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Parenting

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Original poster

What age did you find hardest between 0 and 1 year?

38 replies

newmum234 · 02/09/2020 09:06

My baby is now 4 months old and I’ve seen people say on MN that it’s a hard age. I’m exhausted but less so than when DS was a newborn - it feels a bit easier now than at the beginning to me, though it’s still very grueling.

What age did you find hardest between 0 and 1 year and why? And which was the easiest period during that time?

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Towelrail7 · 02/09/2020 09:07

I personally found the first 6 weeks hardest!

But I do know 4 months is famously tricky.

Original poster

newmum234 · 02/09/2020 09:10

But I do know 4 months is famously tricky.

Why is that - because of the sleep regression? DS seems to have escaped it so far, but I know it could strike at any moment...

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Onekidnoclue · 02/09/2020 09:11

The first three months were vile. Anything after that was manageable! The first chunk is all about feeding and sleeping. If they’re working ok for you I can see a newborn is pretty easy, if they’re not it’s utter awful!

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nitsandwormsdodger · 02/09/2020 09:12

Every age has its hard and easy bits
At I find new norns in daytime super easy as they sleep so much can go shopping and lunch uninterrupted
3 months and 6 months the cot death chances drop so can relax a lot more when they sleep
I hate weening as it's soooo messy and m cleaning the walls and floor and me But the interaction and responsiveness is so much better
8-10 months sleeping improves but so does mobility !

Towelrail7 · 02/09/2020 09:12

Yes the sleep regression. But - for me anyway - anything from 6 weeks onwards was so much better and easier that I didn’t notice 4 months being much harder!

GoldenOmber · 02/09/2020 09:14

Yes 4 months. For mine it was the age where they were napping less and wanted to do more, but still couldn’t actually DO that much and seemed constantly frustrated about it. Plus the sleep regression for DC1 was hell.

Easiest was around 6-8 months, although DC2 was fairly easy as a newborn as well.

Original poster

newmum234 · 02/09/2020 09:15

anything from 6 weeks onwards was so much better and easier that I didn’t notice 4 months being much harder!

I’m the same, though I’d say the first 12 weeks were tough for me. It seemed to get slowly easier after that.

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Xmasfairy86 · 02/09/2020 09:17

The beginning was hard because it was new.
The middle was hard because it was new - and they wanted to move/eat/not sleep.
The end was hard because it was new. And they were finding a voice, and still not sleeping when I said so, and the food vs milk thing!

But, I’d do it again

steppemum · 02/09/2020 09:19

Hmm, I'm not a great believer in sleep regression, none of my 3 kids ever followed the charts on any of that.

I think different bits were hard in different ways. I didn't find newborn that hard. I did lots of snuggling and sleeping for a few weeks, and even with DC2, dh did lots with Dc1, so I could do the same.
I think once he was back at work, and I was on my own, that was a hard stretch, as it was pretty relentless.

But then I found my feet and was OK. Baby was portable, I was bf, so grab a nappy and go was pretty much how it was.
For me, the hardest was always when they were crawling and not yet walking.
It was hard because they constantly wanted to be down on the floor, so no sitting in a cafe with friends, with baby on your lap, as they would just wriggle and scream. No sitting in the playground (with baby no 2) while dc1 played, as I couldn't pu them down to crawl. They didn't want to be on your lap, or in the buggy, just on the floor. Visiting others was hard, as they could reach everything, so unless their house was baby proof, it was a nightmare.
So much easier once they stood up!

Hopefulbride18 · 02/09/2020 09:20

I found the first 6 months really hard, my baby was a terrible sleeper and it was only at 6 months when I actually felt I could do something effective about it that everything really got better for us.

I think as everyone says each stage has its challenges and joys and it just depends what you as a person enjoy most really!

YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake · 02/09/2020 09:20

7-8 months. They want to do more than they are capable of and get frustrated easily

Ihaveoflate · 02/09/2020 09:20

It completely depends on the baby and your temperament. I had the newborn from Hades and a traumatic birth to recover from, so the first 6-8 weeks were the worst of my life and I lost my mind. Anything after that was/is better in comparison because it was such a low bar!

4 months was actually a turning point for me: I'd gone back to work and my husband took over; she was on reflux medication so was much happier; I can't really remember a sleep regression as such. I found another turning point for the better was 6 months when she could sit up unaided and had been sleeping through the night for a few weeks (so I was sure it wasn't just a phase!).

