I’m good at being supportive to people having a hard time... that was me for SO long and it’s miserable and people need to vent and get support. But I also feel a little isolated. And maybe guilty. It’s nice to have internet friends who can kinda relate and be happy for my happiness. ❤️
I'm happy you're happy! My kids were both easy babies too. I loved being home with them...it was a little harder with #2, but when I could just focus on the one squishy adorable happy baby i had zero complaints. I think the key is that they slept. Sleeping babies are magical creatures.
The sleep is KEY. We were going to sleep train and we went to do it and then... didn’t need to. He just sleeps. Nap transitions are easy peasy, he just puts himself to sleep. He’s between 2-3 naps a day currently so on 2 nap days he ends up going to bed earlier and he sleeps through 13 hours with no problems whatsoever. Wakes up happy at 7:30am. It’s a dream and we are all well rested which makes everything sooo much easier. And there’s only one of him now and forever, which probably helps.
My first was like this! They’re 13 and about to graduate and still like this. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Enjoy it and love him! By the way, their birth name was Julia, so similar name!!!! I wonder if it goes with the name!
Maybe it’s a name thing! I love that you have a chill kiddo. So much of it is luck it’s not like I take any credit but it’s been fun so far. He’ll be our only living child so we aren’t taking chances with any future kids. 🤣
Don’t lol! My other two are... not chill...
I adore both of them, truly love all three equally (which I worried about), but the other two have been so much more difficult since birth, and it continues at 11 and 8!
seeyalater52 my easy baby turned into a hellion spawn at 18 months and is still a demon to this very day at age 4, but if anyone deserves a magical unicorn child it's you.
In fairness I did call him a demon the other day when he bit my nipple so hard it bled and then laughed maniacally at me wincing so there’s still time I guess. 😭
Ah yes. My oldest liked to teethe on human flesh. I was told not to react because he thought it was funny so it's reinforcing. Sure, super easy to maintain full composure with a needle to the tit, thanks.
Be sure to save this little gem for when Jules is a toddler because I’m sure karma is gonna get me. 😬
DS was genuinely a happy easy baby, and still is at 18 months. So you might not be cursed too soon.
My DH has struggled with PPD after both children and it’s been really hard to balance this time. He is a home body and craves being alone right now which is pretty well impossible with our current Covid restrictions. I think you will find DW going back to the gym, if that is their outlet, will be a relief because they will be better able to pitch in and help out when they feel better. I know when DH gets a break he is much better able to cope with everything.
My hilarious @ anecdote of the day is that DS accidentally kicked on our under cabinet central vac outlet while trying to break into the Tupperware drawer which is insanely loud. He panicked and quickly crawled away from it across the kitchen straight into the dishwasher where he full on mashed his face. He turned around horrified and I was dying laughing. America’s Funniest Videos moment for sure. Toddlers are hilarious. I can’t wait to see if he tries to get into that drawer again.
In fairness I did call him a demon the other day when he bit my nipple so hard it bled and then laughed maniacally at me wincing so there’s still time I guess. 😭
Ah yes. My oldest liked to teethe on human flesh. I was told not to react because he thought it was funny so it's reinforcing. Sure, super easy to maintain full composure with a needle to the tit, thanks.
But that kid is mostly a delight now at almost 8.
I need to work on my poker face. His teeth are SHARP too and it ended up bleeding like crazy and kept breaking open every time he went to nurse so I had to pump on that side for 3 days and bottle feed. I’m still obsessed with him anyways but I hope he learned his lesson from being denied his favorite boob for a few days. 😂
I think this is the right response to have to people who want you to complain “We have been so lucky so far - he’s been a good sleeper and is pretty easy going. I’m sure he will be a handful of a toddler to make up for it!” You can also recognize other things that have worked in your favor - extended leave, etc.
Oh totally. I just hate feeling like I’m being accused of being braggy when people ask how I’m doing. No I’m really ok. Yes we are very lucky. No I don’t expect it’s all going to be miserable and horrible for the rest of my life. Yes I’m aware I probably like the infant stage more than your average person.
