Coping with tiredness - anyone got any top tips?

[pollywollywoowah]

How do you cope with long term sleep deprivation?

DD is generally awake 2-3 times in the night requiring 10/15mins settling and then often up for the day before 5am . She is 21mths.

I am literally on my knees with tiredness. I work part time; two evenings with 10pm finish and all day at the weekend and I mostly feel as if I'm on another planet. I make mistakes, can't think properly and take ages to do my work. On the days I don't work I cope better but am snappy and shouty with DD and DS and have no energy to be a nice mummy

Does anyone have a magic wand any tips on how to survive? I have tried Pro plus, Red Bull etc but although they do help I find they give me the shakes and then keep me awake the following night

I'm very very tired with a 10 month DS who has yet to go through. I haven't gone back to work yet and am Scared!!!
At the moment I cope by drinking ovaltine, go to bed early every now and then (eat dinner at 7.30pm then bed) and make sure I don't eat too much crap. So massive bowl of porridge for dinner, big pasta/rice dish for lunch and big dinner. DH also does a lot. We also got a cleaner!

Try and cut out the caffeine totally - I have LOTS more energy when I drink very little caffeine. I drink very weak black tea or rooibos tea. When I was working away a lot I'd live on pro plus and red bull and it had a nasty effect on me - it took a year for the shakes to finally go long term.

Try and make sure your iron levels are OK as this can make a big difference - I take Spatone (can get it from boots and tesco) once or twice a week, and find it makes a big difference.

Iggly - you may find you have more energy if you actually cut down on the carbs you eat. I find (although this is just me, and I know other people react differently to carbs) that the more carbs I eat (especially bread and pasta) the more lethargic I am. I also find moderate exercise (I do the 30 day shred DVD every other day) keeps my energy levels up too.

Obviously none of this helps your DD sleep Polly - have you got blackout blinds in her bedroom? They might help with the early mornings (not that it helps my DD who wakes at 5:30 on the dot every morning ).

I do remember DS going through a phase of waking several times a night when he was the same age as your DD. It was a phase, and he went back to sleeping through by the time he was 2.

Good luck!

polly

I honestly think that your DD could be sleeping better than this. as I said to DP about my son (who has been awful recently)- who is the boss here, you or a 2 year old!

I'd try some of the following

tough love/controlled crying (not for all), but it does work eventually
blackout blinds
up the excercise level and cut daytime naps

and for you, some ear plugs!!!

good luck

naetha I can't survive without big carb meals - might be because I'm BF so really need the energy. If I don't eat enough I notice it and struggle. I might try spatone though - I have some from when I gave birth and it really helped.

You can still eat decent meals Igglybuff, just replace some of the carbs with protein. You'll probably find it hard work for a couple of days then most likely you'll find yourself with lots more energy and no cake/starch/sugar cravings. I BF'd to 6 months, and was low carbing from 6 weeks with no problems. Like I said though, the first couple of days can be a bit tough, but if you push through that it gets much much easier. If it doesn't work, you can always go back to normal

Carbs give you easily available energy, but because it's fairly quick release, you get a "high" and then you tend to crash as your blood sugar drops - i.e. you feel tired and you crave carbs again. Low GI food / more complex carbs (like wholemeal bread, pasta, All Bran etc) takes longer to digest, so is more stable long term.

Sorry for the hijack!

Thanks naetha I do crave things like biscuits and cakes . I'll try it and see how I fare. It's got to be worth a try!

Oh on the early wakings - DS did this for a while but we refused to let him get up until 6 (either by resettling, letting him sleep on us, feeding etc) and now he gets up at 6.15 again. I made sure I kept his bedtime early (6.30pm) as a later bedtime didn't help. I also got strict on naps!

I swear by berrocca, and second the motion about caffine. just one strong coffee on a morning to get you going, then none for the rest of the day. It'll kill you for a week and the headaches will be rotten, but you'll feel loads better. Berrocca will take approx 2 weeks for you to feel anything, but it perks me up. Excercise too. Sorry for typos, chewy 8 week old over my shoulder and eating tea x

Second Berroca and the no caffeine after lunch.

Thanks for the replies.

I only have one cup of tea a day, first thing in the morning but do tend to live on carbs. Will have to try cutting down on them by the looks of it! I tend to struggle with quick and easy lunches for me and DD though that isn't a sandwich or something on toast.

Will also have a look at Berroca and Spatone. Exercise sounds less appealing though

As for DD's sleep habits, that's a whole different thread! She's always been a poor sleeper but I'm sure this really awful phase will soon pass . .

Hey Polly, hope you start getting a bit more sleep soon. I know if I've had poor sleep (which with an 8 week old - I do at the moment!!) my immune system starts playing up and I get cold sores, sore throats.... Some days the thing I feel least like doing is going for a swim, but I force myself, and I really do feel a whole lot better afterwards x

I find porridge good too - big bowl first thing in the morning & again before bedtime.

Interesting about the carbs thing though as I live off toast for lunch/snacks, although I do have wholemeal everything.

Before I was pg with DS I had chronic fatigue for several months and it was due to low iron levels (not anaemic, just on the low side of normal). The GP said to take iron tablets or a general supplement with iron in (I took Pregnacare). It transformed my life.

I make up lots of pots of prepared fruit (eg grapes) and vegetable sticks or pieces of cheese a couple of times a week so there is generally something healthy to eat when I'm feeling rough. Packets of oatcakes are good too. I have to eat little and often. Drinking lots of water helps.

Any cooking I do is in bulk quantities - I freeze most in family-sized portions so I don't have to cook so often - it's one less thing to do on evening when I could be going to bed early. Housework is a rare event. Iggly, I'm of your cleaner.

Walks with a pushchair count as exercise!

However, my DS is only 7 months, which I'm not sure counts as 'long term' and I'm not at work either at the moment.

My DS (16mo) is a rubbish sleeper and I have to work full time, so it's a bit of a killer sometimes, especially as I seem to have a bit of insomnia too.

I find that getting outside for a walk in the fresh air or a visit to the park after work really helps.

Also going to bed early helps, though I don't do this enough because I want to relax a bit after DS is in bed.

I feel your pain! It's rubbish, isn't it!

Watching thread for some more tips...

I go to bed at 9pm every night which I HATE as by the time the DCs are in bed and I've done whatever jobs need doing (ie real basic stuff) it's usually gone 8pm so I have no time really for DH or just relaxing. But if I stay up "late" ie 10pm I really can't cope the next day.

Last night was slightly better. She slept through until 4.30am, said "mummy" a few times then went back off until 5am when we got up.

Right so I will try and get a bit more exercise even if it is just walking. Meant to look in Boots today at Spatone etc but forgot. Also work on cutting out carbs and try having porridge for breakfast - does Ready Brek count? As that is what DD has anyway.

haha. I know what you mean about going to bed early. I know I should, but I just want some time for me! Think I went to bed earlier before I had kids and was permanently shattered!!

bet you wanted to slap them!