r/NewParents • u/thatissoooofeyche • Sep 26 '24
Babies Being Babies Anyone else not love the newborn phase?
My son just turned 6 months old and is the absolute best part of my life. He is beginning to eat food, he’s attempting to crawl, he’s so freakin happy, I could go on and on over how amazing and fun he is. Newborns & young babies just aren’t my jam. Anyone else?
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u/Equivalent_Ad_8393 Sep 26 '24
Me! I am having soooo much more fun with my son now. He's 8.5 months and every day he does something new and funny, it's so much fun being with him. As a newborn I found it super exhausting, hated the endless spit up and blow outs and lack of sleep. Everyone keeps telling me "wait, it gets harder when they are mobile" - not for me! My son crawls all over the place, pulls to stand and I love watching him develop these new skills and learn more everyday <3
I want a second baby but the thought of having to go through the newborn stage is really making me want to delay it haha
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u/emmmmd1 Sep 26 '24
Yes! Ours is 9 months and we are so happy! I’m almost like “ok id have another one of these” then I remember the first four months of straight colick and I’m like no thank you 😂
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u/academic_sloth42 Sep 26 '24
Mine just turned 10 months and he is great. Just when I think I couldn't love him anymore, the next day comes and I love him even more than the day before. My favourite thing to do is make him belly laugh.
I look back on videos we took when he first started smiling and we were like "oh my god! He's so emotive!" Watching those now, I'm glad I took them but at the same time, I'm like "is he actually that happy??? Because compared to how he lets us know now, this is hardly emoting at all." 😂
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u/Work4Carbs Sep 26 '24
My husband and I are traumatized by the newborn stage! 😂
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u/madamerabb Sep 26 '24
Oh my god me too!
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u/Work4Carbs Sep 26 '24
I m so sorry! Hope your baby is doing better now!
Unlike my friends. They are having the time of their life! Super chill! Read some books and play some videogames. Took a vacation to the next state after a month.
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u/madamerabb Sep 27 '24
Yeees he is 3 months old now,it's easier. He is sensitive, but cries less, smiles more :)
Yes I have friends who told me that their children were super chill, relaxed... my son had colic, reflux, he has tight muscles... so yeah.. :D there won't be a second
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u/Work4Carbs Sep 27 '24
That's good! Same was with mine. Around 2.5 months, my baby started to cry less and less. Then 4 months regression hit. It was rough but we got over it. Everything was better afterwards.
Oh man, it is luck of drawing with the babies, right?
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u/madamerabb Sep 27 '24
Yes :D The regression... how long was it? 🫠 he sleeps from 9pm to 7am now I don't want this regression 😬😬
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u/Work4Carbs Sep 27 '24
Your baby will hit 12 hrs soon and then regression hit but it doesn't happen to all the babies. Up to 3 weeks. 1 week was the worst one because my baby woke up 10 times per night. Just expect sometimes your baby will not nap. Less sleep also means cranky baby. Skip hop activity center and sit me up helped to burn off energy. Afterwards, we immediately started the Ferber sleep training which made our life easier.
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u/madamerabb Sep 27 '24
Ah, okay, I'm trying to prepare myself... Yes, I know the Ferber method! In my country, a mother who uses it is called a bad mother, I don't know why. It helps the baby and the parents as well.
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u/Work4Carbs Oct 04 '24
My immigrant parents said the same thing. Ppl look down on parents with crying babies.
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u/madsmish Sep 26 '24
🙋♀️ Me! The newborn stage was honestly one of the hardest seasons of my life! Our LO had reflux and colic. She took 2 hours to feed and screamed the whole time. We didn't know what was wrong for a while being first time parents.
She is 7 months this week and it's gotten SO MUCH BETTER! Of course there's still hard days, but she's so happy, jabbering so much, eating solids, finally sleeping better, and just an adorable, funny human! A couple weeks ago was the first time I felt like I really enjoyed being a mom.
