does anyone else count the hours until dp/dh is home?

[spikeycat]

I'm finding it increasingly hard to keep myself and ds amused during the day (he's 8 months) and I have lost count the amount of times I have looked at the clock today counting the hours until dp is here to take some of the load off.

I'm moving in a month so hopefully will have a nice midwife who I can ask www. I did say I hadn't been before and really thought I should go this time but she said I know what to do now so theres no point

Just read ForestFly's comment. I've been waiting nearly three months now. Doesn't time fly? NOT. How are you doing?

Dont apologise spikey, it was a very bitter comment!!!! Hi sykes, hope your well x

I feel exactly the same way - counting down the minutes until dp gets home -and I only look after ds on my own on a Friday! (and one weekend in three - killer..!). Best news of the week is that dp's off work aswell tomorrow - hurrah! dp doesn't really approve, but I find that having the telly on really helps pass the time - I find between 6pm - 7pm the hardest hour - waiting until I can take ds up to bed! But watching 'Friends' seems to help!

Yeah know the feeling. A playpen's my godsend. DS is going thorugh a clingy phase at the mo but more often than not he's content in the pen with toys to bang so I can at least grab a cup of tea. Otherwise visiting folks is a good wheeze as they always want to hold the baby!

Spikeycat - I know how you feel, i count the hours down from the moment he leaves but then when he is home i realise i've not really got much to say anyway but it's nice to have the company. I get days whereby i think i'm going to go mad if i stay in the same four walls with the horrendous, neverending boredom when you can't seem to be bothered to do anymore bloody colouring or baby chat! Going out and about generally seems to help along with trying to plan events in advance. try and get to some mother and toddler groups after the Summer, not always fun and exciting but it does help the time to fly!

I think that you have to treat mat leave or mother hood with the same rigour as you would your job. get out - do things meet people. there is so much on (in term time admittedly) that there is no reason to be bored.

spikeycat, in answer to your original post - I really used to do this. From five o'clock I would literally look at the clock every 5 mins. Now DS is 22 months and things have totally changed. He's so much more fun and time just flys by (most of the time!).

I agree, coddy, but it is also hard when you're pregnant and/or are knackered with new baby and bigger child/ren - I find myself glancing neurotically at my watch every 15 minutes sometimes.

spikeycat - hope you are feeling a bit better soon - those early weeks of pregnancy combined with this hot weather must be awful for you - you have my sympathy.

If you have transport, I echo the others recommendations and suggest you get out the house as much as possible - at least once a day. It is how I cope - even a trip down the the garden centre for a cup of tea and to let DD play on their small playground for 10 mins helps keep me sane. My toddler group (mums and babies really) is also a huge blessing - although just a couple of hours once a week and haven?t made any close friends out of it, it breaks up the week a bit and gives me adult conversation during the day. If there is anything like this locally give it a go - even "average" conversation can be better than non at all. Our local large Mothercare store runs a morning art and craft thing for young mums and children - cheap and cheerful and babies go too. I go for the cappucinos and chocolate brownies.Also our local sports centre runs all sorts of daytime stuff like mums and babies swim sessions, baby gym and baby music and movement things - we occasionally do the swim thing and are signed up for the gym in Sept.
I am not very good with socialising and find making light conversation with people I hardly know really stressful but forcing myself to go out is better than sitting downstairs debating over whether to defrost the freezer or do the ironing every day. Keep your chin up, and get out there and find lots to do (once you are feeling up to it and this hot weather has gone away)...