How tired are you if you have young dc?

[pastaparadise]

Dc are just 5 and 3. I am always exhausted. Trying to work out whether it's due to
a) my age - 43 - and this is normal for an older mum
b) Possible peri menopause
c) having young dc. Dc2 has always been a crap sleeper. He did finally start sleeping through in the summer, but now back to waking x2 per night. We bedshare to make this easier, but my sleep is still very broken.

I get about 7 hours broken sleep per night, but some nights i fall asleep putting dc to bed so get as much as them, and am still knackered. Is this normal??

I’m definitely way thicker. Probably dropped at least 30-40 iq points.

I'm so exhausted that I fantasise about breaking both my legs for bed rest.

I have a 3 year old and I work full time but my tiredness isn't due to that - it's due to me being a crap sleeper. I always have been and it's just getting worse. I also always wake up needing to pee around 3am. I'm 35.

Mine are older 2 teens 1 pre teen and I'm more tired now than when they were very young (and they were all crap sleepers) I seem to live in the car, giving lifts and taxiing around. Emotionally they need a lot of time too. I'm not even 40 and could easily be in bed for 8pm every night 😭

"I often google "will I die from tiredness" and then feel a bit disappointed that the answer is "no", as I'd love the peace and quiet of just not BEING anymore. So yeah, pretty tired! 4 under 5 here."

@WillowySnicket Yep! This!

4 under 5 - exhausting.

I have 4, although 3 of them are secondary school age. The baby wakes up loads though (we co-sleep) and I also work most evenings and get home at 11pm. I don't recognise myself in the mirror since the youngest!

I have three children aged 7, 5 and 3. Exhausted doesn't begin to cover it. I am hopeful that it will get better as they get older.

My DD is 20mo and sleeps from 7-8 straight through so no night wakings (although I'm a shit sleeper and always have been so I'm awake loads of times) and I'm so tired that I nap during her nap three days a week. I manage to keep it together at work but the days I have off with her and weekends I find I'm just exhausted and all I can think about is going to sleep.

Mine are older now, but DS still doesn't sleep through and needs settling back to sleep. I think I'm used to the tiredness now. To be honest, I've just learned to function on it. One night last week I got 2 hours sleep and still did a decent day at work the next day.

I think that at 43, there's every likelihood the perimenopause and young kids are acting like an exhausting cocktail of fatigue. I really feel for you😞

Just a word of advice. Do not read the popular science book Why We Sleep. What this male academic says we need in terms of sleep and what I get as the parent of a child with special needs is a deeply depressing contrast. Although I got a certain satisfaction knowing I'd pretty much defied his prediction of near certain death and madness!

@BoogleMcGroogle why we sleep - brilliant book!

My dc turned 11 and 7 and I suddenly realised I wasn't perpetually exhausted. Dd1 also makes me coffee which helps

m0therofdragons Oh good, only 4 years to go!

I would go for d) all of them!
DD stopped sleeping through over a year ago when she turned 4. So that's been fun. Right now I'm not as tired as I have previously been since having her, but still tired.
I take supplements, exercise etc but nothing quite makes up for the lack of sleep.
My memory and concentration have been shot to shit since pregnancy and show no signs of returning.
I reckon I need about a solid month of sleep to catch up!