Constant Exhaustion - does it stop?

[PamBeesly]

I'm finding it extremely difficult to cope with the constant exahaustion I don't know how mothers with other DC's can do it, I'm constantly drained and I find it so hard to wake up in the morning. Does anyone else (or everyone) have this too? It been constant for a week now and I just feel like crying (but have no energy) It really has overtaken the nausea as the worst. Any ladies who have been pregnant before do you know if this abates after a while? I'm 9+4
TIA

[Moulesfrites]

Yes, it will get better. For the first few months I was so tired, I fell asleep as soon as I got in from work, dh woke me up for my dinner, then I fell asleep again. By 13/14 weeks I was feeling human again. It will pass, your body is growing a whole new person in a v short space of time. Get as much rest as you can. I would also mention it to your midwife or gp as anaemia is common in pregnancy and can cause tiredness.

Now I have a 6 mo and am tired for a different reason, but it still isn't as bone achingly tiring as the first trimester of pregnancy. I don't know how I will get through it again if I have another dc but will cross that bridge when we come to it!

[pozzled]

Yes, it will pass, but you may have a few more weeks of it unfortunately. For me it was over by about 16 weeks and by the last trimester I had loads of energy. DD2 is now 6 weeks and I can honestly say I am not as tired now as I was in the first trimester!

[Velvetunderground]

I would tell your mw as you might be anaemic, they can at least rule it out.

IMO i would say just get use to it, a newborn needs to feed every 3/4 hours round the clock and could take upto an hours each feed. That leaves you with 2 hours to in which to eat, drink, change the nappy and wind the baby.

If you are breastfeeding it can be every 2 hour feeding. If you are expressing, breastfeeding and toping up with ff, it will take longer and i think i worked it out as 8 hours in every 24 to eat,sleep,drink and get dressed/showered. Add in a toddler, the school run, cooking meals for family, housework and childrens after school activies and it does not leave you with much time to sleep.

Luckly the baby will grow up and it will get easier but the sleep depravtion is accumative, so get as much sleep now as you can.

With my first i got sleep insomina in the last trimester

Good luck

ps sorry for spelling mistakes i'm dyslexic.

[zosie24]

I really feel for you! I was exhausted until about 12 weeks, and struggled with nausea/travel sickness/morning sickness on commutes to work until about 20 weeks. It's also rubbish because I'm guessing you haven't started telling people yet.

It does get better! Make sure you rest when you can, drink lots, and mention it to your MN incase it is anaemia. I'm now 32 weeks and full of beans

Good Luck.

[PamBeesly]

Thanks so much everyone, reassuring that the 'bone aching tiredness' (excellent description Moulesfrites) does pass and give way for a whole new different tiredness. Good luck to everyone.
I will mention it to my mw I have my first appointment on the 17th of Aug

[feekerry]

no words of wisdom pambeessly but just wanted to let you know i'm suffering pretty badly with exhaustion. it literally is mind numbing tiredness. cant wait till it goes.

[PamBeesly]

Good luck with it feekerry hope it goes soon and you feel bright and (human) again

[Bumpsadaisie]

Pam

Its actually harder with your first as you havent been through it before and so you don't know that it does come to an end. It does, promise! It really isn't going to be like this for 9 months.

At 12 weeks you'll have your scan and that makes a big difference. You may start to turn a corner then too with the tiredness/nausea.

By 14/15 weeks you should be feeling much better. As Moules said, the third trimester is knackering too as you don't get much sleep and have difficulty getting comfy, but its a different sort of exhaustion to the first trimester which is just miserable. I would rather do two third trimesters and labours if it meant I could miss out the first which I find dreadful!

Having other DCs takes your mind off it too - you've no option but to carry on and actually this makes the time go quicker. My second pregnancy has been much better all round than with DD even though the first 14 weeks were pretty grim.

Just go with it, rest, do whatever you need to get by. You'll be feeling better soon. You may even feel brilliant in the second trimester! Its a gradual thing, you'll gradually find that you haven't felt quite as grim, and then one day you'll realise that actually you feel pretty good!

Have you tried Spatone iron water in a glass of orange juice? Available from boots and much easier on the system than iron tabs.

[susiesheep2]

I really felt very tired with previous pregnancies, reduced to tears on many occasions just because I was sooooo tired

With this PG one of my bigest cravings has been for leafy veg, spinage, rocket, etc and nuts and dried fruit, you name it, its with every meal / in every meal - (all high in iron) and i have not suffered all all with tiredness, not even now, 39 weeks with little un's to run round after and still working as self employed now. So something is different and thats all I can put it down to....

