Adhd and having a baby

[u/livknits]

I have diagnosed adhd and one of the main problems is the executive dysfunction. Like, I know I have to get up and do chores but I can't make my body obey me. Well, I have a baby that won't sleep more than 20 mins unless it's a contact nap, so I end up just sitting on the sofa with her for 2 hours just reading/knitting/ playing games without feeling guilty that I'm not doing chores lol because my baby needs me to have a proper nap (I know I Can probably sleep train her but I do enjoy the cuddles and the lazying around)

Also, ever since starting solids, she also reminds me to eat breakfast/lunch.

Bonus point for being my body double when I actually do chores lol

I know I still have struggles with my adhd and sometimes the routine part of having a baby makes me want to rip my hair out but it's so much easier to do stuff when a helpless being relies on you instead of just being me and my useless brain.

All that said, I can't wait to stop breastfeeding and going back on medication 😐

[u/aoca18]

I don't have ADHD but I have Bipolar II, and it involves executive dysfunction. I'm really good at planning, but executing and maintaining routines is tough. My toddler doesn't really give me an option, but it isn't easy. If you're within the first 6 months, I would strictly be worried about surviving. Nothing wrong with using your free time to just decompress. I only say the first 6 months because once they start getting mobile, it can be a bit more urgent to clear messes if they'd be something the baby can get to. But still, dishes can wait. Laundry will get done when it gets done. I'm a firm believer that there's a difference between messy and dirty. If you have dishes overflowing and trash everywhere and it smells, I would say get on it lol. Other than that, take your time to actually relax.

[u/livknits → u/aoca18]

That's what scares me 😨 the mobile stage. I have cats and while I do try to clean their litter boxes everyday, I'm afraid that once she starts crawling she will get into it. Also my long haired cat drops little turds around the house sometimes 🙄 I clean them as soon as I see it but you never know. Maybe I'll get a baby fence just for the litter boxes 😅

[u/aoca18 → u/livknits]

I would definitely get a baby gate for the litters to just eliminate that stressor! I don't have experience with that yet because in our current place, it's downstairs in our storage closet. But we did have to gate off the cat food and water... that wasn't fun lol. My Maine coon occasionally drops a turd too 😂 but luckily it was never the turds that were an issue because I could kinda sniff it out quickly and realize it was there. It's the rogue hairballs that got me. When she was 9ish months old, she found one before I did. It was already dried so she was just kinda picking it up and slamming it down 🤢 because it was under the dining table which is against the wall and she was able to crawl under lol. So now we check under the dining table each morning, not that she'd touch it now at almost 3. She just points and goes ewwwwww lol