The Joy of Parenting

When I first got pregnant, everyone told me how hard motherhood is. You’ll never sleep, birth is the worst, you won’t get to have fun like you do now, enjoy your skinny tummy while you can – basically making me really nervous and not excited at all. I wondered if this was a mistake. Add on that I was pregnant and parenting during a pandemic, and I was not feeling confident about bringing my child into the world.

It’s been about a year and I’m no expert (and who really is honestly?), and while it is the hardest job ever, why doesn’t anyone tell you about the special moments that come with motherhood?

• Like those late night wake ups where it’s just you and your baby in the quiet night, snuggling and eating. 
• Or how much you laugh at blowout diapers because “we knew one that was coming.”
• Or how you look at this little human and don’t know how they can get cuter, and then they do. 
• Or just looking at them makes you tear up because you “just love them so much.”
• Or the first smiles at you that make your insides feel like mush and bring tears to your eyes. 
• Or when you finally get them down for a nap and have time to yourself, which you then spend missing them and looking at photos of them. 
• Or how after a short time of parenthood – 1 week for me – I couldn’t imagine life without them.
• Or your postpartum tummy has cushion for a baby that hates tummy time, unless it’s on you. 
• Or when they look at you and you can just tell you’re their favorite person in the whole world.
• Or how you crave having snuggles with them, especially as they get more and more wiggly.
• Or when they have a new skill, you brag to anyone and everyone that will listen.
• Or the pride you feel when something just clicks when you’ve been having a difficult day or week – whether it be a good nap, eating a new food, getting a laugh out of your little one, whatever.

Don’t get me wrong, parenting is hard. I’m tired a lot, especially when I am working too. I get frustrated when my daughter keeps crying for something they really shouldn’t have (looking at you knives in the dishwasher) or when I can’t do anything without a baby on my hip. But it is so fulfilling to soak up time with this little human that I love more than anything in this world. The moments of glee far outnumber the moments of bitterness – by a lot!

Remember this: when people announce their first child, why share the scary parts and the hard parts that can make new parents even more nervous about parenthood?

Share the joyful moments. Make them excited and curious for this stage in life. It helps everyone, even you, to focus on the good.