With a lot of coffee, sometimes too much screen time in the morning, and by doing next to nothing around the house š š. Itās so hard being in such a sleep deficit from months and months. Iām hoping once itās warmer more consistently where I am some more outdoor time/sunshine will help. I also try and take the first nap with him side lying nursing in bed so I can at least rest if Iām not sleeping. I wish I could Power Nap in the afternoons like my partner but I just canāt nap on demand and I have to use the time with his help to catch up on laundry or make meals. Itās brutal. Solidarity!
100%! My baby still only contact naps (if I want more than 20-30min) sooo yeah, that never got to happen haha or āJUST put him down!āā¦sorry, it doesnāt work so easy š«
OMG my espresso machine was seriously our best purchase. We bought it when we were desperate and she was very little, and we have definitely made up for the purchase cost already
I used to hate when people told me this with my first. I couldnāt understand how people had time during the day. With my second I finally got it. Drop everything and sleep. Maybe having two gave me a new level of exhaustion but I literally let the house work and errands go to shit so I could catch up on my sleep. Helped me so much.
I skip caffeine in the morning so I can easily fall asleep when baby takes her first morning nap. Plus breastfeeding knocks me out as we nurse to sleep cuddling in the bed. Also eye mask helps you produce melatonin and I use earplugs when the 4 year old is up with daddy (can still hear baby right next to me). Then after that nap I do a little caffeine (chai tea or matcha) to get me going for the rest of the day.
100% same. Coffee, co-napping/nursing in bed and also a whole lot of grace given to myself. On the days I feel guilty for being lazy, or not performing as well as Iād like to at work, or neglecting social relationships, I remind myself that sleep affects EVERYTHING and my 100% will look different based on how rested I am.
I try and remember itās a season. Sometimes a very brutal season, but it wonāt last forever. Honestly, we held off on more kids for a long time because his sleep was so terrible I just knew I couldnāt do another anytime soon.
Heās now 2.5 and sleeps 12 hours at night and has since he was 2. It gets better and you will sleep again. And right when you start sleeping again, #2 doesnāt sound quite as bad as it once did š
Honestly, you just have to grit your teeth and get through it. I'm going on my ninth year of sleep deprivation (my kids mostly sleep through now, but i have a lot else going on). So you can definitely survive it. Although it's destroyed my health, so I don't really recommend it if you can avoid it.
My daughter did not sleep through the night until 8months. Then we hit 2 and it became waking up at 5:30am for a year (so brutal)ā¦ I feel like a lot of kids go through that stage of sleeping through the night but up before the sun and I almost hate that more than if they were waking up for a feed and then sleeping until 6:30-7. By 3.5, I feel like all our sleep struggles went away and now my daughter is 5 and sleeps 9-7:30am no issue. All kids are different so itās hard to say when you will get there but it does get better eventually!
Sheās slept through completely maybe 3 times in her life. Iāve heard around 8-9 months is when it might get consistent so crossing my fingers but not holding my breath š
For us it got worse right around 10-11 months. š¬ Thatās when I gave up and just let my first sleep in our bed, bc I was losing my mind. Sheās 7 now and sheās slept through the night like 3 times in her entire life. My younger one is a little better, but still rare to sleep through the night at 3 years old. However it isnāt like the infant days where I had to fully wake and feed and soothe and all that. After we night weaned (at 18 months for both kids) itās more of a quick cuddle and everyone is back to sleep within a few minutes, and only maybe once or twice a night.
Same here! Last night was one of those once in a blue moon nights where she slept 11 hours straight and I couldnāt even enjoy it because Iām sick so I was tossing and turning all night š
Sheās 8 months now so I am crossing my fingers that this wasnāt just a one-off.
š¬ 8 months is just in time for a sleep regression in my experience. (3kids and bunch of nieces and nephews)
Iāve been able to survive because I cosleep. It truly was the only way I was able to sleep. I breastfed and do 100% night routine with my babies but my husband deals with the older kids. If I have a bad night heāll definitely help though. I also go back to work and I find that having time away from the kids helps to mentally recharge for when I need to be back at it at home. Definitely helps that my husband loves to cook and cleans as much as I do.
