Tell me what's lovely about having a baby

[plantsitter]

I'm 29 weeks and have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes so I am monitoring my blood sugar levels and not eating anything of niceness and all that. I was hoping for a home birth but doesn't look like that'll happen now. My hormones are all over the place, I'm not sleeping properly, I have to go to work in London every day on the train where nobody gives you a seat. I am knackered. People keep telling me I don't know the meaning of the word knackered until the baby's born. I'm sure it's true but it's not helpful. I'm starting to dread not only the labour but the baby coming. What if I can't cope? I've almost forgotten why I wanted a baby in the first place...

What are the lovely and amazing things about having a tiny baby? I think I need to hear nice things and I know there are lots.. just having trouble thinking what they might be!

The best thing about having a baby is that you are no longer pregnant!

Seriously though- their smiles and giggles, he their smell and touch, the absolutely unconditional love (both ways), the way they they totally change your priorities, your relationships, your world...

DS is 11 weeks old tommorow, and I can barely recall life without him. He is the best thing that ever happend to me!

You can say

"jibble jibble jibble, wibble wibble wibble... ooooh, look at you all wibbbly wibbling " and they grin thir heads off at you.

Trust me, I have just done it (12 week old)

And at night they don't cry for food, they just shuffle and snort

The hormonal bit just after you give birth where you cant believe that you can love something that much, that your body is so amazing and that you have the most spectacularly beautiful baby in the whole world ( even if they are squashed and bruised and bright yellow ) makes it all worth while

I'm the least maternal person you ever met... went down to hospital in labour with ds1 thinking 'I hope I'm going to like this thing when it comes out!'

But then they handed me the slimy, bloody, purple blob and I looked into the moon pool eyes and it was love at first sight!

It just feels like the most amazing thing you've ever done in your life - it's as though no one else has done it before.

Basically you are having the person who will be THE love of your life

Hang in there.

Oh yes the 'well-meaning advice' from people who can;t wait to tell you everything is going to be terrible. I had this when I was pregnant. Then when the baby arrives you get people saying "You think its hard now-just wait till they're moving" then when they're a toddler "You think its hard now just wait till they're teenagers".

Ignore them. You'll be fine and everything will just get better and better as your confidence grows along with your beautiful baby.

This thread has made me all choked up remembering DD's early days. That rush of love as soon as I saw her. I thought she was the most beautiful person in the world (I realise now that she looked like Darth Maul ) That wonderful milky smell and the tiny fingers just resting on you. The way they possessively grasp your breast as they sleep - DD still does this now at 15 months. The smiles and laughs and funny little faces they make. Oh God, everything. My ovaries are aching now, can't wait til I can ttc again!

I used to love the night feedings (I know I am a freak)

the silence, the sleepiness, the little suckling, me half-reading a book and half-watching the little snuffly thing attached to me

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I hated being pregnant too, and I swear I was more tired as a pregnant lady than as the mother of a newborn.

At the risk of sounding mega cheesey, having dd was like the final missing piece of a jigsaw being clicked into place. As someone said earlier, it makes you feel complete.

I love all the little moments, but I think my favourite is when I'm feeding DD, and I look down at her and she looks me straight in the eye, breaks off from feeding and smiles at me like she and I know the best secret in the world. And we do

Labour really isn't that bad, I quite enjoyed it and at the end of it YOU AREN'T PREGNANT ANYMORE! Which is great, food tastes better, you can sleep on your back or front or move between the two easily, you can breath easily and someone else can hold the baby for a bit while you get some sleep.
And the baby thing is pretty fantastic too, hang on in there, it will be worth it promise
In fact its soo good you will probably want to do it all again some time