Lucy Devine
Becoming a parent to a little one can be both hugely challenging and hugely rewarding. But one mum who says she 'hates' being a parent has taken to Mumsnet for advice.
Writing on the parenting forum, the mum gave followers a rundown of her daily routine, while balancing work with motherhood.
She wrote: "Having a baby. I fu**ing hate it. I have no life at all. Life is: Wake at 6. Go to work. Finish work. Collect baby from nursery.
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"Try to entertain baby for two hours. Bath baby. Get baby to bed after being head butted, having hair yanked, the skin on my neck yanked, kicked and punched.
"45 mins to myself during which time I have to do some work. Baby wakes. Settle baby. 2 hours sleep. Baby wakes. Spend two and a half to three hours getting baby back to bed.
"Four hours sleep. Baby wakes. Try to get baby back to sleep. Wake up for day at 6. Feel like a zombie. Repeat.
"Poor baby. But yeah. Stupid thing to do."
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The mum did not state how old her baby is, but plenty of other parents rushed to the comments with suggestions and advice.
One assured the poster that it won't 'be like this forever', writing: "It won't always be like this. Babies grow and change. This is not your life forever. There will be different challenges along the way, but it won't be this forever."
While another said: "How old is your baby? From experience of 2, they get much easier after 1 year. Both of mine slept through the night after a year. Once they can communicate and walk they also get much easier."
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Others suggested booking some annual leave from work, with a third commenting: "If possible, take a few days consecutive leave for yourself while baby is in nursery.
"Chill for a couple of days, go out for a coffee in peace, and collect a few hours earlier so you can spend some chill time together that's not just part of the routine. You'll both feel the benefit. This too shall pass."
Another suggested trying some sleep training, adding: "If baby is 6 months plus and no medical issues I would seriously consider some sleep training. It’s a hard gig working FT and caring for a baby as a sole parent."
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Meanwhile, one person suggested people should be 'more open' about how hard parenthood is.
"It won’t always be like this," they wrote.
"The sleep gets better, the hair pulling turns into very sweet and heartwarming chats and lots of fun times.
"But yes; it’s hard. It’s really hard. I wish that people were a bit more open and honest about how hard it is."