The Baby killed my sense of humour.

[Saffron]

One of the happy things I remember most about my pregnancy was how much my husband and I laughed. My husand has never laughed so much with me as when I was pregnant. When I say I like a man with a sense of humour, I mean as much someone who is funny, as who thinks I'm funny too.

But the Baby killed my sense of humour.

With sleepless nights and endless hours alone feeding and rocking and watching daytime tele, sense of humour was the first thing to go after Little Saff was born. I wasn't funny anymore. Worse still, I didn't find anything else funny anymore. The bottom had dropped out of my supply of funny.

It's been a year-and-a-half now, and I finally feel like my 'funny levels' are creeping back towards normal. I might never be as funny as I was when I was pregnant (I know I'll never be as well-rested!), but at least I feel more like the world might be laughing with me again, instead of at me!!

Did the Baby kill your sense of humour too? How long did it take to get it back?

:)

[new mother]

Longer than I imagined!

My ch were good sleepers but I found the whole responsibility thing daunting (and still do!). It tires me and makes me snap sometimes. I am more serious a person and less light hearted, partly because I am constantly convinced something awful is about to happen- falls, scissors, edges of things. That sort of ongoing concern!

[Fuschia]

I sometimes have to laugh otherwise I would cry! Thinking of running through the house yesterday with an explosive bottomed baby, sluicing him

Under the bath tap then he slipped and banged his head

Just as I am juggling one slippery bawling baby I have a toddler holding on to each of my legs, each trying to get my attention for their various projects

I think it was a missing hand bag and a certainty I had promised hammy dodgers all round

So.. Mad laughter ... Present and correct

What I am missing is my memory, my attention span and my ability to relax

I am always spotting thIngs that need to be done and forgetting I planned to watch a tv programme or hAve a cup of tea

[jennyh]

I'm not funny, I always was to my OH. Now I'm whingey, tired, stressed, worried, anxious and irritating. Not a good place to be.

[mrs f]

It's so true, I've totally lost my sense of humour, mrf & I used to laugh & joke a lot, now we talk about how much sleep babyf has had that day. I've also lost all ability to talk about anything else other than babies (got to start reading the news rather than the forum whilst feeding!)

[Ruth_Baldock]

Just after Cheeky S was born, me and my husband watched a Michael McIntyre DVD. It was funny but I couldn't laugh, because it all seemed so POINTLESS when I had a tiny baby to feed/worry about.

I don't think I got my SOH back and that me and my husband really 'connected' again until we got our evenings back and a decentish chunk of sleep per night (as opposed to 2/3 hours in a 24hr period, ugh). This didn't happen till the baby was about 9mo old. We still talk a lot about various baby/toddler things, and I've never discussed my cervix (!!!) so much with someone other than a MW/OB before in my life (sorry, Mr B...) but I can see us getting back to 'normal'. Ish.

Hope we're not as baby brained this time round!

[SummerMum]

Think this is a really spot on thread - and something I recognise.

However, I promise when they get a bit older, they can crack you up - watching my 6-year old daughter this morning in a padded spider mans outfit and a pair of high heeled shoes. My 4-year old asking if a pirate ship is used to transport goods overseas. Them saying 'Good morning Darling' to me at the start of the day. There are moments of hilarity every day, which are essential along with the other moments of drudge and poo.

Edited to add... your sense of humour changes - I remember cracking up at various comedy clubs pre-children, and I just don't think I would find it so funny any more. However, I do remember, after first child was born, a Ben Elton comedy 'Blessed' was on the beeb, Ardal O'Hanlan and Mel Geidroyc as a couple with a baby and toddler, and I felt like someone got it, and it was funny because it was exactly how I felt. The same for 'outnumbered' now - which pre-kids I would have thought was probably pointless telly! Now, I think they may well be bugging our house for ideas!

[Belle]

I think the main humour we shared in the early days was a dry sort, you know when everything feels like it's going wrong and you're in a sinking ship together? But as above, it does get funnier, and at 2.5 we get a lot of laughs provided for us (unintentionally) by my son. I can't now go in and check on him at night without cracking up, remembering how a few weeks ago we crept in and were looking down on him tenderly - then he basically twitched his legs in his sleep and farted up into our faces. I had to race from the room in hysterics and will always find that nightly visit funny now.