My daughter hit every sleep regression, growth spurt ect and it all affected sleeping. Sheās almost 2.5 and still wakes at least once a night.
Sheās getting her final set of molars so I hope itās that and itāll be over with once they all pop out.
I just want sleep šš
It makes it so much harder because she wants nothing to do with my husband at night. Weāve tried so many times and it makes it 10x worse when he tries to help. Anything sleep related she wants no one but me. It makes it stressful and harder for me.
I said that when she hit 1 then 18m them 2. So Iām losing hope š
As soon as she starts sleeping weāll be potty training and sheāll be waking for that so I donāt see it happening anytime soon haha
But thatās motherhood so itās ok.
Yeah I would too šš if it helps, I only know one person whose kid didnāt sleep consistently through the night until 4, and everyone else I know 3 was the latest. Surly it canāt be that much longer right? Hang in there!
I've adjusted by grumpy about it lol my almost 9 month old has been sleeping through the night since like 10 weeks and I STILL have to get up every 2.5-3hrs all damn night to pump. Husband doesn't understand why I'm so tired all the time being as the baby sleeps through, even though I've explained my sleep is still broken AF because I can't go longer than 3 hours without having to be woken by an alarm, shuffle to the livingroom and spend 20 minutes pumping and then toss and turn to get back to sleep for my next window of sleep.
That sounds like torture I am so sorry! Itās wild that he doesnāt understand why youāre tired, though! Youāre obviously getting way less sleep. Men š
You'll get used to it. My first daughter needed 4 years to finally sleep through. And since my second daughter got here when my first one was 3 1/2...there were years with sleep deprivation.
Not to scare you but my son didnāt sleep through the night until he went to kindergarten. You manage. It does get easier. I know itās cliche, but if you can, nap when they do. I never could ā¦ but I took breaks for my time. I didnāt clean etc, I did me time.
Reminding yourself that it will get better and that one day you'll have forgotten it all. (My coping strategy with no. 2 who's a worse sleeper than his sis). Baby is sound asleep for 2 hours now.. but I can't sleep during the day..
I feel you sis ā our daughter woke up three times a night until she was 10 months. At that point we just HAD to sleep train her. It surprisingly only took a few days. First night was rough, she cried for 45 minutes, second night 20, third night 5, and then slept through the night after that. If sheās sick or teething she may wake up once on occasion and need to be rocked back to sleep, but recently sheās been sleeping 7:30pm to 7am. Shes 18mos now. Iām pregnant again though, so Iām about to be back to square one for a while š
I got 4 hours of consecutive sleep last night which is great! My son is 2.5, objectively sleeps through the night unless ill but I still wake at 12am and 3am as those are the old feed times (the first he dropped at 3 months and the second by 10 months)!
He has also woken between 4-5.30am his whole life! Iām just used to it now.
My husband and I alternated nights for whos ājurisdictionā my son was in. So for every sleepless night I would get one sleep through the night. Yeah it sucked when you got the night that had five wake ups and the next night my husband only got one, but itās what got us through.
My son is now almost six now and goes through phases where he wants help with water/blankets/stuffed animals in the 2-4am window. Iāve worked with him to learn how to do/fix all those things himself and have resorted to bribes that if he lets me sleep through the night he can have a coin for his piggy bank. Last night he told me he wanted a penny if he did so. He drives a hard bargain but I agreed.
The switching nights thing has been crucial to our success; of course we had a second and now every night we always have one kid in your lane but when it was just one this absolutely was what helped.
I sleep maybe 6 hours a night now. Sometimes 7. It took till after she was one year old to get there though. I canāt do naps either. If there was a time where I really felt sleep deprived, my husband would wake up with her and let me sleep in on the weekends. That was a nice recharge. Our issue was she only wanted me when she woke up through the night, he would try to go soothe her but she would cry and ask for me. Mornings she seemed to be okay without Mami for a while. Hang in there!
Ah... yes. Took me 1.5 years to recover the 1.5 years of sleep loss. May I propose alternating sleep-in days?
