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I Wish Someone Had Told Me...

Pregnancy Advice

By iParenting Staff

There are a bunch of "little" things I would have liked to have known, but THE one thing I had completely underestimated is how all-consuming being a mom can be. Not a second goes by when you're not with your baby, doing something for your baby, or thinking and worrying about your baby. I didn't go into parenthood feeling naive about the level of responsibility and amount of effort a baby requires, but I really had no concept of how instantaneously I would stop being "me" and became "my baby's mom." My husband is now "the baby's dad," my job is "the thing I do to support my family," and leisure time is nonexistent! This isn't a bad thing, just very different -- a different way of thinking, feeling and looking at the world.

I wish someone had told me that the nights of continuously interrupted sleep would eventually be the most fulfilling times of all!!!

The one thing I wish someone had told me about before I had my children was to sleep! After my son was born I barely slept at all, even when he was sleeping. I would clean or do something else. Needless to say, I was sleep-deprived and I feel that is the main reason I had such bad potpartum depression. Now as a doula, I tell all of my clients to sleep as much as possible after the baby is born and it will help everyone feel better.