26 Things No One Tells You About Motherhood

I’m officially 3 months in to motherhood now, and whilst I’m still pretty much winging it one day at a time, I feel like we’ve started to get our routine down. It’s been such an eye opener becoming a first-time parent. So much happens that I was completely unaware of, and whilst looking after a newborn is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, it’s also the hardest!

Becoming a new parent definitely has its ups and downs (admittedly more downs than ups on some days) and we all go in to it knowing the obvious things. They sleep a lot, they cry a lot, they drink a lot of milk etc etc. But there is so much more to it than that. Here’s 26 things no one tells you about becoming a new parent…

1. The feeling of complete and utter clueless-ness when you first bring your baby home hits you hard. So hard that I had anxiety chest pains for the first 48 hours!
   
   
2. You’ll have a new appreciation for your body and what it can do. You just grew a whole little human being!
   
   
3. You very quickly learn to function off 3 hours sleep and somehow get used to being woken up by a screaming child at all hours of the morning. I can’t remember what a full 8 hours feels like! 
   
   
4. The sleep you do manage to get is the lightest sleep ever. You’ll find yourself listening out for your baby in case they wake up, in turn depriving yourself of more sleep.
   
   
5. You’ll receive a lot of unsolicited advice and opinions about motherhood, but probably won’t agree with a lot of it! You know your baby better than anyone, and your own way of doing things is just fine.
   
   
6. What works for someone else might not work for you. You’ll read all the forums and ask fellow mums for help, but their tried and tested methods might not work for you. Every baby is different.
   
   
7. Your entire life suddenly revolves around keeping a tiny human alive and it can feel SO overwhelming. Suddenly someone depends on you and it can take a moment to get your head round that.
   
   
8. That luscious pregnancy hair you had? Kiss goodbye to it! Be prepared to lose clumps whenever you brush or wash your hair (which is something you won’t have time to do as often anymore)
   
   
9. The mum guilt is real! You’ll find yourself questioning every decision you make and feeling like you’re not doing enough for your little one, even when you’re doing more than enough.
   
   
10. You become an emotional wreck and cry when they do the most simple things. They smile? You cry. They make a cute sound? You cry. They finally do a dirty nappy after 3 days without one? You cry, cry, cry.
    
    
11. The contents of their nappies and how many times they’ve been sick will become regular topics of discussion with your significant other. Who says romance is dead?
    
    
12. Your priorities completely change overnight, and you put your baby before everything else (including your appearance).
    
    
13. You’ll wonder on a daily basis how the hell you grew and birthed a human, and struggle to get your head round how one minute you had a wriggling baby bump and now you have them in your arms!
    
    
14. Time flies! I thought the days would completely drag, and sometimes they can, but more often than not, I blink and its bed time! You’ll suddenly feel the need to make the most of every moment.
    
    
15. It now takes ten times as long to leave the house, even just for a quick walk. Goodbye spontaneity!
    
    
16. They have SO MUCH STUFF! Their belongings literally take over your house. No room is safe.
    
    
17. Two words: Explosive Nappies. Who knew something so small could do THAT?! (And sometimes multiple times a day!) Cue full outfit changes and baths in the middle of the day.
    
    
18. Which leads me nicely on to washing! You’ll do the same amount of washing as a small launderette. I genuinely haven’t seen the bottom of our washing basket in months.
    
    
19. If all you can muster up the motivation to do some days is just sit on the sofa with them, then that’s ok. Some days will be more tiring than others.
    
    
20. Your relationships completely change from the moment your baby enters your world, and that can take some getting used to. Whether that’s relationships with your partner or your friends, you’ll suddenly find your main focus has to shift to your baby.
    
    
21. Some days you feel like you want to be more than ‘just a mum’ and go back to being the old you again. But then your baby will do something adorable and remind you that the ‘new’ you is even better than the old one.
    
    
22. You can’t remember life before them, or what you talked about before they arrived!
    
    
23. You don’t want them to grow up and you wish they could stay tiny forever. You’ll find yourself feeling emotional whenever they outgrow a clothing size and you have to pack their tiny newborn clothes away…
    
    
24. …But at the same time you’re excited about watching them grow and seeing who they will become!
    
    
25. You’ll be all-consumed with a love so much stronger than you ever knew was possible, and suddenly become fiercely protective over them.
    
    
26. Every tear you shed, every minute that you find tough, and every difficult day is completely worth it for the amazing little person you’ve created!

Read: My Positive Birth Story

I’m sure there’ll be a lot more to add to this list as the months go by and we learn more as we go. Let’s face it, I’m completely winging this whole motherhood malarkey! What’s comforting to know though is that all new parents are going through the exact same thing.

I can’t believe our boy is 3 months old already! It might have been an eye-opening few months, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Actually, a little more sleep would have been great!

C
x