What did you struggle with most when you had your first baby?

[GummyBearGrandad]

My niece recently gave birth to her first baby and was complaining that no-one told her about the really difficult stuff of being a first-time mum. Such as colic, teething, reflux etc. I'm trying to get her to join Mumsnet as I think she'll benefit from the support so I want to link this thread to her (and it's also why I've changed my posting name so she will recognise it instantly).

So, be honest and tell me what you found most difficult with your first baby and what advice you would give to others.

For me, it was the colic and breastfeeding. I felt under quite a lot of pressure to keep going with the breastfeeding even though it bloody hurt and I got mastitis. I also remember the sleepless nights just walking up and down with her screaming over my shoulder and feeling so very shite, frustrated, angry and helpless. Then feeling guilty that I couldn't stop her from crying.

[Coconut0il]

lew this thread is 4 years old. You'll get more help if you start your own.
You aren't alone. I hated every second being pregnant. I was sick daily, tired all the time, constantly nauseous. I spent 3 months off work and in bed. Just take it day by day. It will end. Check out the hyperemesis thread in the pregnancy section, it's one of the only things that got me through.

[ticklingafoot]

day to day loneliness

[sippingginandlemon]

I simply didn't comprehend that I'd be more or less attached to another human being for most of the day.
Simple things like using the loo became a challenge. I didn't factor in how painful stitches were after the event. Or how tired I'd become.

If I could give myself advice looking back it would have been to buy a second baby bouncer type thing for the bathroom.

I would have covered the clocks with my first baby so I didn't become sleep obsessed. It's much easier to doze when you are tired if you don't get hug up on the time of day/ night.

[PeachBellini123]

Lewlew - the 1st trimester is horrible for many women. I felt crap until around 12 weeks - then I felt so much more myself, had more energy etc.

You've got so much to look forward to: the scans, the kicks....hang in there.

[blinkineckmum]

I loved every second of the baby, but found the birth and recovery from it shockingly awful.

[Lewlew1982]

Pregnant & miserable!

After spending best part of two years ttc #1, I am now 8 weeks pregnant. I honestly thought that this would make me so happy but the nausea, tiredness and vomiting and painful boobs has made me so miserable to the point where I am regretting it. I feel so totally abnormal being so depressed when this is all I've wanted for so long. Has anyone else experienced this and if so will it pass?

[opalescent]

Sleep deprivation. That and the weight of responsibility. Suddenly having NO free time unless it had been scheduled in and arrangements made in advance.

Both hit me like a tonne of bricks to be honest. It was hard at the start!

[happydaze77]

Spot on GlitzPig I can relate to your post completely, right down to the 'dark time' at 12 weeks. I wish my mum had been around to say to me what your mum said to you - it's so very very true.

[joyrocks]

I think the part where my baby cries in the middle of the night to change diapers and feed.

[minipie]

In the early months:

• worrying about what might be wrong with DD (she was premature and not breathing for a few mins at birth)
  
• trying to get her to sleep (total nightmare)
  

once she was a bit older and things had calmed down:

• the boredom and Groundhog Day nature of life
  
• never, ever, ever having a day off (still BFing at 8 months and counting...)

[flossyflo]

The constant never ending pit of worry in your stomach. Took me about 2 months for me to relax into it a bit and have confidence that I was doing it right. Felt really clueless in the beginning but getting out and about with different groups really helped. And mn.

[wibblyjelly]

Breast feeding was incredibly difficult for us. Thought we cracked it at 8 weeks, after a long struggle, only for ds to reject the breast at 12 weeks.
Sleep deprivation and the very dark thoughts that came with it.

[YoniBottsBumgina]

Oh FFS this thread was bumped by a spammer! Still it's a good thread.

[YoniBottsBumgina]

I found the baby part very easy and not difficult to adjust to at all, perhaps because I was in such a controlling relationship it was easy to have my attention fully focused on something. Plus babies are so portable and I wasn't interested in going out drinking etc anyway.

I have found it very difficult since being alone and seeing the freedom I could have had - the lack of spontenaiety, having to be aware every single minute of where your child is and that they are accounted for. I sometimes see people making casual arrangements and I feel consumed in a fit of jealousy because I just can't make open ended arrangements like that any more unless I can take DS with me.

[HenriettaChicken]

Piles.

[Weezie85]

Feeling tired, and grouchy all of the time at the start. Just the enormity of it all suddenly hitting me when home with just my husband and this tiny baby who was ours.
The lack of sleep was hard hitting for me though. I just can't nap during the day so it seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks by about 8pm. I agree with the impact on your body. Had a relatively ok birth but the feeling of being bruised down below, and the cramp afterwards.
I also remember feeling really angry at the fact that I sometimes could not stop her crying no matter what we did.

[Jergens]

*be not bf although she was BF!

[Jergens]

I found it really hard to be apart from my baby. I appreciated the offers from MIL to take DD out in the pram so I could rest, but I just didn't want to bf apart from DD - for months!
I'm less like thus second time round and take up offers of help more readily!

[Alanna1]

Dd1: boredom. And getting baby to sleep. I got a maternity nurse in at 6m to help and to this day wish I'd done it sooner.
Dd2: balancing work with maternity leave to stop me going mad with boredom...and having too much work and not enough time with my baby.

[SerenaS1030]

There is an alternative for the people who want the best for their kids. Yes? the solution is Mothers Third Arm. The Mothers third arm is a baby bottle holder or a sippy cup holder which feeds your baby while you are busy doing something else.

[BakingBunty]

Having a bottle refuser, which has meant that I haven't ever left DS for more than three hours, and have had to delay my return to work.

Feeling guilty for wanting to go back to work. Actually, feeling guilty about everything!

The overwhelming anxiety, particularly around feeding/weight and routine. I feel like my world has collapsed in on itself and naps/solids have become the most important thing in the world. I get really panicked if something threatens to derail the routine I've worked hard to establish, which means I miss out on a lot. I thought I'd be a relaxed mum who would just let my LO nap on the go, but I'm just not. I wish I was.

I also fear that I must be incredibly boring, especially to childless friends. I dread someone asking me about politics because I only seem to have a point of view on nappies and daytime TV.

[Lovethesea]

Losing me. No regular time off. No weekends. Isolation. Boredom.

Huge pain and damage from high forceps emergency with DC1. 10 months of physio and consultant appointments with small baby in tow. Trying to sleep while in tremendous pain and with catheter at times. Post natal ward staff acting shocked by my damage but not actually reassuring, helping or guiding me. Supporting Tena for life.

(DC2 was elcs 19 months later and a lovely birth btw)

[BonnieBumble]

Breastfeeding. The rest of it was a breeze. The hard work for me started at around 9/10 months.

[catus]

I was shocked by how I physically felt on day 2, when I woke up after the first night back at home. I didn't know I would feel pain everywhere, it was like a herd of buffalos had stamped all over me.
Second, the relentless crying and refusal to sleep. Horrible times, lasted 6 months. I had a fantasy about leaving DS with anyone and go check into a hotel, and sleep for a whole night. I knew some babies were little horrors, because we had some in my family, but to actually experience it was something else completely.
As for advice, a few things worked for me: get out of the house everyday, because I think fresh air does make a difference to my mood. Do something small everyday to make you feel good, like wearing a nice necklace. Forget non essential housework. Accept offers of help.