Top tips for dealing with sleep deprivation!

[findingherfeet]

Desperately needed please!

I'm surviving on coffee/sugar/wine pick-me-ups and over a year in, it isn't doing me or my waist line any favours..

My foggy mind gets to thinking I must drink more water...then I get too tired to think anymore and have a coffee!!

Sleep when baby sleeps isn't an option as have an older child.

I haven't got any one to help out regularly either.

I gave up chocolate and sweets for lent, I don't drink coffee, tea or wine so these two things were what got me through the day (hence the user name)...... Why did I give both up?!? Anyway, a month and a half down the line I've almost done it. I find vetting outside and keeping busy all the time works. If I sit down then the exhaustion hits me as I realise just how tired I am, I find it helps having an older one as they keep you on your toes. I'm also a year of sleep deprivation down the line, but it is slowly getting better. Keep going!

I'm three years in and understand your pain.

I have no good really but I have aged ten years in the next three. I look a lot like death and I can be quite miserable.

I drink energy drinks and I get an early night where I can. I put off unnecessary things and I delegate.

People have told me exercise, a healthy diet and aloe Vera gel will help. They don't.

Good luck... You'll need it!

Go to bed as soon as your children are asleep

Cosleep with the trickiest if it suits you, or set up a mattress by the cot so you can doze while holding the hand to sleep if you do that

Get some exercise, even just a 15 minute dance in the house or exercise DVD

Can we help at all with the actual sleep issues?

Cross post about exercise! I find it helps temporarily.

Yes temporarily it does. I can only fit in exercise at 8.30-10.00. This is not the time of day I want to be awake.

Haha thank you all, at least I am not alone! I agree sitting down the tiredness hits me like a bus! I do a lot of walking, pushing buggy plus child on buggy board but nothing else. (If my DS would give me a break of an evening I could do a class but he's not reliable - to say the least!)

I wish you could help rogan, I've kind of accepted this is how it is but, our days are like this in case you have any ideas (that don't involve screaming....I'm too tired for more screaming and my neighbours hate me as it is...)

DS is 12 months, wakes between 6.30 and 7am.

Eats huge breakfast and good lunch, one of two snacks and then a bit fussy over dinner but will eat a bit. Milk has always been difficult, poss silent reflux meant lots of coughing/spluttering and screaming during milk feeds, drinking small amounts - gaviscon ineffective and health advice has been he'll grow out of it, therefore stopped bottles recently completely. DS will have a bit of milk out of a sippy but prefers water.

Naps well in cot, maybe too well? 1 1/2 hours in morning and between 30 mins and an hour in the afternoon. Will dooze if desperate in buggy or car but we tend to stay in for morning nap at least.

Temperament - he's a screamer, wants to be held a lot of the time, desperately sad about separation.

Goes to sleep easily, very rarely cries (with dummy though) chats in cot in dark room for a bit.

Sometimes he'll surprise us and sleep a decent stretch but generally he wakes up after 2 or 3 hours, can be very hard to settle and he cries.a.lot. Loves to be held but doesn't easily go back to sleep with me or not. Try a mix of dummy/water/Calpol/cuddles.

I often end up co-sleeping but more so because I'm too tried to get up and down, not because he necessarily sleeps any longer, can wake half hour some nights but tends to be every 2 hours.

Teething and ear infections have of course caused him distress but he just doesn't seem to sleep deeply and is disturbed so easily. I don't actually understand why he wakes but when he does, he's very obviously in need of something...