We have people ask us all the time if we will have a second baby and I always say, "Ask me when she's 18 months or so. I might have a better opinion then." The newborn phase still feels too fresh to really think about that. Lol
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u/Local_Shower_4866 Sep 26 '24
I have a 4 week old and a 2 year old. I thought this time around I would cherish the newborn phase more because it’s so fleeting… not the case. The sleep deprivation and crying is so hard and I just can’t wait to get to know her little personality like I know my toddler. It’s so much more fun and rewarding when they interact with you. I just keep telling myself it doesn’t last forever and sleep will come.
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u/LikemindedLadies Sep 26 '24
I did not like the newborn phase at all! My son is now 2.5 and I enjoy this a lot more
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u/Marigold2268 Sep 26 '24
I do not like the newborn-1 year old phase! I much prefer 2.5-3 when they start getting some independence.
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u/joey2017 Sep 26 '24
Having a lot of fun with my almost 3 y.o.! She’s calming down and becoming quite the comedian. My 4 month old hates the car seat and also sleeping apparently 🙃
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u/13laffytaffy Sep 26 '24
I am enjoying my 8 week old much more than when she was 2-6 weeks old. I know she's still young but the smiles and kicking around and being awake more is much better for me! I'm sure it will only get better for me from here.
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u/mjharrop Sep 26 '24
I feel this one. My son is just about 10 weeks and he was SO much easier once he got 8 weeks. Weeks 4-7 were awful, but this week, even with getting his shots, was easier than those by far.
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u/PutujemoRechima Sep 26 '24
That is still a newborn phase. I think I've never met anyone who enjoyed the first 2-3 weeks. They are a pure nightmare where you have to get used to each other and you understand how to function together but in the mean time there's a lot of crying and guilt and mistakes...
For me every stage after the first few weeks was beautiful in its own way. I only hated the sleeping regressions, they were absolutely exhausting. But every other stage has so much beauty in its unique way
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u/justintime107 Sep 27 '24
Mine is 7 weeks and when awake, he cries and I’m basically a feeding machine. I’m so done with this stage. I highly doubt it’ll get better in a week though.
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u/lilaclazure Sep 27 '24
same. the slight interaction feels so much better, and i am excited to watch her develop more. i found it harder to bond with a fresh newborn, but i didn't really need to since i was just in survival mode constantly tending to her. now she's slightly less needy and there's more character to appreciate! it's great.
p.s. also breastfeeding was AWFUL with my newborn, and I'm so grateful she has the hang of it now. definitely improved my quality of life to no longer be in constant pain in my breasts and pelvis.
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u/Plsbeniceorillcry Sep 26 '24
Yep. I can never relate to people who say they wish they could go back to when their baby was a newborn. I still loved it in its own way, but not enough to ever want to do again 😂 my son’s sassy personality is just too much fun. He’s a very opinionated, funny, sweet, silly toddler now and I love it!
Being able to walk around with him, stick him in the cart, watch him learn what I’m teaching him, his little hugs and sloppy open mouth cheek kisses, it’s the best IMO.
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u/Nikkimo24 Sep 26 '24
🙋🏻♀️ over here with a 2 year old and a 2 month old. Knew going in that we hate the newborn phase and let me tell you, 6 months is a blast but I am soo enjoying toddlerhood. My son is such a cool dude. Conversation, talking about feelings and handling meltdowns, building his confidence and independence. Yep. The best is yet to come!
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u/NotAnAd2 Sep 26 '24
Truly the worst phase. Everyday I complain about how humans are made stupid. First 3 months outside they are still underdeveloped and everything that makes them hard is basically because they still need to develop critical components to human. All the calls to the advice nurse just ends with “it gets better after month 3”. I love my daughter and hate that there’s nothing I can do for her until she just gets a little older and acclimated to the outside world. In the meantime, she’ll just cry and we’ll all suffer lol.
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u/zimzoomm Sep 26 '24
I fucking hated it. Mother of 2 😅 genuinely envious of anyone who actually enjoyed it!