The first 6 months for me were really just about surviving - no real joy. The joy comes much closer to a year IME.

Disappointedkoala · 02/09/2020 09:21

4-6 months and then around the 10 month+ mark. Much better from 18 months onwards.

Lockdownseperation · 02/09/2020 10:03

4 months didn’t register on my radar as more difficult at all.

With DD1 the first 6 weeks but I was very ill and had she had undiagnosed allergies.

I can’t decide if over all the first 6 weeks or 6 months is the most difficult.

Life definitely gets easier when they can crawl and walk.

seayork2020 · 02/09/2020 10:05

Knowing how to fill the days really so I tried to get out a bit each day walk, baby group, shopping, going for coffee

JoJoSM2 · 02/09/2020 10:08

I didn’t enjoy the first year at all but the newborn stage was the worst. DS only started reliably sleeping through at about 22months so that’s when I finally stopped feeling permanently sick with exhaustion. Now he’s 2, it finally feels like fun.

mindutopia · 02/09/2020 10:09

The first 6 weeks were hard because they were a shock and there was literally no day and night. But I think in terms of just being a hard time with sleep and coping, between about 7-11 months was quite difficult. Teething, becoming mobile, very disrupted sleep, separation anxiety, it was just constant whinging and tears and I was exhausted.

SelmaB · 02/09/2020 10:10

For me it was 5 months. Felt like everything should be getting easier and my friends and family all kept saying how their kids were sleeping through by then but mine was still waking constantly throughout the night! Also people were generally really nice during the newborn phase but expected me to have my shit together by 5 months when I was so sleep deprived I could have done with more help then than during the newborn bit! I found it really miserable. From 6 months onwards it got much better and easier, once my dc actually started sleeping!

Spudlet · 02/09/2020 10:11

All of it? Up to about 8 months, anyway. I didn’t really enjoy having a small baby. Much prefer slightly older children.

I found it a lot easier once he stopped feeding at night, and easier still when we stopped breastfeeding altogether at 10 months.

Babs709 · 02/09/2020 10:11

7-8ish months when DS wanted to pull himself up on EVERYTHING and the just let go. I literally couldn’t leave his side. It was draining. Didn’t help that he didn’t sleep through the night and was up at half 6.

Fuccia · 02/09/2020 10:16

First 6 weeks were definitely the hardest. It got easier and easier until 7 months when DS started waking every couple hours during the night which lasted until 13 months.

anonnancy · 02/09/2020 10:18

I find every stage has had it’s difficult bits!

The newborn stage is just a blur and I can’t remember most of it as I was so tired from the round-the-clock feeding/changing etc... but know that I enjoyed the cuddles and frequent sleeping during the day!

Then the 4 month sleep regression hit us at about 3.5 months and lasted until he was about 5.5 months, but enjoyed watching him learn how to roll over / starting to laugh etc

Then we had a bit of respite for a couple of weeks until he cut his two bottom teeth as he turned 6 months....

Then 6-8 months has just been a wave of teething/illness and learning to fall asleep independently so hard work in some ways but he is also learning so much and his personality is really shining at the moment!

MeadowHay · 02/09/2020 12:47

I second PP who said all of it! Especially under 8 months.

The very very worst was the first 12 weeks though. I stopped breastfeeding around then which I'm sure was a big factor in it starting to feel easier after that as I hated it as it was so incredibly painful for me. DD was also fairly reliably sleeping a good chunk overnight say 11-6 without a feed too which helped.

Bouncycastle12 · 02/09/2020 12:54

I found four months the hardest - and it got much easier after that, don’t worry. Sleep regression hell and the early Adrenalin and excitement worn off.

LilaButterfly · 02/09/2020 13:00

DS was very easy til about 2 years, so with him i cant really say. Maybe 5months because he started sleeping through at 4 months and after a month of sleeping perfectly he started waking up again every 2h for a feed. I was told its probably a growth spurt, but it lasted until he was 9months
I was home and didnt work, so the sleep wasnt too bad since i got to rest during the day, but when he started waking again after i got used to sleeping through it was tough for a while.
With DD it got hard when she was 8 months, because she started throwing crazy fits including banging her head on the floor. That wasnt fun.

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