Postnatal depletion

[yawnzzz]

I am have a six month old and I am 41. Dd could be described as a high needs baby and sleep has never been good but things are slowly getting a little easier. I really thought by this stage I would be starting to feel a bit more normal and to be enjoying maternity leave but I feel permanently exhausted/frazzled with a weird feeling in my head. Is this just normal life as a parent?!!

6 months was definitely the worst time for us. Weaning while still doing everything else and sleep regression when she never slept well. We started cosleeping at this point

I found once you start getting more sleep it gets better - we've had bad patches off and on and it always seems much more enjoyable when I've had a decent stretch of sleep. Can you get a lie in over the weekend?

Ha yes food preparation just seems like a monumental task on top of everything else! We are cosleeping but I never feel well rested. We have had a few nights of more decent stretches (many weeks ago now) and it’s true I did suddenly feel a lot more human then. I guess I just have to hope this comes around again. I can get a lie in st the weekend but sometimes my brain just won’t switch off and let me sleep

Our toddler has never really slept well - people asking me "does she sleep through for you" made me have homicidal urges towards them .

I felt (and still sometimes feel) fuzzy headed, not capable of much concentration or deliberation etc.
My partner had tried to share the nights with me (doing the weekends and splitting holidays) and he said he started to worry about himself (memory etc) .. sleep deprivation is major.

They do sleep (illnesses and teething aside) for longer periods as they get older.

Andvyes, when you're getting woken up regularly through the night, it's hard to get back to sleep sometimes. If you get stressed, frustrated and annoyed by it (as you sometimes do) even harder.

6 months is not an easy age. It's much more difficult I think that the earlier days, except for the first few weeks which are such a shock. You may also want to look into if you have any nutritional deficiencies that might be causing you to feel so run down. I was anaemic after I had my first and I felt awful. My second is 15 months and I've been feeling terrible since he was about 8 months, to the point where it's difficult for me to even get up and go to work in the morning or do my usual activities without needing a rest. It turns out I have a vitamin D deficiency. The postnatal period can reek havoc on your body. It's emotionally hard, but there could also be physical reasons why you aren't feeling right and it's worth getting checked out if you think that could be the cause.

Thanks mindutopia I’ve been taking an iron supplement and have had a lie in this weekend so if I’m not feeling a little better this week I will see a dr