How do you think your life will change after birth?

[Neecee]

I probably should have thought about this more before getting pregnant, but over the past few days it's dawned on me the my life will be TOTALLY different come 3rd Feb next year!

My usually toned body has been slowly stretching out of shape and I now realise that after 40 weeks of refiguring itself, it will not spring back over night.

I like to keep our house neat and tidy and everything is coordinated and has a place. My hubby loves his gadgets and there are plenty of buttons around for little fingers to push and slots for things to get "posted" into.

I won't be able to just get up and go when I want to, and as for sleep - well, my sleep pattern has pretty much gone out the window since week 6.

I will have to be a "proper grown-up" because a new little person is TOTALLY dependant on me and hubby and the decisions we make.

As it dawns on me, it's all quite scary actually...

 

[PeanutBean]

My sister said it takes about a year for a woman's body to recover from pregnancy and birth! I really hope my mind moves more quickly than that though!

The biggest and weirdest thing (after actually having a baby) will be not working. I wonder if I'll be glad to return to work to get some grown-up conversation (or any conversation! lol) or if I'll wish I could afford to be a stay at home mum.

I'll have to be more careful with the cleaning because of our two dogs, especially once baby first begins to crawl.

Having had the worst sleep ever throughout the whole pregnancy I'm less concerned about the sleepless nights and you never know, I might get lucky and have a night-sleeping baby and get better sleep! lol

 

[Hevz]

so many people don't think about this part


Yes you're life will change...a lot in some areas and not as much in others. Some of the things that spring to mind are


You're never alone anymore- this can be good and not so good sometimes sex: )

You need a babysitter if you're gonna go out as a couple

You always have someone who loves you and will cuddle and kiss you whenever you want/need it ( also drool on you, puke on you etc)

Remember when you used to "nip" to the shops....you can't do this without making sure baby is fed, watered, changed and you have a blooming great changing bag full of clobber with you

Long weekend lie-ins- nope....not anymore

If you're not hungry and feel a bit knackered you can't just sit there and order a take-away at 9pm.....kids still need to be fed etc

Relaxing baths- hmmmm....not without someone coming in and saying "mmm, that big bubbly bath looks nice Mummy, can I come in?"
These are just a few things that spring to mind...not all bad though.

There's nothing like the feeling you get when baby wakes up and smiles at you or when they get older and tell you they love you and that you're the best Mummy in the world

 

[enigma]

Its really not as bad as you think its going to be, your body gets back to normal looking surprisingly quick (provided you look after it of course).
And its nice when you unscrew the dvd player and £5 worth of copper falls out of it.
And then when your mobile starts ringing.....in the gas fire really isent that shocking.
The bathroom is a good one, my kids have flooded mine about 4 times this year, but i have a lovley pattern on my kitchen sealing.
Oh and dont leave paper near a plugged in toaster, thats not so good, i was cleaning up black stuff of my kitchen cupboard for months afterwards.
OMG why am i doing this again

 

[enigma]

:
Relaxing baths- hmmmm....not without someone coming in and saying "mmm, that big bubbly bath looks nice Mummy, can I come in?"[/COLOR]

Oh yeah that reminds me, i ran a nice bubble bath to relax in the other night, when all of a sudden, my 6 yr old lad burst in, hey mummy, its time for my poo .
Not best known for his tact.

 

[PeanutBean]

We've got two dogs and this sounds like our life now!! Particularly:

You're never alone anymore- this can be good and not so good sometimes
You need a babysitter if you're gonna go out as a couple
You always have someone who loves you and will cuddle and kiss you whenever you want/need it ( also drool on you, puke on you etc)
Long weekend lie-ins- nope....not anymore
If you're not hungry and feel a bit knackered you can't just sit there and order a take-away at 9pm.....kids still need to be fed etc
Relaxing baths- hmmmm....not without someone coming in and saying "mmm, that big bubbly bath looks nice Mummy, can I come in?"

Dogs are always around giving you love, pushing open the bathroom door to sniff the bathwater, needing someone to take care of them if we go away for too long, and waking us up at 6.30am every day regardless of whether we're up for work. We've not had a lie-in in years, literally! And all the poo clearing we have to do for our old dog who can't squat properly to have a good movement, so tends to deposit unexpectedly when he gets a bit full! I always suspected babies and dogs were similar!

 

[Neecee]

Awww! I'm SO looking forward to those big dribbly baby kisses!

 

[Neecee]

:
Relaxing baths- hmmmm....not without someone coming in and saying "mmm, that big bubbly bath looks nice Mummy, can I come in?"[/COLOR]

Oh yeah that reminds me, i ran a nice bubble bath to relax in the other night, when all of a sudden, my 6 yr old lad burst in, hey mummy, its time for my poo .
Not best known for his tact.

 

[Lu28]

My dogs are exactly the same, especially with the barging into the bathroom when you're having a bath (and trying to drink the bath water, ugggh!!).

I imagine having a baby will be similar but multiplied by about 100!

