Having a baby is a pretty tough job, but its even harder in Pakistan, particularly when you’re going through it for the very first time as a young twentysomething. Yeah, you may have family and an army of maasis to help you along the way but at the end of the day, you have to take responsibility for rearing your own children.

Here are the things you learn about motherhood in Pakistan after becoming a mother in your twenties:

1. There is a lot of judgement about timing.

Either you had your baby too soon, too late or you should already be expecting your second one.

2. Aunties are doubly unbearable when they’re attacking not just you, but your baby too.

3. Every story on the news starts to give you mini heart attacks as you start imagining it happening to you.

Most of it way pretty horrifying as it was anyway, but now you’re imagination needs only a slight prompt to end up at an Armageddon-type situation.

4. The winters are too cold and the summers too hot.

It’s impossible to figure out how many layers you need to keep your baby in when the temperature fluctuates every time the gas or the electricity is out.

5. Good help is a blessing

Explosions of poop aren’t a one-man job. Failing the arrival of the quarantine team, you need somebody there to at least assure you that your baby’s bowel movements are perfectly normal.

6. Trying to keep your baby clean is impossible with the amount of dust

Freshly showered babies are magnets for all kinds of dirt.

7. You scan every public place in terms of how baby friendly it is

Along with cleanliness, safety is a priority for every mother with young kids in Pakistan.

8. Down time with bae is basically a game of did-you-hear-her-crying and whose-turn-is-it-now?

“Tum jao, please?”

“Hahahaha, nahi maine dekh liya tha last time ab tumhari baari hai”

9. It is literally the hardest thing you’ve ever done.

And with all the social pressure every thing with a pulse is placed under, it can get overwhelming.

10. You never look presentable at social occasions.

If your baby didn’t smear your lipstick all of your face, she definitely wrinkled all your clothes on your way to the event jumping all over you.

But in spite of all the tough situations of raising a child in your twenties, when most others are trying to raise their own selves you know that you’re doing the best for your child.

11. You’re baby is the cutest, smartest, adorabubblecoochiepoochiest baby of all time.

Here’s a little pep talk before he’s off to hit it off with the ladies.

Have you got stories to share as a young mother in Pakistan?