If I'd known how little sleep I'd be getting

[pfrench]

I don't think I'd have had children. I feel a bit of a failure for saying that, but at 3am this morning when I still hadn't been to sleep dealing with a 1 year old with a cough and cold, that thought just came to me.

I wonder how many relationships crumble due to lack of sleep caused by children? We've pretty much stopped communicating other than for the basics, because between child care overnight and work, we just don't have the energy for anything. Not exercising, not able to cook proper food - either don't have the time or just can't because we don't get a proper evening to do adult thing. Even when we do get evening time, it's spent on catching up with work.

Feeling pretty flipping miserable really. And it's all because I haven't had more than 3 hours sleep in a row for 18 months.

Any advice?

Roll on the teenage years!

Even if you have children who sleep (mine generally do) there are always bad nights when someone is unsettled or wide awake or ill. Then there's tantrums, coughs and nightmares. Why anyone has more than two dc I have no idea.

Mind you it helps if you are not working eg on maternity leave. Trying to hold down a responsible job and bring up a family is very hard.

Sleepless nights for rather different reasons when they're teens, sigh.