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u/GMcatlover Sep 26 '24
Yes…one and done lol! I have a 3.5 month old and he’s getting better each day..although I think we’re starting to teethe 🫨
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u/Wrenniest Sep 26 '24
I have a 22month old I absolutely adore but I am dreading the newborn phase when baby no. 2 arrives in the new year 😅
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u/Regular_Ring_951 Sep 26 '24
NOPE. Hated it. Love our crabby soon to be toddler phase so much more lmfao.
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u/dindia91 Sep 26 '24
6 months was my turning point too! I told my husband I'd be fine if they started that way. I just felt the newborn phase was 80% suffering 20% cuteness
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u/OliveBug2420 Sep 26 '24
I despised it. It’s so much better now that I can really interact with him and he’s not just a miserable fussy potato
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u/PleasantTomato7128 Sep 26 '24
Totally NOT loving the newborn phase. Currently daughter is 3 weeks old she it’s like a little puzzle trying to figure out why she’s crying, and being wide awake from 9pm to 4 am every night.
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u/Sevatea Sep 26 '24
I'm at 5 months with twins. Man, when we have good days, it's great. When we have bad days, I hate it so much. I hate even leaving the house because it messes with their schedule. If I stay home, have them take structured naps in bed, we are all happy and chipper. I try to supplement a nap with a walk in the stroller or a car ride. All hell breaks loose , and I have overtired cranky babies. That and trying to feed them has been so frustrating. They have figured out they can somewhat hold the bottle themselves, so they grip it, pulling it in and out of their mouths, sticking their fingers in their mouth while trying to bottle feed them. This causes choking, milk splatter on their face, and an excessive amount of swallowed air. Mine you, this is with me still holding the bottle. They are both on the verge of crawling. They scoot all over the place right now. I'm hoping things get better. 🙏 I'm a preschool teacher and I really thought I'd have more fun with babies than I am. I really don't want to wait 2 1/2 more years to really enjoy being a mother of twin 3 year olds.
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u/bad_karma216 Sep 26 '24
4 month old baby here. The worst part of the newborn phase was all the grunting and learning to poop. Now the hardest part is the constant naps. Cannot wait until he naps longer and less frequently
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u/MessAdvanced5741 Sep 26 '24
My son is about to be 5 months old and I feeeeel this!! The newborn stage was so rough emotionally and physically for the both of us I feel lol. Now, he is so much fun, so silly, so sweet, so interesting. I look forward to seeing his smiling face in his crib when I grab him in the mornings.🥰
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u/eatingbythelav Sep 26 '24
I think it depends on the baby. I hated the newborn phase with my first because he cried nonstop and barely slept and my postpartum felt pretty dark. I have a two week old now and she’s a chill, snuggly, sleepy little doll and I’m soaking up every second.
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u/Such-Function-4718 Sep 26 '24
I remember looking in the mirror at ~3 months and not recognizing the pale haggard shell of a man staring back at me.
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u/Worldly_Pirate8251 Sep 26 '24
Currently have a 3 week old and newborn life is not for me. I love my LO more than anything but I’m seriously looking forward to getting to a better time. I know each stage comes with their own battles but jeez newborn is not it for me. We’re one and done because of it lol.
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u/Seachelle13o Sep 26 '24
Honestly the baby phase sucked 🤣 I’ve really hit my stride since my LO turned 11/12 months. I’m a toddler mom, not a baby mom, and I’ve decided that’s okay 🤣
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u/Character_Fill4971 Sep 26 '24
I have a 4 week old and I LOVE the newborn phase!! I wish I could keep her that small forever!
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u/Creative-Active-9937 Sep 26 '24
Same for me (father) we have a 4 month old and 2.5 year old and I basically took ownership on the toddler. I like being active and doing activities with him and sitting around the house with a newborn feeding and changing diapers to Me just sucks and is really boring. I like hanging out with him obviously but prefer to take on the toddler overall
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u/macelisa Sep 26 '24
The newborn phase wasn't fun, but easy compared to where we are now - My baby is 4.5 months and she has become soooo difficult. She's just fussing and whining all day, suddenly hates all of her toys and she is generally so unhappy all day long. I'm absolutely not loving it
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u/Rmaya91 Sep 26 '24
I feel like we weren’t prepared for what a real newborn would look and act like. Call us ill-informed/unprepared but we found it jarring and difficult to engage with our baby when she wasn’t able to really reciprocate.
