Tell me you're exhausted without telling me you're exhausted

[ANightingaleSang]

I went to make coffee and scrambled eggs on toast after my morning run. I put two teaspoons of coffee onto my toast.

Single mum, DD is 7 months today. The longest (and only time) I have been away from her is 27 minutes whilst she was with her grandad.

The exhaustion hit last night. I was walking back from the library and everything was blurry. It seems like everything is happening at once. In the last 2 weeks she has gone from crawling, to standing, to cruising around the furniture. I love her enthusiasm but she has zero ability to self save, so if she sees something she wants she lunges at it, or if she gets tired will let go and fall backwards. I cannot take my eyes off her for a second. We've also regressed on the sleep front so waking up a couple of times in the night for feeds. She's in the middle of a growth spurt. So much energy and wants to play all the time, which I love but, bloody hell... I get a break on Fridays when she goes to baby group: the two ladies who run it have so much energy that I just can't give her. Weaning is a whole new thing, it's messy and lots more work. Bath times aren't relaxing any more as she is more interested in escaping. She also figured out how to undo her nappy (messy) so we are in pull ups already. I'm spending at least 2 hours throughout the day holding her hands so she can walk around the flat. Apart from baby stuff I'm also trying to keep on top of the cleaning (finally got the bathroom done yesterday but a 50 minute deep clean took all morning because I kept having to go back to my DD who decided that she didn't feel like a nap).

I absolutely love being a mum. I think I've had it pretty easy up to now, but at 6 months people stop asking if you're ok and instead start inquiring when you will be going back to work. Has anyone else found that?

If you got this far. Thanks. I feel a lot better for unloading. 😊

I’ve just been tidying the kitchen. I had a full tub of butter in one hand and a used knife in the other.
Guess which one I threw into the sink full of hot, soapy water? 🤦‍♀️

I left a message with our GP for a repeat prescription. You have to leave some personal details on the voicemail. It’s normal - I’ve done it many times before. However, I struggled to remember my year of birth and got my phone number wrong the first time.

Introduced my son as Mike.

Mike is my cat.

Ime between 6 months to two years it ramps up as you need to be mentally present as well as physically vigilant and they don't really understand what you're saying half the time.

You have to try and pace yourself and grab time for yourself whenever you can. Usually this will be in short bursts. Work out what best recharges you (it's not always sleep) and do that whenever possible. If it's something that is genuinely restorative you won't feel so cheated when you have to get back to it.

It's good you're getting out for a run - who's watching her then? Could they watch her at other times? That would help. Also look out for any drop & leave crèche type places near you, even if you have to pay a little.

While looking in a catalogue from the bathroom fitter last night, I 'clicked' on an image by tapping it with my finger to 'open ' more information 🤦‍♀️
I did not only do this once

@HearTheMessenger Thank you for the kind words. DD comes for a run with me (in the pushchair). I spend most of the run singing nursery rhymes and reciting stories so even then I can't fully switch off. She is happy though :)

@Seventimesaday Noice! That won't be fun to clean up. I think you should probably put the knife down ;)

@PubicZirconia This made me laugh. Thank you for sharing!

Showed up somewhere with totally different earrings in each ear last week FWIW, OP, that sounds like a lot, and it sounds like you're doing phenomenally well in the circumstances. Things are so hard when you're bone tired with no let up

I do hope that your son isn't called something like 'Mr. Snuggles'

@octoberfarm Thank you! I don't know how people manage with more than one. I've been wearing completely odd socks to baby groups where you have to take your shoes off. I figured Odd is better than Holey. Earrings may be harder to explain away though.

On particularly early mornings, I still go to the drawer where I keep baby clothes that I haven't got round to putting away, to find pants for my son. He's 16.

Brace yourself for the long haul exhaustion, OP! (Oh, and the joy too 😄)

I'm impressed you're wearing jewellery! I stopped bothering with that and make-up a while ago.

Son is 8mo and very mobile.

I can see why people start going to church.

Opened the fridge at work to put my laptop away after taking minutes.

I called my cat by my DH's name.

I've thought I was replying to someone....but my lips weren't moving and I wasn't making a sound. I was too tired to enunciate the words going through my mind.

On a different note:

so if she sees something she wants she lunges at it, or if she gets tired will let go and fall backwards. I cannot take my eyes off her for a second. - let her fall! This is how she will learn. Move the coffee table away, put those spongey corners on the dining table and any other sharp corners and let her roam. She will fall and cry and do it all over again. You can't spend your life catching her falls (this goes for her entire life!).

We've also regressed on the sleep front so waking up a couple of times in the night for feeds. She's in the middle of a growth spurt. - this goes hand in hand with learning to walk. It's a huge developmental leap. If she slept well before, she will sleep well again. And this is the time to get strict with naptimes, mealtimes, bedtimes. You need order in your own life and she's going to have to adapt to you.

I'm spending at least 2 hours throughout the day holding her hands so she can walk around the flat. - don't!! Let her figure it out. It will kill your back. Every human learns to walk eventually. Save yourself! Cruising to around 3.5yo is the most physically demanding period, I think, so pace yourself!

Took the cat to the vet wearing my slippers. Then went to the shops in them the day after. To be fair, they are very comfy and quite "Ugg like"! And it's not only tiredness, just getting older!

When DS2 was maybe 5 days old I took him in the pram to pick up DS1 from nursery. All the mums crowded round for a look and one asked me what I’d called him
Me… ‘Emmmmm..🤷‍♀️
I did remember but only after I’d stared at her for a few uncomfortable seconds. I think they understood newborn=zero sleep!

Went to warm something up in the microwave, forgot to put said item in microwave,switched it on. Now broken the microwave 😞

Pointed the television remote at the light switch to turn the light off. Clicked it several times before I realised.
1yr old and 3yr old, always tired ! 🥱

Agree with this - my son crawled and pulled to stand at the same age.

He spent the next four months plopping back on to his bum and cruising. He was still the first of his baby group to walk, but I wasn't in a rush to help him get there faster!

@ANightingaleSang your stories are very relatable.

I'm not sure if it is helpful but my best investment so far was a thick memory foam oversized playmat I have put in the living room and put a playpen in so my baby is contained. It's just nice to be able to offload when you need to do a few quick jobs or go to the bathroom knowing your child is safe when they are that mobile. My child fell off the couch and I don't feel too worried since it's super soft.

With weaning, I find the baby led weaning approach if i follow it fully, is detrimental to my mental health. It's messy, the baby doesn't eat most of it and throws food sometimes after one bite at the dog. That's after spending all my effort making healthy food from scratch. So I just do one meal a day that is baby led weaning style when I have time to sort out the aftermaths
The rest I spoon feed or let my child try things from my hands if I'm snacking on fruit/toast. If you are exhausted I recommend letting your child have some easy food to learn eating with - like toast, crumpets, fruit sticks, rice husks you buy etc. that you won't feel as if your efforts are gone to waste if they throw it around. Save the good stuff for when you spoon feed.

I’ve lost all nouns.

Couldn’t recall when I’ve booked the appointment with the nurse to discuss brain fog and other peri symptoms. Realised I have booked it in Outlook on my work laptop instead of my family diary. And I’ve I’ve booked it in the global procurement team calendar - luckily spotted it before it sent a diary reminder to everyone!

I spend most of the run singing nursery rhymes and reciting stories so even then I can't fully switch off. She is happy though :)

Don't feel you have to be on all the time. Parenting is a marathon and you are not applying for a job, so relax a little.

I went to work with my uniform inside out.

I put Bisto gravy granules in the fridge … 🫣