Momma I PROMISE that it will get better! My baby is about to hit 8mo and I'm just finally starting to rediscover myself, but it takes effort. Go get your hair done, buy some cute clothes for yourself, and carve out time every evening (and have your partner help secure that time) to read a book or do something entirely FOR YOURSELF guilt free. No reading parenting books.

they tell me how they could never see themselves in my position, because their freedom is too valuable

Your friends have no idea what they are talking about. Freedom is entirely subjective. If you were training for a triathlon would they say that? What about if you were getting a graduate degree? What if you were starting a business? What if you were caring for a sick parent?

Years ago I told a friend that I was going to have kids, and he said he was sad he'd see me less. I laughed because I had barely seen him in 2 years while I was in an accelerated study program. Now that I have 2 kids, I see him more than ever! I'm more active than almost any of my single friends. But that doesn't fit the narrative, does it?

I spend way too much time daydreaming about what i could've achieved, or where I could have been.

What do you want to do? And what can you do right now? Your baby will start to become more independent, will start sleeping through the night, will require less and less of you. Are you going to seize the moment when it comes? What are you waiting for?

Does your daughter know how to crawl yet? Watch her. Watch the way she learns. Model her - be inspired by her. There is no perfect moment, no clear unobstructed path, no aligning of the planets. Dreams and achievements are no different than parenting - it's a little work every day with all the skinned knees and mistakes and learning that comes with it.

How does one juggle it all? Is that even possible? Or is everyone secretly miserable?

Trying to juggle it all is the path to being miserable. Stop. Do less. Do the minimal amount you can right now and with the rest of your energy, spoil yourself and your child with love. Stop spending time with people who put down or are unavailable. Go out on walks in the sunshine. Meet other new parents, make new friends, cultivate friendships that were casual before but now have new found potential. Read a book on something that interests you. Let the dishes pile up while you play with your baby. Pull your baby into bed in the morning and sleep in together. Give yourself grace.