how do you handle fatigue

[malakoa]

i'm not a great sleeper and i think something is going on with Small to make her wake up a lot.

She's trying to crawl, walk and teeth all at once.

So, how do you handle your own fatigue? I'm a grouch these days.

[findingjoy]

I hear you on the fatigue thing! It has been so much worse for me with my second. Neither one of us are very good sleepers. I get very grouchy too. With my first I would nap when he napped. I don't know if that is an option for you. When he became a toddler I would also lay down on the floor for 15-30 minutes in the afternoon next to him while he played. I didn't go to sleep, but just resting for a little while helped tremendously. My dh helped a lot just by coming home in the evenings and giving me a brief break.

With my second I find it difficult to nap because my first does not nap anymore. They also have different sleeping schedules. One goes to bed late and one gets up early. :sad2 I just try to take it real easy on days when I am tired so I am not adding more stress to my life. I'm trying to realize I am tired and just not let things get to me. I'm still learning to deal with it though. :hug

[godsgracegiven]

:hugheart I be honest :cup bad I know, when possible dh will let me take a nap. We make a deal sometimes, he naps one day I nap the next. Although I don't like asking him much cause he works long hours. Somedays, I just take the day slower, like today the kids and I watched movies and tried to relax. :hugheart

[Joesmomma]

I nap when he naps. I am 32 wk pg and get tired easy and am getting up at night with ds 1-2 times, and he wakes at 630, so I need the naps. I dont drink caffeine often, maybe once every 2 months. I don't know what I'll do when #2 gets here.
THerese

[greenemama]

:cup :cup :cup

and then

:cup :cup :cup

terrible! and it's not advice! :)

it's really hard with your first baby to deal with feeling exhausted. when henry was a baby i went to bed earlier and took one nap at least every other day with him. my dh would tell me to leave the mess of the house and sleep. :heart and i think i just had to get overfeeling like i was being lazy. i was a better mama with more sleep. :)

i'd imagine you're dealing with teeth. ? jude is turning one soon (!) and the last three or four months have been exhausting with him. there are two teeth on the verge so i'm looking forward to some rest from the grating screech that is his voice lately. i think also that when they're learning new skills, like crawling or walking, they're more restless in their sleep. sometimes jude is trying to walk in his sleep and it's crazy! he's whining and trying to stand and he's asleep.

:hugheart

[Spirit of the Home]

:hug I remember being tired a lot :banghead,
napping with the children when possible helped, learning about and taking Quality vitamins helped, working on my diet[ I didn't know about eating a balanced healthy diet], lots of caffinated tea, [ also not advice ;) ] Making sure I was not sick or having a health issue,

But mostly they grew up. :highfive , [mixed emotions].

Sometimes I evaluated my priorities to make sure I was not causing my own problem, I also tried to keep stress to a minimum. At one point my eyes were so tired I realized I needed glasses, fixing that made a small difference.

It would have been nice to have a helpful mom around but that was not an option. At one time I paid to have someone clean my house, but that was not always an option.

It seemed like God used the time to sharpen me and teach me to have mercy on others as he was showing mercy to me. :-)
Karmen