Day in with 3 yo and pg bump but collapsing in exhaustion by 3pm - normal or is DS unusually punishing?

[mrsgboring]

I'm 16 weeks pg and have been pretty ill with it,so the Tweenies have been bringing up DS for the last couple of months. Now I'm feeling a bit better, I'm trying to pick up the threads of how I used to do it, and can't work out for the life of me how I ever did.

Today we've been stuck in waiting for a delivery (wh never came ) so we've done:

Book reading - nearly an hour
Sticking and glue and glitter pictures
Train track
Horrible track based toy that doesn't work and I got cross trying to put it together
A very fraught Lego session (things didn't go DS's way wrt structural stability, but we got there in the end)
Dressing up in all the outdoor clothing in the box
Dolls House, and all the dolls house toys lost in a snowdrift (v. boring that bit).
Numerous short-lived ad hoc pretendy things,usually involving bins or poo
Pretend baths, which required lots of bubble wrap to be taped into the box as water.

Eventually I was reduced to refusing to give out sellotape unless I was allowed a 20 min sit down in return (which DS didn't really get) and finally I gave in and put the video on because I was fit to drop, and retired to chain eat chocolate in the next room.

How on earth did I ever get through the whole day TV free, as I regularly used to? I haven't been flat out either, I've been skiving off to MN at every opportunity and haven't even unloaded the dishwasher.

What does a day in look like with a 3 yo? How do you manage?

Oh dear, sympathies to you. I so remember the days of being pregnant, knackered, and trying to amuse a 1 yo (in my case). Then I went and did it all over again with two of them!

I used to try to divide the day into quarters and make sure we didn't chop and change activities too dramatically within that quarter (sorry that sounds more regimented than it was) - I just mean otherwise we would end up trying to do too much. Maybe you could allow one short TV programme at the end of each quarter or whatever you decide, as a treat (for you more than for him!) - I also used snacks as a natural break as otherwise mine would get overexcited, and snack time or telly was the only time I seemed to get to sit down.

Sorry probably not much use, but your post has brought it all back to me!

Oh thank you for this. I actually asked MN to delete my OP as I decided it all sounded so ridiculous, so thank you for the sympathy. I'd like to do it again after this as well, if possible (and we still feel like it when we get there) but don't know if we can face it again.

Oh I should say,that is a good idea. I think I'm so keen to do things (as feel guilty I haven't been doing them for a while) that I push to get them all in as soon as DS suggests them.

Bloody Hell, you do stacks more than me and I'm not preggers

Give yourself a break

He won't be able to get this level of 1:1 when the babe is here so get in the habit of 'self-directed' play (yeah, right, I hear you say)

But seriously, doing a few things in the morning then sticking on the TV after luch is absolutely fine, IMO

'Tis what I did, anyway

You've gotta get a kip in on the sofa, I say

Oh he has been desperately neglected self directed for weeks and weeks and weeks now. He's actually pretty good at amusing himself, but likes the telly on for background while he's doing it, which I think is a really bad habit. Unfortunately, trying to break that is breaking me I think.

I do lots cos DS is awake 14 hours a day every day.

Nursery or playgroup?

Going in January. I'm looking forward to it, though I think it will take a while to settle him.

That's good. Is he clingy?

DD1 started nursery when I was about 4m pg. It was good because by the time the baby was born she couldn't remember not being in nursery, IYKWIM

So I didn't feel guilty bundling her off in the morning and going back to bed with dd2

And nursery was her place, not mine or the baby's. They made a fuss of her there when dd2 arrived and played down the whole baby bit

He has been extremely clingy but the full blown separation anxiety stopped around 2.5 I think. I would say he's over the intense phase of it now, but he is being so obviously brave when being left that it breaks my heart a little.

Place he's going has a policy that you stay with them till they're happy, which I suspect could be a little drawn out with DS, but I am hoping that he will be fully in the swing by the time baby is due (end April)

Am sure he'll be fine

DD1 loved nursery

Good that they have that policy as well. Important that the child feels ready to be left

Normal. It's tempting when pregnant to assume when you start feeling better that you can just throw yourself into things like you used to, but you can't (except for a few lucky so-and-sos). Especially with a second pregnancy as you're constantly "on duty" with DC1.

You're right. I'm very silly. It's hard because I feel all wrong when pregnant (for lots of reasons, physical and psychological) and for the first time I'm really having to grind this motherhood thing out day in day out. Before, I mostly sailed through on a cloud of euphoria and hyperactivity that came naturally about 60% of the time and now it's just "Oh God not Thomas again. No, still don't want to read to you even when you choose the artistic and quirky books I desperately want you to like."

I should shut up and go to bed.

You should change your talk name because you are not boring you are very witty

Being pg is hard at times. I used to moan at dp when preggers with dc2... how the Hell would I cope with 2 when I can't even handle 1, blah blah blah

His response was short and sweet, but spot on: Yes, but you won't be pregnant then, will you?

He was right, totally different when dd2 was born

Thank you, Notnowbernard (love the name, BTW and love the book).

I am supremely arrogant that when not pregnant I will be taking on the world again. Oh God, I hope that's true.

You will, you will... and on 4hrs broken sleep too

Congrats, btw