Chances are, I’m getting a few raised eyebrows with my title.

But hear me out.

When you’re pregnant, you hear the horror stories.

Labor.

Staying up all night.

Constant crying.

In fact, people warn you to live your life now, before it gets complicated with a newborn.

Well, I’m hear to tell you that it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Let me tell you why these things aren’t usually as bad as people make them sound.

Labor is bad, but…

…it is only a finite time period and then it is over (and somewhat forgotten).

With my daughter, Graci, I was induced. Our appointment at the hospital was at 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night and she wasn’t born until 4:47 a.m. on Saturday morning. It was a long haul and for the majority of the time, I was in pain.

But you know what?

Eventually it was over.

Sure, it sucked, and it sucked bad, but there was an end. Labor doesn’t last forever, even if it feels like it might.

And, once it’s over, the experience fades in your mind quickly. You forget the pain. You forget the frustration. (It is worth noting that this is probably an evolutionary thing to make sure that the human species continues to procreate.)

So, I’m not saying that labor isn’t awful. I’m just saying that it is like one bad blip on the radar of becoming a momma.

Staying up all night is bad, but…

…eventually your baby will sleep through the night.

When babies wake up in the night, it is horrible. When I came home from the hospital, I would have such an adrenaline rush every single time that the baby cried during the night, that I thought my heart might explode. But it gets better.

As the weeks go by with your baby, they will sleep more during the night, and you’ll get used to getting up with them. So the two of you kind of meet in the middle and it’s not so bad. Trust me, you’ll make it through this phase!

And then, suddenly, your baby will want to sleep through the night, and this tough phase of motherhood will be over.

So yes, waking up a million times a night is rough. But you’ll get used to it and it be over before you know it.

Constant crying is bad, but…

…the crying will stop.

When your baby cries for what seems like hours on end, you’ll feel like you’re going crazy. But I’m here to tell you that it will end. It may not seem like it will, but I promise you, it will.

Being a new mom can be frustrating because you don’t know how to make your baby stop crying, and you feel like this scream fest is not only your present, but your future, too.

It isn’t.

As you get to know your baby, you gain a ton of mom skills. One day, you’ll realize that you know all of your baby’s different cries, what they mean and how to stop them. And when you realize this, you’ll feel like you’re the most powerful human being that ever lived.

Words Of Wisdom (From The Other Side Of Pregnancy)

If you are pregnant, please know that it isn’t as bad as everyone says. You’re going to rock motherhood, and if you just remember that labor is just a bad moment, that the sleepless nights will end and that dealing with a crying baby won’t be your constant future, you’ll feel way more relaxed and in control.

As women, I think it is so important that we share our honest truths with each other.

My truth?

I thought motherhood was going to be way harder than it has turned out to be. And when I was pregnant, I would have loved to hear more stories like this one, than the horror stories I did hear.

For those that are expecting, what are you afraid of? Mommas, did you think new motherhood was as bad as people made it out to be? I’d love to hear in the comments about your experience!