When does it become enjoyable?

[Anoldcardigan]

When did being a parent become enjoyable for you?
I have a 7 month old and its easier in ways compared to a few months ago! But I'm still finding it hard and not enjoying it as much as I'd hoped.
My LO wakes up a couple of times in the night still and wakes early for the day, so I'm tired. I know this is normal! I just miss my rest!
And I miss freedom in general tbh. So when did things start getting to a point where you thought you were enjoying it?

Following, I have a 14 month old. I hit peak happiness motherhood between 6 and 7 months and it's been downhill since. But I have a toddler who has been walking independently since 10 months so I just really, really want to sit down 😂

I was in a soft play and it was empty except for another baby who was only 3 days younger than mine and still only crawling and I felt such jealousy. He was so content just playing and having a little crawl and mine hadn't been that way since 8 months!! I have a 2 year old in the body of a 1 year old.

My days are spent working and chasing after this little wrecking ball. I'm exhausted.

Sleep is shit too, because of teething and nursery illnesses.

I think for me personally it's around the 10/11 month mark - and once you've passed one it gets better and better 🥰. The more they communicate the more you get out of them. I'm on DD2 now and she's turning one in a couple of weeks (don't know where that time has gone!) and I've found she's such a little bundle of joy and happiness! Everything is new and exciting, it's gorgeous. Both my babies were very difficult newborns - reflux and allergies - but really mellowed as we neared the 12 month mark. Sending lots of love OP, parenthood is exhausting but I promise it gets easier (in some ways 😅)

There is no one answer to this. Some people thrive when dealing with babies and then struggle at the toddler years or later. Some people find it all difficult. But it sounds like getting some independence back will really help you.

I think it depends on expectations vs reality. I wasn’t sure if I wanted any and when I was pregnant was very worried I’d hate all of it. I actually found it all much better than I feared. Weeks 1-8 were hard as DD did not sleep at all, she was horrendous and I was delirious. But from then on I’ve loved it and DD is 6.

But I had a very supportive husband (now ex but that’s unrelated) and I didn’t feel any loss of freedom.

Not everyone likes the baby stage. I particularly enjoyed 4 month+ though when she became more interactive. And she was an easy toddler so no terrible twos.

I remember my sister telling me, it doesn't get easier, it just gets different. How I hated her for that! However for each stage, there are stresses and difficulties and how you deal with those will depend on whether you find it gets easier. I found parenting became more enjoyable once my DC could interact more and have a conversation. Certainly, children do become more independent and if you can manage them well and get them helping around the house, it's a joy. I think for me it felt much easier once they (2.5 year age gap) were old enough to get themselves up in the morning and put the telly on because I got a bit more sleep!

I started enjoying it more from about 20ish months, I had a newborn by then as well and it made me throw all my cares out the window and just get on with life.

I totally felt that lack of freedom with my first but my second made me realise it was self imposed!

Get on with your life and baby will fit in. I know that's easier said than done! Forget naps and schedules and live!

I always say parenthood is like a long graph showing peaks and troughs but it's so variable where you start and when you hit the highs/lows! Some people adore newborns, I had a horrible time immediately postbirth. Some people struggle with tantrumming toddlers, mine was a dream. Currently I'm in the teenage years and so far I've loved it, whereas a close friend is having a really tough time with hers who are the exact same age.

It will get better but we can't tell you when that will be. X

You have lots of ups and downs being a mum. Sometimes more downs than ups if I am honest. It’s a hard thankless task. looking back although it was hard as I had mine extremely close together personally I found the teenage years far worse than the baby years. Now mine are grown looking back I wish mine were little again and I could do it all again.

When they get to about three. Mine went to nursery from four and five months and I ran back to work, the first couple of years were more about survival. But then, nursery was the only break we ever got. They’re now 20 and 22 and from three years old on, just got better and better. Even the teen years were nothing like the under 2’s.

Depends on the child really. Some are much more difficult than others.

It's always going to be up and down, but things really picked up for me from around 13 months - DD is 18 months now and I love being a toddler parent! She can speak quite well, is very funny, we can actually sit in a cafe together (albeit briefly) and she sleeps 7.30-6.30. The first 6 months she was so unsettled and honestly I was miserable!

Depends on the child,
my eldest- awful newborn, lovely infant, lovely toddler, lovely kid, awful teenager lol
my second- lovely newborn, lovely infant/toddler, awful kid, lovely teenager lol
3&4 twins- lovely newborn, lovely infant, twin1 awful kid, twin2 lovely kid- neither have hit teens yet so remains to be seen lol
youngest- lovely newborn, lovely infant, going into to toddler (22months) we will see haha.
awful/lovely is being used to describe the stage- not the child…. Although 🤔 lol xx

For me it depended on the child.
DS(now 8!) was a hard baby but easy toddler and pre-schooler - hard child at the moment
DD (now 4) was a easy baby but a hard toddler and preschooler. I'm hoping that means I get an easy child.

Its goes through ups and downs.