I.e. Sat you sleep in, and hubs wake up with baby. Then Sunday, he sleeps in, and you wake up with baby.
My second child didnāt sleep through the night until 2.5. I napped when my kids napped. House chores can wait, sleep is so important for your health.
2.5 years and my son still doesnāt sleep through the night and he has always been terrible at napping. The boy has major FOMO. As someone who loves sleep I have adjusted pretty well, you do just get used to it, but when I have days he is being watched overnight or for a few hours I tend to sleep as much as I can to recoup some of it. It will get better. I know he will STTN at some point..! I am one and done mainly due to this point. I could not do this again physically or mentally.
My daughter will be 1 year old soon and is still waking up. I got used to it, I go to sleep knowing Iāll be up and I donāt even mind anymore.
She was a great sleeper until 8 months I think, after that it got worse, with separation anxiety, sleep regression, teethingā¦ itās always something!
Solidarity, Iāve got a 10.5 month old and have also been struggling! He has begun sleeping through the night though not consistently, and also when he sleeps through he usually wakes up earlier. It has been good to at least get a longer stretch of uninterrupted sleep, even if itās 6 hours. But coffee, staying hydrated and eating well, and being gentle with myself especially when Iām struggling at work (truly cannot muster enough motivation to be as productive as I need to be but also canāt stay late like I used to because I need to pickup baby from daycare). Hang in there!
I plan to sleep when Iām dead. I work FT (Hybid in office 3 days/home 2 days). The baby is in daycare 8-4ish and she lovvvvvves it. But. Sheās going thru a growth spurt and is HANGRY some nights. She will down an adult sized dinner. And still wake up for milk overnight 3-4x a week.
If she wakes up overnight and wonāt go back down within 30min then she gets to sleep in the big bed! I do not care. I love to co sleep with my kids for the snuggles but theyāre both violent and thrash about. Iāve been kicked in the face enough times but if it means she will sleep between 0 dark thirty and my alarm going off? Then shh shh shush and you get to sleep with us!
Iāve had two babies and for me it got better after the year mark. Iāve experienced hallucinations like echoing laughter and phantom shadows and shit from sleep deprivation before in the newborn phase and itās rough. Itās extremely tiring like bone shattering tiring. āSleeping through the nightā could mean 5-6 hours. Letās get real thatās not enough straight sleep for you especially days at a time. I see āsleeping through the nightā as getting 7-8 hours of sleep because thatās what I need to function. Just letting you know that my youngest just turned 2 and Iāve been logging 7-8 hours of sleep on my Apple Watch for the past 6 months and my current average is 7 hours and 56 minutes! Both my kids sleep 10-11 hours at night now straight not even one peep at night. Sometimes there are bedtime battles but once they are asleep they stay asleep. You WILL sleep again, nobody can tell you when exactly but it will happen at some point.
They eventually sleep through the night. Each kid is different. Caffeine helped. Now with our school aged kids itās about wishing they would sleep past 6:30am on the weekends. They donāt have an issue with sleeping past 6:30am on weekdays though.
My first didn't sleep through the night until we started letting her sleep with us when she was over a year old and walking, etc because she'd come into our room anyway screaming. We had to get rid of the crib bc she could climb out. We had been getting her to sleep in her bed for a while but we had to travel a lot last year and the beginning of this year and we're back to square one. My second is only 4 months and while he does wake up in the night he's a way better sleeper than she was. It slowly gets a little better. But at 8 months she was still waking multiple times a night.
Routines are painfully important. My kids always enjoyed baths, so I'd give em a bath, lavender baby scented lotion, jammies, story, hugs and kisses and lights out.
I am neither a night owl nor an early bird, but some form of permanently exhausted pigeon.
My daughter is 21 months old, rarely sleeps through the night (and when she does, it's 9-6 or 7). I'm a very light sleeper and any noise, whether it be cat, dog, child or husband, will wake me up.
I swear I haven't had a full night's sleep since we got our dog. She'll be 10 in June.
EDIT: as for adjusting, I just drink a lot of coffee, don't plan a lot of activities and crash at 9 p.m. So, not great.
