Did anyone find the newborn stage ok/ good?

[Bml11]

This is just a curious thread. I have a 2.5 year old boy, there is someone with in the family unit that is going to give birth mid summer. Whilst talking to her the other day, she was saying how she can’t wait for time off work and is just going to be sat in the garden all summer. In my head I was laughing thinking ‘you’re about to have the hardest job of your life and as for sat on the garden all summer, more like days of being unable to eat/ wash etc.’ But then i realised I was judging this based on my experience- I was blessed with a very colicy baby (was actually CMPA bit did work this out till he was eating solids) and PND - along with a partner that worked away pretty much from me giving birth so I struggled massively. So I’m just curious, did anyone find the newborn stage easy? I understand a lot will be down to the support you get. Just curious to see if anyone actually found it a breeze?

*meant didn’t work out CMPA till he was eating solids.

Second one was an absolute doddle, to be fair. Couldn't enjoy it though, because the first was wandering around wreaking havoc.

I hated the newborn stage with my first. He only slept in 20 minute bursts and screamed constantly. We later found out he had CMPI. I dreaded that stage the whole time I was pregnant with DC2, but he proved to be the easiest baby on the planet and I loved his newborn days. You're right, you do judge based on your own experience, but I still don't think I'd want to do it again.

Yes my DS now 2 was an easy baby. He fed well straight away, didn't have any issues with wind or milk, was content to sleep in his bassinet and was born with a set 3 hour feed routine ready to go, didn't cry much and happy to be held by anyone. I appreciate that is rare! I have to say, he is a very headstrong toddler now and has yet to sleep the night through in his own bed. So, they don't stay easy.

If I'm ever fortunate enough to have a second, I'm not expecting the same ease at the newborn stage, just luck of the draw.

For me the newborn stage is the easy bit for both children (apart from the lack of sleep).

Both napped well,ate well and thankfully didn’t have colic / CMPA issues.

For me the hardest stage is going back to work and jugglying family life and children.

With dd2 I went back to work full time when she was 6 months old, she went to nursey full time and DS1 started school. Balancing all that plus dd2 never sleeping through the night (even now at 19 months she doesn’t) plus housework, early mornings, school runs .

That’s the hard bit 🤣

@Whatsthatohno I hear you with the not sleeping toddler 🤣🤣🤣

DD1 didn't really sleep brilliantly at night but she spent a lot of the day asleep on me, I watched a lot of TV snuggled up on the sofa. But then at 5pm she would start crying and didn't really stop until midnight so on balance I would have swapped that for harder days I think!

2 and a half years in, I’m yet to experience this one sleeping through the night as well lol. I’m blessed that I haven’t had to go back to work yet, no idea how I’d cope. So god knows how you guys do it.

DS had always been an absolute dream, we've had two little blips that coincided with sleep regressions but he's always been content and I always had hot dinners/drinks. He slept through from 6 weeks etc. everything you hear the 'dream baby' doing. I never admitted it for fear of being goady to people who struggled. He's 3 in two weeks and hasn't really had the terrible twos phase either. There's the odd moment of 'who is this demon and where is my child?' but overall he's so laid back he's practically horizontal

I did. DD was a dream when tiny. She slept for relatively long periods and was happy as Larry when awake.

The difficult part was from 6 months onwards when I started to wean her from EBF. She seemed to think the food was just something to play with and spit out rather than something to swallow to satiate hunger. She was therefore often hungry and started waking a lot in the night wanting more milk. It was a long three months until the penny finally dropped and she settled down again.

1&2 no as I was an anxious wreck.

3 so far yes but he isn’t even a week old! He’s just a dream (very windy & won’t sleep much lying down so not a feed/put down baby by any stretch) but he’s feeding so well & chilled out it just makes it a really happy time

The easiest stage, they are happy as long as clean fed and someone holding them

I’ve always wanted more than one but I’ve found this one so hard that I don’t think I could go through it again 😞

I only have one but he was a very easy baby. Generally happy, in a steady routine quite soon and slept through reliably in his cot. The first six months were a doddle. My issue was he walked at 7 months and climbed stairs at 11 months so then there was a lot of following him around.

