How will I cope?

[Bittersweet12]

Hey girls.
Yet another silly worry to enter my head, but I'm just so worried about how I'm gonna cope when I have my new born.
I'm forever tired now and I'm 20 weeks, been taking naps in the afternoon, it comes to about 9pm and I'm falling asleep on the sofa! I've been going to bed at about 10pm and sleeping through until like 7:30 and IM STILL TIRED?
I just keep thinking how on earth am I going to cope with night feeds, when I'm struggling without a new born now??!!

Hi lovely

I suffered horrendously with tiredness when I was pregnant, especially towards the end, if I wasnt working I was eating or sleeping! My baby is a week old and I can say even with night feeds and broken sleep I get more sleep now and feel more awake now, dont worry you'll and adjust and be great!! Just remember tour growing a human in your body (like you could forget!) Which is very tiring xx

I'm 21 + 6 luvvy and I'm shattered too, I've gone from gym 2-3 times a week plus hiking with fiancé in between to having to build myself up to even hoover! I beat myself up at first but now I'm just going with it, rest when you need and don't feel guilty about monster naps, I slept from 4-6pm last night, I only lay on the bed to read! 🙄 when the baby's here it'll be totally different 😁

@Aimzxo that's so reassuring to know you felt the same! I just feel with how tired I am now how will I cope with less sleep then what I'm going to get, with a new born hopefully like you said I will adjust! Thank you for your reply!

@rainbow1982
Yeah I tend to beat myself up about it to! As I used to be so active before and now all I seem to do is eat and sleep! Hopefully be different when baby is here! Thanks for you reply and congrats on baby!

The tiredness you've experienced upto now is nothing compared to the tiredness you'll know (and survive!) once baby is here

PP is right though, you're tired now because your body is taking all your best resources to grow your baby and keep them healthy, so you just get whatever's left over (or at least that's how it feels!). I found pregnancy so physically draining that I was always exhausted, but the experience of having a newborn is tiring in a completely different way.

Yes, you'll have broken sleep to contend with, but newborns sleep an awful lot too, so if you have decent support in those first couple of weeks and can switch off to anything else that's going on around you, you can pretty much sleep when they sleep - day and night - if you need to. It gets a bit harder as they start to sleep less, but (if you have a baby like mine) still wake a lot at night, but the human body is amazing and just seems to find a way to adapt. I'm back working full time now and survive on far less sleep than I did pre-baby and feel completely fine most days. It tends to be the evenings when tiredness hits and I give up and go to bed at 8:30

You'll be fine!

Honestly, the first week is a struggle. I was shaking with tiredness and felt very very ill. For me what helped is having my mum stay for that week. Do you have anyone you can ask for extra support in the first week? After that time, I still felt tired, but I felt able to function. I didn't feel sick or shaky. And then after a little more time your body just adjusts to needing less sleep and you usually feel worse if you get lots of sleep!! But through it all, you just cope!

Congratulations! You have such an exciting time ahead.

For me personally, the tiredness of pregnancy, especially late pregnancy, was unquenchable. I was exhausted and slept all the time. But the tiredness of a lack of sleep feels different and more manageable.

My second pregnancy, I was knackered, looking after a 3 year old. But once he was born, even with a lack of sleep, I felt amazing, because that pregnancy exhaustion had lifted.

This is just my experience, nap whenever you can, rest, put your feet up - literally.

Exciting times ahead, the births of all 3 of my kids was amazing, but my firstborn was incredible, soak up every minute of it. I think not knowing the gender and guessing wrong was just lovely too. I've had two where I didn't know and one where I did and I'd always say to a mum to be, when asked, don't find out before hand, it made my births much more exciting. Yes, it's scary, tiring, life changing - but it's also absolutely wonderful. Sorry, I've just gone off down memory lane 😂

I'm worried too. I just feel soooo lazy. I want to be in my bed all the time.

I felt better two days post c section than I did while pregnant. A supportive partner helps.

@rottiemum88 yeah I'm hoping it's like a different kind of tired when you have a new born to the way I'm feeling now because nothing just seems to get rid of the tiredness! Well done to you for going back to work full time to I can imagine that being hard!

@MsChatterbox
My partner is taking the first 3-4 weeks off, so I'm hoping with his support we will manage through it! Sorry to hear you felt so bad! I'm a nightmare at feeling Sicky when I'm tired so hopefully I won't be to bad!

@Seahorseshoe
That's so lovely to hear your experience! We did actually find out we was having a baby girl, so we're both really excited! I just frantically worry over silly things, that's why I'm now worrying about sleep! But like most people have said it seems to be a different kind of tiered to the one you feel when your pregnant so hopefully I won't feel as bad as now!!

@Delbelleber
I know the feeling that's literally me! No amount of sleep seems to be even touch the tiredness haha! Hopefully we both feel better when baby is here!

@Tableclothing
Congrats on your baby! That's amazing you feel good so early after c section! Hopefully I feel better to! I've got a really supportive partner! So hopefully that will help to!

Pregnancy tiredness is on a whole other level lol I think I've read somewhere it's to do with the hormone relaxin, that gets your body loosened up ready for labour. Also your body is putting all that energy into growing a human!

I have a 3 year old, 6 month old and currently 6 weeks pregnant again! My little man hasn't slept a full night in 6 months, but that tiredness is nothing compared to my current exhaustion levels lol remember your carrying around a baby to, so when youve given birth your lighter and you can breathe better so overall feel more energetic x