Every day though her personality only gets stronger and we’ve found that we’re looking forward to spending time with her as she gets older because it really has seemed to get easier as she gets bigger, stronger, and develops the skills to communicate with us more.
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u/yes_please_ Sep 26 '24
My son is four weeks old and I keep wondering what I'm missing because I'm also living for him to be six months and able to sit up and try solids and look at me. I can't believe I have to do this again if I want another. I hate it and he seems to hate it too.
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u/nuttygal69 Sep 26 '24
I enjoyed the second newborn stage much more than my first, but even now at 2 months old I enjoy the baby so much more lol.
Our oldest is two and sooo much fun. I find chasing a toddler less exhausting than constantly having to old or feed a newborn.
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u/No_World_8994 Sep 26 '24
Ugh yes. My baby just turned 6 months and I’m enjoying motherhood more with each passing month. 0-3 months was just awful for me. I want more kids, but I wish I could skip pregnancy and newborn stage. They’re cute and small, but that’s about where the joy ended for me.
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u/hufflepuffonthis Sep 26 '24
I only liked the newborn phase when it was done, and I realized that the main mission of the day was no longer just "get her fed, get her to sleep", and now involved ever growing amounts of "how do I entertain you?"
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u/meaghat Sep 26 '24
My son is 16m now and each month gets more and more fun. Newborn—8m was so hard, it nearly destroyed me. I love having a toddler.
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u/theunprodigal Sep 26 '24
Hated it. Hands down the worst period of my life, I got absolutely slammed with PPA and a "hard-mode" newborn. If you told me then how much I'd love my son now and how magical I would find him, there's no way I'd have believed you!
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u/_nick_at_nite_ Sep 26 '24
There are times I miss it, but I had a good sleeper and my daughter happened to follow our schedule well. She’s 9m tomorrow and is so much fun, I love the new experience every day with her. But sometimes when she’s crawling around or when she’s crying from separation anxiety, or refusing to nap due to fomo, I miss the simplicity of knowing she’s going to be up for X amount of time and I get a break for x amount of time. Now I don’t know if she’s going to be up for 2 hours or 4 1/2, and I don’t know if she’s going to nap for 30 minutes or an hour 30.
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u/uncm60 Sep 26 '24
I have 3.5 year old twins and I hated the newborn phase because it was soul-sucking. At 20mos I was like “oh. I like these kids.”
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u/AshamedPurchase Sep 26 '24
Newborn phase was the worst for us. She screamed for 6 hours straight. The period of time between 6 to 9 months was also hard. All she wanted to do was crawl and walk and she was so frustrated that she couldn't. Everything past 9 months has been wonderful. She eats well and she entertains herself. She has 4 teeth coming in at once right now and that is still better than the newborn phase.
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u/Zestyclose_Piece7381 Sep 26 '24
Everyone tells me “this is the best stage” (newborn) & I absolutely hated it. I’m 3m pp & already it’s a lot better but I think when she’s a toddler im going to have a better time. Everyone is like “nooooo, they get into everything” and I’m kinda excited because I’m a person that likes to move around a lot & be on the floor with kids and play with them, & explore. I absolutely haaaate sitting around breast feeding. What I love about this time is seeing her learn new things & her freakin chunky cheeks!!!! Ugh… that’s adorable.
I understand that I definitely could be shooting myself in the foot by saying I’m excited for toddler life. We shall see.
