anyone else pg & have a young toddler?

[alivia]

I am 30 wks pregnant and have a 15 month old who just started walking. Why am I posting this in the Country Living Forum? Because if there's anyone else in a similar position, I want to know HOW are you getting around and getting anything done?! I haven't been able to carry my 15 month old lately without terrible back pain for several days afterwards, so I've had the carriers retired for a couple months and I tell you, it's killing me! I watch my husband able to do stuff outside, and I am so jealous. Granted, he's doing harder work that doesn't usually lend itself to babywearing, but still. I feel stuck and trapped, and out of options. It's warm and I want to plant and build things, or at least take a long hike in our woods to help my general mood. Instead, I sit and look out the window and feel stuck and trapped with way too much time on my hands to think about how I feel stuck and trapped. And worry about how it will all be so much worse with a newborn.

Are there options I'm not thinking of? There would have to be, right? Other people have had babies close together, living on farms, getting things done. I'm not the first person to encounter this. So what can I do? Any ideas appreciated, I'm desperate! I can take my 15 mo. old outside with me and she wants me to hold her within about 10 minutes. Actually, I'm lucky if I get 10 minutes. It's very frustrating, especially since I'd love to hold her and wear her if I could!

[1stimestar]

Can dh wear her while you are planting and building? I would think you could get out and plant if you are just doing a home vegetable garden. Crawling around on your hands and knees in the dirt (or anywhere) is a good activing for pregnant women to help ensure proper positioning of baby. Sure you'll get dirty but we like getting dirty lol.

[wendybird]

I know that frustration very well. I try to get some stuff done in those 10 minute spurts...do work, nurse a baby, do some more work. Trying to cram a full days worth of homesteading into the little time you get. It is hard!
I am not a fan of strollers, but I do have an umbrella stroller that I can put a squirmy little one in for a few minutes while I work, singing to the baby and engaging her whileI get it done.I also am not upset if a baby eats dirt while helping me lol...I do have a big fear of little ones wandering too far(out of my safe zone, or into poison ivy/oak/sumac) so I will wear them or contain them. I also do what I can during naps. One of our gardens is located close to the house so I can hear Pip from an open window if she wakes up...I get a full hour to work during naps. Really though...they grow up REALLY fast.The work that I want to do will eventually get done, and I will miss my baby being a baby. That thought can sometimes help me through a sad time when I am itching to get outside and clear brush or something that I just can't get done while mothering a house full of kidlets.
That probably wasn't any help at all, just letting you know I relate and empathize.

[alivia]

Thank you both - it does help to know we all have these bad days even if it's just to remind myself not to let it get me so down. Long-term perspective has always been a struggle for me.

I went for a sunny drive yesterday w/ just my toddler and was able to see that the real issue is a lack of standing up for my own needs and a building resentment toward dh because I wasn't being vocal about what I need too. (And why can't he read my mind already? Jeesh!)

I left my once/week job two weeks ago and haven't had a single alone moment since. This past weekend, everyone was sick & no one slept well, making long-term perspective and finding joy in today even harder.

I scheduled a few hours alone this Thursday and am planning to join a weekly prenatal exercise "class" until the baby's born (thx for the idea 1stimestar!). Even if it's just me all by myself at the park, doing prenatal exercise, or getting my head calm before the birth, it will be planned time to myself and should make a big difference in accepting my limitations.