I feel really fulfilled, but so so much more stressed! Not sure how it nets out. I've definitely learned to let go of my own personal happiness and to try to look at the big picture.
Are you happier since becoming a parent?
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YES!!!!! I am more stressed too but the happiness and the love makes me wish I could afford to have a very big brangelina style family!!!
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I've gained a lot of confidence since becoming a parent -- I'm confident in my decision making, my body and so much more. We both feel more fulfilled and can't imagine life without our daughter!
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Yes and no. I love our family and I love love being a Mommy. But I am not happy in how I feel about how I look. I miss being able to go to the gym after work (solo week parenting) and feeling good about myself.
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Honestly, no. Not at this point. I love my son more than life itself and wouldn't trade being a mom for anything. That being said, I am still so new at this. I am sleep-deprived, stressed, scared, and overwhelmed. I am just trying to keep my head above water. Fulfilled, yes. Amazed, yes. Head over heels in love, yes. Happier, not just yet.
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My happiness triggers have changed. I used to love Sunday fun days and staying out till all hours of the night. Now I love weekends at home.
So, in short, net net same level of happiness, just caused by different things.
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I am happier than I have ever been in my life. While we have our bad moments, the good more than outweigh the bad. I'm so in love with our daughter.
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Nope. Hoping that'll change soon!
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Nope. I am madly in love with my baby boy, but I spend most days exhausted, confused, frustrated, and stressed. He is absolutely the best part of me, but we're still figuring each other out. I'm sure the happy part will come with time.
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Hmm... yes and no. I LOVE Xander and everything about him and have so much fun just hanging out with him. BUT I know that my relationship with Hubs is being neglected and I don't feel good about that. Plus I never have any time anymore and I have to schedule everything around feeding or pumping. So... probably overall, I'm less happy. But I'm HOPEFUL that things will improve!
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I think I am happier. I mean, I'm so tired I feel physically sick and I'm a bundle of nerves constantly (she's only 2 weeks old, gimme chance!) but my whole outlook on life is different now and I realise just how lucky I am. I love my husband more than ever, I appreciate our families more.... I'm very content.
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Yeah...DS isn't a baby anymore...he's a kid. He's a lot of fun. It's great. The baby stage is only temporary. It's amazing to see them grow into cool little kids with interests and quirks.
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Yes. I think there was a definite spike in my happiness around when LO was 10 mos, and it's gone way up since then. The early period was tough. I'm not saying it's all a cakewalk now, but most days break down like this: 90% awesome, and 10% me wanting to curl up in a ball under the covers (mostly caused by fits of whining).
@Mrs. Jump Rope: I agree about the confidence thing. Being solely responsible for the life of another person changed me and my outlook on life for the better. It's so much easier to keep things in perspective.
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Not yet. I love my goober, but I'm still in survival mode and am incredibly stressed all the time...not to mention DH and I don't ever get time together..
I know it will get better, because it's a little better every day, but I'm not there yet!
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It took me several months after having M to realize that I could be happy with this new life. I really thought that I would never be happy again. Now the happy moments outshine the difficult ones. Her smiles and laughs get me through the fussy times and I really can say that DH and I are both happier than we were before.
Moms of newborns - give it some time and give yourselves a break! In the beginning I was trying hard just to enjoy one moment every day. The happiness will come back slowly.
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Yes and no? I love her. She is a joy in my life and she makes me happy and smile every single day. There is still a part of me that mourns the loss of being young and carefree and being able to be spontaneous though.
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Some days, yes....sometimes, no. But it's better than it was 2-3 months ago and i know it'll be even better in 2-3 more months!
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My answer to this question has drastically changed in the past year. But now, with 2 kids age 1 and 3, YES YES YES I am so much happier!!! Still stressed out and busy but I don't mind because of the happiness and fulfillment I get every single day.
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Overall yes. The highers are much higher, but the lows, so much lower. Mainly because there is so much more at stake now.
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@rahlyrah: @grizz: I felt completely the same for the first few weeks after having LO. I was crazy in love with her but was like "I have no idea what others moms are saying when they say thy can't remember life before baby. I can remember my life before baby and it was so great...I was much more carefree, had so much fun, etc.." But slowly things changed and I would say around 6 months I was definitely able to say that I was happier as a parent than I was before...and that happiness just grew bigger and stronger everyday. I can definitely say without a doubt that I am a million times more happy as a parent but i couldn't say that in the first few weeks
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@honeybear: I totally agree . . . right around 10 months was a *corner turning* age for me too.
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This is great thread! Those first few months were REALLY hard for us. I don't think we understood the impact that having a baby was going to make. That said,
Yes, I am happier. More tired, more stressed and I miss some of the things I used to do but he is the very best thing that we have ever done.
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I'm happy in a different way. Before LO, our life was about a range of interests, etc. with nights by ourselves. Now, our life revolves around him in a good way. My social circles have dramatically changed since LO arrived. I learned who are my friends and who aren't. Life has gotten better since LO turned 6 months old. I have moments where I think I'm crazy to want to go through a tough 6 months again, yet, I'm totally game for it.
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yes. I have always wanted to be a mom, and have never felt more fulfilled.
however, we have serious money stress. well, I do. we aren't in danger of anything - but it's always nice to have more money, no? lol. I don't blame that on the baby, though - baby aside, I still don't know "what I want to be when I grow up" and have no idea of a career that I would enjoy.
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Yes. Now I feel like I have real, soul reaching happiness. It's easy to get stressed and have those moments when I wish I could sleep in or go out on the spur of the moment but I feel fulfilled in a way I didn't before she was here.
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Yes. But it's funny-- I know I didn't appreciate the things I had before, like sleep and the ability to just pick up and go wherever, so they didn't make me happy then, but I feel wistful for them now. But YES. I have had more blissful moments since giving birth than in the 10 years leading up to his birth. I am actually surprised at how happy I am even though I am woefully sleep-deprived and currently sick with a sinus thing.
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@JerricaBenton: Oh yes! I feel the same exact way
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Getting there. I've realized very recently that I think I may have dealt with some undiagnosed PPD. Or maybe just baby blues that lasted for over three months? I don't know what it was, but in the last 10 days it feels like I've come out of a fog. It was a fog that made me dread every day, left me in tears constantly, and left me rife with anxiety over every. single. little. thing.
I'm now getting to a place where I am accepting all the changes that have taken place in my life and I can feel myself slowly moving toward embracing them. Slowly, slowly
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Yes, I'm happier, but in a different way. DH and I are finding our path in making sure we still go out and do fun things together, but we're getting better at it. LO is such a joy to me. We lucked out with a relatively easy baby (don't get me wrong, she has her moments), so I think that helps. And I love watching DH be her Daddy.
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