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u/TemporaryWafer8719 Sep 26 '24
I hated it! Me and my wife both had equal parenting leave and the colic with our little one was just insane and you couldn’t put her down, literally at all. I ended up with serious back and shoulder pain which gave me migraines. It got so serious I got referred for an MRI. I also couldn’t go out and exercise because I knew my wife would have to deal with being screamed at. So no, I freakin hated it. Might sound selfish but I value my independence and freedom far too much for another child
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u/SwallowSun Sep 26 '24
Yes! I was literally telling my husband today how I just don’t really enjoy this phase. We have a 19 month old and an almost 2 month old, and I do not enjoy the newborn phase. I love the snuggles, but I’m looking forward to her being just a bit older.
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u/Admirable-Cap-4453 Sep 26 '24
It was awful and the hormones were a nightmare! I’ll take toddler tantrums over newborn hours any day
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u/PsychedelicKM Sep 26 '24
The first 12 weeks of my son's life was one of the hardest things I've ever done
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u/JLMMM Sep 26 '24
Yup! My baby is 7m old and I LOVE this part of the baby phase!
She was a perfect newborn, but that phase was just so damn hard. Hard enough to make me not want another baby.
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u/team_teamwork007 Sep 26 '24
10 month+ is where it’s at! My son is 1yo and is so fun and can walk and is able to SEMI communicate what he wants. They’re cute when they’re sleeping and it’s nice that when you set them down they can’t go anywhere / get into shit as a newborn but that’s it lol
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u/LilShir Sep 26 '24
Definitely. My son is also 6 months and it's way more fun, and my niece is 1.8 and that's a fun age also!
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u/RepresentativeNo4112 Sep 26 '24
Same here. We hate the Moro reflex so much cuz it always wake the baby up 😖
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u/Ok_Preference7703 Sep 26 '24
I have a 3 month old and we’re finally at the point of being solidly past the newborn phase. I thought I would absolutely hate it, but I found things about it I genuinely enjoyed.
I’ve been calling it my most favorite, best thing I’ve ever done that I never want to do again.
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u/bobcat_bobcat Sep 26 '24
Reading this with my 5 week old in my arms makes me so happy lol I can’t wait for her to be a few months old
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u/DaniMarie44 Sep 26 '24
Omg YES. We’re one and done, no way I’m doing the newborn phase again lol what a nightmare that was
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u/Ceeceemay1020 Sep 26 '24
My LO turned 5 months this week and I finally and having FUN with her instead of feeling like its groundhog day
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u/lnebrich Sep 26 '24
My husband talk about this all the time. Newborn phase was the WORST. Everything is much more fun at almost 6 months now
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u/Minnie_Pearl_87 Sep 26 '24
2 is coming soon and I’m dreading it. I just want her to be like 2 months old already.
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u/Mediocre-Lynx-2068 Sep 26 '24
Big big agree!! I feel bad as I hold my 10 week old haha it’s just not for me either. I am a far superior toddler mom.
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u/JessicaM317 Sep 26 '24
Me! My baby just turned one and I am so much happier now. We've kicked around the idea of another, but the dread that washes over me thinking about repeating this past year again makes me want to vomit. I'm definitely not enjoying the idea of starting over.
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u/peach98542 Sep 26 '24
I love the first like two months of sleepy eat-y babies when you just relax and they are little potatoes. Months 3-9 with dietary intolerances and gas and sleep regressions and allergies can go to hell. Toddlers are my favorite stage so far.
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u/OffTheWalls24 Sep 26 '24
I’m watching my one year old who has been playing on the floor with his toys for a solid 30 minutes now by himself… trust me it gets even better.
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u/rayybloodypurchase Sep 26 '24
My baby is about to be 8 months old and every week she gets more fun. The newborn stage was not only harder for obvious reasons but she was also so BORING! She’s a riot now and I love every second of it.
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u/Unfair-Ad-5756 Sep 26 '24
It was roughhhh! As a FTM everything was difficult including navigating that time with my spouse. Holy shit it sucked.
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u/alleygato9810 Sep 26 '24
I agree 100%. Love having the baby but didn’t love all of the crazy parts that came along with it.
On the bright side, I think I must have blacked out during the majority of the newborn phase because 7 months in, I barely remember the late nights and waking up every 3 hours to feed. I know they happened lol, I just barely remember what that felt like.
