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For me, a toddler. I am a teacher so I am home during the summer and last summer when he was just a baby was much easier (although a little more boring too, I think). This year being home with him was tough. I love it but it is a lot of work to be home with a crazy active toddler!

Oh man, my toddler has his moments, but he is way easier now than when he was a baby. He was an awful sleeper and didn't take a bottle, so I never had a moment to do anything and going anywhere involved a lot of planning. He is a good listener now, though (at 20 months), and a lot of fun, so I find it much easier now.

@littlek: Yes, the house is pretty much a disaster always. That is a definite downside!

Hmm...for me, a baby. But it's definitely specific to my situation. Also, my baby just turned into a toddler so maybe it will get worse, I dunno--she's almost 13 months.

But when I was on Mat leave when she was 0-5.5 months old, I was dealing with pumping 6-8 times a day while she cried, dealing with her feeding issues, dealing with her zillion wakeups a night. I was a total zombie until she was 11.5 months when...

She started magically STTN every so often, which is just enough to make me feel human again! I feel like my old self now, it's great. And even when she does wake up now (like last night), it's usually really short and I just don't have the anxiety about her sleep/my sleep any more.

And she's such a fun age now--cruising everywhere, getting into everything--she's tipped over my potted plants twice, and loves to pull everything out of the pantry, and can't even walk but managed to climb to the top of my step stool---I guess other people would be stressed by these things, but I think it's hilarious and I really enjoy her right now.

toddler! I feel so bad for not being exciting. I was sick - and unknowingly struggling with depression - so it has been a very boring summer here. On an upswing, though, so hoping to have her in tumbling classes soon, and start doing more with her at home!

I found it really difficult until we were down to one nap....which didn't occur for us until 20 months!

Infancy is tough because you're a bit isolated and too tired/getting used to being a mom to 'enjoy' the down time (like napping when baby naps.) Now that she's a toddler there's little (no) down time but it's way more fun and a lot easier to go out and do things together. I'd say the hardest time was older infancy, crawling and pulling up but not yet walking. She was constantly on the move and I couldn't take my eyes off her for a millisecond. Cooking and cleaning was difficult etc.

I'm more SAHP than WOH (work three days a week), and I choose that it's harder with a baby than toddler! Like others have also said, even though they sleep a lot more, it's so boring and isolating! I love planning activities with my toddler. Or even just hanging around the house and playing! So, I'm "on" more, but it's so much easier on me mentally than when she was a teeny tiny!

For me, toddler. She's so fun, but also so challenging and tests my patience and limits everyday. The first year was (relatively) a piece of cake... she was such an easygoing baby.

Toddler for sure! The tantrums are tough on me.

Different factors at each stage. The one that matters most to me is my sanity and I think I'd do better as a SAHM to a toddler than baby. Even though I might be exhausted, I do better with activity and being out of the house. With an infant it was harder to leave the house and very isolating!

For me the order from hardest to easiest:

Infant-- not STTN
Toddler
Baby STTN

When LO was taking two naps a day I had a ridiculous amount of time to myself! My house was clean and I did hobbies etc. Now that he is a toddler I spend a lot of time cleaning and disciplining. It is more fun, but definitely harder. But nothing was more difficult than the first few months before his naps settled down and he wasn't STTN.

ETA: I guess by toddler I mean down to one nap, walking, etc. For me LO started becoming a true "toddler" around months 15-18.

I vote SAH with a baby AND a toddler! Nobody wants to do the same thing, can't eat the same things, and on different sleep schedules. Argh!

SAH with both is definitely the hardest! LOL! I think after age 2 it gets much easier- talking, longer attention span, less/no diapers. My least favorite is age 1; getting into everything but you can't reason with them yet.

I am finding the 2's to be the toughest. I am a girl with many hobbies, so the feeling of being "trapped" while baby napped and wasn't so interactive honestly didn't bother me much. And the early toddler stages were glorious - honestly those days were the best. But now that we are in the "terrible 2's" with meltdowns and whining and toddler antics, I just find that I don't have the patience. I relish in my few afternoons of work (I work part time now, since C was 20 months or so), just to have a break from the constant discipline battles.

For now toddler...cause I'm huge and pregnant and just don't have the energy to keep up with her and I feel bad. I miss being able to cuddle with her for naps and putting her down in the same place and finding her there again, lol.

I think toddlers are physically harder but babies are emotionally harder!

For me it depends on the kid. My first is an easier toddler and my second is an easy baby.

Reading through this thread, it occurred to me that those early days didn't feel isolating or boring to me, I found it refreshing and pampering to be home more, and be expected to rest, eat, and take care of myself. If I'd wanted or expected to be out and about very often, the earliest days would have seemed tougher to me for sure. But it suited my couch potato bookish ways just fine to chillax at home with baby and let him do his thing!

I had an extended maternity leave (5 months) and then stayed home starting at 14 months. I don't think either was easy but I have a very spirited child. I think toddler is more enjoyable/rewarding but it's hard still. My son doesn't nap a lot and doesn't play much by himself - he's almost 27 months.