Feel like the worst mum ever

[Pukeymama]

I'm currently 12 weeks pregnant and it's been hell on earth with sickness and exhaustion, I'm on a mixture of medication which has helped with the sickness but the tiredness is still draining. I have a DS who's 2 and I've not been able to give him half the attention he wants and deserves, I feel like the worst mum in the world and feeling very sorry for him (and myself!). Thankfully DH is great but just hoping my poor DS isn't going to think this is our life now 😭

That sounds really tough. Be kind to yourself, you are giving him a wonderful gift!

It'll be fine - he won't in any way be damaged by this time. Scale everything down, and do the absolute minimum, so what if you eat cereal for dinner, he doesn't have his hair brushed, watches too much telly or the house gets scuzzy.

This is a great time to get him used to entertaining himself for a bit - it'll help when the baby arrives. start with a minute a day and by the time the baby's here you should have it at half an hour.

I can remember feeling so rough with dc2 - i used to leave dc1 in the playpen while I just lay on the couch. I think we mostly lived off cheerios and dry bread - even the smell of anything else made me heave. It really is very normal.

If you feel like the worst mum in the world, at least there’s plenty of company in that! I’m 11 weeks and struggling a lot with sickness, so my 3 yo is having FAR too much screen time. I keep reminding myself that lots of people have 2 kids and awful morning sickness, and their older child still seems lovely to me, so it didn’t do them any lasting harm....

The current situation makes everything tougher because it’s almost impossible to get a decent break. But a situation that isn’t ideal will give your DS and opportunity to develop different skills - resilience and independence,

I keep reminding myself that a few weeks isn’t that long in the life of a child, and there will be many more opportunities to be a good mum.

Im with you! I cried into my plain toast this afternoon cause I feel like I'm letting my 7 month old down as I feel so sick! My husband has been quite good at reassuring me (during his 12 hour work days) that she's still happy and doesn't really know any different and deep down I know it's true. We've both just agreed we need to "survive" the next 3-4 weeks and we will all be fine!

Thanks everyone, I know you're right that no lasting damage will be done.

Sorry it sounds like you're having a rough day @hannah9176, surviving the next few weeks is definitely a good way to describe it!! Although I feel like I've been living the worst couple of months of my life it has gone weirdly quickly. I'm hoping my scan on Friday will give me a little pick me up to help keep me going!