When you have a baby, especially if you’re in an antenatal class, or friends or family members have a child of about the same age, there is a feeling that you’re all in it together, at least at first. For me this big, life-transforming event might have felt intensely personal, but the shared connection with other new parents, who were also learning on the job, not to mention the books – Your Baby Week By Week, The Wonder Weeks – can trick you into thinking that the path is a predictable one.
From hourly feeds and wake-ups to sleeping through the night, breast- and bottle-feeding to solids, crawling to walking, maternity leave to nursery to school, the journey may have slightly different scenery, but the impression given is that ultimately it ends up in the same place.
