Liking your children

[GuernseyTeddy]

Have a five month DS, and he's my first with all this parenting stuff being completely new to me, so please be kind to me if I'm asking something completely stupid!

Is it normal to feel completely exasperated and fed up with your baby? I love him, and he's the sweetest angel in the world when he's just woken up in the morning but we both seem utterly fed up with each other at the end of the afternoon, before bath and bed.

After his afternoon nap, his crankiness and frustration at not being able to move build into a constant grizzle and I'm then forced into giving him my complete undivided attention (singing, dancing, playing games), until the time thankfully comes when I can give him his milk, a bit of fruit purée, bath and then off to bed. By this time I'm skipping down the stairs after he's in bed.

Is this normal? Pre kids I had this vision of blissful motherhood but I just seem pretty fed up a lot of the time.

That stage is really hard -they want to move but can't so frustrating for you and the baby

So perfectly normal and it passes

It's a difficult stage anyway but perfectly normal to get fed up with your kids! I spend most days contemplating leaving them with my mother and running away to join the circus.

It really won't be long and this stage will be a distant memory. He'll be moving and playing with toys and entertaining himself a bit more. It is tough at the time, but don't feel bad.

I love mine dearly, but am usually very relieved when they go to bed at night!

They are much more interesting once they can talk!

Yeah don't worry OP you're normal! As a mum of a 2 year old and a 10 week old, I find the 2 year old great and the baby a constant panic inducing mystery (see thread on baby crying and panicking if you can be bothered!).

Might be teething as well which goes in waves. Grit your teeth and keep you eyes on the prize (a couple of hours off!).

Yes to jumperoo

Or out for a walk late afternoon every day with baby in sling ...

Yes, what you are feeling is very normal. The reality of parenting is you are forced to learn perserverence, tolerence and patience. I sometime thought a prison sentence would have been easier than 2 babies.

You will evolve into a better person and also your love for your child will continue to forge a deeper and deeper connection on many different levels over time.

I have the same scenario. A really sunny baby usually but has recently become very grizzly late afternoon and it is hard work. I have her be as active as possible and then chuck her in the sling and give the dog a bonus extra walk. I think it will be better when she can crawl.

Utterly normal. I can still remember my mum (lovely 80s parenting here) saying "I love you very much, but some days I don't really like you"

While I'm not sure I'd ever say that to DC, it's perfectly normal to be frustrated, or tired, or irritable, or all the above. I have a toddler and one minute she is the most amazing, wonderful little person that ever existed, then the next... oh, if I have to say "stop it" one more time... grr...

Second the suggestions for a walk in the late afternoon/early evening. That really helped with the 'witching hour' for me.

Sorry to be a doom monger but my DS now 7 is a stubborn, moany, whingy nightmare at the moment. I really do not like him much right now. DD otoh at age 10 is an angel although she has her moments too. It can be a bit of a love/intense dislike relationship. Ive got used to it now. Its normal.

I remember that DS got more interesting from 6 months, and is now 4 (it will go so fast, trust me) and is fab! If you're tired, or used to getting things done (remembering the stew that took 2 and a half hours to get into the slow cooker because I could only ever chop one carrot, onion etc at a time) then it can be hugely difficult.

Do you know anyone else with a small baby you can visit so you can at least have adult company as you bounce and wipe sick?

As others have said above I found this stage a nightmare. The good news is that it passes, the bad news is that you could be in for a further couple of months of it.

My DS was like this from 6 to 9.5 months when he finally started to crawl. By the 8 month mark I was at the end of my tether - his grizzling was reaching a crescendo by mid morning and kept on going no matter where we went or what we did. It was like fingers down a black board and I felt I was going insane

Everyone told me not to wish for him to crawl because it would be so much harder. Bullshit. He is soooo much happier now that he is on the move and so am I. All I have to do is make sure he's safe but he's happy crawling about looking in nooks and crannies while I look on.

Very little grizzling and he's just so much more smiley!!

My advice to get you through is to make lots of plans to get out and about or have friends over for play dates to 'dilute' the effect of his behaviour.

It will pass!!

DS is also 5 months and we seem to have hit the whingey, grizzly stage; he's been a horror the last few days. SO while I'm relieved to see this is a 'thing' I'm also dreading the thought of several more months of it, I'm cracking up with it already!