I realize now that there is no such thing as a "proper" transition from pregnancy to motherhood. After the demands of giving birth, all of a sudden you find this little stranger who is completely helpless and dependent on her parents to survive. It definitely felt strange driving home from the hospital and having a tiny human being at the backseat when we are so used to traveling with only the two of us. There was certainly mixed emotions--one of excitement, anxiety, relief, nervousness, etc.
Overwhelmed was my first reaction, especially during the first month when mother and baby are still in the process of getting to know each other while I still have to recover fully from the labor. The initial shock of becoming parents does sink in most when both parents are sleep deprived and could not still figure how the mind of the little rascal works. It does take a few days to finally realize that "yes, we are now parents and no matter what, we will always be responsible for this tiny human being". Fortunately my husband was able to take the whole summer off (which he planned), so he can spend more time with us and get use to being a family of three. 
My husband and i have always agreed that having a baby should not prevent us from doing or enjoying the things we used to do as a couple. This is more challenging than what we anticipated. Thus, the first attempt to go to the centrum and hit the shops with our baby (she was 3 weeks then) was such a stressful experience with both of us sweating when she had a crying fit. Fortunately this experience did not put us off, and the more we put in the effort to gain our rhythm back, the more succesful we have become. So as early as 4 weeks old, I managed to bring my baby with me to meet my friends for lunch (a great break since friends all scramble to offer to carry the baby).
It has been 3 months since the birth of our daughter and she is very much part of our lives now. We are so used to having our daughter with us whether entertaining or meeting up with family or friends, going to a museum, going out for dinner, having a day on the beach, or a night out in crazy Amsterdam, or simply just enjoying some drinks at the terrace. Several weeks ago on our first family holiday, we even went hiking with our baby in tow (the babybjorn carrier is perfect for this!). Perhaps I could consider ourselves lucky to have a very easy going daughter, who happens to enjoy noise (the merrier the better) and being surrounded by people.
Three months have passed and our lives have dramatically changed. It has not always been easy but parenthood definitely gets better and more enjoyable in time. There is no doubt that parenthood is a lot of hard work but nonetheless it is such a rewarding adventure. We may miss occassionally the few perks of being "only a couple" but we surely can't imagine our lives now without our daughter.