To be clear, all of these people are also either SAH parents or have been on leave this whole time, although some of them do not have easy babies like mine. Obviously I’m not talking to people who are trying to balance work and parenting all “la dee dah my life is so great.”
And there’s totally a flip side where people’s complaining is over the top and to a point beyond “ugh, having kids can be hard” and that’s not something you need to feed into or encourage.
seeyalater52 my oldest was such a good sleeper like that. People kept asking me if I was so tired, but once we got past the 4 month sleep regression, I was getting a solid 8 hours every night. Felt great. Then she turned 4 and just stopped sleeping. She’s 5 now and it’s been a solid year of needing an adult to be with her until she falls asleep or the world ends. So there’s that, lol.
seeyalater52 my oldest was such a good sleeper like that. People kept asking me if I was so tired, but once we got past the 4 month sleep regression, I was getting a solid 8 hours every night. Felt great. Then she turned 4 and just stopped sleeping. She’s 5 now and it’s been a solid year of needing an adult to be with her until she falls asleep or the world ends. So there’s that, lol.
It can only get worse from here. He’s slept through the night since 8 weeks. It used to be 8 hours when it started but now it’s more like 12 or so. He did have some weird shirt daytime naps around 4-5 months that was his “regression” but he figured out how to connect sleep cycles quickly and he kept sleeping through the night every night even through that. It’s actually sort of absurd how good he is at this considering we did very little to teach him.
I’ll call you when it all falls apart eventually! 🤣
I mean my youngest slept great for 2.5 years and then it went to shit, lol. But it's okay to be happy and to have an easy baby!
When my oldest was born my husband changed quite a bit. He is much happier as a dad than he was before kids. It gave his life a sense of purpose that his job doesn't give him. I think sometimes he thought something was wrong with me that first year because I wasn't experiencing it the same way he was. We parent very differently. He is the hands on, get down and play with the kids dad. I am the plan all the activities take you places mom but not gonna get down on the floor and pretend to be Mama Kitty. My anxiety/depression do affect how I parent and for the most part he hasn't had to deal with that extra layer. Having grace with each other and finding the best ways to support each other is so important and it sounds like you are great at that.
seeyalater52 my oldest was such a good sleeper like that. People kept asking me if I was so tired, but once we got past the 4 month sleep regression, I was getting a solid 8 hours every night. Felt great. Then she turned 4 and just stopped sleeping. She’s 5 now and it’s been a solid year of needing an adult to be with her until she falls asleep or the world ends. So there’s that, lol.
It can only get worse from here. He’s slept through the night since 8 weeks. It used to be 8 hours when it started but now it’s more like 12 or so. He did have some weird shirt daytime naps around 4-5 months that was his “regression” but he figured out how to connect sleep cycles quickly and he kept sleeping through the night every night even through that. It’s actually sort of absurd how good he is at this considering we did very little to teach him.
I’ll call you when it all falls apart eventually! 🤣
It may not fall apart! My oldest slept 12 hours by 10 weeks old and never looked back! She never had a sleep regression at all.
Now she has sleep issues at 13, but at that age it’s not my problem 😂😂😂!
seeyalater52 my oldest was such a good sleeper like that. People kept asking me if I was so tired, but once we got past the 4 month sleep regression, I was getting a solid 8 hours every night. Felt great. Then she turned 4 and just stopped sleeping. She’s 5 now and it’s been a solid year of needing an adult to be with her until she falls asleep or the world ends. So there’s that, lol.
Omg don’t tell me this! DD2 has been a consistent unicorn sleeper since birth and she’s almost 4 and suddenly giving us a hard time at bedtime. I was hoping she was too old for a sleep regression but then I read this lol.
seeyalater52, enjoy every second of it!! I'm truly happy for you and don't feel bad or let anyone steal your joy!
