The early days no one really prepares you for

The early days are a transition no one can truly prepare you for,
and for everyone, it looks a little different.

I remember thinking of all the things I wanted to do.
The things I told myself I’d finally get around to once I was on maternity leave.

Even as a health visitor, someone who had seen it so many times before,
I thought I understood what was coming.

But nothing really prepares you for the needs of a baby.

The feeds.
The changing.
The constant closeness.

The way they rely on you for everything.

They are completely dependent on you,
and at the same time, you’ve just come through nine months of pregnancy, the birth,
and everything that comes with it.

And suddenly, the expectations around you feel like they’ve shifted overnight.

It’s an adjustment.

If you felt blindsided by it, you’re not alone.

That feeling of
“I didn’t realise it would be like this”
is far more common than people say out loud.

There’s no right way to move through these early days.

No timeline you need to follow.

Just small moments of finding your feet,
one day at a time.

Did anything about the early days feel different to what you expected?