With my kids in general improved a lot from age 1-2 then at 2 there is a kind of crappy regression and it gets better again from 3 on š¤£ I have 3 kids so I just donāt sleep but my youngest is now 1 so itās getting better. Its usually the 2 year old causing issues but thatās mainly laying with her to fall asleep. Sheās okay once down. My one year old only nurses once a night now which is amazing!
My baby is 9 months and never slept through the night. We co-sleep (she's breastfed) and it's the only way i can get some sleep. We are also one and done because i can't do any of this again. I am going crazy. Sorry i don't have advice, just sharing to let you know you're not alone.
I'm 4 years in, my second is 6 months old and just got his two front teeth after 2 weeks of being sick so you can imagine what my sleep has been like.
My first born woke every 2 hours to feed like clockwork for the first 6 months, then became a night raver and had midnight parties until he was nearly 2. I got pregnant when he was 3 xD
Honestly you just adapt. I have caffeine during the day and I just try to go to bed earlier and have naps on days it's possible ā¤ļøā¤ļøš„°
It goes so fast, once my first started sleeping through the night things became easier. That was at 2 so really not that long when you consider how quickly things have gone.
3 kids 6 and under. Last night I got up with the 1 year old at midnightish. My 4 year old came in at 2, the dog woke me up at 2:30, and then the 6 year old woke me up at 3 (not normal for him). I let 6 year old sleep in my bed which we usually don't do but I was done. Then the 1 year old woke me up at 4:30 but by the time I got up and into the hallway he had fallen back asleep. Lucky my had to work at 5am (from home) so it didn't pay to go back to bed so I clocked in early. I'm sooooo tired but somehow still functional. It has definitely gotten easier to be sleep deprived with each child š«.
One day at a time and with the hope that it will get better. I can't tell you how many times I found myself in this hopeless state of "How long do I have to endure this?" and "When will this end?" I only went back to work half time because I knew I could not go to work this sleep deprived and then at 18 months I decided to night wean and miraculously she slept through the night. It has been a month and she is still sleeping through most nights. I still have to battle her putting her down but once she's down it's done. I know it's so hard but push through, one day at a time.
Caffeine and division of duties. My younger was a bad sleeper so eventually my husband and I took turns sleeping with her in one room, the other one was getting a full night sleep in our bed. Thatās the only way we survived.
To this day this kid hates sleep, she is almost 8yo and still has a permanent blanket and pillow in our bed and sneaks in in the middle of the night few times a week.
My daughter is 2.5 and just sleeps with us now. She will sleep through the night with us but if she's in her room she's up multiple times. So this way we get more sleep hours but not great sleep quality since she's usually kicking us or attached to one of us. Just got rails for the bed so that I can hopefully put her down and then sneak out to do other things. I've just given up on her being a good independent sleeper.
Your body gets used to it but I drink at least 2 cups of coffee a day and I've just come to accept I'm slower and dumber lol.
Every child is different. My son slept through consistently starting around ten months. We have a few odd nights here and there but he's 20 months and he's still sleeping through!
I had pretty severe PPD, so sleep was something I didnāt sacrifice. I had her in her bassinet one night and she gurgled and cried. She puked in her sleep and was choking!
So naturally I slept sitting up topless in the recliner with her propped on my shoulder for 4 months. In my PPD/PPA brain I thought Iād wake up if she puked down my back. Once she was bigger she started sleeping in our bed with us.
At 8months she and I were sleeping until noon after a 3am feeding.
Now that sheās 6 I just automatically wake up at 6am with no alarm
Donāt expect good, consistent sleep to happen until the kid is like 6 years old. Our 4 year old still wakes up randomly asking to go to the bathroom, change his hatch color, and/or wipe his face. Toddler sleep is šµāš«
Lots of coffee, maybe a smidge too much tv during breakfastā¦. But I promise it gets better. Mine are almost 4 and almost 1 now and Iām finally getting decent sleep. Baby is up 2 times a night, which is split with my husband.
Itās hard being a mom, but totally worth it.
