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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think in some ways a newborn was easier than a toddler

46 replies

ScariestFairyByFar · 29/09/2012 11:16

I got to go to the toilet alone
She'd happily 'play' on her own so I could do stuff
I could go and drink coffee in cafes without worrying about her charging about
I could leave the house as long as I had my boobs and a nappy I was sorted

Don't get me wrong this is a great age

OP posts:

randomfennel · 29/09/2012 12:53

I found newborns easier than toddlers, but I did have 2 super-easy excellent sleeping newborns, and my least easy newborn was a pretty stroppy demanding toddler too.
I loved the newborn stage. Far too short though. Compared to the toddler years which do seem to go on rather.

Joiningthegang · 29/09/2012 13:00

Anothe rsaying depends - i had very easy babies, funny (mostly) toddlers and difficult 4-5 yr olds - that was the hardest age for me

Love love love tiny babies who are easy!!! Make me feel adquate - unlike the 4 yr olds!

Molehillmountain · 29/09/2012 13:02

Yanbu. If you were, I'd never feel broody!

thebeesnees79 · 29/09/2012 13:06

My first baby was a screamer and never slept more than 15/20 minutes on his own, my second was wonderful (apart from colic!)
I find the first 6 months very very demanding and once baby is past that stage I am more in my comfort zone. It depends on the baby & parent imo.
My two are 5 & 3 now and entertain themselves largely. Due number 3 anytime now & dreading the sleep deprivation and constant breast feeding ugh.

BurntToastSmell · 29/09/2012 13:09

YABU. Whenever a friend gets pregnant I inwardly snigger at all the crap they will have once the baby is born. Or maybe my toddler is passive?

BonnieBumble · 29/09/2012 13:10

It definitely depends on the child. I really found the newborn stage a breeze but find the toddler stage ridiculously hard.

My antenatal friends all breathed a sign of relief when their babies celebrated their first birthdays whereas that is when I started to struggle to cope.

issimma · 29/09/2012 13:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DiscretionGuaranteed · 29/09/2012 13:47

YANBU - coffee in a cafe with a mate, Watch With Baby at the local cinema, trips to galleries and museums to see things I wanted to see at the pace I wanted to see them.....

DiscretionGuaranteed · 29/09/2012 13:47

Oh and shopping of course.

solidgoldbrass · 29/09/2012 13:49

I have always thought (since DS got bigger) that a baby is easier than a toddler, but then DS was a very amiable baby and I was used to sleep deprivation before I had him so that aspect didn't bother me at all. What I liked about the baby stage was the sheer portability of him: I could go most places (well, apart from having to plan journeys to avoid staircases) and stay out late if I wanted to as he would just go to sleep in his buggy.

I found the toddler stage a bit sticky as he was very mobile and obviously didn't think much - that was the era of not being able to sit down and chat to anyone or have a coffee without having to trot round and round the room after him.

But when he got to about 30 months it started getting easier again, he'd listen and he would also amuse himself with toys for a while.

Now he's 8 and it's got the same ups and downs as every previous year.

BlingBubbles · 29/09/2012 13:53

Completely agree with you Op, my newborn was a dream, ate when she was suppose to, slept through the night at 8 weeks and was overall just a pleasure, now that she is 14months - wow - she keeps me on my toes, I don't have a second of peace.

My DH and I were just saying how easy life was when she was a baby.

Bet the second one will be the complete opposite.

KillerRack · 29/09/2012 13:53

I totally agree babies can't climb , throw, run away etc.

Wheresmypopcorn · 29/09/2012 13:58

No. After a 5 day labour and emergency birth, she was hospitalized (I stayed with her) She vommitted on me for the first 4 months - a lot of times down my bra so I constantly smelled like vommit. I was exhausted and constantly feeding her. It's better now that she can walk besides me as all I need to do to exhaust her is to walk her down the road. She is full of giggles and I love hearing her 'talk'. She also makes a lot of people happy by saying 'hi' to them when we are out.

Icelollycraving · 29/09/2012 14:17

Yanbu. Ds is 15 months & I feel like a shadow of my former self after a few days nursery free. I love him,but he was a very amiable baby whereas he is a fairly wilful bundle of energy & I'm knackered!

shittingit · 29/09/2012 14:19

I found my newborn easier but I think I was just lucky that apart from the usual lack of sleep my newborn was quite a low maintenence baby.

Fast forward 3 years, I now have a toddler who needs constant interaction. DC is a talker,like non stop chattering and questions and singing from the moment she wakes to when she goes to bed. I love how she talks and her strange unique way of looking at the world but good god some days I just wish for 5 minutes of quiet. DC no longer naps during the day, house work, chores and errands all take 3 times as long as they did when she was a baby. Tantrums happen often conveniently with a full audience for good measure. Oh and I am due DC2 in a week so I know it will get harder.

All in all Dc1's first year was a piece of cake compared to now.

flow4 · 29/09/2012 14:27

YANBU. But just wait til they get to 14!

Pumpster · 29/09/2012 14:31

Every age has its pros and cons. I have 2 toddlers and 3 teens. I do agree babies can be a lot easier in many ways!

JollyToddler · 29/09/2012 14:33

You are so wrong. Ds is wonderful now at 17mo. We'll be TTC soon and I'm dreading having a baby again. The crying, the BFing, the not knowing what it wants. And the mess in the early days of weaning. And not being able to put them down on the floor. Urgh.

If anyone wants to look after dc2 for a year as a swap for a toddler then I'm up for that.

MagicHouse · 29/09/2012 14:35

From my own expersience, YABU! I found the new born baby bit awful for both of mine. I was a sleep deprived wreck both times, both had medical conditions meaning they couldn't sleep longer than about an hour. Both cried a LOT! I was very tearful, exhausted and rarely got a minute to myself. MY DS is now two, often tantrums, but is also very humerous and loving, and can tell me what the problems are. He sleeps most of the night......
No contest for me, even with the tantrums and frequent arguments with his sister!

Kveta · 29/09/2012 14:41

YANBU. DS was a horrific baby who never slept, screamed any time e wasn't latched on, and would have fed 25 hours a day given half the chance.

He is 3 now, and still doesn't sleep, but he also talks non-stop, tantrums like it's going out of fashion, will run away given the chance, and can reach things all over the house.

He was WAY easier as a newborn!

scarletforya · 29/09/2012 14:43

My baby is quite easy, I got lucky. I know it's just pure luck. But I'm dreading the toddler stage. The chaos, the mess, the screaming, the tantrums....

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