Having A Baby 19 Most Surprising Things You Ll Experience

And then my actual baby showed up, and being a mom was everything and nothing like the books said it would be. I was constantly being surprised. My feelings were bigger than I expected. The tiredness was worse than I expected. The highs were higher and the lows were lower. (Also, I constantly felt damp because there was usually either milk, pee, or sweat on me. Who knew postpartum sweatiness was a thing?) I asked other parents if they faced their own “why didn’t anyone tell me about this” moments once their babies arrived, and oh boy they did! It turns out almost all of us were shocked by things as new moms. Read on for the hidden truth about having a baby. iStock/SolStock More from CafeMom: 18 Gorgeous Celtic Baby Names That Are Totally Overlooked Bad: I realized I had a very limited understanding of childbirth (emotions about emergency C-section) and breastfeeding (ouch). Also how hard the transition to mom life is — new schedule, new expectations — until you find mom friends." — Annie M., St. Louis, Missouri He was not into swings. He hated shirts being pulled over his head. He grew so fast that his clothes didn’t fit him in the right season. I actually had to take a day off work to buy him clothes when he was a year old. The seasons changed and he didn’t have any warm clothes." — Yesenia A., Saint Paul, Minnesota More from CafeMom: 8 Thoughts Every Mom Has When Bringing Baby Home from the Hospital More from CafeMom: 12 Things No One Ever Tells You About Baby’s First Month of Life PSA: If there are any new moms struggling with a cranky baby who are reading this: I know you didn’t choose this. I know you are struggling. I know you’d like to be able to leave the house more. YOU ARE DOING NOTHING WRONG! It isn’t you. Some babies just need a little more time to adjust to the world. I have been there. It is so, so, SO hard. If you need someone to come hold your cranky baby so you can get a few minutes to yourself to get out of the house — ask for help. You are doing great. Keep on keeping on. " — Ann L., Memphis, Tennessee Also, I liked my kids in that stage a lot more. It was simpler." — Jenn R., San Diego, California More from CafeMom: 13 Genius Breastfeeding Hacks to Make Life as a Nursing Mom So Much Easier Looking back, my oldest was a HARD baby, and while I struggled a lot to get to know her and figure out what she needed, it was much harder with all of those people saying things like, ‘If you really cared about me, you’d find a way to make it to [fill in activity]’ scheduled right in the middle of nap time. I wish I had tuned them out much earlier." — Kristy P., Des Moines, Iowa More from CafeMom: 13 Memes That Hilariously Sum Up Life With a Teething Baby More from CafeMom: Beautiful Images of Mothers Surving Postpartum Depression Are Everything Also, how hard it is not to lose yourself a bit (or a lot) throughout the journey of motherhood. I thought I’d hold tight to my hobbies, passions, friends, etc. But years with the littles, being a stay at home mom on a very tight budget makes nurturing your needs as a parent a lot harder than I thought!" — Katie C., Saint Paul, Minnesota And blogs and Pinterest and the comment sections of articles aren’t any better. Chill out, people, we’re all just trying to freaking survive." — Anna Kate E., Grand Rapids, Michigan More from CafeMom: 13 Mothers Share Their Mom-Shaming Stories — & How Bad It Hurts

Having a Baby 19 Most Surprising Things You ll Experience - 63