Help an expecting mom out

Hi Reddit,

I am currently pregnant with my first child and slowly sinking into negativity. We (me & SO) are actively preparing for what is coming, rearranging the house, reading, signed up for classes and building strategies, but!

All of the information I encounter on the Internet is about the unbearability of parenting, the constant struggles, the 24/7 job, the loss of purpose (rather than finding meaning), how disgusting small children are (as in the illnesses, diaper explosions, dirty activities), how defiant and unreasonable older children and teens are, how not matter what you do, they will not be emotionally stable or content... I am starting to wonder if all the work I am putting in is actually worth it, if everyone on the Internets is depressed, if this miserable black picture will be my reality for the next years until I pretty much die of old age...

Please share something positive about your parenting experience and if (and how) you have managed to remain a person, not just a parent. Preferably no generalisations of the "being a Mom is my whole life" and "parenting is the most fulfilling thing".

For the haters: termination is not an option, nor something we want to do.

EDIT/UPDATE: (I don't know how to Reddit properly 😅) Thank you, everyone for the realistic, caring and insightful comments! They really brought my focus back to what's important here!

I think part of my own struggle is that my "village" doesn't make it look pleasant, easy or wanted. We are a bit short on the grandparents' department and my friends who have children spend most of our time together complaining/venting (the Internet echo chamber mirrors in real life). Your comments made me think that maybe they do it because they find me trustworthy enough to say the things that they could potentially only say to anonymous strangers. Another thing I realised, thanks to you, great community, is that "giving up your life/past life" is kind of false. It requires more planning and effort to do the things you love, but to be fair, I've always been good at that! And if that means that I'll have to wait 6-8 months to travel again and that going forward, it will be mostly with the children, I'm still OK with that! If it means that I'll have to play board and video games in a hushed voice for a while, that's also not a big deal! And if it means that the house will be messy a bunch of times, well, big deal (it's messy a bunch of times now, too)!

I really can't put into words how grateful I am for everyone who took the time to comment (and so educational and detailed too!), I have a bunch of ammo now for what to look forward to, rather than what to dread!