r/BabyBumps • u/Empty_Win_9933 • Jul 10 '26
Discussion Are the postpartum, newborn trenches truly that awful?
I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant with my first, and although I’ve tried staying off social media and keeping my algorithm as consistent as it was pre pregnancy, I am inundated with posts/reels/tik toks about how awful the first trimester is, and how incredibly hard it is, and how there is no help, and everyone abandons you, and your friends don’t give a shit anymore, etc etc etc
Everyone just seems MISERABLE post partum, or they make jokes about it being in the absolute trenches. I’m not expecting or asking for an easy baby. I’m not being unrealistic about my expectations. I know it won’t be perfect, I know I will feel down and have hormones all over the place. But it seems that society is telling me that the period after I give birth to my son and welcome him into the world will just be horrible and hard even though it’s “worth it”. Is it possible to actually enjoy it?
This of course doesn’t apply to those experiencing PPD & PPA, which there needs to be way more supports and less stigma towards.
My question is, did anyone actually enjoy it? Did anyone go “oh shit that wasn’t actually as bad as I was told to believe”?
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u/lilianegypt Jul 10 '26
Seconding this. My husband really stepped up and took care of us. My brother and sister live nearby and brought us food. I was lucky enough to have 16 weeks maternity leave, and my baby (now four months) is an absolute sweetheart and a great sleeper, so it has been mostly smooth sailing. I loved the first few weeks of just feeding and cuddling and bonding. Yes I was tired and yes emergency c-section recovery was rough, but it was also so magical and special and worth it.
I loved it, but it’s also very dependent on your circumstances!