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u/Radiant_Tangerine_32 Sep 26 '24
Wanted to love it so bad, ended up hating it. Felt like I was robbed of this “newborn bliss” everyone talks about. Each month gets better & better imo.
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u/YumFreeCookies Sep 26 '24
I absolutely hated it. Now I have a toddler and it is chaos every day but I’m loving it. The only thing making us hesitate jn trying for a second is the thought of having to relive the newborn phase all over again 😩
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u/lan3yboggs99 Sep 26 '24
I didn’t think the newborn phase was so bad but now that my baby is 6 mo I realize how amazing it is to get to be a parent.
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u/Ok_Carrot_2029 Sep 26 '24
Yeah I was in a dark place during the newborn but luckily we had paid time off to bond. Not ready to do it again
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u/blksoulgreenthumb Sep 26 '24
For me it’s from 1-2yo that they are just too much. The newborn phase they are just potatoes that cry and poop and it’s much more peaceful then them running around getting into everything
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u/howlingoffshore Sep 26 '24
I thought it was fine. But I like my little human more than I liked my little blob. Though I love them both endlessly.
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u/ChocolateNapqueen Sep 26 '24
Thank you for this validation. So many folks tell me that I’ll miss this phase and I will not. I’m over it and ready for him to be a little more independent. I’m super short and ready for him to be ant to be more self sufficient and able to walk. I’m going to miss holding him but I want him to be safe.
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u/Shomer_Effin_Shabbas Sep 26 '24
Anyone else?
Who DOES like it? I think it’s perfectly valid to say the newborn phase kinda sucks.
Yes, the cuddles are sweet though. And the newborn scrunch.
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u/Aurora_96 Sep 26 '24
Oh, I hated it and I even asked myself what I had done to myself... Our daughter just turned 1 and my husband and I are discussing what we would do differently with a second baby. Our daughter is an angel (although she can be very mischievous).
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u/dailyapplecrisp Sep 26 '24
It’s the goddamn worst. We are 5 weeks in and both hate it and even have a lot of regret.
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u/quilant Sep 26 '24
My girl’s 11 months old and it just keeps getting better, newborn sucked ass and I’m so glad to be one and done so I never have to do it again
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u/ARGeetar Sep 26 '24
100%. 5-7 months was my favorite period: it starts to get easier, their personality starts to show, but also they stay in one spot.
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u/BE_MORE_DOG Sep 26 '24
The newborn phase sucked. But so has the 5 month to 7 month phase. It's almost all been extremely challenging. My kid doesn't sleep well, and when he's awake, he has trouble playing independently or without screaming like a little demon. It's exhausting, and we are constantly tired, stressed, and overstimulated.
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u/joloba03 Sep 26 '24
I have a 7 week old… I cannot wait for him to get older, have more mobility, be able to support his head, and have more of a personality. We always said we wanted two kids, but I’m not sure we’ll want to do the newborn phase again!
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u/Curryqueen-NH Sep 26 '24
Currently pregnant with my second. Whenever anyone asks if I’m excited to have another baby I respond with “I’m excited when baby will be 18-months old.”
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u/Ender505 Sep 26 '24
I have 4 kids. Newborn phase SUCKS except for those occasional early smiles.
But it definitely gets better. I'm potty training my fourth in about 6 months here, then we'll be done with diapers!!
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u/Milo_Dragon Sep 26 '24
Yes and no. I loved that my little one was quiet and loved to nap. But I also hate how looking back at photos she was super ugly. Looked like an adorable angle to me. But in photos very ugly. They are now 13 months old. I still love them so much and the wrinkly weirdness is gone now, and I absolutely love them.
But I really enjoyed being able to carry them everywhere without my arms getting tired. And them sleeping through everything. It was annoying to try to wake them for night feeding. But still slept through any noise or movement. I loved it.
