19 months and still soooo tired

My girls have been sleeping great for over a year now, but I'm exhausted! I work FT (which IMO is easier than taking care of them all day), I go to bed at 10 and get up at 6, and everything should be great -- but I am totally dragging.

I've never been a great sleeper, and my insomnia has gotten somewhat worse, but it's not THAT much worse. Is the sheer fact of having small children really that tiring? Please tell me I'm not the only one wishing I could go take a nap in my car.... :lazy:

 

I wish this everyday as I travel along the beltway. You are not alone. I have just decided it is a part of my life and accepted it. It is truly sad that I am never more excited as when I can get a nap.

 

Nope, me too. Some days it's not that bad, but most of the time, I just want to take a nap. I hardly ever "sleep through the night" myself even though the girls do. Occasionally, one of them will cry but go right back to sleep. Well, then I'm up for an hour. I used to be such a heavy sleeper, nothing woke me up. Now everything does, plus I have to pee 1-2 times a night. It's definitely nowhere near as bad as when they were newborns, though.
My hats are off big time to those of you that have toddlers plus a newborn. I really don't know how you are doing it.

 

I'm tired all the time.... my oldest is 5 and my twins are 2 and I sleep from 10pm to 6am but I'm still exhausted all the time. Like you, I also work full time but I'm certain I'd be this tired (if not more) if I was a SAHM as well. I've oftan thought of seeing my GP about it because you'd think I'd be OK by now. My kids sleep through the night and have for forever now!

 

I was talking to a new mom of twins the other day and she was complaining about how tired she is. She asked me when it gets better.....I laughed and said "I don't think it gets better, I think you just get used to it!"

 

My twins are 14 months and I work FT. One or the other is up nearly every other night for something - a cold, cough, teeth - you name it. Even if they're not up, I can hear them fussing at least once a night - each. We also have a 4yo who sleeps like a rock once we get her to bed. We used to be able to sleep in on weekends to catch up - ah the good old days.

By the time I get everyone in bed, clean up and get ready for tomorrow - I'm exhausted! You are so not alone.

I was so disappointed at 3 months and 4 months and 6 and 9 and even 12 when they were technically sleeping through. I thought the unbearable exhaustion would go away. It has, but I'm still so tired most of the time. I've given up on being well rested for the next ...oh for the rest of my life. B)

 

My girls are 2 and I am still exhausted. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get enough sleep.

 

Gosh, I've been attributing my sheer exhaustion to the fact that my boys are still NOT sleeping at night. But it sounds like even when they do I'll be this tired?!? Say it ain't so!

 

QUOTE(SweetpeaG @ Jun 26 2007, 08:24 PM) [snapback]307956[/snapback]
Gosh, I've been attributing my sheer exhaustion to the fact that my boys are still NOT sleeping at night. But it sounds like even when they do I'll be this tired?!? Say it ain't so!

No, it's definitely better when they sleep at night. (For me, at least.) Amy gave up her night bottle (finally!) at 13 months and it helped. I'm still tired, but slightly less tired than I was then.

I actually worried about posting this, because if I'd seen a post like this when my kids were younger and still waking at night, it would have made me so depressed! So, FWIW, I'm still glad they don't wake at night.

QUOTE(ohiomom)
I've oftan thought of seeing my GP about it because you'd think I'd be OK by now.

I actually did see my doctor -- she did a full blood workup just in case (and didn't find anything wrong), but she also said "When my kids were little [they're grown now] I checked my thyroid every 6 months because I kept hoping there'd be something wrong, and I could take a pill and fix it!" So I guess the good news there is that perhaps it gets better once they go off to college.

I think I'd feel better if it made sense. It's not like I'm working in a coal mine or something.

 

My girls are 16 months old and I feel the same way. I am usually in bed between 9:30 and 10pm and get up at 6am during the week. I work full-time, but agree that I think it would be more tiring being a SAHM. I think part of my problem is that I don't get to "catch up" on the weekends any more. We are always up by 7am even when we don't have to work and go to day care. I hardly ever get to take a nap. When they nap on the weekends, I have to try to catch up on things around the house. So, I think I will be exhausted until they learn to sleep later on the weekends

 

Seriously, I am exhausted! And my girls have been really & truly sleeping through, for real, 12+ hours with only extremely rare wakeups since they were 12 weeks old. And I work FT which I also think is SO much easier than staying home with them -- I may have difficult days at work, but I am not run ragged physically the same way I am when I'm with them all day. But I am still SO TIRED all the time!

For me I chalk it up to 1) getting little or no exercise; 2) not eating as healthfully as I did pre-kids; and 3) staying up later to get more "me" time in. And also NEVER getting to sleep in on the weekends. I used to be able to catch up more on the weekends and now that is totally out.

