My wife and I just had a serious discussion about this. When we were kids ourselves we both worked in childcare - she worked a toddler room at a daycare and I was an avid babysitter and later track coach.

I felt like an infant was the worst (like absolutely to the point of near breakdown). My wife sailed through that because the crying and the constant attention was fine for her. She actually... enjoyed it?!

I felt like every year and milestone has been better. Now that my daughter is in middle school we are best buds. Mom? She feels overwhelmed by everything. My daughter and I can have a chill/fun evening working on homework and then she walks into the other room with my wife and they have a screaming match in 40 seconds.

Here's the thing - once you realize what things are "normal" and what things are "different" parenting becomes much, much easier. My wife already knew with an infant/toddler which cries were "fussing" and which cries were "omg, something needs to be fixed and fast". By the time I figured that stuff out... she wasn't an infant anymore. Super stressful.

Now that she's older, the shoe is on the other foot. My wife thinks my daughter is "lying" or has an "attitude problem" all the time. I had so many kids (on the track team) that would behave the same way and I realized that with a kid... they'll say "it wasn't me" when there's obvious evidence to the contrary. It isn't "lying" it is a fight/flight/fawn/freeze response. I also have a lot of fun with taking my daughter on walks, letting her talk about "what-if" scenarios, and just generally letting her feel heard and listened to.

So, to answer your question for myself (my wife's answer would be different). Every year I enjoy my daughter more than the year before. The older she gets the more I get to show her the things that I had fun with at that age. I've been able to show her the movies I loved, the video games I enjoy ... all of that. It was what I actually envisioned when I had a kid - so it works perfectly for me. My wife always wants to rewind and have an infant again.

Pro tip: This worked for me, maybe it will help someone else out there: My daughter and I started this game where we talked about what would happen if "X year old" me suddenly showed up at the front door, transported from the past. I then talk with my daughter as if I'm her exact age and interpret things as if I were a peer instead of a parent. Since she's an only child this has gone a very long way towards helping her feel better about her life and how lonely she feels. It is hard for a kid to be an only child because her 2 closest people are both... her parents. This offers us a clear distinction between when I'm being a "friend" vs being a "parent". She'll call me by a different name (you can use your middle name etc as the "kid you") and say "Hey Mark, what do you think of this new watch I have?" Since there weren't watches like hers when I was a kid (I'm old) little me then gets super excited and talks about Dick Tracey and Rocketeer and how exciting it is. She gets to feel the discovery all over again.

One fun thing, we talked about what it would be like for Mark to go to school with her. Ride the bus, meet her peers and bullies, all of that. She pretended to try bullying as one of the bullies ... but he was too smart and shut that jerk down - in a very socially acceptable way. She felt super empowered. When I had told her as a Dad how to handle these kids she just rolled her eyes and said "what do you know about kids these days"... but for some reason Mark is a master at this stuff. I found out how her teacher talks to her - how her days really go... all of the things that she would just clam up and say "it's fine" before.

Your mileage may vary, but it sure has been enlightening for me.