Could be a coincidence though, but they do have lots of iron in, and I always think its better to eat the food than take the supplement if you can... but at 9 weeks though I doubt you will feel like eating anything much...

[PamBeesly]

Bumpsandaisie thanks for your reply. It is the first time I've ever been pregnant and I thought the nausea was the worst...I was wrong. Your points are so right on, just go with it and rest (luckily I can because me and DH run a shop and he can go in on his own on the quiet days)
I am taking Pregnacare, they have 121% of your RDA of iron I asked my GP about iron when I went for the confirmation appointment at 5 weeks and she said don't take iron at this stage, I don't know why. I used to love eating meat, beef and chicken, but since week 5 I can't bear to look at it, I'm sure that is having a big impact on my iron/energy levels but just thinking of it makes me heave :(
I'll just rest now and thank you so much for your reply.

[PamBeesly]

Thanks susiesheep2 I love dried fruit and rocket I will try to incorporate these into my diet because I'm not able to eat the meat (and I used to love steak/mince/chicken)
I have been reduced to tears because I was just so tired I can't think straight, thats why I posted, thanks for your reply and good luck with your baby, so close how exciting for you :)

[H007]

I'm sorry to say that I am just shy of 24 weeks and am still so knackered that I struggle to get through the day I have given up on the hope that it will get better now

[PamBeesly]

I'm so sorry for you H007 (and scared that will be me too) can you take iron at this stage or does it not have an affect? I hope it lets up for you

[moregranny]

I have been exhausted ever since my DD was born........31 years ago, it did stop briefly then she had a baby herself 5 weeks ago and now I am feeling knackered once again ! Its all worth it though :)

[PamBeesly]

aww moregranny congratulations!

[nickelbabe]

i was 14 weeks before the exhaustion passed - then i went through a few weeks of having more energy than i could deal with!
it's evened out a bit now (22+ 4)

I got some pregnancy vitamin tablets - they've got folic acid in too, and you take one a day (it means you don't have vitamin A which can cause problems in preg - check the box to make sure they're aimed at pg women.)

[H007]

pambeesly Iron levels are fine so it's not that... Naps are the way forward though. Moregranny Love that haha

[nickelbabe]

okay, i sdmit, i didn't read everything before I posted.
pregnacare is good :)

i spent a lot of time on the floor in my shop - just because I needed to sleep, and it was the only thing I could do.
and i wanted to cry from exhaustion too. :(

[PamBeesly]

nickelbabe I had to sleep on the floor of my shop yesterday, behind the counter. I thought that was a new low, not just me then. I made a 'bed' out of old cardboard boxes, very comfortable and warm too.

[LDNmummy]

Hey Pam (love your name BTW), this has been a major problem for me throughout my pregnancy.

It has been my most awful side effect, even worse than morning sickness. Unfortunately it has never fully gone away, but it does have periods where it eases up and I get my energy back.

As someone said earlier, you may be anemic so might be good to get that checked. I found out I was anemic around 20 weeks and taking iron supplements has really helped.

Hope you feel better soon, after the first trimester it got somewhat better for me.

[PamBeesly]

Thanks LDNmummy I have everything crossed that the 2nd trimester will be the joyful experience that so many say....although I am not holding out hope, so many women have had a miserable time the whole way through, and I asked my mother what her pregnancy with me was like and she said she was sick and exhausted for the entire 9 months. I wonder if that is a genetic thing or might I be lucky. I will certainly mention the exhaustion to the mw at my appointment and see if they check my iron levels.

[nickelbabe]

ah, now, I have an advantage over you there!

although, in the first trimester, I just lay down (behind the till) with a cushion under my head , I felt really crap last Friday - must have been trapped wind, but it was blardy painful, so I got all the cushions from the reading room upstairs (kids' bookshop - I've got millions of cushions for kids to sit on when we read storiesto them!), and piled them up on the step behind the desk, and made myself a little cushion den

[PamBeesly]

Your shop sounds much more comfortable nickelbabe, and your dc will have lots of books to read, his/her own library!

[nickelbabe]

that's true.
it occured to me the other day that I hadn't actually made any "plans" in my mind to read to the baby.
Then obviously, once I'd realised this, I pretended that I had thought of it all along, and then mock-chastised anyone who suggested that I should read to it (GP's surgery video about reading to your baby)

[PamBeesly]

nickelbabe I just checked out the pictures from your shop, it looks lovely. So cosy to take a nap in....