[ratty]

I think the funniest moment for us was some weeks ago. My wife had just started labour at about 2am in the morning. We were lying in bed debating when to phone the midwives, timing contractions, chatting etc. At one point I turned to her and in all seriousness said - "I wonder what I should wear". We both looked at each other and cracked up!

11 hours later my beautiful daughter was born! I have hardly stopped smiling since!

[????]

Hey, Congrats Ratty!

[ratty]

She's 15 weeks now and doing superb!

[EDmummy]

I recommend a night off and go and see Bridesmaids with a girlfriend/s. I haven't laughed so much in years.

[Polly D]

Completely agree EDmummy. Especially if you're as scatalogical as me. It's absolutely hilarious.

[cuppa tea]

I've had a sense of humour by-pass the last 4 years! But what does help is picking up the camera and taking a photo of the various stages of madness and I can usually laugh at it by looking backwards. Laughing in the present moment is not something I have quite mastered!

[Saffron]

Yes that's true. I have video evidence of Little Saff eating catfood and photos of her after covering herself with an entire pot of Sudocrem. Catfood episode: I thought was very funny; husband not so amused... his sense of humour needing some adjusting too. Sudocrem episode: Not so funny at the time, but hilarious in retrospective (even husband agrees).

[The Nappy Lady]

Sudocrem is evil stuff, I've heard of a few Mum's having a very bad day clearing it up after their little one got hold of it, you are not alone Saffron.

Looking back I realise (though don't really understand how it's possible), that whilst being truly delighted with the arrival of our 2nd little girl, I was really not very nice to live with for the first couple of years of her life. I think all my energy was going into looking after her and her sister, and coping with the lack of sleep, and my poor old hubby got all the back lash.

Thankfully humour has returned to our lives now, and as others have said, in large doses now we have a cheeky 'almost 3' year old, and a '7 going on 17' year old to entertain us. I shall enjoy the 'honeymoon' until the next lot of angst starts when we really do hit the teenage years (eek).

:-S

[Saffron]

It's laughing in the face of adversity that I find hardest now.

Someone please help me find the humour in this...

2:30am: bitten nipple, screaming toddler refused bottle and soaked our bed in p1ss after tantrum-induced nappy leak. Hurrah.

Someone recently told me that toddlers that wake frequently at night are often very intelligent. Daughter must be a fecking einstein!!!! Grrrrr.

[nunheadmum]

Wonderful news about toddlers who wake at night.......glad there's some point to the torture!! (Please don't tell me otherwise....I don't care if it isn't true, it makes me feel better.)

Definitely agree re the loss of humour. I do laugh more with the kids now but I struggle to lose myself in 'fluffy' TV...when I do get to see some, I feel like I want it to be decent when what I probably need is 'fluff'.

[Ruth_Baldock]

Saffron; my sympathies!!!! On lex's second night home, she woke for a feed at Some Ungodly Hour, then proceeded to vomit up said feed all over herself, me and the bed. Cue entire babygro change, during which we discovered a meconium filled nappy had leaked. During all this, seb had woken up and when Mr B got up to settle him, he got sicked on; but not harmless newborn sick- full on toddler sick. Both babies fell back asleep happily but me and Mr B were left covered in god knows what and thoroughly unimpressed.

May I suggest you mention this to any future boyfriends Mini Saff has in the future? Mwa ha ha ha!

[KateW]

Saffron this thread is sooooooo true. After the umpteenth 'cry on husband in the kitchen' session today, I really am starting to wonder if I'll ever just let rip and belly laugh again! No-one really tells you what long term sleep deprivation does to the soul (god that sounds over drammatic, I just have an early rising daughter, that's all). We're off on holiday tomorrow for the first time since DD arrived 9 months ago and I'm hopeful the change of scene will unearth the lighter hearted side of me that seems to have gotten lost in baby-world. Heres to some good ol' fashioned laughter for us all! x

[Saffron]

...and under the heading, Shouldn't Be Funny But It Is! ...Little Saff got hold of a pot of Tiger Balm while I was cooking dinner. She then managed to get the lid off and smear it on her arms, chest, and chin. No blocked noses here tonight! Hahahaha!!!!!

[Smiler]

Can relate to a lot of this, going through it at the moment. Sleep deprivation and full-time child-caring makes me horrible:'(

Our one-year-old hates the car and will scream and screech for hours on end on long journeys, it is awful. Nothing works. But last night on a hideous journey decided to shove on music and Alice Deejay's "Better off Alone" shut her up completely and she then fell asleep!

:))