When your baby is crying at three in the morning or your toddler’s just thrown his lunch all over your newly mopped floor, it’s easy to forget the good bits about being a parent. To help you through the tough times, here’s our round up of the things that make parenting fun.
1 Panicking because you’ve been given this newborn baby to take home and you haven’t even got the manual - then realising how much fun it is learning on the job.
2 Feeling a tiny fist curl around your finger when you touch his palm.
3 Gazing into your baby’s eyes and knowing he trusts you totally.
4 Breathing in the best smell in the world: sleepy baby!
5 Being amazed the first time you wrap him up in his blanket, put him against your shoulder, pat him gently and incredibly the yelling stops!
6 Being the most tired you’ve ever been in your whole life - and the most happy.
7 Sitting up in bed feeding your baby in the middle of the night, and knowing that all over the world other mothers are doing just the same.
8 Watching your partner show his son or daughter off to all the visitors.
9 Finding out, at your antenatal class reunion, that no one gets bored of your birth story, no matter how many times you tell it.
10 Overhearing your partner at a party talking earnestly about the best brand of nappy.
11 Watching your baby’s sleeping face and wondering what the future holds for him.
12 Discovering how lovely the dawn chorus can be!
13 Taking him out for the first time and discovering that everyone wants to stop and talk.
14 Experiencing that amazing feeling of tenderness when your baby falls asleep in your arms.
15 Buying that Scalextric set/Batman costume/Sylvanian family you always wanted (even though your baby is only one week old).
16 Discovering how infectious a baby’s giggles can be.
17 Having someone to leave the family heirlooms to, even if they’re only some love letters that baby’s father once wrote to you and your grandmother’s china puppy dog.
18 Exchanging a smile with other pram-pushing mothers.
19 Dreaming up fantastic food combinations for your baby: avocado and banana, chicken and grapes or sweet potato and broccoli.
20 Laughing when your baby starts waving at everyone on the bus or in the supermarket.
21 Discovering all the little characteristics that make your baby unique: fat toes, sticky-out ears, hair that sticks up no matter how much it’s brushed.
22 Taking millions of photographs, which you keep meaning to put into an album, but never quite get round to it.
23 Developing a new family language as your toddler talks about scissoring the lawn or asks for a bikkit.
24 Having little pairs of pink wellies lined up in the hall and/or Action Man underpants scattered on the floor.
25 Knowing the right things to say and the best way to help when your friends have a baby.
26 Watching Nana and Grandad spoil their little treasure rotten.
27 Joining in tactile toddler pleasures like squeezing playdough in your hands, scrunching through autumn leaves or jumping in puddles.
28 Discovering that he’s inherited your love of music or his dad’s interest in racing cars.
29 or, even better, discovering he has totally different talents, like dancing or painting - where did that come from?
30 Waking up to a sloppy kiss from your toddler.
31 Rediscovering the simple pleasures in life: brightly coloured flowers, the softness of a cat’s fur or the feel of sand between your toes, with your little one.
32 Getting used to being known as Jack’s mum or Emily’s dad.
33 Crying when you see a baby born on TV, understanding how mothers feel everywhere from Beijing to Belfast.
34 Discovering the pleasures of three in a bed - even if you and your partner only have a few inches of space while your baby lies sideways across middle.
35 Enjoying the chance to be really silly again - walking around quacking like a duck or sitting at the table wearing a bib and silly hat to encourage your baby to eat.
36 Trying to answer those awkward questions: Do fish sleep? Why is the sky blue? How do cows have babies if they can’t get married?
37 Relishing the moment when he first says, "I love you, Mummy".
38 Re-discovering how brilliant children’s books are, even if you do sometimes have to "lose" the one he’s wanted every night for the last three weeks!
39 Having one big bubble bath together: and squabbling over who gets the end with the taps.
40 Running up a quick cat costume out of a piece of string, an egg-box and an eye-liner pencil for a party.
41 Multi-tasking: learning how to mix up a bowl of cake mix with one hand while you stick a plaster on a toddler’s knee with the other, breastfeed a baby and phone your mum to ask her what she wants for her birthday.
42 Discovering the world through your toddler’s eyes: seeing him gaze at a caterpillar or stare transfixed into a rockpool.
43 Making a whole new circle of friends, who just happen to be parents, too.
44 Seeing your values: trying to be straight, kind, honest, hard-working and treat others like you’d like to be treated, rub off on him.
45 Enjoying making up with a hug and kiss once a tantrum is over.
46 Going to a Disney film and no longer being the only unaccompanied adult in the queue!
47 Finding out that bringing up children gives your life a new sense of focus.
48 Crying when you drop him off at playgroup for the first time, then bursting with pride when you pick him up and realise he hasn’t missed you at all.
49 Keeping all his best artwork from playgroup and turning your kitchen into your own Tate Modern.
50 Hearing your child say "mum" and wondering who that is, then realising - it’s YOU!
