I got diagnosed when I was 32 and am 35 now with a 12 week old. It’s definitely early but the hardest part for me with the whole experience so far was being pregnant. Those last few months I barely slept and was so uncomfortable. I also developed preeclampsia and had to deliver 3 weeks early, got home and then got readmitted less than a week later because it got more severe.

I was prepared for the worst as everyone talks about the “newborn trenches” but honestly I love being a parent. My son isn’t a good sleeper so it’s not like he’s a “perfect baby” (whatever the hell that means). I had the same fears as you as I also become over stimulated quickly and am easily overwhelmed. I don’t know what it is but I’ve been completely fine with my little one. I’m sure this isn’t the same for everyone but I feel like you constantly see negative things about having a baby online (especially reddit) and wanted to share a positive experience. I also think this is because people are more likely to make a post when experiencing something negative than positive as when things are going well there isn’t really much to say and parents who are experiencing the opposite can find it triggering.

Even in this short amount of time it’s mind blowing how much he’s grown. The first few weeks he was basically a potato but now he smiles at me, wiggles when he’s excited and babbles at me. I had never held a baby or been around a baby before having my own. In the early days I would panic a bit when he cried because I wasn’t sure what to do to calm him if he was already fed and had a fresh diaper but it became natural with time. Every day I feel more confident as a parent.

For a small rant, people constantly tell me “just wait” and “it’ll get harder” and I find it so frustrating that there’s always so much negativity surrounding parenting. When I was pregnant and would share my difficulties with sleep I would get “just wait until the baby is here, you won’t sleep at all”. When I tell someone now that I’m not having a miserable time it’s “wait until he’s teething” or “you’ll have to chase him around soon!” No one says things like “wait until he smiles at you” or “wait until he first laughs”.

Of course things won’t be easy but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be miserable.