positive stories of having a newborn please

[Hayleyday]

everything see online is doom & gloom to the point i am terrified at 34 weeks thinking i will never be happy again,
would love to hear from anyone who didnt find newborn life that tough & tips for managing it
(DP will be off work for 4 weeks)

To some extent it is about luck and support...

DD was great in after the first week, and up to 5 weeks then for me personally 6 weeks up to 12 months were bloody hard work. I'm loving her at 15 months as she has independence of movement and is less frustrated and angry.

Newborns can be tough, I breastfed (still am) and found it so isolating especially on top of covid. But it was also lovely if you get me.

Motherhood is a life of contradictions. However, newborn smell and cuddles and snuggly sleeps on your chest cannot be hyped up enough. They are intoxicating

Also newborns are so much more portable. DD would have pram naps up to about 6/7 months, after that, no way, too nosy!

I loved the early walks while she slept and I had headphones in and just enjoyed fresh air and freedom of movement

thank you so much everyone - such good responses here

Really depends on the baby. DD1 newborn from hell! DD2 easy peasy. But whichever you get, it's over in a flash so don't panic. Just ride the wave of the first couple of months and you'll soon be out the other side. With DD1 every stage since got so much easier she's 2.5 now and it's a joy. DD2 was such an easy baby nut now seems harder at 13 months. You just never know. But you'll be fine, some loved the newborn phase some didn't. Personally I hated it but it's over super fast then in my opinion it all gets easier x

I've got twins, born just before the first lockdown so virtually no support! After all the horror stories I couldn't believe how easy it was. I found it much easier than going to work, and I didn't even have a difficult job. Admittedly I was very lucky as they were easy babies and slept a lot, cuddled up together, while I got on with stuff. It really was a piece of cake compared to what I'd been psyching myself up to. Not a brag, I just think I got lucky with easy babies!

ds1 was a clingy baby who didn't believe in sleep. He wasn't hard work unless I put him down though. But he spoke early and as a result has never had a tantrum in his life. He's a pain in the backside at times but he's never really done anything naughty.

DS2 was one of those babies that you dream about. I guess I was a lot more laid back the second time. I expressed and then woke him up for a bottle every 3 hours. After 2 weeks he skipped 1 night feed then after 6 weeks he slept 7-7 and has continued that 95% of the time now he is almost 2. Until he was about 4m old he was either having a bottle or he was sleeping and he put himself to sleep from birth. We had a lot of life stuff going on at the time (3 house moves, 1 return from expat life with all our worldly possessions, 1 redundancy, start of the pandemic when everything was scary) and I went to start a new job when he was 12 weeks old, I could walk out the house without him getting upset or having to worry about him at all

I’ve found it different with each of my 4 children but by the last I think I cracked it!
Prep without exhausting yourself whilst pregnant; batch cook, plan visits ahead, clean anything that’s going to annoy you, book a supermarket delivery slot with lots of easy snacks and meals, accept all offers of help, make sure your partner knows what to expect- if you are planning to breastfeed his job is to look after you while you look after the baby.
Laugh at any ideas of perfection!
Also, choose to be happy, yes it can be hard and it can be boring but actively choosing to be happy, not snap at each other and count your blessings makes all the difference.

If you do find it hard remember it’s possible to dislike the newborn experience, doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby.

My second baby was so lovely and easy. He ate, he slept, he was like an adorable handbag for the first 3 months.

I think you'll find people talk/post/write about challenging experiences, so what you read on mumsnet isn't a representative source of what newborns are like.

I didn't find it hard.. newborns and babies are easy .. they cry when they really need something. Toddlers on the other hand .. 😳