Positive stories!

[rylez98]

@pentzbar000 Just top hits from just turned 2yo from the last week or so:

• he goes “bloody hell” or “stupid council” whenever we hit a pothole in the road
• went to the zoo for his birthday and I asked him what he thought the elephant was called. He turned and very seriously said “Albert” like he was a priest doing a christening. We know no one called Albert and it’s not in any books or TV shows. Who is Albert?!
• he choose to go for a “pub dinner” for his birthday (he went for a few in the summer whilst on holiday). When we arrived he walked in and squeaked “pub dinner” with happy stamping feet and it was just pure joy from him.
• we have taught him to do when he really likes a certain food. He does “add a little bit of spice” when we season food. He has learnt “good soup” and the “I feel like chicken tonight” song. Hilarious.
• the first time he sang a song was in the supermarket till queue. He just started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star out the blue. Complete with actions and did a little half bow when an old lady said she liked his singing.

He is the light of my life and though those 3ams are hard so much makes up for it. Whenever he does something new I feel my heart grow like in the grinch.

 

[emtbag]

@pentzbar000 Even with all the hard parts, my life is so much more full now. My toddler is currently taking a break from a 30 minute screaming meltdown (her first!) and I don’t care. She is the love of my life and the sun rises and sets with her.

You don’t need to have kids to know this level of love… but I sure did. Do I miss my past life sometimes? Sure. But this messy and bright life is so much better than before. This life, crying and all, is worth living.

 

[byastian]

@pentzbar000 Check out r/brightsideofparenting

 

[shavit]

@pentzbar000 I absolutely LOVE being a mom. I have loved every stage so far and we are almost at 18 months. He’s grown incredibly big incredibly fast and is just a lovey goofy good boy. He loves to dance and is starting to get his words. It is the best! My husband and I are currently dealing with a “fight” between us and I have been crying and my son has been attached to my side since it started. He gives me kisses and hugs and makes me laugh instead of cry. I wouldn’t trade him for anything.

 

[pal1322]

@pentzbar000 Since my kid was born, I am unable to do basic everyday things like shower, sleep, or anything that requires two hands. But my kid is the light of my life. When he is asleep, I spend way too much time looking at pictures of him. I can't imagine life without him now.

 

[invisisole]

@pentzbar000 My daughter is turning 8 in a few days. I had severe postpartum depression and have long struggled with crippling anxiety and depression. She is such a light in my life and absolutely motivated me to get better at coping with my mental illness. She’s wonderful, funny, and a joy to have in my life. I was so scared of becoming a mom, and it’s honestly been wonderful. My husband and I struggled towards the beginning but our relationship is better than ever nowadays.

 

[hercules29]

@pentzbar000 My daughter 3.5 met Santa yesterday and she was so excited, the biggest smile I have seen in a while.
Her imagination is running wild and she is hilarious (when not in gremlin mode).
I took a part time internship to be able to be with her while making slow progress in my career, I am waiting for a full time contract any day this week which will improve our economic situation so much.

 

[katrina2017]

@pentzbar000 It’s all on perspective in my opinion.
But I lost my mother at a young age so I have a different view on life as it is. Life is short. The bad times don’t last long I promise. Try to find the good in the bad.

My 2 year old daughter loves “We Don’t Talk Abojt Bruno” We’ve listened to it on repeat about 500 times not exaggerating either and I asked today if she wanted to hear it and she said “Yes baby!” Like “Yeah baby!” And it was the cutest thing.

She was Elsa for Halloween and before we trick or treated she performed let it go for my husband, myself, and my step mom.

We sang “This is What Dreams are Made Of” from the Lizzie McGuire movie with faux crayon microphones.

Lately she’s been asking “What’s that sound?” To everything cause she’s curious and it’s so cute.

And I love watching her play with her little people because they are so polite to each other and say thank you.

My husband and I were able to do a one day trip to a major city and I loved it but it was stressful and I missed her. I had to keep the baby monitor on all night for familiarity. But I’ve always known I wanted to be a mother. She’s my little duckling. It wouldn’t have it any other way. I few hours and a few days apart is fine but I’ll always want to come back into her arms. To make more memories and laughs and smiles.

 

[saintandrew4life]

@pentzbar000 We took our daughter to an art museum yesterday and she had the best time.

