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I felt more confident in our routine by 3 months, felt more rested and enjoyed parenthood by 6 months, by 9 months it felt like there was no life before baby!

At 6 months, I found it got a lot easier. She started napping longer than 30 min at a time and started solids, so I felt less pressure as the sole provider of her food. I felt less stressed. Since 12 months, I've really been enjoying being a parent. She's fun, I'm more relaxed, there's less random crying. But it was a long haul. Don't feel bad that you aren't enjoying yourself now.

I will be honest, as my son gets older, the issues get bigger, but so does the joy. It's a journey worth savoring, so I try to think of the long game.

The witching hour sucks, I know, but like everything, that too, shall pass Our DS is 6 months right now and I'd have to say within the past few weeks (maybe when he turned 5 mos) is when I started to really enjoy it. It's still exhausting and overwhelming at times and I still think, "Oh god, I'm not doing this right" BUT his personality, being more mobile and interactive has made all those other things truly worth it. The first time he looked at me and legitimately smiled is when I realized that it was going to be all right. It DOES get easier

@MK0180: exactly! people can tell you until you're blue in teh face how life will change after baby but you don't know, and you're not ready for it until it literally hits you. i had a rough time (and with what happened to be, in hindsight, an easy baby) and i will never lie to new mothers that the newborn stage is the best time.

@sarac: Great article! Some of the best advice I got as a new mom was along those lines.

Want the honest truth? I still don't. I love my daughter to the moon and back but on a day to day basis the negatives far outweigh the positives. Its a far cry from the *witching hour* days where I pledged my soul to Satan in turn for a quick and painless death - emphasis on the quick - but I'm still waiting for the part where I transcend the selfishness and learn to love a life of no sleep, no peace and no let-up.

Now who's a Debbie downer?!

@chibee: haha, you always make me laugh! (#soblessed hahaha).

I agree with what almost everyone is saying, I found the newborn stage to be very hard. I was completely shell shocked, struggled with breast feeding, questioned my every decision, and (still) struggle with sleep! Everything a newborn supposedly loves my son hated. The car, baths, stroller rides, sleeping...I was convinced everyone around me had easy, perfect babies and my son was a fussy, difficult baby. But, I think most babies have their tough moments. Around 4.5-5 months he started enjoying the car and baths and became interactive and with a few exceptions, stopped fighting naps so I'm enjoying motherhood much more than I did the first 16 weeks or so! Hang in there, this too shall pass!!

I could still use more sleep. I don't see a full nights sleep in my near future so I can't help you there!

I'm a weirdo. I like the ️️newborn stage. It's been a struggle now that my son is older. I hate discipline and sometimes he pushes my buttons.

When I went back to work when she was 17 months. I am so not cut out for the SAHM thing. It made me a miserable bitch.

Parenting got EASIER around 6 months, after the colic was gone and she STTN.

I had one of those very easy babies, and honestly, what you're describing sounds really hard! I wouldn't blame yourself at all for enjoying less than other people seem to. Some people just get dealt a really difficult, high needs baby, and that just sucks. But everyone gets through it, and it always gets better.

I'm just now starting to enjoy parenting - DS is just shy of 5 months . DS is STTN, actually HAPPY and LAUGHING, and generally just really cute these days.

The first 11 weeks of his life were a hot mess. He never stopped crying (colic, reflux, and a million other reasons), he has the loudest, ear piercing cry, and he never slept. He was also a lazy sleepy nurser who never got past that point (even now when he nurses he zonks out immediately) so he was trying to eat around the clock every 20 minutes but couldn't stay awake for more than 5 minutes before falling asleep.

To say I was miserable is an understatement. I definitely scared a lot of childless friends. I even told them "get a dog instead." I had a nervous breakdown when DS went TEN DAYS without sleeping more than 20-30 minutes at a time. The rest of the time he just screamed and screamed. The pediatrician and my OB/GYN were beside themselves because DS and I were both losing it.

Things got a lot better after 11 weeks, but I had so much shell shock from the previous 10 that I was on edge for the next month even though DS wasn't that bad. I had anxiety attacks about going places because he screams SO LOUD and the only way we could keep him from being a nightmare was to keep a strict schedule, so the holidays were nerve-wracking.

But yeah, now its fun. We finally figured out what works for us (scheduling, early sleep training, EPing, getting help). DS is sleeping through the night, we got his reflux medication adjusted correctly, and we're just starting solids. He babbles and is happy when he wakes up and just so much more interactive. Its so nice just to have him sit with us in his high chair when we eat dinner.

Like others have commented, it got so much better around 3 months when we sleep trained, and better again at 6 months when she could sit up and play a little...and every month after that really.

BUT, I'm with @cherrybee: in that I wouldn't say I "enjoy" being a parent yet. Maybe my expectations are all out, I don't know. I definitely have a lot of fun with LO and I wouldn't change anything for the World, but "enjoy"? not yet...maybe when the endless lie ins, ability to do things on a whim etc. are so far gone I've forgotten what they feel like, I'll start enjoying it more!

@yoursilverlining: Ditto to this exactly.

This is a hard question for me to answer because I struggled with post partum anxiety and OCD most of my son's first year. He was always a pretty easy newborn - slept well, didn't cry much unless he was hungry, etc.

But I've also never been a huge "baby" person. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being a mom the first year but I absolutely loooove being a mom now that my son is a toddler (18 months) it's hard in a different way, but they're so much fun once they start to get their own personality and become more interactive.

@illumina: Thank you for saying that! I've obsessed about this thread all day, wondering if its actually just me.... Like, maybe, I have an impaired ability to love or something! Its hard bloody work! I hate the park because its cold, I hate soft play because its full of children and trying to do anything else results in a grotty toddler! How does anyone ENJOY that??!

@illumina: You gotta remember I WOH full time so the only time I ever hit the soft play is during the weekend madness! Its hell on earth!

So there's a lot of days that I don't enjoy. There are little moments of joy every day, but not every day is truly joyful. I think that's just part of the gig.

But it gets better and better every day. When I look back at a year ago, when my daughter was 3 months, I was miserable a lot of the time. I definitely enjoy parenting so, so much more now.

While the change was incremental, I do agree that around 16 weeks was a turning point for us, and things got really good at about 6 months.

Be gentle with yourself - your life has changed SO much and your LO can't really reciprocate your feelings of love yet. I think more than better sleep and easier feeding and all that, what has helped me is 1) time, as in I have forgotten my childless life haha, and 2) my daughter can interact and reciprocate and love on me and that is a really rewarding experience.

I am not a newborn person. I always thought Id love babies but turns out the breastfeeding and no sleep thing gets me more than I knew. I truly admit I like my kids the most from about a year til 2 1/2 the most. Its just easier. They arent as fragile. sleep better, and are more fun and curious with their own personalities. They still need me but they dont need me need me either so I can get some space. I love the age my daughter is at right now, 19 months, and its a pleasure every day. I think back and lament how I never enjoyed her or her brothers early stages, and I did at some point Im sure, but as an overall that first year is not my favorite.