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Jun 26 2007, 01:38 PM) [snapback]307691[/snapback]
I've never been a great sleeper, and my insomnia has gotten somewhat worse, but it's not THAT much worse. Is the sheer fact of having small children really that tiring? Please tell me I'm not the only one wishing I could go take a nap in my car.... :lazy:


I too was a bad sleeper and had insomnia before kids and it got gradually but progressively worse afterward. Lots of people praised us for getting the boys on a consistent sleep routine, but I struggled to do the same for me.

One word of advice - Ambien CR. Seriously, talk to your OB or GP about managing the insomnia or whatever is triggering it.

You're not lazy - you're a mom!

 

I am a SAHM, and I am EXHAUSTED all the time. My boys are almost 20 months. Generally sleep through the night, (sometimes a little scream at 1-4 am from the one, but not that often.) When hubby was away, I would be in bed by 10pm every night, up at 8 when the boys got up. Now it is later at night and sometimes earlier in the morning depending on how well the boys sleep. Just even watching how much energy they have tires me out...lol

 

I work 4 days a week and I'm home with the girls Friday - Sunday and I am always tired! My girls sleep well, maybe once a week one of them will wake up.

I think that this pp said it best as to why this is....

"For me I chalk it up to 1) getting little or no exercise; 2) not eating as healthfully as I did pre-kids; and 3) staying up later to get more "me" time in. And also NEVER getting to sleep in on the weekends. I used to be able to catch up more on the weekends and now that is totally out."

 

Always tired here. I work 3 days/week, and usually have a nanny on the 2 days I am home. Even with an occasional nap, I'm still always exhausted. I attributed some of it to my daughter still nursing and co-sleeping over night, but I'm sure once that is done I'll still be tired. I always required a lot of sleep, so it's a little unfortunate that my kids don't sleep better. But they will in time hopefully.

 

There is a similar thread going on over in Parents Club. You might want to check it out. Obviously it could just be "mommy" tired. But, there are some medical conditions that can contribute or even cause fatigue. One of the most common problems is something that many doctors overlook - sleep apnea. If you jump over to the thread in Parents Club you can see what I said about it. Sorry, I don't know how to put a link to another topic.

Like I said, it may just be common insomnia, but if you think it is something more, I would insist on more than blood work. That is all the doctors ever did for me (well, that and put me on antidepressants) until I insisted on seeing a sleep specialist.

ETS: The thread is called something like: How can you tell "just tired" from "something wrong"

 

QUOTE(BettiePage @ Jun 26 2007, 08:59 PM) [snapback]308027[/snapback]
For me I chalk it up to 1) getting little or no exercise; 2) not eating as healthfully as I did pre-kids; and 3) staying up later to get more "me" time in. And also NEVER getting to sleep in on the weekends.

I'm pretty good about eating and going to bed early, and I never slept in much on the weekends anyway (I'm just a morning person), but I think you are dead on about the exercise. If I get a 30-minute walk at lunchtime, I consider that "exercise," but it is nothing like what I used to do -- biking to work and going to the gym and doing yoga and... So, I'm going to make this my new #1 priority (to compete with all my OTHER #1 priorities... ).

QUOTE(DCMom @ Jun 26 2007, 09:06 PM) [snapback]308039[/snapback]
One word of advice - Ambien CR. Seriously, talk to your OB or GP about managing the insomnia or whatever is triggering it.

I actually have a prescription for this (got it from my OB when I was 2 weeks postpartum!). I try not to use it too much though, because then I start feeling discouraged about ever being able to sleep without it. I take a half (a whole pill makes me too groggy) every couple of weeks if I really need to catch up.

Stacy, thanks for the hint about sleep apnea. I did read that other post and my gut feeling is that I probably don't have it -- I'm tired a lot, but not paralyzingly tired, and not all the time. But I'm on the wait list to see a sleep doctor (he's booked up for the next 2 months! ) and will ask about that. My dad does have it -- is there a genetic component?

Hang in there, all you exhausted mommies!

 

your deffinetly not alone... i am a single mom of 3 babies under 2.5
i
get up at 530 at wk by 6 off at 2 entertain until 6 then dinner teeth bath bed..
im exausted

i feel for you..

hope fully your not doing it alone

take a sleeing pill.. it helps

 

your deffinetly not alone... i am a single mom of 3 babies under 2.5
i
get up at 530 at wk by 6 off at 2 entertain until 6 then dinner teeth bath bed..
im exausted

i feel for you..

hope fully your not doing it alone

take a sleeing pill.. it helps

 

i ran into a woman at the bagel store and she had 4 year old BB twins. we started talking and she asked me if i was still tired, fatigued, etc.. i told her "duh"!!! she told me that she went to her gyno because she felt the same and really couldn't explain the tiredness (other than the obvious). they ran blood work on her and found her to have really low iron. they stared her on a heavy iron supp. and in about 2 months she started feeling much better. she brought this info to her twin group and many of the women had bloodwork done as well. she said that 5 of the other women had low iron also and began taking a suppliment. one of the women was so iron deprived that they gave her a IUD (birthcontrol) to help-i guess it releases iron) i thought that it was interesting!