https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 17 Apr 2026 21:30:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776363 Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:26:22 +0000 youboots 2776363@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly it depends on the kid. There's no magic age. Right now DD at 2.5 self entertains less that she did a year ago. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776358 Thu, 28 Sep 2017 16:16:18 +0000 PawPrints 2776358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It all blurs together for me, but it has gotten consistently easier with each passing month and she's now just pretty easy and a constant delight at 2.5. Though I will say; you may find your kid is less likely to ever go leave you alone and play by themselves for 10 minutes and much more likely to stick next to you and insist on "helping you" unload the dishwasher. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776232 Thu, 28 Sep 2017 10:28:36 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2776232@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: Agreed!</p> <p>In the first year, LO1 was super colicky. So it got easier after about 4 months when we were able to sleep train him and he started coming out of his colicky stage. Once he turned a year, it got hard again. From there, it ebbed and flowed in easy vs. hard. Right before language bursts was always really tough with whining and not being able to express himself very well. He's 5 now, and he's delightful, but does go through being bullied at school. He seems to be a target because he's super sensitive. He reacts to everything which just feeds the bully, and it's really hard to watch without being able to do much.</p> <p>LO2 was completely different. He was a dream baby through about a year. Once he started walking, he turned into a very energetic runner and always wanted to be down and in things he shouldn't have been. He's now 2 and getting better, but he's starting to be purposefully defiant to test his boundaries. So this is a hard phase with him. He's far more vocal than his brother was at this age, so he's not whining as much...just being super defiant and spending a lot of time in time out. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776198 Thu, 28 Sep 2017 09:01:06 +0000 Mamatimes3 2776198@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In the sense you are talking about, I would say closer to 2 years old. </p> <p>But as they get older different things get more difficult and other stuff gets easier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776162 Thu, 28 Sep 2017 07:40:44 +0000 shellio 2776162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd say around 20 to 24 months, depending on the child. (I'm on #4) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776121 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 20:34:28 +0000 wrkbrk 2776121@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Eminthevalley: LOL you totally do!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776067 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 17:42:01 +0000 SweetiePie 2776067@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Eminthevalley: You DEFINITELY do :shocked: I’m always in awe of multiples moms! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776017 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 15:28:10 +0000 Eminthevalley 2776017@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess I'm the outlier here. I say 4 years old. But I have twins so I get twice as long as everyone else ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2776004 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 15:03:09 +0000 agold 2776004@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO is 13 months and I feel like she's a breeze at home. She can actually entertain herself. The floors of my house are pretty well contained with baby gates so she can wander around while I'm in the kitchen doing stuff. </p> <p>I think going anywhere outside of the house is very tough at the moment. She wants to walk every where, and wants to usually go in the opposite direction we need to be going. And then she pretty much never wants to leave the place we are at. She's so opinionated already. It blows my mind. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775997 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 14:48:30 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2775997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetiePie: This is my experience exactly (particularly with the PPD/PPA). Thankfully we avoided the terribleness of the later years and thankfully have had it pretty easy since about 2. Kiddo is 4 now and I love it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775851 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 09:51:12 +0000 Mrs. Bee 2775851@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>After we sleep trained at 4 months. We were sooo exhausted it was life changing once Charlie was sleeping well. The next point that it became easier was 15 months. Talking, walking, much more independent, and so much fun!</p> <p>As much as I thought the infant stage was hard though, the 3's+ challenged me much more. It really depends on the child, you and so much more. It's easier in some ways and harder in others with every stage. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775817 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 08:44:18 +0000 snowjewelz 2775817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like it's all just ebb and flow with highs and lows. Things get easier, but then things change, and it's just a roller coaster ride! I mean, DD1 at almost 3 is "easy" in the sense that she can move, she can talk, she can do a lot more things by herself. But that comes with defiance, stubbornness, less naps and potty training (or lack of, lol). With DD2, I think starting solids &amp; going down to 2 naps after 6 months def helped, but yeah at the same time this half mobile age is tough too! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775806 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 08:10:44 +0000 looch 2775806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Easier? What's that?</p> <p>It gets different. As kids get older, the problems become more complex and involve other kids that you can't just solve on your own with an adjustment to a schedule. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775800 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:51:31 +0000 skinnycow 2775800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Things got easier around 13 months as far as DD sleeping through the night, eating consistently, and I wasn't nursing anymore. I feel like it also got more difficult around then (in a way) because it takes so much energy to keep up with her. She's 18 months now and she wears me out - seems like she's always sprinting away or getting in something she shouldn't! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775798 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:44:16 +0000 Littlebit7 2775798@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like this question is completely dependent on the personality of your kid. High needs baby always wanting to be held, not sleeping, etc? That's probably miserable. Cranky annoying needy whiny tantrumy toddler? Probably no fun. My kid is great at independent play, from a very young age. I wouldn't say the baby months were awful...but the sleep deprivation was miserable.<br /> I feel like it's an ebb and flow. There is a always a challenge, but milestones like crawling walking and talking make things easier and harder to some degree.<br /> We are adding #2 in December and I'm just anticipating everything to be more difficult, in general. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775794 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 07:11:26 +0000 ShootingStar 2775794@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>With DS I felt like after he turned one we could breathe a little more and I could see having another. He did have a challenging period around 20 months. But when he was 2 we were ready to TTC. </p> <p>With DD I feel like things get easier and easier every couple months. Like a previous poster said it gets easier as I feel more assured DS isn’t going to kill her. So when she could sit at 6 months that was huge. Crawling and walking (in the 8-10 month timeframe) were game changers for how the two could interact. </p> <p>DS is a couple months away from 4 and other than some manic energy he just gets easier and easier. He can entertain himself he can go up and down the stairs by himself. He can dress himself and he’s fully potty trained. Once he can wipe his own butt I won’t be needed at all 😉. