are you the parent you thought you’d be?

I had no idea how much work would be involved or how never ending it would seem some days.

I didn't really have a preconcieved notion of how I would be, just a few things I was firm on like I didn't want her watching more than the occasional few minutes of TV and I wanted to take her to swimming and have a particular style of discipline. In some ways I am happy with what I am doing but there are some definate areas for improvement, especially my short fuse. At the end of the day though Gabrielle seems happy and thats the main thing.

Edited to add that I certainly never imagined myself having a prem reflux baby who never slept, or got sick all the time, or ended up back in hospital several times, and I certainly never envisioned being a single parent. Funny how things change in such a short period of time.

Edited by Shelt

Im not at all the parent I thought/hoped I would be, I loose my patience to quickely, yell to much and get upset over stupid things.

I wanted to be the stay at home mum, but couldn't do it I craved the contact with other people to much.

But at the same time, I think now that I am working I value the time I get to spend with my kids more, making that time more special. I am lucky that I work at the same daycare that my kids go to so I get to hang out with them during the day.

I realised that being a parent is really hard but I wouldn't change it for the world, being a mum has taught me so much about myself, its been a truely amazing journey, I have learnt not to have to many expectations on how it "should" be, but be happy with how it is, and value every minute I have with my awesome little people!

Nope. I had visions of creating this beautiful little schedule, cruising into town with a baby sleeping in his pram and having a wonderful time at home. I ended up with a baby with pretty severe reflux so the majority of my days and nights were filled with screaming. After that, I've just rolled with things. I also had notions of following through with everything 100% of the time but have come to realise how much you get worn down saying and doing things over and over again.

For the most part, I do the best I can and Ryan is a happy, cheeky little man who gets sleep, eats well and gets to play. I've recently come to the conclusion that people can just get stuffed if I don't do something as they think it should be done. In a world where children are abused and die from abuse every minute of the day the fact that I don't do everything "perfect" is the least of society's worries! Once I accepted that, I have come to peace with how I parent!