DH has been a grump today and this evening, over dinner, we talked and we worked out why! He is finding DD's current stage - crawling and getting into everything - really, really draining!

DH is a passive relaxer. He likes watching TV, reading and playing games on his phone. The newborn stage suited him perfectly - he was happy to sit in front of the TV cuddling the baby for hours! If she cried, he would stop everything and hold her (while reading the news on his phone, perhaps). He has spent hours watching football with her!

I found the newborn stage really, really hard because I'ma do-er. I don't generally like watching TV - I need to be doing stuff, cleaning, gardening, making something, researching something., chatting on here.... If I read a book, it's a parenting book or some other means to an end. When she cried, it meant I had to stop everything and sit; the nervous energy building up inside me would make me feel physically sick!!

Now LO is more interactive, I'm loving it. I could sit on the floor and play with her all day! If she gets bored and whines, I find something else for us to play with. Let's paint, let's play with water, lets play with bubbles, let's go in the ball pit..... I love it! But poor DH - earlier, he was trying to watch the cricket while I made a batch of gyoza and DD kept crawling where she shouldn't, banging her head, trying to pull up in crazy places and if he tried to sit her on his lap she fought to get down and cried!!!

Which phases have suited you best and why? How about your SO?