Baby's 2 months and dad is back to work. Need advice please šŸ™

I'm a FTM, with a 2 month old baby. My husband just ended his paternity and started work (he works from home) and I'm going crazy with the lack of help. Some background, my in laws are more "play buddies" than care givers - my MIL had a village to take care of my husband when he was an infant, and thereafter he was fully taken care of by his grandma. She doesn't even know how to change a baby's nappy. My FIL didn't carry my husband until he was 6 months old. My parents are no longer in the picture. So my hubs and I are on our own. Financial wise, we don't want to hire a helper full time. In the past 2 months, the first was great because we had a fantastic confinement nanny. Thereafter, in the 2nd month, MY nightmare started. My husband has this habit of claiming "we need a schedule". And he's always the first one to bail. Then coming back full circle blaming me that we don't have a routine. So long story short, we agreed on a shift schedule where he does nights and I do most part of the day. But somewhere along the way, because meal times (i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner) falls under my shifts, he has to "cover" for me to eat. And not to mention pump times (this annoys me buckets too. He keeps telling me how pumping burns calories for free, but complains and throws tantrums when I need to pump 4-6 times a day. So I ended up stopping at the 2 month mark, and he still keeps telling me pumping burns free calories. šŸ™„like if I had a choice in the matter. Either I choose my marriage and sanity or I choose breastfeeding my baby. My baby doesn't like to latch because I have really short nipples and she gets frustrated.) Back to this, so he tends to get frustrated towards the later parts of the evenings. His parents comes over to "help" but end up giving me twice the work to clean up after them, and he sleeps when they come over. So when he gets too tired, halfway into the evening he'll bail and have me do nights when I haven't slept since the night before. Then he gets frustrated the next day cause I'll be sleeping when our baby is fussing. Now that he's back at work, he claims to still want to do night, so that's 2am to 8am, and I take the rest of the hours. Is it fair to expect him to at least help out for an hour or 2 for me to have dinner or rest after he ends work at 5pm? Cause somehow from 8pm to 2am sleep schedule, it suddenly became 6pm to 2am. Leaving me along with the little bub for 18 hours. And she's going through some growth spurt where she's really hard to put to sleep during the day, and she screams bloody murder cause she has colic, reflux and phlegm. I'm tired, and stressed and guilty because I just screamed at my innocent baby for crying because she's overtired and she jumped because she got scared. I feel like I'm failing as a mother, and I really really hate my husband now. I really do need help if anyone has any suggestions on how I can get through this please. #adviceappreciated #firsttimemom

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The best help in your situation is no help because they are not good team players. I didnā€™t have any help but I find that it helps me get use to it faster than compared if I were to have an extra pair of hands. My husband is either mostly sleeping or shitting in the toilet, probably helps out with a few feeds or bottle washes (always claims he is tired after work). We donā€™t have a fixed ā€œshiftā€ as regardless I still have to wake up and pump. But if Iā€™m too tired to even open my eyes, Iā€™ll then dig my husband up to feed baby. Having no fixed shifts, you wonā€™t feel like ā€œwhy do I have to do when itā€™s your shift vice versaā€. The baby belongs to the both of you, doesnā€™t mean who do more or cover more shift means more love for baby. I usually baby wear and eat my meals or if baby is asleep, Iā€™ll eat beside her. After my husband shower after work, Iā€™ll tell him to take baby then Iā€™ll go shower (Iā€™m not asking, Iā€™m informing). Dinner time we take turns to eat. For husbands, just tell them what to do, most of them works on a ā€œpush button to workā€. Since your husband donā€™t really help out at night, ask him to clean up after the guest left then. Get yourself accustomed to the haywired and lack of sleep, subsequently observe babyā€™s needs and wants. I too broke down multiple times as Iā€™m very exhausted, especially sometimes when Iā€™m having high fever and in pain and thereā€™s no help (husband told me, sorry I canā€™t leave early šŸ˜‘) and still have to carry, feed and change baby. Consider baby wearing to soothe baby. My LO doesnā€™t attend school (no slot) and Iā€™ve been with her 24/7 for 28m so imagine how many times my blood pressure rise to the peak. Give yourself a cooldown time. Take one step at a time.

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your husband is a baby himself. sorry to say this. can you hire a part time helper or ask your neighbour for help? some auntie neighbour can help to take care and you pay by the hour ?

Sending alot of love to you as reading ur post, I can't imagine what you are going through. Newborn is tough and without help it's really even more tough.

Do you calculation and insist on hiring a helper or a day time nanny. Newborn is no joke. Plus your husband sounds fussier than a baby

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