We carried her around looking at all the artwork, and she was just laughing, and laughing!

It was the cutest thing.

She’s also into “quiet talking”, where we look at her and just talk really quietly. For some reason she thinks this is hysterical.

Sure, parenting is hard sometimes but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the fucking world.

 

[jordan_cg]

@pentzbar000 My oldest has had all of the typical "challenges" . Severe allergy that made his early months impossibly hard, terrible sleeper, developmental delays, COVID hit when he was 6 months old. Now he is 4 and he is the calmest, sweetest, snuggliest, "sit down in a blanket fort with a cup of hot chocolate" kind of kid. Things will be hard. Things will suck hind tit. Then things will change. Then they'll change again. It's just the way of life.

 

[jackie789]

@pentzbar000 I have 7 month old twin boys and I've loved every second so far, even the newborn days. Yeah your life changes but it's awesome. I don't miss going out because I rather be hanging with the kiddos anyway. Plus I know things will get more flexible sooner rather than later. My hubby and I are way closer because we're working as a team and leaning on each other. Try to keep calm during the chaos, speak up when you need support, and remember it goes fast. I miss being preggo with my cuties.

 

[maskil]

@pentzbar000 Honestly I love all parts of being a parent and having a baby, it does get frustrating, stressful, and hard at times but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. I absolutely loved the potato stage, getting in all the baby snuggles, hearing the little baby whines/noises, and although the nights were exhausting being awake for so long watching my daughter go back to sleep and be so happy and peaceful in my arms was amazing.

Now that she’s older, 14 months old, everything she does is just adorable. She runs to me with her arms open wanting a hug and to be picked up, she laughs at so many things and has such a huge personality now! She glares randomly for no reason, she’s super sassy when she wants to be, and she’s the most adorable baby ever. The tantrums are rough but all of the other adorable baby things make up for it.

Many parents I’m sure, like me, come to places like Reddit to just get out there frustrations in the moment so although you read a lot of bad things about parenting someone could just be needing an outlet. Not everything is bad about parenting, it is difficult but it’s so so amazing as well!

 

[whatilove]

@pentzbar000 The only "bad" things I experienced as a parent was my own bad ass attitude. Our relationship struggled a bit because my #1 priority became the baby and my husband's continued to be work followed by me. But after lots of communication and open discussion about how we wanted to go forward things got better. I was the jerk who expected everything to be 50/50 while knowing he did NOT have the capacity to do so. I had many expectations about how things would be, that were just unrealistic for us.

As far as being a parent, I have never loved my life as much as I do now. Everyday is challenging but MORE rewarding than the day before. Although our schedule runs the same everyday, no 2 days are the same. My daughter has slept through the night since a month old, zero sleep regressions, never fought me for a nap, puts herself in her own bed when she is tired in the evenings. Temper tantrums last a total of 20 seconds, anything longer than that is genuine pain/fear. Every milestone brought so much joy. Watching her learn, grow, see new things, master tasks, developing herself, has been incredible. I had no trouble during the newborn phase and this is the end of the toddler phase. I wouldn't trade this happiness and contentment for anything in the world. I am a better person since being a parent and have a reason to strive to be better everyday.

She currently is over the moon excited to be a big sister, every person she sees she yells "there is a baby in my mommy's belly and I am going to have a sister!". When relaxing on the couch she lifts up my shirt to expose my round belly, cover it with her favorite blanket, and cuddles me/her sister. Even when she is difficult, she is super cute and it's rather comical.

As others have suggested, stay off the internet. Read books for entertainment if you need the distraction. Happy people don't hang out online. Ignore it and embrace the change of life. Remember your own childhood, the good and the bad. It all goes so fast, you don't want to miss it because of resentment, anger or disappointment.

 

[wordcrafter]

@pentzbar000 I wasn’t always sure I wanted to be a mom. Now I have a 19 month old. He is such a bright spot in my life. He gives me such a sense of purpose and meaning everyday. He forces me to stay present and appreciate the tiny things in life that he loves, like crunchy leaves and flowers and bugs. He makes me a much better person. There are plenty of hard moments and seasons of course, but that’s true for anything worthwhile.