I think so much of this is personality based. I did not enjoy the newborn/baby years. Some of it was that DD was freaking hard but she was also a unicorn sleeper so I wasn't sleep deprived. Mostly though I just didn't enjoy the nonverbal/helpless stage. I adored the toddler years and up though and honestly it just keeps getting better!
dont' react with nipple chomps? yall are stronger women than I. I screamed. Not on purpose, but just, quiet cozy half dark snoozy feed and then out of nowhere CHOMP!!! I shrieked at the top of my lungs and squeezed their little face into my boob in an involuntary reaction. scared the shit out of both me and the baby. It did not continue.
seeyalater52 We did sleep training with my two, but after that they were pretty good sleepers. They just turned 9 this week (sob) and only recently do they get out of bed in the middle of the night. We were always pretty strict in keeping a bedtime routine. Strict sounds harsh, but that's the best word I can come up with.
Post by StrawberryBlondie on Apr 23, 2021 9:14:51 GMT -5
seeyalater52 my daughter has always been a great sleeper. Sleeping 7-8 hrs stretches at about a month old, sleeping 13 hrs starting around 2-3 months. Napped at least twice a day for several hours as a baby. Now she's 7 and still an amazing sleeper. Usually clocks in around 11 hrs.
The flip side of this is that when she's awake, she's pretty high maintenance. I mean, she's great, she just has no desire to ever do anything by herself and wants to be involved in every single thing. She also never stops talking for more than 30 seconds at a time.
Since we were talking sports upthread, I found it interesting MN Dept. of health dropped the mask requirement for youth sports while actively playing. They still have to wear them on the sidelines and to and from the venue.
Post by karinothing on Apr 23, 2021 9:26:34 GMT -5
I wish that summer swim team wasn't impossible to do with camp. Practice is in the morning from 8-9am which means we couldn't get to camp on time. It is frustrating. Can't we get a swim team with afternoon practices!
seeyalater52, I had a very similar experience with my babies. I did well with them. My spouse struggled much more. I loved having babies in the house.
And I did get my fill of bad behavior when they were both three lololol. That was absolutely the stage they made me question my sanity. But also they were so darn cute so now I can just look back at those pictures and remember the good stuff.
On a similar note. We have major work being done on our road outside our house. All week we have been talking about what a DREAM this would have been if either kid was a toddler. OMG, the truck obsession was very strong in our family. Now the boys are like meh. SAD
Both my kids were joys as toddlers and babies, but we almost didn’t have a second because the first didn’t sleep. He was always sweet and charming, he was just always 0N. He was a joy during the day but just. Didn’t. Sleep. It was only when he got to be about two that, despite having not slept in years, we thought we better get busy if we wanted to give him a sibling.
Luckily DS1 started sleeping better right before DS2 is born, and DS2 shocked the crap out of us because he was a pretty good sleeper, but it was hard.
I wish that summer swim team wasn't impossible to do with camp. Practice is in the morning from 8-9am which means we couldn't get to camp on time. It is frustrating. Can't we get a swim team with afternoon practices!
A lot of swim teams where we are offer late afternoon/early evening practices. Maybe a different swim team has that? It is generally hard to do because then you have to shut down the pool for practice and non-swim team people get mad lol.
I wish that summer swim team wasn't impossible to do with camp. Practice is in the morning from 8-9am which means we couldn't get to camp on time. It is frustrating. Can't we get a swim team with afternoon practices!
A lot of swim teams where we are offer late afternoon/early evening practices. Maybe a different swim team has that? It is generally hard to do because then you have to shut down the pool for practice and non-swim team people get mad lol.
If our pool opens this summer they have four pools, so it be easy to shut down one! I am not sure why they don't host in the evening ( I guess because that is generally meet time?).
Post by StrawberryBlondie on Apr 28, 2021 15:32:08 GMT -5
Blerg. Apparently my kid was exposed at school.
I expected this to happen at least once this year so in a way I'm surprised we've made it this long. But also - ugh.
I'm just waiting on information about what to do about school now... I think, based on what I saw today when I picked her up, that the exposure was not in her class, so I'm genuinely curious what she's going to be doing for school the next 2 weeks.