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775781 Wed, 27 Sep 2017 06:03:39 +0000 Adira 2775781@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It really depends on your kid. My oldest is much more clingy and required much more of our attention. My youngest is very independent and was happy to play by himself from a very young age!</p> <p>They are now 2 and 4 and play together or alone very well. I would say by 2, my oldest (clingy one) was willing to play independently for short periods of time. Now at 4, he spends his "nap time" playing by himself for two hours straight. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775763 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 22:14:31 +0000 wrkbrk 2775763@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SteelerGirl: He was the most challenging I would say 8-16 months - mobile but not yet talking. Now at 22 months it's WAY better/easier - he's more like a kid and less like a baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775758 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:18:04 +0000 californiadreams 2775758@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it depends on the kids as well. my almost 5 year old sometimes requires more attention than my 19 month old (and it has been like this for a while). He only started being okay to play by himself in the past year i think. whereas my younger one is content most of the time to sit by himself and i can get a ton done....it;s only harder now that he is in full on toddler mode and likes to make messes everywhere and every minute! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775755 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 20:58:04 +0000 SweetiePie 2775755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6+ months is also when I started to feel more myself. 6-12 months I slowly started to feel like it was manageable but not easy or fun.<br /> 1 year was a little more fun but still not easy.<br /> 18 months to 2 years is when I felt like it got ways EASIER and FUN.<br /> 2 - 2.5 was the sweet spot. (Also when I decided to try for #2, prior to that I said no way, 1 and done). I really was in a dark place the first year of my sons life (in retrospect it was PPD/PPA) so for me to tell my husband and friends daily that being a mom was so much fun and I LOVED my life was really a huge deal.<br /> 2.5-3 was pretty hard - I got back to a place of wanting to go back to work and I felt like I didn't enjoy him as much. He just became more difficult and went back to being kinda needy (for attention, he was still perfectly capable of playing alone or whatever). </p> <p>Now at 3 (just turned 3 a couple weeks ago) I'm sailing back into the fun and easy stage. So far. We're still early into year 3 :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775749 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 20:25:06 +0000 gingerbebe 2775749@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS1 was a lot easier at 2. He could express more even though he was speech delayed, he was feeding himself, he could sit and watch a show if I needed him to, and he understood disciplining like timeouts. He knew not to hit his baby brother (our kids are 20 months apart) so that was also great.</p> <p>With two kids, we started hitting a good groove where I wasn't constantly worried that DS1 was going to accidentally kill the baby by smothering him when DS2 turned 9 months.</p> <p>They are 36 and 16 months now and they get along wonderfully. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775724 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:52:21 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 2775724@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me when they turn 2 it gets easier because we can communicate verbally, and then once we potty train that helps again. But really it got a lot a lot easier when my boys turned 3 and 5. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775720 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:27:50 +0000 Corduroy 2775720@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with 15-18 months. I know a lot of people start TTC again in that period because you finally catch your breath a bit. This morning DS (turned 2 in june) cried and needed to be held from the moment he got up until we left the house for daycare. All I could think was "How did I live like that for so long?" He's still not a piece of cake up it reminded me how far we've come. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775718 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:17:14 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 2775718@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me it was pretty easy until about 15 months. I feel like at 23 months we are just turning a new leaf, which is great because I now also have a 5 week old. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775717 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:14:19 +0000 petitenoisette 2775717@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Around age 2 when she finally started sleeping through the night. At that point I felt I could definitely handle another. It had been a gradual process though, definitely started getting easier prob around 18 months on? It was a combo of her getting easier and me being more used to being a parent with all the responsibility it entails! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775714 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 18:07:33 +0000 justjules 2775714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We hit a big break through around 1year when E could walk, talk a little and we could go out and enjoy activities together. He is almost 2 and I feel like every month it gets easier </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775711 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:29:18 +0000 muffinsmuffins 2775711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was also going to say 18 months to 2 years old. Consistent eating and sleeping, developing interests in toys and play with us as well as more imagination. It's continued getting better now at almost 3. Around 18-24 months he also started showing interest in educational apps and tv shows so in a pinch that would give us a breather. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775709 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:26:04 +0000 Alba4 2775709@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I thought it got easier (with 1 kid) around 6 months or so. Once DS1 was on a predictable nap schedule and slept though the night, it didn't feel so hard.</p> <p>With 2 kids, it got easier once the baby was only napping 1x a day. Before then it was so tiring and tough for me.</p> <p>Now that my oldest is 4, wow, he is easier in many ways. So independent, no diapers, it is fairly easy to communicate with him, and he's just the sweetest!</p> <p>I still don't want 3! I know my limit😉. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775707 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 17:17:12 +0000 Foodnerd81 2775707@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I feel like around 20 months to 2 years was another turning point- which of course is why I ended up getting pregnant with my second! It's definitely ebbed and flowed since then though.<br /> But I remember before 18 months I couldn't fathom how anyone ever had a second kid on purpose, and at 20 months I thought, ok well maybe we could do this again... </p> <p>Now my second kid is 21 months and I can't fathom how anyone has three kids :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-did-it-get-easier#post-2775703 Tue, 26 Sep 2017 16:56:45 +0000 SteelerGirl 2775703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a 13 month old daughter and looking back, 5 months old was a huge turning point for me. That's when I felt like I adjusted to a new "normal". But I'm looking forward to the future when my daughter doesn't require quite so much of my undivided attention. I can't wait for the day when I can ask her to play by herself for ten minutes so I can empty the dishwasher. (That does happen at some point, right?)</p> <p>When do you think it got easier? Was there a particular turning point for you? </p>