Is being a parent what you expected?

[wrena]

I was really euphoric for the first 6 months of DD's life and although I found parenting really challenging I also found it really rewarding (far more so than I expected). As she has gotten older life has become easier but I just feel so worn down by the constant needs of parenting. I have a lot of friends so I didn't expect parenting to feel so isolating and lonely. It often feels like too much effort to catch up with friends, particularly childless ones or those with only babies now that I have a wild toddler. My DD is so incredible and I burst with pride and delight whenever I look at her but I'm ready to have some time for myself without being endlessly responsible and engaged. I'm a much better and much worse parent than I thought I would be. I'm much more patient and loving than I thought I would be but much less engaged and playful

[Renn]

I have one 9 month old, so not a lot of experience as yet.
The first few months was SO much harder than I expected. I just remembered, reading another post, that I spent at least the first 4 months telling myself it had to get better/easier... I don't know how else I would have made it through the day.

For the past couple of months things have been pretty much what I expected. Maybe easier actually I'm loving parenting at the moment, though am well aware that I should enjoy it while it lasts...undoubtedly there will be more rough patches ahead.

[FirstTimeMummy2012]

I knew it was going to be difficult but I didn't anticipate just how HARD it really is! I'm not maternal at all! Wasn't keen on breastfeeding and didn't want a bar of AP or co sleeping.

My DD is almost 8 weeks old and she's growing on me. Don't get me wrong. I love her, but I kept waiting for that overwhelming all encompassing love that is supposed to knock you off your feet. It hasn't happened to me and it made me feel like crap!

Everyday I feel more love towards her and today for the first time I saw her in intense pain and cried along with her because it was hurting my heart.

The more we interact, the more I fall in love with her. The more she really looks at me and smiles, the more she melts my heart.

Motherhood is such a rollercoaster of emotions.

[Funnels]

I knew it was going to be difficult but I didn't anticipate just how HARD it really is! I'm not maternal at all! Wasn't keen on breastfeeding and didn't want a bar of AP or co sleeping.

My DD is almost 8 weeks old and she's growing on me. Don't get me wrong. I love her, but I kept waiting for that overwhelming all encompassing love that is supposed to knock you off your feet. It hasn't happened to me and it made me feel like crap!

Everyday I feel more love towards her and today for the first time I saw her in intense pain and cried along with her because it was hurting my heart.

The more we interact, the more I fall in love with her. The more she really looks at me and smiles, the more she melts my heart.

Motherhood is such a rollercoaster of emotions.

My ds is 7 months now and I felt just like this. I can honestly say it took me until he was at least 4 months old to even start to relax and enjoy the day with him. Until then I thought my life was over!

Nobody can prepare you enough for the reality of becoming a parent

[FearlessLeader]

Coming from a childcare background and being an aunty to 11 has given me a pretty realistic expectation of what it is like. I was actually expecting to be more sleep deprived than what I am. DD is a very easy baby. She is only 9 weeks (today) so we shall see how it all goes as she gets bigger. I'm hoping that looking after such a wide variety of children will have taught me to expect nothing.

Sort of same for me. Working in child care and having much younger siblings I was fairly prepared for the kids part.
What I wasn't expecting was the crushing loneliness. I thought I'd make all these amazingly deep and meaningful friendships with other mums, and spend my days hanging out in cafes and going to rhyme time with my new friends, whose husbands would become friends with my DP and we would be surrounded by people in a similar situation to us. Didn't happen. My mother's group pretty much ostracised me and I left the playground or rhyme time in tears many times because I was always the only one alone. Thank goodness for Bubhub!

[Funnels]

That's terrible FL. THose *****es, I'd go to rhyme time with you if we lived closer

[FirstTimeMummy2012]

What is rhyme time?

[harvs]

My pregnancy was unplanned, and I had no idea what to expect. The hard bits are harder than I imagined. The lovely bits are the loveliest things I've ever experienced. But the baby blues nearly killed me, I've never been so lonely in my life, I can't believe I can fill an entire day changing bums-making food-feeding-trying to get DS to sleep-and repeat!, and the impact on my marriage has been near catastrophic. If I had the choice to do it all again, I'm not sure that I would. Not to say I don't love my son, but the lows have been agonising. Bubhub has saved me time and time again, I think. I understand now the way my mum fretted over me, and how endless the worrying is...

But I'm still hitting my stride, and this is my life now, so I am determined to make it a good one!

[FearlessLeader]

What is rhyme time?

Baby story time at the library.

[pisang]

Haha no! I was one of those people who thought my life would be exactly the same except I have a cute little baby to take around with me. Oh how wrong!
I am very anxious about everything now and I stress over everything because I only want the best for him

I wouldn't change a thing though. My son makes my heart jump when I watch him playing or just pottering around the house. Can't believe we made him!