From "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidy Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg & Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N. 2002 3rd edition, completely revised and updated; Page 220-221 ..
Question:
I keep wondering if I will be happy with my baby once it's born.
Answer:
Answer:
Most people approach any major change in their lives - marriage, a new career, or an impending birth - wondering whether it will be a change they'll be happy with. And it's always much more likely to be a happy change if expectations about it are realistic.
If you have images of bringing a cooing, smiling, advertisement-ready baby home from the hospital, you may want to read up on what newborns are really like. Not only won't your newborn be smiling or cooing for many weeks, he or she may hardly communicate with you at all, except to cry - and this will almost invariably be when you're sitting down to dinner or starting to get romantic, have to go to the bathroom, or are so tired you can't move.
And if your visions of parenthood consist of nothing but leisurely morning walks through the park, sunny days at the zoo, and hours coordinating a wardrobe of miniature, sparkling clean clothes, another reality check is probably in order. There'll be many mornings that turn into evenings before you and your baby ever have the time to see the light of day; many sunny days that will be spent largely in the laundry room; very few tiny outfits that will escape unstained by spit-up, pureed bananas, and baby vitamins.
What you can expect realistically, however, are some of the most wondrous, miraculous experiences of your life. The fullfillment you will feel when cuddling a warm, sleeping bundle of baby (even if that cherub was a colicky devil moments before) is incomparable. That - along with that first toothless smile meant just for you - will be well worth all the sleepless nights, delayed dinners, mountains of laundry, and frustrated romance.
Can you expect to be happy with your baby? Yes, as long as you're expecting a real one.
My reality check:
Angel and devil merge into a lovable nerve-wrecking thunderstorm. The little ninja turtle. The Angel of Joy. The Angel of Love. The Patron of Healings, Travellers, and Young People. A God's gift. Happy One Month.
If you have images of bringing a cooing, smiling, advertisement-ready baby home from the hospital, you may want to read up on what newborns are really like. Not only won't your newborn be smiling or cooing for many weeks, he or she may hardly communicate with you at all, except to cry - and this will almost invariably be when you're sitting down to dinner or starting to get romantic, have to go to the bathroom, or are so tired you can't move.
And if your visions of parenthood consist of nothing but leisurely morning walks through the park, sunny days at the zoo, and hours coordinating a wardrobe of miniature, sparkling clean clothes, another reality check is probably in order. There'll be many mornings that turn into evenings before you and your baby ever have the time to see the light of day; many sunny days that will be spent largely in the laundry room; very few tiny outfits that will escape unstained by spit-up, pureed bananas, and baby vitamins.
What you can expect realistically, however, are some of the most wondrous, miraculous experiences of your life. The fullfillment you will feel when cuddling a warm, sleeping bundle of baby (even if that cherub was a colicky devil moments before) is incomparable. That - along with that first toothless smile meant just for you - will be well worth all the sleepless nights, delayed dinners, mountains of laundry, and frustrated romance.
Can you expect to be happy with your baby? Yes, as long as you're expecting a real one.
My reality check:
Angel and devil merge into a lovable nerve-wrecking thunderstorm. The little ninja turtle. The Angel of Joy. The Angel of Love. The Patron of Healings, Travellers, and Young People. A God's gift. Happy One Month.
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