What I didn't expect (please play)

[Deleted]

As a parent. Being pregnant counts too! Or even what wasn't expected while TTC or in a relationship.

Find a way to add your What I Didn't Expect as it pertains to your life.

[hensmum]

That my postpartum recovery (physically) would be so painful and long.

Ha - speaking of, that this self-proclaed sex fiend would be fine with not having sex for soooo long after birth.

That toddler nursing would make me so skinny. I've never been this thin in my adult life. Thanks, Hen, Mommy loves you!

Oh, and I didn't expect to still be nursing at 32 months and counting! Or how much I'd love extended nursing. Or how hard it would be to get a toddler to wean. I am so ready to start wrapping things up, but this kid has his own ideas...

That managing family dynamics while keeping my marriage thriving would be so hard.

[ct]

I never expected that....

- co-parenting would be so hard
- there would be SO MUCH LAUNDRY
- I'd never hold an ultrasound picture
- I'd want 4 kids
- my house would get so thoroughly trashed

[rikkiandjulie]

- That Julie and I would go through such hard things.
- That getting married young would prove as hard as it is. It's worth it though.
- That I'd be so terrible with money, all.the.time. I clip coupons and such but it's the "oh that Chapstick is only $1 that fucks me", and eating out. Meh.


Rikki-iPhone

[twotrue]

TTC
- I never expected it to be so easy. Not just in the amount of time it took, but in the whole process. I adore my fertility clinic and it was such a joy to go to those appointments.

Pregnancy
- I never expected that I would have such a hard time wrapping my head around being pregnant with twins.

Parenting
- I never expected it to give me the confidence that it has.

Relationship
- I never expected to still butt heads about certain things after so many years.

[tattooedmeegs]

Jan 15, 2013 6:56:37 GMT -5 hensmum said:

Oh, and I didn't expect to still be nursing at 32 months and counting! Or how much I'd love extended nursing. Or how hard it would be to get a toddler to wean. I am so ready to start wrapping things up, but this kid has his own ideas...

That managing family dynamics while keeping my marriage thriving would be so hard.

This for sure!! Gwen is 3 next month, and clinging tightly to her last 2 nursing sessions a day.

And a big ditto on the family stuff.

[tattooedmeegs]

I never expected marriage to be so hard after so long, and that it would be harder still with a baby.

I never expected to be DONE after just one.

[2brides]

Man, I could come up with a 1000 of these.

I thought I knew what having kids would be like. I babysat all.of.the.time from 11y-college, I was a FT nanny for the summers, worked in daycare/summer camp, was known as the baby/kid whisperer among my friends, and have a degree in child development. I was clueless.

I didn't' know how hard it would be (and how much I'd miss) my alone/quiet time and that I'd let my kids play a lot of video games in order to get it.

I didn't anticipate the copious amount of talk about "butts, penises, farting, etc" and the sound effects that come with it.

I didn't realize how hard lack of sleep would be on me - 3.5y of a kid not sleeping through the night really wears a person down.

That there would be times I'd just look at my kids and cry because I don't want anything to happen to them. And I am NOT a crier.

That my fuse would be as short as it is. The screaming? The back talking? The tantrums? Ugh.

That having children can be really hard on a marriage.

That breastfeeding twins is a great weight loss program (got down to my HS weight) and that stopping makes you gain weight faster than you can blink an eye.

[never2amazing]

I didn't think I would have to forego my silent and peaceful morning cup of joe.

I never thought C and I would disagree on so much.

I knew it would be hard on our relationship, but I didn't know it would as hard as it has been.

That raising twins is hard work.

...and the list could go on.

[Deleted]

I didn't expect...

To feel so differently about each of my children.

That my wife and I would become strangers.

To be so short tempered.

The moments of looking at my children, feeling an achy, overwhelming pride in my chest, sucking in a breath and crying.

That sometimes I would think about/want to leave my family (happens when I really need a break). My mom did that to us and I cannot ever do that to my kids.

To see myself in three nonbio kids, it is amazing.

To want a simple life for my kids

[mk]

I never expected
* to love my FS this much. I would die for him.
* how scary it is to love someone that much.
* not to have had a baby yet (age 34! never).
* that K and I would basically have the same problems all these year later.
* how meaningful the support of "strangers" would be. My dentist office calls to ask about the baby. lol and you girls, of course!

[kershnic]

That I still wouldn't be able to answer this question.

[seattlekari]

I didn't expect:

That I would worry if I am parenting the "right" way to raise a healthy happy child.

That I would have a short fuse for things that make messes in which she is clearly having fun, learning something, etc. I'm working hard on this one and feel like I'm making progress.

That I could sit in awe of the person E is becoming. She is developing such a sense of herself and her world and it is so cool.

[twomoms2twins]

Jan 15, 2013 9:08:58 GMT -5 twotrue said:

TTC
- I never expected it to be so easy. Not just in the amount of time it took, but in the whole process. I adore my fertility clinic and it was such a joy to go to those appointments.

Pregnancy
- I never expected that I would have such a hard time wrapping my head around being pregnant with twins.

Parenting
- I never expected it to give me the confidence that it has.

Relationship
- I never expected to still butt heads about certain things after so many years.

Two- twins congrats .. so now you will have 2 sets of twins right or am I confused?

[twomoms2twins]

I did not expect -

To love being a stay at home mom but I miss them so much when i am away.

I did not expect it to fly by so quickly and was not prepared for that. I know now why people have many kids - they are always chasing that newborn dream

I did not expect children to bring M and I closer in so many aspects but move us apart.

I did not expect parenting to give me confidence either - but I'm doing ok.

[twotrue]

Jan 18, 2013 19:26:43 GMT -5 twomoms2twins said:

Oh god no. Just an almost 3 year old daughter.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[2brides]

I thought of a new one last night...

I didn't realize we'd basically lose all of our friends. Most of our friends pre-kids were gay male couples and while they think the boys are cute, their idea of a great time isn't 6pm dinners with a couple of wiggly kids in a kid-friendly restaurant. And we've just had a hard time making friends with people who have kids.

[ElsaVonM]

In a relationship:
- To find so much peace and security in another person
- To find someone who is so uncritical of everything about me except my housekeeping skills
- That spending time together would be so important to me, even after 12+ years together

TTC/Pregnancy:
- That I would fall so easily into the role of taking care of her
- That living with a pregnant woman for 8 months would make me totally change course and realize that I don't really care if I ever experience pregnancy or not
- After the initial excitement wore off, that I would feel strangely divorced from the whole thing for the first few weeks after our BFP

Parenting:
- That I would be so lax about screen time. I just don't really care and don't think that they are suffering developmentally at all. That may change as they get older and start to ask/demand to watch it when I don't want them to.
- That it would be so exhausting all day but I'd still miss them and want to peek in on them or look at pictures of them after they go to bed.
- That I would worry about things like how to keep them from becoming serial killers and how to keep Lady Baby safe from sexual assault in high school and college.
- That we would have so little input on their clothes - they get so many hand-me-downs and gifts that we rarely have an excuse to buy anything. Great financially, but not as much fun.