Hello, everybody!

I am in a bit difficult situation right now and would love to get some advice.

Together 8 years, married 2. We have a toddler and are expecting another in March. I am a SAHM, my husband is the sole provider. We really wanted to start our family early, so we became parents at 24.

It has been a challenging change from our previous lifestyle and the adaptation to it is still happening. We are very introverted people who really need alone time. As you can imagine, with kids it's pretty much go-go-go from the morning till night.

I did my best to make sure evenings are just for chilling out and weekends are free, by doing housework and cooking as best I can. With a toddler who just doesn't need sleep, ever, I sometimes was really on the verge. Sleep deprivation really is a method of torture, you know! I even joked to my husband that I don't whine about lack of sleep. I collect witnesses, so that when our little dude is 18 I could sue him in the Hague Human rights court.

It's gotten easier lately, but here comes the big problem.. We decided to have another and now I am 18 weeks pregnant. I have a very difficult pregnancy. I am in pain every day, and spent the first three months on strict bed rest. Now I'm on modified bed rest. Toddler had to begin daycare because I just couldn't manage.

Past month he has been sick on and off, so I haven't been able to rest and with a sick child.. You can imagine. Husband being at work, I struggled a lot. Even though I try to get just the basics done (food and laundry), by the end of the day I can't walk, I have to crawl as a method of moving myself. I'm in a lot of pain and it's coming from someone with stage 4 endometriosis and who has had a med free birth.

I'm not really asking about how to manage the situation (we're trying everything right now to make it easier for me until husband comes home, and weekends he is the primary parent while I sit on the sofa). The issue is - how to deal with this stress?

We've had so many more stupid little fights because when in pain, I can't think clearly. And husband is also tired and stressed, he is actively working for a raise, doing all the shopping, managing everything regarding household and toddler, because I haven't left the house for weeks now due to pain.

I know this will pass, because our first pregnancy went the same way. But still, how to survive up until March when the baby will be born and not get into a cycle of fighting every day? We love each other, but we get almost no time for the two of us, the finances are a bit tight now (we just bought another apartment and reno took out more than expected) and our relatives live far away. Also, we have very high standards of parenting that we chose to do, with limited screen time, with lots of activities and healthy foods that take quite a bit of time to prepare. It's not an iPad and cheerios sort of thing for us.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.