Children are both wonderful and terrible. In the beginning, it is mostly terrible. They eventually learn to smile, which makes things a bit easier. Then they learn to laugh. Then they start amusing themselves with their own hands and by babbling.

Let’s focus on the terrible. Let me compare my son to a pet dog.

Dogs are cute. They are enjoyable as well. Sometimes dogs have drawbacks, such as barking too much, relieving themselves on the carpet, or requiring your attention. A baby is like a dog on advanced difficulty.

You are going to be invested in this dog, but for the first 2 months it will be pooping every 2 hours and smearing it on itself, so you’re going to need to clean it. That’s not a big deal though. You’ll want to bathe it once a day as well.
This doggy is going to be hungry every couple of hours, so you are going to need to hold it and make sure food is getting into it, and this usually takes about 15 minutes.
If the dog eats food, it is going to get gassy and need to burp, so you’ll need to keep it upright for another 5-15 minutes.
Although it needs something every 2 to 3 hours, it’s not terrible, since that little pup is going to be sleeping between those periods of activity, which will let you get some rest. It sure does bark a lot when it is hungry, though.

After 2 months pass, the doggy is getting a bit more responsive. Input is not one-directional, and it may respond to you by looking at you. It may even smile at you when it is full of food, well rested, and comfortable!
It is bigger now, and it doesn’t poop every 2 hours. It is now once or twice a day, and it is a massive mess. It didn’t smell at first, but now it is starting to stink. This doggy used to bark when it was hungry, but now it is barking when it is bored, and it is yelping non-stop when it is tired. There is a drawback though; it cannot fall asleep. It is impossible to fall asleep on its own anymore. It is simply out of the question. You will need to carry this immobile pup around while it barks in your ear.

4 months, and now the pup is starting to move around. This is quite the milestone, but it means that it struggles. It will struggle in times of comfort, such as feeding or being carried. If it is not eating or being carried, it’s ever-strengthening lungs will be ready to bark out inhuman amounts of sound, for as long as you don’t attend to it. It can make noises audible on the surface of the moon longer than a professional opera singer could ever hope to sing.

Then it looks at you, and you love it. It smiles at you, and you love it. You think that it is nothing more than a pet while it demands to have all needs met, giving nothing in return, but it is a human. This human is learning, and becoming a better human every day.

It recognizes its hands now. It can amuse itself with sounds. It follows movement. It hears its parents in the other room and looks in that direction. It expresses delight when faced with new objects.
He is becomming an easier task. He is showing thought now, and starting to react to things.

It’s hard to believe that so many millions of parents have gone through the same ordeal of raising children before us. It’s not easy, and it wasn’t rewarding, but it is a wonderful investment that is visibly paying off.