls asleep on me, I love how he wriggles like a salmon when I go and get him after a nap as he’s so excited to see me.

Getting to hang out with the person/people you like best in the world is pretty cool.

Feeling their hot breath on your face when they are sleeping.

Reading to them.

Watching them navigate their way through life.

Your hear bursting with pride.

Since I can remember I've wanted to be a mum so I may be coming at this from a slightly different angle.

When my DS was born I wanted time to stand still there and then. I was finally a mum to this most precious little baby and nothing could have topped that. I cherished every moment...

That 'little' boy is now 12 years old who seems to be growing into a smashing fella.

His sister is soon to be turning 9 and I have an unexpected surprise due at the end of December!!

Personally for me there is not one negative to being a parent. It is the most rewarding and fulfilling job I have ever had.

Congratulations and enjoy your baby.

Lovely thread. Parenthood doesn't come easily to me. I'm not the maternal type at all and don't get the way some parents are with their kids. My kids don't even call me mum! BUT. I get these moment, like yesterday, my 6 and 8 year old were sitting, talking to each other and giggling and it just made my heart melt a little because you realise you made these little people.

I was having a right shit day today and feeling so angry with my hormones again. But this thread has just made me feel a bit happier I forgot about all these things. I to love it when my DD comes out of school shouting mummy or when they make random stuff like a necklace out of pasta and they are so excited to give it to you . Also the smell of a newborn oh my god you can't beat it.
They also say funny things too, I have a video of my DS trying to crawl and my DD saying in the background mummy I've just done a fart

Also the random singing. I heard my DD signing yesterday to herself in bed she was singing twinkle little star she got most of the words wrong but she really tried to sing it. I sobbed upstairs my hormones are crazy

Sleeping so close to them nose to nose even just for a minute and feeling their breath on your face
Bursting with pride at absolutely any new thing they learn
Seeing glimpses of you, him, and both of your families in their mannerisms and face
Watching their personalities grow and realising they don't 'belong' to you and that you're honoured to be entrusted to care for them until they live independently
Puffy morning faces and bedhair
Wet lashes on a freshly bathed face
Calling their name, a name that once felt new on your tongue but is now your most spoken
Catching yourself amongst all the paraphernalia that becomes so familiar so quickly and realising little dummies under the sofa, or empty packets of wipes stuffed into old handbags are your life now
Their squeaky excitement if you return after a few hours away. Or their blind indifference and you realise how independent and confident they are...
Watching them develop a favourite food and seeing their eyes light up at grapes, watermelon and... chips
Watching people you love, love them

It's the best thing that ever happens to you. The love you feel is monumental and the love you get back is too. Their laughter, especially if they are both chuckling together is enough to make you feel ecstatic.
They are so cute and snuggly when they are small. The way they are amazed by and love the world makes you look at it anew: Wow!!! Buses!!!! Snails!!!!!!Rain!!!!!!!WOW!
It's lovely to revisit the best bits of your own childhood and to improve on the things that you wish had been better. You get to play again. To build dens in the woods and dams in the river and lego houses. Ride swings and seesaws, feed farm animals and dig sandcastles.
Ordinary, everyday things become more meaningful - baking a cake with them or watching a film under the duvet on the sofa on a rainy day.
Then you get the milestones when they show their love back. My two used to do a 'beauty parlour' (no idea where they got the idea - they are both boys ) where they'd massage cream into my face and hands and feet and brush my hair. It felt so loving and they always wanted to play it. Now they are late teens, one surprised me by taking me out for tea in London and the other took me to a trendy restaurant in Soho for dinner after I'd done a uni Open Day with him - both from their own savings. They keep you young with their music and fashion and slang. And they make you care about the future.

That moment when they've been crying and upset and all worked up over something, and you pick them up, snuggle them into you and they calm down and you can feel them relaxing. (doesn't always happen like that but in the moments when it does I feel like a superhero).

Watching them figure something new out, or try something new, or attempt (and garble) a new word. I'm so proud of my DS all the time.

