| I don't envy you or your husband right now. I think you've got to get some help around the house, be it part time or other. How long can your husband go on like that? It's great that he has stepped up to the plate but doesn't he work? He must be exhausted. I would make finding a new helper a priority. If you get a good one they don't need much training and if they've finished their contract they can start in a few weeks. You are really going to need help when the new baby arrives. I remember those awful first few months - still not sure how i got through them. Seriously! The age difference between our children is almost 16 months so my eldest would cry and demand my attention any time i needed to feed the baby, which was of course all the time. We had a bad helper who i didn't let touch the baby for 6 weeks and i was exhausted all the time. It makes you a bit mental especially if you get a baby that doesn't feed or sleep well, which we did.
As for the lulling your 17 month old to sleep, that's got to stop. You can't have two kids that need that sort of attention. Your daughter needs to get better sleep habits as much for her own development as for your sanity.
And like the other posters said, i'm sure your daughter will not miss the current helper beyond a few days. When we eventually fired our first helper we thought our son would miss her. He said her name a couple of times over the next few days and then never again. She popped by the other day to see the kids and he couldn't remember her and that was only 6 months later.
Good luck. It could be a tough few months but somehow we do make it through!  |