I need to vent/moan/offload....anything

[ithasbeenhellofanight]

It has been hell of night, hence the name. I have namechanged for this.

I am pregnant, exhausted and have a 2 year old who has been playing up for the last week or so. He hasn't been eating, he seems to have dropped his nap and he is really resisting bedtimes, despite us doing the usual things at bedtime.

Tonight has been awful. He usually goes up to bed without any trouble at 7.30pm. Last night it was 9.30pm before he went off, and DH and I were up and down the stairs doing the put to bed thing.

Tonight has been the same, although tonight I'm on my own and I just haven't coped well. Apart from being exhausted, I have an awful cold and have got loads to do to get ready for work tomorrow.

I'm ashamed to say I lost my temper this evening. I usually manage to keep calm, put him to bed, kiss DS and shut the door gently. I don't really know what was different this evening, but I shouted at him, burst into tears and immediately cried more because I felt so guilty. We had a nice cuddle and I calmed down, but it really scared me that this could happen.

Now I'm really worried about how I'm going to cope when baby number 2 is born, I don't really know what I've let myself into.

Maybe I expect too much from DS, but I've just found this evening horrendous. I don't even know why I'm writing this...

You will be fine. You have a lot on your plate, being pg is really hard without a toddler in tow. Get an early night, it will all seem better in the morning [hopeful] When is dh back?

Is your maternity leave fairly imminent?

My DD is 4 and a bit and always picks up when change is about to happen and usually results in playing up at bedtimes. When I was going through a selection process at work prior to being made redundant last year, I had about 6 wks of it, and DH is a chef so I was dealing with it solo as well and lost my temper a lot!

Not much advice but it will get better and although it's really hard the calmer you can stay the easier it will be.

Take advantage of your DH as much as possible - at least if you're not doing bedtime every night it will make it easier to cope when you are.

I'm actually feeling worse now that DH is home, as he keeps telling me it will be better when the baby comes. Er no, I can't see how it will be.

Thanks for your messages. My maternity leave is fairly imminent . Thanks also for telling me that you lost your temper a lot womblingfree, it does help a little.

I found being pg much harder than dealing with a newborn. I'm a teacher and I lost my rag a lot with the kids at school, so much so that school sent me on maternity leave early, your hormones are all over the place at the moment and when the baby comes you will be less hormonal. I thought god if I can't deal with pg how will I deal with a baby but it was fine, I think during pg you lose so much of yourself and it last so long you forget by the end what normal is.

Oh god, thank you wonderstuff for that.

I've had a shower now and I'm feeling a little better. Have got the laptop and the Sunday magazines and once I finished drying my hair I'm going to get some sleep.

I've looked in on DS and he looks very peaceful. DH on the other hand is tidying the kitchen.

I really did - my next door neighbour admitted to me a few weeks after I lost my job that she had heard the screams on a few occasions .

I'm now a v. happy (and much poorer) and calmer SAHM!

Hope today is a better day

and ime - it is far easier dealing with a newborn and a toddler than being pregnant with a toddler. You get your body back (well, sort of!). A friend of mine had her dd2 a month before I had my dd2, she told me it was miles easier and I couldnt believe her - turned out she was right.

How's it going - any improvement?