 

[mawdugdale]

@pentzbar000 People just complain louder than they say positive things - it’s just our nature. Having kids is the BEST thing ever. Yeah there’s some huge changes and you lose sleep and life is different, but WOW. that love you feel for them is like nothing else. Your heart grows a million times bigger than you thought possible when you meet them (at least mine did) and it just fills up every time they do something adorable or new. Even when they’re being little sh:ts it makes me laugh. I’ve got a 1 year old and a 3 year old and they are absolutely incredible - no regrets here - you’ll love it

 

[sabstame]

@pentzbar000 I have so many (and not all of my children are neurotypical or even remotely easy). I think the best thing I can say is that I have 4 kids, and I have ABSOLUTELY no regrets about having any of them. I love them more than I can express. Sometimes it’s just the small wins that are amazing. Sometimes, it’s the small hilarious things like one of my children learning to say (approximately) “bok, bok” like a chicken and then laughing hilariously when we do it back. It’s my child with ASD who learned (a while ago) to call me Mommy or to ask for what he wants. It’s every little stride. It’s the cuddles I get from each of my kids. It’s the “Love you” text from my college age kid as I dropped him off at the bus to go back to school earlier this week (and he rarely texts lol). It was watching my milk/formula fed baby pass out on my chest because skin to skin sleeping is the only way it worked for us for several months lol. I wouldn’t give up any of my kids for anything. And I say this as someone who has kids as a very young adult and someone who has them as a “geriatric/old” Mom. And I also say this as someone who loves kids, but isn’t very good with kids who aren’t mine. And when I got pregnant with my first, I remember confessing to my mom that I was terribly afraid and that I wasn’t good with kids. She told me that “it’s different when they’re yours.” And she was right. I still struggled with my first for a couple of years due to severe (unrecognized/untreated) PPD/PPA and an abusive (EX)husband. But I think had those factors not in place, or had I gotten the treatment that I needed (sooner) that it would have been better. And if I had recognized that my ex was abusive and it wasn’t my fault or responsibility. Please know that there are a LOT of amazing moments as a parent. If you feel like you are anxious/depressed, please reach out to a trained professional.

 

[mikeisthename]

@pentzbar000 I absolutely love being a mama. I loved the newborn cuddles, nursing, the gummy smiles, the babbles, each and every new thing he learns...I could go on and on. Sure, the first few months are HARD and there will always be hard moments. You do make sacrifices and your life will change, but in ways you never even imagined.

Today my 18 month old was playing, stopped, and ran up to me today with outstretched arms. I picked him up and he just laid his head on my shoulder and let me get some snuggles. After a couple minutes, he raised his head and gave me several kisses (well, his version of kisses haha) and smiled at me between each one. Then he let me know he was ready to get down and he continued on his way. It absolutely melted me because he's trying to be so independent now.

It is so fulfilling to watch this little person learn everything they know from you. They look up to you and need you and depend on you and trust you with their whole entire being. It is the purest and deepest form of love you could even imagine.

 

[r123]

@pentzbar000 I don’t have a specific story but I have been pleasantly surprised by my parenting experience so far (one month in). I read so much negative, or at least neutral/anxious stuff, and was ready for everything to be difficult. Maybe I just got really lucky with my baby, but we are doing great! Yeah we have long nights and yeah I’m tired but I had a mental list of so many things that could go wrong and basically none of them have happened.

I think we just hear the most about people complaining… it feels like bragging to go online and talk about how chill everything is. Plus historically people only share the good parts of kids, but now society has majorly overcorrected and mostly shares the bad parts.

I was in your shoes before I got pregnant- felt like I had read all the terrible things, and wondered if I was crazy for wanting a baby anyways! So glad I overcame that because now my girl is here and I love her so much.

 

[goodenough]

@pentzbar000 The love that you can feel for your child truly is infinite. The best feeling is getting a long hug from your kid. It truly is amazing I get lots of these hugs and it fills my heart up each time.

 

[katrina2017]

@pentzbar000 Every day is a little easier. Just remember that. They are giant balls of need, but they get a little stronger and bigger each day.

You cannot fight the hard stuff. The only way to weather it is to fully submit. Just accept that there will be hard times and no sleep. This will allow you to truly enjoy those moments where it is peaceful and happy. There is nothing so wonderful as the first smile, gently squeezing teeny tiny toes, or watching them focus their eyes for the first time.

I fell in love with my son when they handed him to me and he meowed. After 36 hours of back labor, he meowed at me. It was the best moment of my life an 100% worth it!