A lot of how hard it is depends on if you have a spirited vs easy going baby. Some children are more needy and that can lead to additional stress.

When child 3 was born, child 1 was four years and three months, and child 2 was two and a half, exactly. Dh was active duty military and deployed to a combat zone (Iraq in 2004) when child 3 was three weeks old. He was gone for six months and we were fortunate to be able to talk on the video phone a few times each week, except for a few periods with heightened security; during the battle of Felujah we had zero communication for three weeks.

I was a SAHM. After dh left, I hired a cleaning lady to come every other week. Older two children went to preschool 3 hours a day, five days per week.

^^^ I forgot to mention that I also had a babysitter/nanny while I was working, and my housekeeper’s husband mowed the lawn and planted flowers and such.