I can tell you this - I have no memories from the first four months after the birth of my first child. It's just one big blur. Good thing we made lots of photos. The need to feed baby every 3 hours is going to have the profoundest effect on your lifestyle. A bit of the downtime is in fact going to be a bit, and not when you want it, but whenever you can. The regular exercise - I wouldn't be counting on it, not in first 4 months.
In short, the only thing you can be sure of is that "your life, as you know it, is gone. Never to return."
I hear ya... I have no idea what happened in the last 4 months of 2006 and the first 6 months of 2007. My second son was born in August 2006 and he cried if he was awake until he was 8 months old.
In short, the only thing you can be sure of is that "your life, as you know it, is gone. Never to return."