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u/alemeliglz Sep 26 '24
My baby is about to be 3 months. Sleepless nights are a blur (they were horrible!) but I was looking back at her newborn days and as miserable as I felt, I actually miss it! I wouldn’t say I loved it though! 🙈 I’m a single mommy and I think I may have enjoyed it a lot more had I had a partner that could help out with the baby. I felt so much guilt asking my family for help just so I could shower, eat or run a quick errand. Having a partner would have made things so much easier since it would have eliminated the “asking for favors” part. I’m 40 and this is my first baby - not sure I’ll be doing this again. It may be a one and done!
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u/princess_cloudberry Sep 27 '24
Spending 4 months in the trenches of colic and dealing with PPA was genuinely humbling.
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u/madwyfout Sep 27 '24
I loved the newborn phase - it wasn’t easy, but newborns are amazing. My partner didn’t enjoy it as much (if at all). Mind you, I’ve worked in maternity for 12 years pre-baby so I do have a different mindset and appreciation about newborns than my partner.
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u/New-Web5100 Sep 27 '24
I wish i got to sleeping blanket for nighttimes thats it n have him up during the day
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u/Sea-Corgi4343 Sep 27 '24
I barley even remember the newborn faze😭 All I know it was a lot more peaceful then the toddler stage right now😭 I think I got lucky with him as a newborn so Im loving both at the moment! Definitely miss being able to sit down for longer than 4.5 seconds because he is getting into everything he’s not supposed to!
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u/ragabagasnoo Sep 27 '24
Newborn phase was a little tough but I will miss how cute he was. The little noises and nuances he did. I miss it a ton, but I have to say he is so much fun now at 4 months it's crazy. But I always will miss that tiny little man I had and how cute he was.
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u/ZestySquirrel23 Sep 27 '24
Anyone else’s newborn is my jam (all those sleepy baby snuggles) but newborn life with my own baby was a very miserable time (reflux baby, would not sleep unless held upright…I still don’t know how we survived!)
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u/somethingreddity Sep 27 '24
I’m not a “new parent” per se anymore, but this post showed up on my suggested and this is my take.
I hate newborn stage. Also hate people who say, “You’ll miss it.” I started trying for a second kid at 3 months postpartum because I hated newborn stage so much I didn’t want to go through it again years later…I just wanted to get all the shitty part out of the way asap.
My kids are now 2.5 and 15 months. My 2.5 year old throws some wild tantrums, sometimes all day long, and my 15 month old is into everything. I am beyond exhausted emotionally and mentally by the end of the day but it is still 10000000x better than the newborn stage. They might be a handful but they are SO MUCH FUN too.
I understand now that my kids are a little older, and after having 2, why some people glorify the newborn stage. I mean when I had my second and I knew what to do and it wasn’t a whole life change, it was definitely easier and you can tote them around easier than toddlers. But people who are so far gone from newborn stage forget what it was really like. Hell, I even forgot what it was truly like, but I have made sure to remember that it fucking sucked and to never be one of those “just wait” people. Because everyone who has told me, “just wait…it gets worse in some way,” has been wrong. Some things are harder for sure but having my kids be able to express themselves more and trust me enough to show their true selves, and in turn me being able to be my true self in front of little humans who adore me, has been the absolute best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life and I can’t wait to watch them keep growing and keep getting better in different ways.
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u/Silent-Impaler Sep 27 '24
There’s a reason the newborn phase is called the newborn trenches. You’re more about survival during that period; you’re trying to figure out a rhythm while the baby is discovering the world. I genuinely hated the newborn phase, so once my baby turned three months she started to get into the swing of things and I felt like I could breathe.
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u/Sarseaweed Sep 27 '24
Yesssss I did not enjoy the first 3 months. About 3.5-4 months life was infinitely better and now at almost 6 he’s just amazing.
I really want another one and am absolutely dreading the newborn phase. I’ll have another C section so I’ll probably get through it by just having rotating family constantly staying over to help since my husband won’t be able to take paternity leave the next time.
