Newborn or Toddler stage - which is harder?

[Sha]

Thanks for your comments. How disappointing that the toddler stage seems harder....

I was hoping it would be smooth sailing from here on out (

yeah right, huh?) I know a lot depends on the child too, as steph said. So far my baby Dalila is very.....uhm...spirited...with a very strong lungs, it seems...so I'm a bit apprehensive of what she'll be like as a 2 yr old.

I'm pretty sure I never gave my parents trouble at that age...(

) but I think she has more of her father's personality than mine. And he was very much a terror!

So I guess the most challenging period of child parenting is having BOTH a newborn and toddler? I always hear ppl talk about how hard that is - balancing both. What do you think? I'm sure most ppl with a second child go through that stage at some point.

 

[jewelz617]

Newborn stage: Piece of cake. Eat, sleep, burp, poop, snuggle. It was quiet most of the time, they can''t walk, they love to be held for hours at a time.

Toddler stage: Hell on wheels. But way more fun in my opinion.

 

[butterfly 17]

I would say that it really depends on you.

Newborn stage is hard because you just had a baby. If it''s your first, you have to learn so many things, like how to coordinate eating, cooking, breastfeeding, sleeping, doing laundry, etc. If it''s not your first, it''s still can get crazy. You have to learn to coordinate taking care of the baby in between getting your other kids fed, to school, bathed, etc.
It can be quite overwhelming when you don''t have help and even if you do have help.

But, the Toddler stage can get crazy as well. My kids thank goodness have been good, but I have seen other kids who were so poorly behaved and I felt really bad for the parents. Especially when they learn how to walk. Then they are into everything. You put stuff away only to turn around and find it''s a mess again. Sometimes you have to wonder why you even bother, lol.

 

[sbde]

Date: 2/4/2010 1:07:40 PM
Author: butterfly 17
I would say that it really depends on you.

Newborn stage is hard because you just had a baby. If it''s your first, you have to learn so many things, like how to coordinate eating, cooking, breastfeeding, sleeping, doing laundry, etc. If it''s not your first, it''s still can get crazy. You have to learn to coordinate taking care of the baby in between getting your other kids fed, to school, bathed, etc.
It can be quite overwhelming when you don''t have help and even if you do have help.

But, the Toddler stage can get crazy as well. My kids thank goodness have been good, but I have seen other kids who were so poorly behaved and I felt really bad for the parents. Especially when they learn how to walk. Then they are into everything. You put stuff away only to turn around and find it''s a mess again. Sometimes you have to wonder why you even bother, lol.

ditto to butterfly''s highlighted point.

for me i''m finding that the toddler stage is definitely more difficult simply because you ALWAYS have to be watching them. they get in to EVERYTHING and are smart enough to outsmart any and all child-proofing mechanisms i put in place. the newborn stage was just magic to me, i didn''t mind the lack of sleep i just loved the peacefulness of having a baby sleeping in my arms, and cuddling. now i''m lucky if my monkey will sit still with me for 30 seconds haha!

 

[lover in athens]

Date: 2/4/2010 1:07:40 PM
Author: butterfly 17

Sometimes you have to wonder why you even bother, lol.

haha...that''s why i DON''T bother!! toddler stage is about a million times harder for us so far...but so much more fun! it is truly amazing to watch your kiddo turn into a person...

 

[snlee]

Date: 2/3/2010 10:06:00 AM
Author: Jas12
The newborn stage is hard simply because of fatigue and round the clock maintenance. But in terms of parenting it has nothing on the toddler stage IMO (and i have an easy toddler!!). Toddlers do go to bed at night and give their parents a break, but thank goodness, b/c they test limits each hour, they run, they get into mischief, they fall, get sick, find their independence and can''t communicate etc.

I find it demanding but also SO fun. They are just amazing to watch at this stage, and so that makes the work worth it.

Ditto.

 

[lyra]

Well, the first newborn is a lot of work. Having two toddlers is a lot of work. Harder? I think the first newborn was the hardest and after that, and seeing that we didn''t break her (although we did drop her once

) gave us confidence to go through the toddler years. It depends on the kid a lot. First was a more difficult newborn, second was by far a more difficult toddler. It had to do with personalities to some degree.

You don''t want to think about adolescence? Lol! I''m wishing for adolescence back now that they''re in college. The second one remained difficult, and she''s turning 20 this year. So I''m not really seeing an end in sight to that, but of course, who would have it any other way? You love them so much none of it matters in time.

 

[Sha]

mmmmm...thanks for the comments. Toddlerhood seems like an interesting age....challenging yet fun at the same time...