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Mom Asks Parents If They Miss The Newborn Phase, Gets Massive Response

The newborn stage is often described as a magical time filled with sweet baby scents and overwhelming love, where the potential for parenthood feels pure. The needs are simple—feed, clean, care—and you haven’t messed up yet (at least, not that you know of). But is it really as enchanting as it seems? Or is that nostalgic feeling just a case of euphoric recall?

One mom, currently navigating the newborn phase with her 10-week-old, is feeling frustrated and wondering if she's the only one thinking, “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

In a Reddit post, she asked parents of older children, “Do you actually miss the newborn stage if you didn’t like being in it?” She went on to explain that while her firstborn became easier to understand around five or six months, she’s not enjoying the newborn phase as much as she had hoped with her second. She questioned whether it’s okay not to enjoy this stage, especially since others often say, “You’ll miss it.”

Thousands of parents chimed in, sharing their similar sentiments and reassuring her that she’s not alone. Many agreed they didn’t miss the newborn stage, with some even sharing that it was one of the reasons they decided not to have more children.

One parent shared, “Mine are 8 and 6. I rejoiced when the newborn phase was over. Watching them grow into their own personalities is much more enjoyable.”

Another wrote, “I don’t miss it at all. My kid is 11, and I much prefer seeing her grow into her own person rather than dealing with newborn days.”

Sleep deprivation was a major factor for many parents who admitted they would never want to go back to the exhausting newborn phase. As one mom recalled, “My kids didn’t sleep through the night until they were 2. It was incredibly draining. Now that they’re teens, I’ll take that over the sleepless nights any day.”

The takeaway is that no parenting phase is perfect. Each comes with its own challenges and joys, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at times. Struggling through one phase doesn’t make you a bad parent—it just means you’re human, experiencing the ups and downs of life.

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