Seeing him do the actions to the wheels on the bus. Something he learned at nursery, that I had no idea he knew.

Every single time he says mama, mommy, mamamama, my heart melts a bit.

Seeing him wrestling around with his dad and them both laughing and having a great time.

I love being Mommy, so much more than I ever expected to.

• I wasn't prepared for the kind of love that came with being a parent. I was a bit ambivalent whilst pregnant but once my DD was born it hit me like a storm. It's a different kind of love that I've ever experienced - like she could do anything and I'd still adore her.
• The way they hold their arms up to be picked up by you, or when they reach for you when they're being held by someone else.
• The way they hold on to you or grab the front of your jumper/clothes with their little hands while they're being carried. I don't know what it is about this but it kills me.
• How their faces light up to see you when you get home from work or go to pick them up.
• The newborn grunts and noises all the way through to them saying their first words and developing their own little language.
• You really see the world in a new light watching them discover everything for themselves.
• I didn't think it was possible to feel so proud of someone figuring out how to use a sippy cup or a spoon by themselves, but I was!
• The sleepy snuggles and cuddles when they're newborn.
• My DD is 15 months old now and will just randomly come over and give you a cuddle or stop playing and hug you. This is the best.
• The way they smell when they're newborn and just after a bath.
• When she gets angry at something and shouts at it.
• The way she looks in her element when she's on a swing.
• Seeing parts of myself and DH in her. It's fun to see who she looks and acts like.

I could go on but you'll find lots of positives.

When your child wraps their arms round your neck and say "I love you mummy" best feeling ever!

My oldest is 10 this year and i am currently due my second in April 2020. whilst im aware of the hard side of things to come i know there are some amazing things too.
Having my little boy just randomly come over for a cuddle and say he loves me is amazing
Seeing his face over the last 10 yrs when he has done something he is really proud of!
Being the centre of all the babies first (Walking, talking, laughing etc...)
Seeing baby daddy building a bond with the baby!
Becoming a parent is scary but its so amazing and rewarding, its worth every minute of the hard stuff!

Indescribable love ✅
Bursting with pride when you see them achieve or do something for the first time ✅
Cuddles ✅

But for me the biggest unexpected joy is just how much they make me laugh. My daughter is 3.5 and she has me crying with laughter at times, her personality is starting to cement and she’s witty. So, so witty.

Oh isn't it horrible the way everybody feels the need to bombard you with warnings and horror stories once they know you're pregnant?

The first smile. My god what a moment of pure joy that is. I was in the grip of PND and feeling like I'd never be happy again but when she gave me that first big, gummy grin I didn't come down off the ceiling for days.

You're starting a brand new relationship with a person who you have the ability to support, teach, love and cherish. It's hard work but great to be with them and see them grow.

That feeling. Honestly there's just no way to describe it , DS is 19 months and when I look at him I just feel like I could melt. He is so funny , cheeky and has the best little personality.

My favourite ever thing is when they wake up and you first go into them and they're so delighted and happy to see you and those sleepy , first woken up cuddles , ughhhh.

Great I'm going to need to have another now aren't I , thanks to this thread.

Ok sleepless nights etc etc. But, makes you stronger, less selfish more selfless and for me, gave me a reason to live.

Big, fat, soft, round baby cheeks
Delighted baby gurgles and laughter
When they talk to themselves
Watching them discover their hands
The gloriousness of a cup of tea or five minutes to yourself; tiny treats become huge
Marvelling to yourself that you not only made a human being, but, incredibly luckily, you made the best one in the entire world

All the good parts of being a mother outweigh the bad. So you may lose sleep, stress constantly, lose freedom....but you have a child you can call your own who loves you unconditionally, you'll feel love like never before, you'll have your own family. It can be a strain on your relationship at times but I've found it brings us closer together.

My baby boy is 11 weeks old.

It's was amazing when he started smiling. The smile he gives when he wakes up. It's like he's so happy to see your still there and see your face. There is nothing like it!
His gummy smile every time makes me melt