 

[Hevz]

:
Relaxing baths- hmmmm....not without someone coming in and saying "mmm, that big bubbly bath looks nice Mummy, can I come in?"[/COLOR]

Oh yeah that reminds me, i ran a nice bubble bath to relax in the other night, when all of a sudden, my 6 yr old lad burst in, hey mummy, its time for my poo .
Not best known for his tact.

Sounds more like my hubby....tiny bathroom too so you have to face him or put a flannel over your face....I choose the latter

 

[TnKL]

There's nothing like the feeling you get when baby wakes up and smiles at you or when they get older and tell you they love you and that you're the best Mummy in the world

awww... Things like that makes it all worth it.


I have been complaining to my hubby about everything. The sleep, pain, body ect but he reassure me that everything is all worth it when we get to see and hold our LO

We try not to think about the other "stuff" YET.

 

[ryder]

lol we have a dog, he is a shadow! He follows me everywhere and stares... yes, that means he stares while im on the toilet!

Don't really know how much my life will change, I think alot of the changes will be good ones. Me and my OH have a good relationship and are good at figuring things out. So I think everything will work out.

We never slept in much anyways... I guess the biggest change for me in the beginning will be the sleeping pattern with a baby.

 

[marley2580]

It's the sudden realisation that you are totally and completely the only thing that's keeping this little person alive and healthy.

The way that you never knew that you could love anything this much

The way that every news item makes you think 'what if that was my child'

The fact that all your conversation topics consist of poo, feeding habits, and little Johnny's latest development.

My life hasn't changed much - I have.

 

[mrsdcooper]

everything is so going to change but how exciting, im going to have my own little family. for all the ups and downs that come, my little family to care for.

i cant wait for all those christmas's ahead. it will bring back that special feeling you used to get.

AWWWWW im gonna be a mummy!!!! come on sept 30th

 

[Anna1982]

less sleep for a start

More family oriantated holidays. Christmas's will be huge!

 

[codegirl]

Everthing will change. I think that's one of the most scary things about being an older first time mom is I've had a LONG time to get use to
a. sleeping in
b. spending money however
c. going out whenever

BUT, I can hardly wait! Christmas's, Easters, birthdays will be so great! Having another person to laugh with. And just having a little piece of DH that has a little piece of me too that his/her own little person and watching him/her grow and mature into a independed strong person is so exciting.

Not so excited about poopy diapers though.....

 

[Sarahkka]

I've already felt huge changes.
For instance, I'm already way more empathetic and emotionally involved with things like the news. Usually when I hear tragic stories on the news, I take a moment to think "oh those poor people", then I carry on with my day. Now, especially if tragedies involve kids, I sit there in horror and make silent plea bargains with the universe - "please please please don't ever let that happen to my child. I'll do anything/everything, just don't let that happen to my kid". Which is a bit ridiculous when it's something like a farm accident and I'm living in the city!
I imagine that I am going to be even more like that after baby is born.
I think my biggest struggle is going to be letting baby have the necessary freedom to grow up into his own person. Those news stories can easily turn into paranoia and make you really overprotective.
I think I will be able to handle all the other adjustments, but I'm not sure how gracefully if I'm really sleep-deprived. I'm a bit worried about that part, I guess.
And like Peanut, I am curious to see how I do with a year of mat leave - will I be bored or will I be sad to leave baby at the end of it?
I don't know.
I am looking forward to seeing my husband as a father, though.
I feel like I have fallen in love with him more than I knew was possible since we got pregnant and seeing him with our baby might just make my head explode with the sheer joy of it all.

 

[Shri]

one thing that I know is going to change is HEAD SPACE. When you are around kids and babies (I work with them) there is no head space at all. They need your attention all the time and even if they are occupied, you have to have eyes in the back of your head and your ears constantly alert. At the moment, I can come home, go to my room and totally switch off from the world if i want to. That is not going to be the case when baby arrives. But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to have my own baby to mess up my head space as well as the house.

 

[sparkswillfly]

My dog completely changed my life and nearly gave him a nervous breakdown. He sleeps in my bed, weed everywhere for ages. Needs walking 2 or 3 times a day or he goes mental and starts chewing on parts of your body. I cant even go to the toilet without him crying at the door. I cant leave the house for more than 5 hours at a time! Oh and I have to constantly watch him because his new obsession is to pull up the carpets. After this little monster (who im sure was spiderman in a previous life) I feel like I can take on anything!

I think the thing that will hit me the most is lack of sleep. Especially when I have to go back to work after 8 weeks and leave the bubs at home with daddy because I know for a FACT that he wont get up to him/her in the night. I doubt he will even hear the crying in his deep sleeps!

 

[chrissie33]

Well at the moment we have a cat who is more like a child. He waits for me at the door when I come in from work, pesters me constantly if I am trying to work from home, wakes me at 4am for a cuddle and if I lay down on the sofa, well that is his time to come and do the weird kneeding thing that cats do.... so I think my like is gonna be different with a baby but not so much as the cat thinks he is a baby now!! lol.... wouldnt change him for a minute though