Are parents just absolutely exhausted all the time?

[Englishrose223]

Might be a stupid question but when I look after my neices (6 and 3) I literally feel like a bus has hit me.

Yes. It’s never ending.

DS13, DD11, DSD10 and DD11m.

I'll be trying some of those Lamberts Multivitamins.

Yes. Both kids like Duracell bunnies for years. Eldest calmed down now and likes doing his own thing, youngest has ASD and still going. I’m permanently knackered 😭

Yes, and I only have one DS (almost 3yo) who sleeps through the night.

Kids aren't hugely complicated but there are a LOT of uncomplicated tasks... Throw in some disturbed sleep and it all adds up.

Yes. It’s truly the hardest endurance sport there is. Fuck triathlons.

4 and 17 months. I run on coffee a lot. Sometimes it doesn't even work. And I walk around wondering if it's bed time yet

Yes constantly. Made worse by no other childcare. Grandparents busy with their own lives. It's very tiring.

Yes, yes and yes again. And when they are teenagers, the mental exhaustion.
And constant worry

Yes 1yo and 4yo and I’m exhausted all the time, I constantly look around in amazement at others who appear to be functioning/ not tired.

I’m a parent and a teacher, so spend most of my waking moments with children. I’m not sure what it’s like to not be exhausted, to be honest.

Yes. Relentless. That’s the only word.

I was...however got 7 year old and life has settled but know what ahead...teenager years are awful...not from the teenager but the other bits it's exhausting mentally ..tbh it's hell from what I hear..think I'm in the between stage where life is ok and you getting sleep and not tried but in a year or so we going to head back into exhaustion...saying that I rarely get back 9.30 before I'm in bed...

Tbh no, I wasn't. When they were tiny babies, yes. After that, no. Mine were both good sleepers, which obviously helps a lot.

I have a 20 month old and no I’m mostly not tired. She’s a great sleeper though

This rang so true to me. I caught sight of my hunchback the other day and have been forcing myself to sit up straight today - it's a massive effort though and I feel so strange doing it, like a bit of a dick.

This thread isn't giving me much hope that the tiredness better!

Yes. And I’m so exhausted I accidentally clicked Yabu instead of Yanbu.

I just want to add that I was scared to death of becoming a mother based upon everyone telling me how inconceivably hard babies are and how knackered I would be. I wish I hadn’t hyped it up so much in my mind. It was fine and I wasted a lot of mental energy on it

I feel the same. Older than you though. But then most people do find it knackering, regardless of age. So who knows!

I can't remember a day in the last 7 years since my DD was born that I haven't felt tired, both physically and mentally. I've raised her pretty much alone for the majority of her life & it's definitely taken it's toll.

Would I change it? Absolutely effing not.

If you only have one, it's not so bad. The first years are exhausting. But once they get to school age it becomes massively easier.

Although I can't comment on the teenage years yet.

Not me. Have a 6yo and 2yo. I tended to sleep about 5 hours a night pre-dc, so I never felt sleep-deprived unless they were going through an hourly waking phase, which was always brief. I'm a sahm so don't have to juggle work on top, and I use a lot of holiday camps and drop-off activities for my eldest so mostly deal with just the toddler, who also goes to loads of classes so I'm not thinking up ways to entertain her.

Yes - and quite often unwell, like sore head, sluggish etc

If DW and I have a weekend away, we always try and leave Friday afternoon and come back Monday afternoon, because honestly most of the weekend is spent sleeping

Yes. 3 and 1 here. I slept for an hour last night and have been running on caffeine.