It’s a tough gig, and can be even tougher if you have a disability and do it alone without help. I’ve had great days and utterly terrible days which I always feel guilty about, but I know it will get easier as they get older and life is precious, as they are. They’re what keeps me going, even when I’m exhausted, stressed and depressed.

In times like these, it is important to have some me time, perhaps get someone to babysit briefly as suggested and then sleep, catch up with a loved one etc so you can relax somewhat again.

Parenting is the hardest, most challenging job you will ever do. You must lean on someone, anyone. A break is needed for everyone Just to step away from the situation for whatever time you can grab. My Mum used to arrive and send my hubby and I out for a coffee break so she could sit with our child who screamed 24/7 for the entire first year. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t ours, but there were certainly days when I felt I could leave him at the front door of a hospital. I felt that’s what was best for him. BUT, I never did it and I told the people close to me that those were the feelings I was having. We got through it. And those memories have now faded.

This is by far the hardest job I’ve ever had — it’s 24/7 mentally and physically, with no end in sight — and I have the most amazing husband who does so much around the home to help keep everything up to date despite being exhausted from working in a job he despises. Our Punks fight a LOT, which is totally foreign to me as my siblings and I have never really fought, and I find it really hard to cope with at times, especially when one has a particularly short fuse (which she gets from her Daddy hahaha) and the other one knows it and goads her. I don’t really have anyone to give me a time out apart from when husband gets home from work so I’m stuck with it — and I’m still waiting for it to get easier like so many people have said it does! I’ve found when I’m having a rough day with them I just need to lock myself in the bathroom and cry for a good 10 minutes before getting back into it all. Part of me wishes I had gone back to work even part time, just to get some time to myself and some good headspace. Grocery shopping after they’ve gone to bed doesn’t qualify!

It really is not easy to be a mother sometimes. Especially when you don’t have a support network in your parents and your partner. You just have to do the best you can, and love your kids unconditionally.

I have vowed to try my very best to be available for my daughters if they need me once they have babies. I have no idea how i coped. I have a very unsupportive partner and I was very much on my own. I phoned a few of the Mums from my antenatal group and I felt so jealous when they all announced that they had their Mums staying with them. I heard stories of how washing was being done and meals cooked, etc and I was alone at home trying to cope with everything on my own and a baby that just screamed all day. I honestly have no idea how I managed. Yet I did….Mums are amazing.

I’m yet to have my baby and very thankful not to be doing it all alone. I’ve fostered babies and did that alone – it was tough at times but very rewarding

Life can be so tough at times and so much tougher when you have little ones depending on you. I am lucky to have a fabulous support network, I think it makes all the difference.

I was lucky that I could call on my mum in those few desperate times! I honestly don’t know how anyone does it on their own. My husband is a shift worker and did his best to help but he needed his sleep too as it was a bit dangerous for him to be going to work tired! Thank goodness for mums!

So true, I think we’ve all been there. Sleep deprived, hungry, sad and emotional thanks to our little bundle of joy but we somehow find the strength and soldier on. It’s umpirtant to talk about feelings abc ask for help.

You just have to soldier on. A lot of times as mums we don’t get a choice. When I felt like I simply couldn’t take another moment, my partner or mother in law took over for a little while

Some good advice here, nice article.

Parenting, the only thing without an instruction manual, be the best you can be for the kids.

Some great advice here. Keep on being great mums!

Reaching out to others is so very important. If you have moved to a new area and don’t know anyone yet (especially if partner works) you would be amazed and encouraged how supportive strangers can be – try coffe shops, libraries and the local park. I made some good long term friends this way and would never have thought that possible.

Every day is a winding day in the world of parenting

I agree with the words that it will pass. It does even though it doesn’t feel like it at the time.

Support. Letting people in. Letting family give you a break so you can either sleep, get some fresh air, or whatever works for you.

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  • • Looking for Mama Me replied
    • 19 Oct 2015 , 8:34 pm

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  Support is so important. Even if it only gives you a 5 minute break, that can be enough to regather yourself and feel better

Before they’ve grown and gone, there’s the “don’t hug me Mum” faze, especially with friends around. That got me through a few long nights, knowing how precious and fleeting baby hugs are.

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  • • mom94125 replied
    • 17 Oct 2015 , 3:03 pm

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  oh yes it is so bittersweet how quick children grow up.

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    • • Looking for Mama Me replied
      • 19 Oct 2015 , 8:30 pm

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    definitely! They grow so quickly. I’ll be a little sad when they no longer want mummy hugs, trying to stay in the moment and remember how you’ll never have these moments again can help get through rough times.

I thank this mother for her comments. I read this article after a tough day with my grandson, he too is teething and not sleeping very much. I congratulate her on her obvious love and caring comments on her baby. I just walked with him, cuddled him, offered him some solids and water of which he didn’t really want any. After I walked with him and sat on a seat out my mothers nursing home in the breeze he eventually settled after his monstrous screaming episode that I am sure all the residents heard. My 91 year old mother closed the door to her room as she did not want to disturb the other residents and she felt bad that it was her talking to him that made him cry. I reassured her that he had cried at 3 people who had wanted to talk and admire her great grandson prior to him coming into her room. She phoned me tonight to make sure both he and I had managed to settle down. I was pleased to comment that eventually he had some solids and a bottle and an hour sleep before his mother collected him with a smile al round and a breast feed (as he is still having morning and night breast feeds). Hope she has a good night with him tonight.

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  • • Looking for Mama Me replied
    • 19 Oct 2015 , 8:32 pm

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  thanks so much for reading and your kind words. I am so happy this could reach people and let them know they aren’t alone on the bad days. I hope your daughter appreciates her wonderful mother as well. The teething passes. The happy times return. Support means so much to mums on the hard days.