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u/MommyToaRainbow24 Sep 27 '24
I absolutely have mixed feelings. My daughter is 5 months on the 4th and I look at her and mourn the newborn phase but also had no idea what to do with her? Everyone preaches “no tv” but like… I’d have gone insane if I couldn’t entertain myself with tv because I had no idea what to do with her. Now that she enjoys tummy time and she’s starting to show interest in play, toys, etc… it’s so much more fun. But I still definitely feel like crying when I see videos of newborns and think how she used to be that small.
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u/blissfullytaken Sep 27 '24
I always tell my husband that when I say I miss the newborn phase I mean that I miss our LO’s size and that’s it.
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u/Square-Employee5539 Sep 27 '24
As a dad, parenting has just gotten more fun as it’s gone on. During the newborn stage, dads are primarily support staff if they are breastfed lol
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Sep 27 '24
I hate it so much, I think I’d enjoy it more if I had potato babies but I’ve had full fire breathing dragons who hate being babies
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u/Busy_bee7 Sep 27 '24
It honestly reminds me of third tri pregnancy. Grin & bearing it until we get to at least six months. We are hating it overall and so freaking tired.
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u/Bella_Anima Sep 27 '24
I was very nervous about the newborn phase the second time around but once I had my second he surprised me. He is a very easygoing baby, which is such a blessing because he was very sick when he was born and he and I were in the hospital for two weeks waiting for him to get better. I had to do nights all alone and oddly enough I found it much easier than my first when I had help.
I don’t know whether it’s the different baby or a difference in yourself but you’ll likely surprise yourself it might not feel as bad as you remember it the second time around.
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u/clarky2o2o Sep 27 '24
I honestly think my 2nd newborn doesn't like me...
Good thing the first is daddys girl.
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u/notHelpFullatAll Sep 27 '24
Love my daughter to bits, she's the cutest most fun and beautiful girl I've ever seen. But I did not have a good time the first 3-4 months. Her cuteness and my love for her got me through it.
I never want to do it again.
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u/Lazy_Fee3411 Sep 27 '24
Yup. The newborn stage is the worst! I was lucky with my first being that she slept through the night. She's now 8 years old and my hubby nearly begged for baby number two.here we are, starting all over again with baby number two and the sleep deprivation is no joke! Every 2-3 hours in the night with my 7 week old. 😩 But I'm definitely looking forward to the first laugh, sitting up on her own, and holding a bottle.💕 And most of all that first laugh!🥰
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u/-Panda-cake- Sep 27 '24
I didn't like it in the moment but now that she is two and I'm pregnant again I am sooooo excited for wittle wrinkly baby kisses and cuddles
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u/Swimming-Squash-6255 Sep 27 '24
Just survived and left behind the newborn phase with my second. So grateful!!! I need a LONG time to ever feel nostalgic about it. Right now, can't believe I'll ever miss it.
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u/Specialist-Gap-5099 Sep 29 '24
Newborn phase definitely sucks for me, this tiny human screams all day at me, sleeps 1 hour at a time and takes 40 min to finish a bottle and we are barely 2 months in! heaven help me! everybody says aawww this is the easy part, they grow so fast youll miss this time...im like f*#% no! this part sucks!
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u/extremelyhotpink Sep 29 '24
My PPD and PPA have stolen alot of my joy from this precious time. I feel guilty for letting it eat me alive at times. Things are getting better a little by little, but I only get to do this once and I absolutely would not change it for a thing.
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u/racheltachel Sep 30 '24
1,000%. Have an almost-3-year-old and every day she just gets more fun. Have never felt an ounce of “I wish she could go back to XX.”
I also have a three-week-old and wish very much that I could fast-forward to month six or so.
I will say that it’s … slightly easier the second time? At least for me. I don’t feel as much constant fear and anxiety. I mean, it still sucks, and I’m just as tired if not more so, but knowing that I’ve made it through this once before is a big help.
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u/Fearless-Fact189 Oct 01 '24
It’s very stressful not to mention you barely get any sleep or have time to take care of yourself currently have a 3 week old
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u/NOTsanderson Sep 26 '24
Newborn phase sucked and I’m so annoyed I have to do it again if we want another lol.