7 month old - exhausted mum - looking for support and sympathy

[Moomoom]

I know I’m extremely lucky. My DS is beautiful and healthy, I have a supportive husband and friends and family all living nearby.
My DS is 7 months old and shouts at me. All day. Everyday. Screams at nap time and shuffles up the cot. Currently in a bout of teething/teeth movement so endless dribble and mucus poo nappies (I change him and he has another). I can’t even enjoy my evening meal as he wakes frequently screaming after bed. I feel like I’m in a constant state of exhaustion and anxiety. His naps are unpredictable. DH tries to soothe him but he clearly only wants me. He ends up in bed with me by 4am just so I can try to sleep. By the end of the day I have a headache from the constant shouting. I know it’s him learning to use his voice and the rational part of me knows it’s a phase abd wont be forever but it doesn’t make it easier in the moment. Just looking for some sympathy and hopefully light at end of tunnel stories

He also growls at me, whinges and whines

You have my sympathy! Ds is 6 yrs now but I remember those days very well.I havent got any advice but I promise you it will get better.

Have you tried any settling methods? I know they are for everyone but they worked for us. Also if he is really dribbly have you tried putting a pillow underneath the whole top of mattress to tilt it up? It helped our son as the dribble wasn't pooling so much.

Now to you. Are you taking a vitamin, preferably one containing iron? It might make a lot of difference or it might make none but it's definitely worth a try. When we feel at our best it's always easier to help with them. Also remember that your baby will cry, if you need a shower, put them In their cot with a book or toy and enjoy your time, breath, de stress even if it's just for 10 minutes of a blissfully hot shower!
I hope things improve for you soon

Hey OP.

I have a 7 month old too. And a 3 year old. I can promise these things do get better. But also the difficulties change. I find my 3 year old much more hard work than my 7 month old!

Sorry posted too soon

I haven't enjoyed an evening meal for 3 and a half years, I think you need to change your expectations slightly

But you do have my sympathy because first time round I did have the shock of my life becoming a mum

Thanks everyone ❤️
Yep I’ve been taking the pregnacare breastfeeding vitamins but as ds is eating solids gradually more and more I may change to a regular multivitamin when this pack runs out
@novacaneforthepain perhaps enjoy was too strong a word... simply managing to eat my dinner would be a goal right now!

@Moomoom oh haha. Yes I do understand. I have my son on my hip and my plate on a shelf, bouncing him around.. if he cries he wakes up my daughter and then it's absolute hell trying to deal with them both! (Dad is here but they both want me OF COURSE 🙄)

Promise it gets easier .. but I prefer the "ma da da ga ha" so much better than the threenager tantrums 🤣

@novacaneforthepain I’m sort of looking forward to DS learning to walk and talk... sometime I feel he growls whines and shouts purely out of frustration so if he’s able to communicate his needs better and can move I feel he’ll be a bit happier (crosses fingers)

You have my sympathy. My baby was a particular pain in the backside at that age, before he could crawl. He would shout and whinge endlessly. I knew it was because he was frustrated, but knowing that didn't make it any easier! But it does get easier as they get older.

With my first I ate all of my evening meals standing up while bouncing him in a sling because he had such bad colic. It was horrific and I feel your pain. I have no advice but lots of sympathy, OP. It will improve, I promise. Mine eventually settled and I had a second, so am back there again. It is so so hard right now! But it will get better.

You have my sympathy OP, mine was like this too. I was a ball of anxiety.

He's now 5 and it's a distant memory now. Just try and hold on to the thought that it isn't forever

It will get better! I keep telling myself that everything is just a phase of it’s teething, good sleep, bad sleep etc.

Have you tried the huckleberry app? It works out the ideal awake windows for their age so might make his naps more predictable

I think the growling is funny. My 10 month old still does it

Thank you all 💖 so much that’s what I needed to hear!
The growling is hilarious but accompanied by loud shouting and whining at the moment it just makes me feel like he’s angry at Mummy...especially as he finds Daddy so funny (all smiles and laughter for Daddy unless it’s a night waking!) but I know it’s just because he’s used to me meeting his needs as DH is out at work for 10-12 hours a day and I have done exclusive breastfeeding til solids were introduced (and still going with it now purely because I cannot be bothered learning a new system that involves bottles and measuring when boobs are so accessible!)
I’m also the first of my friends to have a baby so that doesn’t help, I have met other mums through coffee mornings and groups but it’s not the same as my actual friends...I know one is broody so I’m hoping she and her DP have one soon!
I know they’re all phases and when I look back at all the other tough phases like when he wouldn’t sleep as a newbie, when he would cry for hours each evening, when I was constantly feeding I know I’ve come a long way and so has he but it’s just so hard. I’ve also got a cold so am walking round with a blocked nose which is making me grumpy! Thank god for the Internet. I don’t know how my mum managed back in the day without it (magazines and tv I guess) I’ll have a look at that huckleberry app for sure! xxx

I found my DS was much happier when he could crawl, think he was hugely frustrated from not being able to get round by himself! "It's just a phase" is the most often said thing round here!

I found the first 8 months unbearably hard, my son suffered with silent reflux and didn’t sleep. It was HELL. Screw anyone who says newborns and babies are the easiest phase! From 8 months onwards things started getting easier. Hang in there momma!

You have my sympathies, I have a four month old foster baby and there are days when the tears are endless. I have just got back from a 2 mile walk in the howling wind and pouring rain because it soothes my FB (Foster Baby) to be walking and bouncing over bumpy ground.

Thank you all really helps so much to hear from mums who’ve been where I am right now!
@bloodywhitecat your post made me want to cry! To think that you’ve got a little baby who needed a parent bless you. I have such admiration for foster parents!

@Burgerandchipvan that’s what I’m hoping too. Ds is so strong..held his own head from 10 days old and he’s constantly pushing himself up but it’s just a matter of co ordination and balance!
@DropYourSword hehe! Well although the newborn days were bloody hard I do look back at them with some fondness simply because he wanted to sleep on me 24/7 so I would binge box sets as he slept as I struggled with the ‘sleep when baby sleeps’ thing whereas now he shouts at me if I’m not giving him 100% of my attention! I’m looking forward to when he’s older and appreciates the concept of snuggling up with me to watch something