I'm BORED - Page 2

[ErinBird]

It is hard. Most moms have been there including myself.

What generally happens is that I challenge myself to do something more. I don't know if thats a solution or if it just gets better on its own.

[lovemykeiki]

Originally Posted by mybabysmama

Because of our choices--no childcare, no babysitter, etc., I feel limited in my options.

I'm not sure how coherent this posting is. I'm falling asleep as I write it. I guess I just want to hear how bored other SAHM are or how you avoided boredom.

I'd try a babysitting swap. Then each Mom could go find something stimulating to do.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by lovemykeiki

I'd try a babysitting swap. Then each Mom could go find something stimulating to do.

I'm yes, butting on this one. It's a good idea, but almost everyone I know is in the same situation as I am. 3 year old and under one year old that's nursing. I know I don't want to watch two infants at a time. One is hard enough.

Plus, we didn't leave our son with a sitter until 18 months. I'm just not ready to leave the baby with anyone. She is just now doing the separation/stranger anxiety and I don't want to put her through it. Then there's the issue of nursing. I am adoptive nursing and using a couple ounces of donor milk a day. Any time I am away I am not making milk for her and that is not good.

All this makes it hard for me to get away. It's sort of self-induced, but I figure it's temporary and I just have to live through it for another year or so.

It really helped that I had two hours of dual naptime yesterday. That was such a treat. It also helps when so many other moms say they're going through the same thing.

[<[l_(crayon)_l]]

I think it's perspective. My current path is far from my passion (archaeology), but it's far from boring too. How can I be bored by teaching and raising four amazing people? Do I miss curling up with the latest journal? Yes. Do I miss digging and discovering? Yes. Does that mean I have to be bored? No. I'm introducing four young people to the world that they are part of. That is intensely satisfying. Whether I'm teaching them about history, or how to make a loaf of bread and play chess, watching them finger paint, or taking them for a nature walk and looking at cloud animals, reading Harry Potter out loud, or discussing environmentalism and culture with them, I'm never bored. Exhausted and desperate for a bubble bath? Sure, but never bored. Will I be beyond delighted to get back to my career? Yes. But I'll never look back and think about how boring it was to be a SAHM.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by <[l_(crayon)_l]

I think it's perspective. My current path is far from my passion (archaeology), but it's far from boring too. How can I be bored by teaching and raising four amazing people? Do I miss curling up with the latest journal? Yes. Do I miss digging and discovering? Yes. Does that mean I have to be bored? No. I'm introducing four young people to the world that they are part of. That is intensely satisfying. Whether I'm teaching them about history, or how to make a loaf of bread and play chess, watching them finger paint, or taking them for a nature walk and looking at cloud animals, reading Harry Potter out loud, or discussing environmentalism and culture with them, I'm never bored. Exhausted and desperate for a bubble bath? Sure, but never bored. Will I be beyond delighted to get back to my career? Yes. But I'll never look back and think about how boring it was to be a SAHM.

I've thought about this posting a lot. I don't think it's a perspective thing. I do wonder if I'm more burned out than bored. It's been 3 weeks since I got any time away from the kids (except my 1.5 hours of work Wednesday mornings.) Really, since the baby was born 7.5 months ago, I've gotten 1 acupuncture treatment, 1 massage, and 1 session working on my book at a cafe and an eye doctor's appt. That's it. No other kid-free time. Yesterday I did get 2 hours during naptime. Last week I got 20 minutes during a nap. Frankly, I'm burned out.

Tonight I told my husband I need his help with this. I was just starting dinner and he offered to treat us to dinner out. It felt so good to get out of the house. I was going to get some alone time this afternoon, but the baby is sick and really clingy. I just couldn't leave her.

Like the pp said, there are so many fun things to do with kids. My son loves to bake scones. We used to spend a lot of time with the chickens. We used to do playdough and puzzles and read so much more than we do now. I'm just having trouble balancing the social needs of a 3 year old, the rambunctiousness of an active boy, and the needs of an infant. If I could just attend to one of their needs, I'd be fine, but trying to combine the two is a lot harder than I'd imagined. This combined with no down time and I'm fried.

Some of this is my own doing, I'm choosing to not use childcare. Some is the reality of our schedule. At least my husband gives them baths at night so I can get on here, do some cleaning, whatever.

