Motherhood is an unexpected joy for me. I never thought I’d love it as much as I do. But in spite of the sleep deprivation and absolute surrender of my time, thought and most importantly boobs to a tiny little newborn, it has been an amazingly beautiful time.

And here’s some science to back up the rewards of parenthood (not that being a parent isn’t reward enough!) New Scientist article From butterfly to caterpillar: How children grow up. A short summary:

The picture that emerges from this research is that babies and young children are not so much defective as different from adults. They have equally complex and powerful, but very different minds, brains and lives, suited to their distinctive evolutionary role. Babies are brilliant learners but terrible planners, with fantastically creative and visionary imaginations but absolutely no executive capacity. They are the R&D department of the human species, the blue-sky guys, while we adults are production and marketing.

Human development is more like reverse metamorphosis than simple growth, with babies as exploratory, bright butterflies while the adults are caterpillars, inching along their narrower paths. Science won’t tell us how to make babies smarter – they are already as smart as they could be – but it can tell us that taking care of them is not a badly paid chore but a crucial part of the human adventure.