Tell me how you cope with tiredness? Small kids

[littleraysofsunshine]

Please tell me how you cope?

I'm usually fine but when I get over tired. I tend to be snappy. I end up hating myself for it as I don't want to shout.

My children are 3.5,2,5m.

I fed dc3,for the third second time at 5:30, then two dds came in at 6:15 rustling toys, chattering and trying to wake us. I then took them downstairs and told them off for being noisy.

(((It's not their fault. I'm just super tired, agitated and not well from yesterday's migraines)))))

Dd2 has git this awful scream at the minute and started doing this so I start being pretty stern and saying stuff like "do not scream please, it's not a very nice noise" or just anything they are doing in not using a nice tone, in just jumping straight to the telling off shitty tone.

Not giving hugs.

I hate being like this. Sets us up for a shut day when in in turmoil about feeling like a shitty mother with no patience.

Can you tell I'm hormonal, moody, over tired.

Are you on your own?

Sorry. Just wondered cos no mention of a dh. It must be exhausting with 3 so close together. I normslly get dh to let me have a lie in at weekends to catch up on sleep a bit.

Oh bless you. I only had two kids but reading your post brought back the extraordinary tiredness that you go through in those early years. The effect of culmulative broken nights is exhausting.

Do they go to sleep early? I survived by going to bed at the same time, once or twice a week. Being asleep by 8 o'clock and fitting in a ten hour sleep is just heaven, and makes the next couple of days so much more manageable.

I am in awe, i have ds1 3yrs, ds2 4m and ds2 has decided one or two feeds at night is not enough and instead he would prefer a three hourly rota, ds1 is up bright and breezy at 6/6.30 and i feel exhausted! I agree with pp that a few early nights help, but i can totally emphasise i get very snappy when tired (and hungry) and poor ds1 is not getting the same level of entertainment that he once did!? I am trying to get ds2 napping better in the hope it would improve his night time sleep so i spend quite a bit of time sssshhing ds1 &2 for different reasons. On the plus side once ds2 is asleep ds1 and i play lovely games!

The early months especially can be so exhausting

My older dc were 3&5 when dc 3 came along. You need to take help offered to you by relatives and friends, as another poster said try going to bed early a couple of times a week!

My tips are:

• put to bed later in eve. Seems the opposite but if they go to bed at say 8/9pm then more likely to sleep in longer in morning, plus you are more likely to go to bed not long after. So get more sleep altogether.

• make rule that no one goes downstairs before 7.30am. If the older two wake before that try allowing them to look at books alone in their bed or they can play in their bedroom with quiet toys ( ie puzzle/ toy animals/ train set/ whatever they can do alone). No entertainment from you as encourages then to wake as fun.

• try night weaning 5 month old. By night wean I mean dream feed at 11pm, then any waking before say 5am try to settle without feeding. At 5 months they should be fine going 5 ish hours without a feed. Demand feed in the day so they have had plenty over 24 hrs

• Sunday breakfast in bed. Same rules as above, anything before 7.30am is treated as night so no entertainment from you but they can read/ play quietly in room if awake. Then they can all pile in your bed and have breakfast in bed with you and watch film on iPad. ( use Sunday as bed sheet changing day!) banana/ brioche don't make too much mess with bowl used. Means you can half rest as well/ feed baby/ and all still in bed until 9am ish

Use the TV for feeds like the evening ones to keep the older two occupied.

And go to bed super early.