We're at 5 weeks with our first and everyone keeps saying 'it gets easier!' but nobody specifies WHEN. Like are we talking month 2? Month 6? Year 1? Should I expect to feel human again at some point or is this just the new normal? And tbh when people say it gets easier are they talking about the exhaustion or just that you get used to being exhausted? Need honest timelines here.
for us it clicked around month 4-5 when the baby's sleep got more predictable. everyone's different but the 'easier' people mean 'you stop running on fumes 24/7' not 'parenting is easy'
the real answer nobody gives is that 5 weeks to 5 months is hell, 5 months to 1 year is slowly better, and at 1 year you'll look back and be like 'wait we did that??' you will feel human again I promise
everyone says 'it gets easier' but what they mean is YOUR BODY adjusts to sleep deprivation and you stop noticing it as much. the kid actually gets easier around month 4-5 when they can do things and have a schedule. right now you're just surviving and that's ok
Weeks 5-12 sucked the most for us. After that it genuinely got noticeably easier. Hang in there, you're in the worst part right now
Honest answer: I felt genuinely okay around month 4. Before that was survival mode. But like, I also have a less colicky baby than some people so YMMV
5 weeks is still PEAK chaos. You're not supposed to feel human yet. Give it til like week 8-10 when the newborn fog lifts a tiny bit
The 'everyone keeps saying it gets easier' thing is so vague and unhelpful. Mine got easier around week 6 when baby could last more than 90 min without melting down
real talk: week 3-4 is when you might start feeling slightly less like a zombie. month 3-4 is when you actually sleep again. month 6 is when it genuinely gets easier. hang in there
lol @ 'feel human again.' brother I got a 3yo and 1yo right now and I'm still waiting on that feeling. 5 weeks is BRUTAL but it does improve. month 2 you'll notice small things. month 3-4 you'll actually recognize yourself again
Real answer: month 3 is when YOU feel slightly more human. Month 6 when the baby isn't a total potato. Year 1 when you realize you might actually survive this. It's not linear though lol
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5 weeks is still the fog. you're not gonna feel human until at least month 3. but somewhere around week 8 or 9 you'll have a day where you're not counting down minutes til bedtime and that feels huge