Have you got a 'village'
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I didn’t, meaning neither me nor my partner have any family near us, only abroad. But I created a village by making friends. Now I have two other families 10 mins away from me who can pick up my son from nursery or have him for a couple of hours if I need babysitting
We don't. Our families live close but we can't rely on them for any practical help at all sadly. When a favourite key worker left our LOs nursery we asked them to babysit for us. It's not a cheap solution but it helps knowing it's an option. We both try and work from home a couple of days a week to stay on top of the house, and schedule all appointments for during nursery hours using lunch breaks or annual leave so we don't need extra help. We divide and conquer a lot of things between ourselves, don't overcommit with clubs, and say no to a lot of things. It's not ideal. We haven't had a night away without our LO since before she was born. But in our situation I feel like it's our families that are missing out on a proper relationship with our LO x
@Zoe we’re in a similar situation too. One set of grandparents is abroad, and the other not far, but not available to help. We have 2 little ones now, and haven’t had a night off/ date night since before covid! 😵💫 Divide and conquer is a good phrase for managing it all. I have made a couple of good friends on here actually, but apart from that we get by. Thank god for nursery though!
No village. Not even family members or close friends. It’s been the hardest few years but for us; it’s the best thing that could have happened despite the overwhelming challenges that come with being so alone x
No support here either!, moved back to be near my family from living 4 hours away, still no visitors and it’s been a year! Never get offers to babysit or to take the kids anywhere! It’s lonely and stressful juggling work and the house and 3 kids! ,,
No my parents live an hour away, in laws live 20miles but have health issues. We have no one really nearby
@Chloe could have written this word for word x
I don't. I have 1 friend that I vent to but that's all. It is really hard but I just get on with it as best I can. I try to keep busy and distracted