Q What was the one thing that

was the biggest surprise after you took your baby home...or the one thing you totally didn't expect w/ your DC.

Thanks.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

My debilitating post partum depression. I never saw that coming.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

her being colicky for 3 months, I never even imagined and now I have a new respect for any parents that go thru it!

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Good- that she'd actually sleep 5-6 hours at night at 3 weeks old.

Bad- that I'd have this much anxiety. It's been really tough.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Biggest surprise was that she was an awesome sleeper and so good...

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Biggest Surprise........................

How life-changing having a baby really is!!!!!

I thought that i could fit her into my own plans and schedule, the baby weight would just melt right off and I would have wash board abs.....

Well, almost 3 years later and none of this has happened yet!

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Re: Q What was the one thing that

I never expected I would have so many problems with a milk supply and have to use formula and spend a fortune just trying to get 20oz of milk a day out of my boobs.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

That I would be so very anxious the minute the sun went down- it was awful

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Posted by CkGm

That I would be so very anxious the minute the sun went down- it was awful

Re: Q What was the one thing that

That she would cry so much. She wasn't colicky. She just cried -- alot.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

How isolating the experience is at first. No one can every really explain, or prepare you for how having a baby instantly turns your life upside down and inside out. I kept wondering, when are things going to go back to "normal" - until I realized, that I had to find a new "normal" because after having a baby, NOTHING is ever the same. No more jumping in the car and running out for some groceries, no more meeting my friends for coffee at our favorite cafe on a whim... everything had to be planned out, and my life was no longer MY life, but instead, at least for the first few months, completely and totally dedicated to this new foreign life.

What made it more difficult is that I only had a few friends who had babies before I gave birth, and those few friends painted such a beautiful, unrealistic picture. I remember one woman told me, the second your chlid comes out, you'll just love her to death and you won't ever want to go back to work (in fact, her hubby told me, the second they brought her baby to her, she just kept crying I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU). Yeah, well, I quickly discovered I'm not one of those kind of moms.

Don't get me wrong - I love my child more than anything in the world, but it was a process for me. We both had to get to know each other, and day by day, I grew to love her more and more, but in the beginning, the truth is, I looked at her more in a state of awe, like, um, ok, who are you again? And why do you cry so much?

Now, 19 months later, my life is absolutely NOTHING like it used to be. And, that's a good thing - my life changed in ways I never could have imagined, and I've grown to love and appreciate this little tazmanian devil in ways I could have never fathomed. My life has never been more enriched... but, man oh man, those early days were rough.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

That the term sleeps like a baby did NOT apply to our baby

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Good- how well both DS and I took to BFing. I was on the fence and it turned out to be such a great experience.
Bad- just how much he cried. There were days where I honestly wanted to throw him out the window. He cried so much that I would hear him cry in my head, even when he wasn't.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Me going through Post Pardum Depression, and Christopher being Colicky for 3 months

Re: Q What was the one thing that

That being a stay at home did not come as naturally as I thought it would

Re: Q What was the one thing that

That she would get her period at a few days old. Almost had a heart attack until the doctor told me it was normal.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

Having to deal with the baby blues for 3 weeks, it was hard and I was more nervous of getting PPD.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

I pretty much agree with *everything* that Beth said.

I was not prepared for such a profound life change even though, logically, I knew things were going to change.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

How much you can fall in love with such a little person so fast and so hard.

And how one BF session could last over an hour!

Re: Q What was the one thing that

The Good - how much I loved her...I really wasnt prepared for the overwhelming sense of attachment to her - not that type of person generally...also how well we took to BF...

The bad - leaving the house was such a big deal..even with BF there is still a lot of "Stuff" to take with you when you have a baby. Also I am now working the same job I worked before I had my DD except for I work from home but I still do it full time and take care of my DD...therefore Zero time to myself.

Re: Q What was the one thing that

How quickly they did things - smiled, picked their heads up, etc. I thought everything happened at like 8 months. I was in for a shock - I can't believe they're 6 months and eating, (almost) sitting, standing when we support them, laughing, have little personalities, rolling over, etc. Time goes SO quickly!!!!!

Re: Q What was the one thing that

My obsession with checking to see if she was breathing in the middle of the night.