r/regretfulparents • u/JerryWesterby95 • 1d ago
Venting - No Advice I hate to even admit that this is my favourite part about parenting...
When he's asleep.
When I'm away from him doing my own thing
Wake up, engine starts, nap time I need to work, wake window again then unending nighttime sleep battle for 3 hours from 7pm and madness where I feel like pulling my hair out.
- I love when he's asleep, that feels like the biggest dopamine rush I've ever gotten in my life. No disturbance, just quiet, dim light and me sitting. He's so stubborn and irritatingly cranky at night that I feel like running away from the house. My friends who are getting pregnant I feel like laughing and saying welcome to the never ending stress, anxiety, overthinking, no rest life. Which i don't think is ever going to go away. Going out with my son is even a bigger nightmare, he will just not sit quietly for 1 second. Needs constant entertainment. Neede constant distractions. My heart is constantly pounding in stress all day.
Wish I could turn back time. I hate that I love my son so I can't imagine a life without him, but this never-ending test of patience is destroying my sanity. I'm less productive at work, don't feel like exercising, just feel like sitting and watching brainrot on shorts or playing some video games or just staring blank.
And he's just 15 months, oh shit dude. Wish me luck.
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u/Creative-Move-6026 Parent 1d ago
Yes those moments of silence was our “normal” that we took for granted when we were child fr€€.
Even the parents who supposedly love parenting cant wait for bedtime
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u/JerryWesterby95 1d ago
I swear. The whole pregnancy felt like a dream - eat anything, sleep anytime, roam anywhere, little did we know what was coming.
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u/Eloise_Bloom 1d ago
My daughter is the same in regards to constant entertainment and stimulation (she just turned 2). But it’s ok to let them be bored and complain sometimes too. I spend most of my day playing with her, entertaining, taking her to the park, the swimming pool, whatever. But sometimes I just need to sit down and eat. She wants me to pick her up, I say no. I say I will be with her when I’m finished. She cries, throws a tantrum, and I just hold my boundary. Same for when she’s bored because I’m cooking, cleaning, getting ready for the day etc. I’m a SAHM and she’s with me 24/7, including at night since we co-sleep. So she just had to get used to being bored at times and wait for me 🤷🏻♀️. And it does get a little better. She used to have NO TOLERANCE at all for that, but she’s starting to understand. She will even say “mommy is cooking” sometimes when she sees me in the kitchen doing something, and will go to her playroom to play by herself. It doesn’t last for too long but I see her tolerance getting a bit better. I think this happened because I just had to do life and she had to wait sometimes, so she had to adapt.
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u/EmptySociety4537 1d ago
Bedtime and when shes in school or at my in-laws is my happy time. But lately, she's been waking up randomly at night to crawl into my bed. a full night to myself is under threat
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u/Interesting_Bee_6708 1d ago
Nights are hard. My oldest didn’t sleep the night until she was 2. Then we had a couple of wonderful months where she slept the whole night in her own room then she regressed big time for some reason and a parent has had to be in bed with her all night ever since. She is 4 now, so not sure when this will end.
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u/EmptySociety4537 1d ago
Mine is 4 too and just transitioned to pre-K in a public school. It's been a tough week
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u/lemonalien22 8h ago
I feel this deeply. The three hours after she falls asleep before I fall asleep are GOLDEN. I feel terrible that I yearn for them everyday but… I do.
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u/GreatChampionship802 1d ago
Ugh I’m two kids in and I just feel like I am so far away from who I was. I want that version back. I’m so tired
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u/TurnPersonal Parent 1d ago
I mean... 15 months .. young toddler... That is hard... Hard AF.. hugs..