Need some motivation to keep home
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| Mon, 05-30-2005 - 3:56am |
Hi ladies, I have posted on the Close siblings board, but thought I would come here since my main issue is I'm getting very stir-crazy being stuck at home all the time.
To give you a little info on me. I am Jenn, SAHM to 2 darling girls, ages 3.5 and 15 (almost 16) months and am (unexpectedly) pregnant with #3 due around Oct. 20. Needless to say I am stressed to the max! I really wanted all our children to be spaced 3 years apart. We decided to have the first 2 a little closer. We were aiming for 2.5 years and ended up with 2 years. This next time I was doing what I could to forgo getting pregnant again until after DD#2's second birthday, but we got ourselves a surprise. I really feel like I am the nastiest mommy when I am pregnant because I hate being pregnant so much. (I love babies - hate pregnancy!). When I'm not pregnant, I am usually one of those motivated mommies to do all sorts of crafts and activities with my kids and go on walks and such but when I am pregnant all I want to do is ignore them all day and stay glued to the T.V. or the computer.
Right now I am really trying to appreciate how blessed I am to have the ability to bear and raise children and even better to be able to stay home with them. My second is darling and delightful, although hungry all the time and picky so it is hard to be consistantly making little meals for her little tummy, plus trying to get myself to eat. My oldest is hell-on-wheels. I thought the terrible twos were tough, boy was I wrong! They're nothing compared to the threes! And here I thought I would have a sweet happy little charming family because we had gentle home births and we did some Attachment Parenting things and I took parenting classes. But now I am just feeling like throwing in the towel, like I just can't do it anymore! It's not like I want to work, either, it's just that staying home day after day after day after day (doesn't help that we only have one car either!) is completely burning me out!
Any motivation or a good kick in the butt to get me going again in spite of my pregnancy woes? lol And yes I do have some family around to help a bit, but only on their terms and at their house since mine is always "too messy" (it is my in-laws). I like them but not enough to be around them several times a week for them to help out with my kids. Some neighbors have volunteered to help but I haven't gotten to know them very well since most days it's an effort to get out of bed, let alone get myself and both girls all dolled-up for a visit, if that makes sense. lol :) I'm just not going to leave my kids with someone I don't know well and it usually takes me a long time to really get to know someone because I am shy. My hubby has a financial goal to be able to hire help for me when the new one comes so I won't be completely crazy, but right now I'm pretty much on my own.
Thanks ladies,
Jenn
DD #1 - 1/16/02
DD #2 - 2/8/04
EDD #3 - 10/20/05

Hi, Jenn! I'm Amber, sahm to Elise(4 in Aug) and Olivia(2 June 20). I am 16wks pg with baby #3, edd Nov 11. My dh and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary June 4 and we live in Arkansas. It can get tiring being at home all the time! Somedays I feel that I get nothing accomplished and since I'm home I have to look at everything that's not done all day long! So far this has been a really easy pregnancy and for that I am so thankful. I had lots of complications, hospitialization, and bed rest with Olivia. I am incredibly tired though and can't rest, bc the girls don't think Mommy's sanity is important, lol. Ok time for some optimism: Look at the bright side, you're half way through with your pregnancy and before you know it you'll be back to your motivated self. The older your younger dd gets the better the girls will play together. That's one of the things that helps now is that the girls entertain one another a lot. I don't really think I've been of much help, but just know you're not alone. I've got one beginning(and oh boy is she) the terrible twos and an almost 4 yr old that is diva of the century and sciatica that's rearing its ugly head with this pregnancy. I feel your pain, lol and I'm around anytime you want to chat. :) Welcome to the board!
Elise and Olivia will both be big sisters!!!

My name is Mel. I am a sahm of 4 years to Andrew and Dalton. We live in GA.
Have you tried some moms groups in your area? IVillage has some wonderful boards for areas all over the world, check them out.
I know how you feel about being pregnant. I felt like a slob when I was pregnant with Dalton. Didnt want to do much with poor Andrew. I had some issues with breathing and MS that it was hard for me to be active and pregnant.
I think it will get better. You are trying and that matters a lot :) Good luck.
Hi, I'm Robin, I have a DS 11 and DD 3 almost 4 and know what you mean about the 3's! I also know what you mean about the house. I just look around and don't know where to start so I don't do anything some days. I did find a website that really helped me. It's called www.mymessyhouse.com. It helped me a lot. I need to go back there in fact. It has a daily routine and a room of the day, so you don't have to do everything all at once. Hope it helps! Don't worry about everything else. It will iron out after the pregnancy and the hormones die down some! :)
-Robin
I can't believe I almost have a teenager!

Your sweet angel sister Caitlin is watching you grow, Megan!

hi there, my name is heather, i have a son 4.5 and a little girl 2.5 and one due in august (i was actually done at two, but god apparently didnt think so) really going crazy this pregnancy i want to paint my appartment, but cant even seem to keep it vacumed
i just want to lay on the couch but the kiddos make it impossible....i havent posted on this board, but this is exactly how i was feeling so i had to
i have had two things help me soo much this year and maybe they are possible for you too
i started my son in preschool in the mornings (two days a week helped sooo much, but he is almost ready to start kindergarden so we are coughing up the money for a few months of him doing 5 mornings) having just one to contend with while being pregnant is amazing....
also i joined the ymca, they have childcare for your kids for 2 hours a day everyday!!!!
on most days i try to work out, but my joints have been messed up so i cant work out anymore, but they have pregnacy classes for the days you cant deal with working out.
i have to admit that on some days i droped the kids off in their childwatch and just layed in a changing room in the locker room-lol
they also have finacial assistance if the cost is too high
hope those might help you!
gl
and talk to you later
heather
Thanks ladies, for the warm welcome and suggestions. Whew! Busy week. We got ambitious and cleaned our carpets Memorial Day, plus took the kids swimming (first time we have al went swimming as a family). The water was freezing! My little nephew turned purple. We'll have to look for a heated pool next time!
I'll have to look into the messyhouse website. It sounds a lot like Flylady.net. I have tried that, but got burned out because Ms. Flylady only has ONE kid! And she didn't start the system until he was in middle school! So I find her routines a bit too much when pregnant with little ones. And she's pretty condescending, IMHO.
As far as activities for my oldest, I have started looking into the summer gymnastics and dance programs offered around here. Currently we are stuck with one vehicle, hopefully that will change soon. Maybe I should look into the gym again. I know the gyms here don't have prenatal classes or anythig like that, but I love walking on treadmills. I got paranoid from using their free daycare when my oldest got really really sick after I dropped her off there for an hour when she was a year old. I might try it again, though. We don't have a YMCA around here. I guess my city is too small, lol. And I don't know about the preschool thing sine we decided along time ago that we'd homeschool. I just don't trust the schools around here. Luckily there are a ton of co-ops around here, but they are mainly for older kids. So we'll be on our own for the first few years, but then as they get into 2nd and 3rd grade level, we'll have more options for joint homeschool activities and co-ops, etc. Tons and tons of homeschoolers in my area.
IT's great to hear from everyone who's been there or is there and understands how hard it is. lol I thought I was done at 2 as well. We originally wanted 5, but after my second, I went nuts. But we got a surprise! And I do love babies, I had just hoped to space them out more so I could enjoy them more and actually keep up with their baby books! lol
Thanks for your help! NOw I'm off to bed!
Take care,
Jenn
10/20