It gets better doesn’t it?

[Iamsotiredandfedup]

I’m not sure why I’m posting this, I think I’d just like to hear that someone else was here and it got better

I feel like I’m going insane and I think breastfeeding has a big part in it. I always planned to combi feed but for months now the bottle has been refused. Sometimes I think it’s the most beautiful thing and I’m so proud of myself, other times I genuinely want to rip my skin off

my baby is very different to my first, they’re unsettled and irritable a lot of the time. Naps during the day are pretty much non existent unless I lay there being a human dummy. Evenings are non existent, tonight bedtime was 9pm. Nights aren’t great but I feel like I can cope with that, it’s the other 2 things that are killing me. I just wish life had a bit more balance

my partner is doing his best but of course cannot understand and so he feels a million miles away. I’m struggling to keep up with anything mentally, admin, work, life. I’m failing my other child miserably as they require mostly headspace at their age. I went from loving my dog beyond words to just finding him infuriating and like he’s another task that I can’t keep up with. House is a shit hole, I look a mess. It just all feels fucked

life just feels so so hard right now

I feel you, but it gets better! In a few months you may not remember this. In a year, everything will be different. The house can wait. The lack of evenings is insane. But it will pass. Hang in there xx

It gets so, so much better. I felt a lot like this - reading your post took me right back to how it felt. But I don't feel like that at all anymore. Mine are 8 and 5 now and it's so very, very much easier and more enjoyable - and it has been in the process of getting easier for years. It will get better. I have no advice, but so much solidarity for where you are right now!

Yes. It gets better. I stopped breastfeeding my youngest early in what sounds like very similar circumstances. It was hard as he refused anything apart from me. In the end I did it for my mental health - at a weekend so my husband could do all the feeds while my DS was screaming, and I was sobbing on the other side of the door with savoy cabbage stuffed in my bra. It. Got. Better. SO much better. Do what you need to do.

Yes it definitely gets better

The baby stage is hellish if you have an unsettled baby and sleep and feeding isn’t straightforward. I found everything better after that, even the terrible twos with a very emotionally volatile angry 2 year old.

How old is your baby?

Yes, it all gets better. Our house is still a mess though!!!
Those early baby days were just brutal..I walked round like a zombie half of the time.
This too shall pass OP!

Thank you for the replies, I know it won’t last forever but I’m so deep in this messy phase that it’s hard to imagine it changing

baby is 7 months now so I’ve been going for quite a while. We’re obviously weaning but breastfeeding is a huge form of comfort. Like I said in my OP at times I think it’s amazing and I love being that comfort, it’s just so bloody intense

Same OP. I Love it, but intense is the word. I’m sure we’ll miss it one day!

It’s hugely intense now, but then it won’t be.

And you will rejoice in your freedom! But feel a bit lost too…

Keep the faith- it seems like forever, but it’s not.

Have you tried baby with a beaker instead of a bottle? Teething toys might help for the comfort. Sleeping bags can be good for helping them sleep well.
2nd borns are sent to try us! My first was an absolute dream, he was born in a perfect routine. Then number 2 came along and i spent about 9 months sleep deprived just running on adrenaline with the toddler. It does get easier, the preschool years were probably the best years of my life.

I can hear myself in your words. My second DC was like this and it felt like it would never end. He’s 4 now and it is so so much easier. He sleeps well in his own room, hes such a happy child, he eats well and we have such a close relationship. He also has an excellent immune system which I put down to breastfeeding. When he was 18 months old I weaned him off breastfeeding (don’t offer/don’t refuse technique) and it was life changing. For us both. These months are hard, but you will look back and forget about the messy house and the fact your hair needed a cut. These months are building your DC foundations. It WILL get easier.

Yes we’re currently trying a few different beakers/sippy cups, yet to find the magic one but we’ll keep trying

Oh my gosh the second borns! The strong will is something else. Thank you for the reassurance, I’m looking forward to getting out of survival mode

I really appreciate this perspective, it gives me a lot of hope so thank you xx

Too late for just a dummy?