1. It is fully possible to feel intense joy, panic, nerves, elation and exhaustion all at once.
2. You can survive on two hours sleep – and consider four hours in a row a complete luxury.
3. You will find reserves of patience you never knew you had.
4. Even if you’ve never been a particularly sentimental or emotional person you’ll find it difficult not to sob over programmes about baby animals, TV ads from kids’ charities and soppy “And Finally” stories on the news.
5. Going out in public with unbrushed hair and a top you’ve worn for four days in a row is no longer a big deal.
6. You really like toast and anything else you can eat using only one hand.
7. No matter how tactile you are, there comes a moment when you will need five minutes to yourself, without anyone touching you or wanting to be cuddled.
8. Even if you were formerly a night owl, 3am is not as much fun when you’re not stumbling home from a nightclub clutching a bag of chips.
9. You may be cheery, patient and kind but on three hours of unbroken sleep you turn into a ragey, snappy monster.
10. You find it possible to feel guilt over the tiniest things.
11. No matter how many times you vowed not to become a baby bore, you just can’t help taking photos of your cute baby.
12. You can reach new heights of productivity in a tiny amount of time. (One hour to clean the house, do all the washing, answer some emails, have a quick nap? No problem.)
13. It’s totally possible to feel jealous of a complete stranger in the supermarket, especially if that stranger has perfectly pressed jeans, three sleeping toddlers and a fresh face of make-up.
14. You can still love someone, even after they’ve done a poo on your hair and woken you for the day at 4.30am.
15. You have the ability to judge complete strangers, even though you try not to.
16. You’re a sucker for a baby product, even though you vowed not to be one of *those* parents pre-kids.
17. You may be shy, unconfrontational and a people-pleaser, but if needed you will spring to the defense of your child and family with the ferocity of a lioness.
18. Your body is capable of things you didn’t think possible.
19. You are stronger than you think.
Tell me, what did you learn about yourself when you had a baby?
Molly I love this post because it really is all true and at the moment 4 hours is a total luxury!!
Laura x
Such a fab list…perfect timing too! The last point is something I really need to hear right now with an impending labour on the horizon! x
Such an exciting time for you! x
haha! I love this list! Totally with you on this. So very real!
Thank you! Glad it’s not just me. Such a learning curve – first and second time around! x
So true – I’m always going out with clothes with handprints all over me (and not caring in the slightest!) x
yes yes yes to everything! Especially the tactile thing, I remember so clearly just wanting half an hour of being by myself with no one touching me at all! x
Ah this is the perfect list!! I reckon that that phase with a baby has to be some of the biggest learning about self that happens in the whole of life!
Agree with everything on this list! Fab post x
I love this list! Yes, yes, yes to all of it! True to the core.
Agreed. I’ve learnt that at times it feels impossible to get through the day…the 1st few weeks constant nappy changes, feeds, disturbed sleep and crying BUT it is do able and you love the little monkeys more than you ever thought possible.