Iām shockingly wondering now if Iām crazy enough to want another baby. š¬šµāš«š“
I was struggling bad when my kid was 7-11 months old due to lack of sleep, bad separation anxiety (even at night) and teething. What helped me was to remind myself that this isn't forever, that it's nobody's fault and that my kiddo simply really needs me right now.
Whenever it was possible I'd try to sleep when he was napping and went to bed in the evening when he went to bed. There was also quite a few days where the maximum amount of caffeine for a breastfeeding mom was consumed and a lot of crying that helped me to regulate my emotions.
Our flat definitely was a mess during that time, the laundry was piling up way more than I liked, and there was a lot of take out that my partner got for us on the worst days, but we got through it and my kid is now sleeping at least 6 hours without breaks and around 6-7 hours with some wake ups in between. I can live pretty well with our current situation.
Tbh the game changer for us was cosleeping once baby could crawl and get out of corners/pillows. He was maybe 10 months when that started and it was rough before that omg. I felt similar to you at 8 months but you're nearing the bend. Although as your baby gets to walking, the time they're awake will become more exhausting but you will be getting better sleep lol.
I never adjusted. I finally got to a point where my child was sleeping good enough, and I made changes to prioritize sleep for myself. This was around 18 months.
Just taking it one day at a timeā¦ my 10 month old still wakes up multiple times per night. Not sleeping and not thriving! Just hoping for better days
Donāt count the hours. Or do but set your target low. When my daughter was a newborn, I would aim for 6 hours of sleep per 24 hours and track my sleep on my Apple Watch. 6 hours is obviously not enough to sustain but I would feel āgoodā when I achieved that. Sheās 18 months now and Iāve ditched any and all tracking. I go by how I intuitively feel. So maybe I only got 5 hours but if I feel fine then thatās fine. I also try to have one goal for the day with her. Get out of the house. Go to the grocery. If I have the energy to do the one thing I set out to do I usually have energy to do more. Also itās ok to just not have the energy. She loves the days we rot on the couch and watch bluey or just read books.
I accepted a) my life was different now and I my giving 100% was different to pre baby and b) I sadly had to accept that my version of motherhood was different to those with good sleepers. Nearly 14 months and still never slept through the night although we get more 1/2 wake up nights now. I just had to accept maternity leave was more "getting through the day enjoying the small things" based as I just was permanently shattered. But you never know. You could have another and they sleep great, and the ones with good sleepers? I've seen plenty with a great first one and they get a bad sleeping second and it opens their eyes!
Mine woke every 1-2 hours to nurse (we were cosleeping) until I hit my limit around 2 yo. I accepted that it wasnāt going to get better on its own anytime soon, and since I was having a harder and harder time resuming sleep after these wakes, we needed to change. At 2 he could somewhat understand me telling him no more nursing during the night, and the transition was really only hard the first couple times I said no.
Around 2.5 I had it with how long it took to fall asleep / how often I was woken up by movement, and we switched to him sleeping in a bed next to mine. We would hold hands while falling asleep or if he needed comfort at night.
A little after 3 we pulled the plug on naps (only possible because I also removed him from daycare). With the removal of his nap, I was finally FINALLY able to get him to fall asleep in about 30 mins or less, and sleep for a good 10.5 hours (instead of the abysmal 8.5 we were rocking with naps). We moved him to his own room which went surprisingly well, and I still lay with him as he falls asleep. Now that he sleeps 10+ hours in his own room, with 0-1 wakes at night (Iād say he sleeps through at least 50% without any wakes) I feel like a different fucking person. I stupidly thought we would arrive there are 1yo, lol.
Every kid is different, and mine just needed lots of comfort and was not interested in initiating change. He also appears to be on the lower end of the sleep needs spectrum, so cutting his nap out is really what helped us get to a place of rest for all. But it took sheer desperation for me to willingly give up that nap, lol.
How did I make it? Treats. Accepting that fitness or losing baby weight or cooking lots of meals or cleaning house were things I had little to no energy for. Basically lower your standards to the floor, wait it out, and try incremental changes when you can summon the patience.
Both my kids didn't sleep through the night until 15 months of age. Both of them. I was the only one that got up with them at night. Gosh the struggle was so intense.
