Things I never expected

Almost from the moment that I became pregnant with Hannah, she/nature/biology took over my mind as well as my body. Pregnancy, birth and now parenting has been filled with numerous unexpected experiences - many far more positive than I ever expected.

I never expected:

• To have had as healthy pregnancy as I did
• To (for the most part) enjoy my pregnancy as much as I did
• To become so in tune with my body
• To be so overwhelmed by the physical pain of childbirth - but not care
• To watch my breasts grow in size from Enormous to Freaky to Gigantic and now just plain Huge (please, let them not reach Inconceivable cup size) yet
• To have so much difficulty breastfeeding
• To love Hannah so much from the moment she was born
• To be able to deal with her poo nappies (something I thought I could never do up until the moment I gave birth)
• To be able to respond to her crying, yet not feel irritated by it
• To instinctively know what to do and what Hannah needs a surprising amount of the time
  
• For Hannah to respond so positively to me
• For J & my relationship to be so strengthened by her birth and our joint focus on her, despite the sleep deprivation
  
• To laugh more in the first fortnight after Hannah's birth than during the previous two decades
• To be both changed by parenthood yet remain the same fundamental person
• To be surrounded by so much love and support from some people, a counter balance to the unexpected lack of interest from others
• To have my decisions, values and so forth so reinforced by every moment I spend with her.