“Life Changing”
The fact that becoming a parent changes one’s life is so obvious and cliché’d that it barely warrants repeating. However, repeat it we shall. Because regardless of all the ways you expect a baby to change your life, it will be more. More in all the challenging ways—more work, more crying, more fatigue, more compromise—but more in all the rewarding ways, too—more richness, more love, more adventure, more precious moments of connection.
In this winter issue, we delve into a few of the life changes that having a baby entails. Our Question of the Quarter addresses navigating the monotony of early parenthood; Kerry Longia discusses how to cope with never having enough hands; Dr Stephanie Bonn shares a few tips for babywearing; Alison Holland lays out some strategies for preserving relationships postpartum; and Stephanie Ondrack talks about some of the physiological ways in which parenthood actually changes us.
Most of us embark on this journey without any real sense of its scope or magnitude. Most of us begin unprepared, fumbling our way through the very steep learning curve that never seems to end. If we knew then what we know now, would we still do it? My own answer is a resounding yes, because despite all the unpredictability and upheaval that propels us into the unknown, it is the wildest ride I could ever have imagined. The downs may be profound, but the ups are exquisite. Despite its many mundane moments, parenthood is ultimately an unparalleled adventure.
