TTMA Coping with Sleep Deprivation

[king26]

I know many of us are exhausted because LO's aren't sleeping well at night or enough in the day to nap.  So I want to know, how do you cope with sleep deprivation and keep yourself awake during the day?  I'll be honest, I had close to 7 hours of sleep last night, more then I've had in 3 or 4 weeks, and I'm fighting sleep all day long today. 

I cope by drinking lots of coffee, trying to go outside for a few minutes to get some air, and by doing something I enjoy while he is napping (I refuse to hold him the entire time he is napping which is getting to be a problem).  This is usually reading a book or working on my food blog.

If it gets really bad DH and I take turns doing something with J so the other one can nap.  We did this on Tuesday I think.  He took J for an hour car ride while I slept then I fed and took J for a walk so he could have an hour and a half nap.  This doesn't normally happen but we had to the other day because we were both ready to drop dead.

[muscari]

I will have to get back to you on this as I am sooo tired LOL and D. is sleeping yay so I am heading to bed as well to get some much needed snooze.

[cali]

I'm not a good one to answer this because I'm not coping well. I'm just constantly exhausted. My mom comes to help sometimes but usually when she's here I try to catch up on school stuff or house work so I don't get to nap. It's tough. I think you and yh sound like you have a decent system going. You should definitely take advantage of the both of you being off by taking turns. We did that when MH was off in the beginning and it was so much better.

[king26]

Oct 7, 2017 15:56:12 GMT -6 cali said:

I'm not a good one to answer this because I'm not coping well. I'm just constantly exhausted. My mom comes to help sometimes but usually when she's here I try to catch up on school stuff or house work so I don't get to nap. It's tough. I think you and yh sound like you have a decent system going. You should definitely take advantage of the both of you being off by taking turns. We did that when MH was off in the beginning and it was so much better.

I wanted to nap while my parents were here but instead I cleaned m, chilled on the couch,and did laundry.

[bsouls]

Sleep is the only thing that works for me. If I’m really tired then I try to take a nap. And, I’ve pretty much established that Saturdays are my night to catch up on sleep. I need solid blocks of sleep and H will do the overnight feeding on Saturdays, so I can catch up.

[cwbh928]

I think you are off to a good start with taking turns, although I know it doesn't always work out that way.

I am a crappy sleeper to begin with.

Now that I have 2 I am super sleep deprived. I let my husband sleep during the week, unless I absolutely need him awake. In return he takes the baby and the toddler Saturday and Sunday morning after I do a feeding. That way I get a solid 2-2.5 hours of sleep. Although it's not sleep, when my husband gets home he will take the baby and give me a break. I can take a shower or just sit down. I also try to line their maps up and take a nap too. Otherwise, I have a pretty big cup of coffee and just go about my day. I find if I keep busy, the feeling of tiredness doesn't bother me as much. I usually get my second wind around 8pm.

[muscari]

Tbh I am envious of you who take turns with YH. Mine offers to do so but as D. is a crazy demanding nurser and usually wants to be nursed every hour maybe hour and half (and a nursing session easily takes 45mins too...) there just is no way to nap in between even if MH keeps her. So the only sleep I get is when D is down for the night or on the nowadays rare occasion she takes a proper nap late afternoon then sometimes I lay down for 30-60min too once MH comes home from work.

I do better then I thought I would on such little sleep. And noticed I seem to handle it better when I get the same amount of hours even if that is too few. The couple of times I was able to sleep 4-5h in a stretch made me feel so headachy and checked out. I guess my body isnt used to it no more after all these months (incl. the broken nights while pregnant) and found a survival mode of sorts.

I take advantage of her 15-30min playmat time to get some things done around the house usually. A tidy house gives me headspace and makes me feel better as well.

I don't get to take morning showers when MH is at work cause D. will make a fuss and that is counterproductive to it being relaxing lol so I make do with quick washes at the sink. Taking a proper shower on the weekend or sometimes in between evening nursing is wonderful yet I always feel rushed.

TBH I am actually ALWAYS feeling rushed amd anxious when I do something for myself regardless of what D is doing. Only when she is down for the night do I feel a little more relaxed and enjoy me time and things I don't get to do otherwise. But then there always is this lil voice telling me I should go to bed cause tis the only real sleep I get. So there is no winning really.

[addymac]

I cope by getting sleep. Honestly it is the only thing that works. And that means some days DH will take N and give him a bottle so I can nap. During the days that DH isn't around, I nap with N. I don't care about my house right now. I do the dishes and laundry but I can't remember the last time I vacuumed or swiffered. Some days I m wiped and I will clean instead of sleep but it helps me feel more accomplished so I just try to nap with his next nap. Some days are hit or miss with his naps and the misses are the days I usually need DH to take him for a feeding so I can sleep.

[happyfeet9]

With 3u3 I've been sleep deprived since 2014 and don't anticipate getting a full night anytime soon. I cope by taking mini naps when I can, meditating, and drinking obscene amounts of caffeine.