Has anyone else noticed that men are allowed to not like parenthood but women aren't?
Now, before I begin I want to say I'm not a regretful parent. I (32F) love my son (4M) and I'm glad he is here. However, parenthood has been the biggest challenge of my life. I had a very rough pregnancy that has led to long-lasting health problems (nothing life-threatening but still not fun). On top of that, I don't have the personality to parent young children. I like a lot of quiet alone time. I do not like managing other people's emotions or bodily needs. So basically the last few years I have been a fish out of water. However, if I express this at all, even in the most light-hearted manner possible, people do not take it well. Mainly, my mother in law who has been very judgmental about us not having a second child. However, the irony is her husband, my father-in-law, constantly makes "jokes" about how much he didn't enjoy parenthood. He regularly says the happiest day of his life was the day both kids were out of the house and has nothing but negative things to say about the baby/toddler stage. However, If I say I don't like the baby/toddler stage, my MIL looks at me like I just said I like to kick kittens for fun. I really hate how she laughs along when her husband says those things but I or other women can't say anything even remotely negative about parenting.
I've also noticed that many people look to you having a second kid as a way of telling the world that you like parenthood or that your first wasn't a mistake. But the thing is, even thugh I don't consider having a child a mistake, I don't like parenthood and I think some people can't handle the fact that some people especially women aren't always loving being a mom and it's not a core part of their identity.