@dmurrayfly Ugh- the no sleep days are the worst. Not only is there not time but there is no energy for me or for hobbies. I 100% feel you. Mine are 5 and 18 months and only in the last 6 weeks and I getting more than 1 night a week of decent sleep.
@dmurrayfly I get up at 4:30, and then spend the next hour and a half getting ready for the day (shower, makeup hair, ironing clothes, but putting on different clothes to deal with baby mess, making lunch, making breakfast, running the dishwasher, walking the dog, and a million other things) baby gets up at 6am but often wakes well before then, when she’s no longer in a cot I’m probably going to lose at an hour or so of my morning.
If I’m supposed to get up earlier to fit in hobbies or fitness or some other bullshit … does this mean I’m supposed to go to the gym at like 3am?
@dmurrayfly Sounds like MIL needs to take the kids for a sleepover if she’s such a miracle worker. Drop them off and turn off your phone. She’ll see what it’s really like.
@dmurrayfly It's ok to do whatever you need to do to get through it. One mom to another...sometimes it just sucks when they are little. You don't "need" to perform to anyone else's expectations. You are doing enough. You don't NEED to worry about working out or doing anything extra. Having one kid on their own is a full time job, having two toddlers is SO so hard. There's nothing wrong with them or you. Get rest when you can, it will get better.
@dmurrayfly We have an early riser too. It’s hard. Every time my in-laws suggested that we “keep him up late so he’ll sleep in” I wanted to scream. He wakes up even earlier if he stays up. I learned to just laugh when people gave me bad advice that won’t work for my situation.
Some other “advice” I have hated. “Oh your baby doesn’t want to be put down? Just baby wear!” My back hurt constantly and my baby weighed about 12 pounds by the time he was a month old. But sure I’ll strap him to my broken body and clean the whole house. Great advice.
And “Oh your baby is a terrible sleeper? Just bed share!”. I can’t sleep with someone touching me and he still wakes up every 1-2 hours in my bed. But sure! I’ll lay in this one awkward position all night and not get to even take a short nap before his next wake up. And if I do manage to fall asleep somehow I can risk rolling on top of him and smothering him. So helpful!
Just laugh. Don’t even answer them. My in-laws stopped with their advice because my husband and I would just look at each other and laugh and say stuff like. “Why didn’t we think of that? Oh right. We did. And it never worked. Not one time.”
@vel Ugh I feel ya. I’ve had to do so much baby-wearing out of necessity and my old injuries from an accident just torture me. But apparently if I stretch before I strap on a baby I’ll be totally fine…because stretching fixes a misaligned pelvic fracture. On the mornings I have to take my oldest to preschool it’s so hard. It’s a 20 minute walk, uphill, with the 1yo strapped to my front and pushing my oldest in the stroller. I do not enjoy baby-wearing.
@dmurrayfly I leaned pretty hard on the swing. You shouldn’t use it for sleep. But it’s a lifesaver when you need to put the baby down before you go insane.