I've appreciated hearing from others that they get bored too. This is about more than wanting a career. I really don't. I've done that and will get back to it. This is about basics. It's hard to sit on the bed with a baby and play pattycake with a 3 year old jumping all around. It's hard to do something in the kitchen with a 3 year old with a baby that fusses for attention. She doesn't want to crawl, she wants to stand holding onto my fingers but I can't do that 24 hours a day.

Anyways, thanks for letting me vent.

[momof3soon]

I am bored to.

[jjawm]

I'm another bored SAHM. It's only hit me after about 3 years of not working, and 1 year after allowing my social work license to expire. I didn't particularly like work, but that part is fading in my memory. What I miss is conversing with adults about something other than kids. All I seem to talk about is kids. I'm bored of myself.

[mkarntz]

LOL jjawn I am bored of myself to. My DH says I dont talk to him enough. Really, I dont have anything to talk about unless he wants to hear about dd going pee on the potty or something. I used to be a fun person, DH asked me what happened to that. Well...its hard to be a fun person when you dont have any fun lol

[claddaghmom]

Originally Posted by mybabysmama

I've thought about this posting a lot. I don't think it's a perspective thing. I do wonder if I'm more burned out than bored. It's been 3 weeks since I got any time away from the kids (except my 1.5 hours of work Wednesday mornings.) Really, since the baby was born 7.5 months ago, I've gotten 1 acupuncture treatment, 1 massage, and 1 session working on my book at a cafe and an eye doctor's appt. That's it. No other kid-free time. Yesterday I did get 2 hours during naptime. Last week I got 20 minutes during a nap. Frankly, I'm burned out.

Tonight I told my husband I need his help with this. I was just starting dinner and he offered to treat us to dinner out. It felt so good to get out of the house. I was going to get some alone time this afternoon, but the baby is sick and really clingy. I just couldn't leave her.

Like the pp said, there are so many fun things to do with kids. My son loves to bake scones. We used to spend a lot of time with the chickens. We used to do playdough and puzzles and read so much more than we do now. I'm just having trouble balancing the social needs of a 3 year old, the rambunctiousness of an active boy, and the needs of an infant. If I could just attend to one of their needs, I'd be fine, but trying to combine the two is a lot harder than I'd imagined. This combined with no down time and I'm fried.

Some of this is my own doing, I'm choosing to not use childcare. Some is the reality of our schedule. At least my husband gives them baths at night so I can get on here, do some cleaning, whatever.

I've appreciated hearing from others that they get bored too. This is about more than wanting a career. I really don't. I've done that and will get back to it. This is about basics. It's hard to sit on the bed with a baby and play pattycake with a 3 year old jumping all around. It's hard to do something in the kitchen with a 3 year old with a baby that fusses for attention. She doesn't want to crawl, she wants to stand holding onto my fingers but I can't do that 24 hours a day.

Anyways, thanks for letting me vent.

:

Perspective doesn't plug up my ears; my brain is still flowing out lol.

I remember feeling this emotion very vividly during the first few weeks too. Oh, I was amazed at this beautiful little baby I had. But soon it was well, boring. Don't get me wrong. I loved her every moment. But she would wake up in the morning and want me to lie there and smile at her for a good 1/2 hour. And probably would have gone longer but I was able to break it up with a diaper change or a feeding. It started to be too much interaction for me to take.

Surely others have felt this about non-baby related things. For example, my honeymoon was almost 2 weeks in tropical paradise. And yet by the end of the trip, we were bored of it. Blue sky, blue ocean, alcohol, desserts. Ugh lol

[Softmama]

If your dh is home by 5 and in bed by 8, that is time that he is available. are you comfortable letting him keep both kids by himself for one hour? If so, you can start a book club (do the book on tape as someone already mentioned) and then you just take that one hour a month to go to a book club meeting and discuss with other grown-ups (heavenly!) to stimulate your brain. And if you have it every month it's something to look forward to. And the kids are with dad and only for one hour a month, so not going the babysitter, stranger anxiety route.

eidt to add: I started imposing "quiet time" on my toddlers. I gave them each a box of toys that ONLY came out at quiet time and stuck them in separate rooms (starting with just 15 min so nobody had a meltdown and slowly built up) so that I was only dealing with the baby during that time. If they came out, I walked them back and told them they were doing a great job and quiet time was only x minutes longer. (and I think probably there were a few bribes in there as well) Try it out. I never in a million years thought that would work for my rambunctious boys, but I was pretty desperate so i gave it a shot.