He didn't have the terrible twos as in tantrums, but he turned into a determined escape artist. If I dropped my guard for a second he would be away. He tried to escape through the cat flap, I couldn't leave a window open if he was around, and we had to check the garden fences regularly. He would hear my dp's car arrive in the evening and hide by the door so he could try to sneak out.

First also colicky and nightmarish. I couldn't enjoy number two because number 1 was consumed with jealousy and appeared to want to kill baby. He really did want to hurt her so cuddling and adoring my easy going, perfect baby DD had to take a back seat ☹️

The first month was a nightmare due to health issues and DD being readmitted to hospital, but after that I was lucky and had a baby who slept well at night. She wasn't a great napper in the day but was generally content from 7am until around 4pm every day and to be honest it was idyllic in those daytime hours. Evenings she was a grouchy little beast but I discovered that taking her for a long walk in the pram at around 6pm kept her happier and offset my biscuit habit.

I think I was lucky that I had an 'easy baby' so I can honestly say that, overall, it was a positive experience for me.

I worry that if I have another baby that I will really struggle if they're not as settled as DD and, of course, the long evening walks wouldn't be possible as DC1 would need to be at home getting ready for bed at that sort of time.

Yes with my second. I did all the things I should have done first time round but didn't. I lazed around on the couch or bed staring in wonder at this new little human for weeks. I accepted the long nights knowing that they wouldn't be forever and I actually let DH support me.
First time round I was very worried about doing it "right" and trying to keep on top of it all. We also had both DM and MIL stay at different points in the first few weeks so I was also concerned about what they thought of it all (silly because all they cared about was supporting us and very much not judging).
Second time round DS was born at beginning of our first lockdown in Australia, with all of our family in NZ. So we had our own perfect little bubble and it really was quite blissful (for all that we were stuck in a tiny 2bed apartment, wfh with a preschooler). It really cemented us as a unit and I'm so glad we had that and that I went easy on myself this time.

@INeedNewShoes - offset my biscuit habit.

I wonder of the biscuit is something a lot of mums go through lol, I had a massive biscuit stage after giving birth and so did a couple of my friends.

Second child I loved it. It really was sitting in the sunshine reading most of the time with the occasional feed or nappy change.
I had a school run to do but I enjoyed that too.

My DD was a dream as a newborn. Would sleep at night for 3 or even 5 hours from the get go, so I got more sleep with her as a newborn than I did in the end stage of pregnancy. She was born in early summer and I used to put her bassinet just inside the back patio doors and I would sit on the patio and read/snooze/eat my lunch in the sunshine! Took to BF like a duck to water. Never had colic. I found it much easier than pregnancy which I found absolutely savage and would never do again!!

My first was born with a birth defect resulting in multiple surgeries, he also has food allergies, so all in all not a breeze. My second was super easy as a newborn. Though I do think some of it is your attitude - he only napped in the sling which didn't bother me, I was quite happy for him to do that while I read a book... but other mothers I know stressed themselves out trying to achieve cot naps. Some of it is also how much support you have - we don't have family support but DH does 50:50 and we could afford some nursery for DS1 and a cleaner to continue through mat leave

Both of mine are an absolute doddle. Sleep right through 9-9 from 10 weeks and very predictable feeding schedule in the day. Second is still only18weeks old but it's not hard at all at the moment. Still waiting for her to wake up 🤷‍♀️ toddler years however we're difficult with her brother, so I'm under no illusions that parenting in general is easy, it's just for mine the baby part is

@Bml11 definitely had a biscuit stage with both. I could identify the biscuit type by rustle of the packet!

I had an 'easy baby' and still found the newborn stage a monumental shock / big pile of shit at times! I adored my son right from the start but I was exhausted.

I think the newborn stage is very hard when it’s your first baby. Even if you have a good baby, your life has been completely flipped upside down & you’re having to get used to new routines so that can be hard. Looking back now my baby’s 7 months, the newborn stage was easy 😂 I think as long as you don’t put too much pressure on yourself & just enjoy the cuddles & stop trying to keep the house clean & do everything else you could really enjoy it.