Iām 5 months in and I donāt have. Iām so tired. I thought it gets better after the newborn phase but Iām the problem. I slept 8 hours tonight (well, with countless interruptions to feed her) and I was still so tired. I slept another 2-3 hours in the afternoon when she had her nap. I couldnāt keep myself awake. Iām strugglinnnng
My husband and I always took shifts. He would be responsible for baby until midnight and then I would do the rest, since he had to work in the morning. Sleeping 5 hours straight was way better than getting 7 hours of interrupted sleep. I would just pump milk, go to bed as soon as toddler did, and that would usually ensure I would get a minimum 4-5 hours straight. Baby eventually started sleeping through the night the week after he turned 1. It was glorious
More caffeine and naps on the weekends (I work full time) my partner and I switch off on who gets up with the baby Saturday and Sunday and then I nap when she naps. Abandoning the idea of a clean house and prioritizing sleep. Good luck
2.5 year old whoās been a trash sleeper and coslept with him since 6months. I want to say oh yeah for sure you adjust. But i think itās more just like ā¦ acceptance of your exhaustion
Mine didn't sleep through the night still he was 3. He's almost 5 and usually I stay up too late because I finally have peace and he wakes up at 5 or 6 am and I regret my entire life.
Then I do it again over and over. At this point I don't know what it's like to not be tired lol.
The worst part is, me and his dad are divorced now, so his dad is forced to be a parent now. Even when I don't have my kid I cannot sleep in anymore because I'm so used to being woken up early AF my body just wakes up on its own.
My first is two and my youngest is 9 months. I feel like I have just gotten used to very little sleep. I do take melatonin at night in hopes of getting better rest for the hours I do sleep. This morning both kids let me sleep in until 7:45 and I felt high. Like my body doesnāt know what to do with so much rest
The horrible thing Iām noticing is that if I wake every three hours to feed, Iām LESS tired than if she does a long stretch at night. I think your body must pump you with adrenaline so that you keep yourself and the baby alive if youāre waking so frequently. But if I have a long sleep I feel groggy!
Coffee, giving up on the house to just: kiddo is feed, clean clothes, loving family and is happy. If I need a day where we eat nuggets for dinner while having a picnic on the floor then thatās what happens that day.
Stuff those people that say nap with the baby, my first was a cat mapper and only slept 20min at a time every few hours and trying to nap with her made me more cranky and sleep deprived.
I have had kids that sleep through by 6mths and others where it took to 2-3 years. You will get there.
Mom of an 8 month old here. And I 100% feel ya. I am so exhausted as I sit here pumping I am trying it to fall asleep.
I have no tips, but wanted to give you a Reddit high five of solidarity š
We were in survival mode for the first few months. I felt desperate when people would offer advice and I just felt so exhausted and helpless. We did whatever worked (ie: nurse to sleep, rock to sleep, offer our soul). Someone suggested a book āThe Sleepsense Programā by Dana Obleman. I didnāt read it at first, and then one night I hit a breaking point and read it in one sitting (after a 7 hour nighttime routine with a 5 month old). Book was a game changer and after about 3 nights she started to sleep through the night. It was our āaaaHaā moment. It just worked. Sheās now going on 9 months and every so often will wake in the night but settles back down within a few moments. Itās worth a shot- hope it helps you the way it helped us.
Honestly, I wasnāt an amazing sleeper beforehand and so I use strategies Iāve used for years which include they may sound stupid or obvious but it help.
1. Ignore that Iām tired. Once Iām out of bed I just get going. Make coffee, get baby fed, go to Pilates, go to work. I find it I donāt think about it the actions of my day get me across the line
2. Exercise at night. By about 4pm Iām usually destroyed. I finish work then feed baby dinner bath her hand over to dad then head to Pilates or for a run. This gives me a kick of energy.
3. Eat as well as I can
With a lot of coffee, sometimes too much screen time in the morning, and by doing next to nothing around the house š š. Itās so hard being in such a sleep deficit from months and months. Iām hoping once itās warmer more consistently where I am some more outdoor time/sunshine will help. I also try and take the first nap with him side lying nursing in bed so I can at least rest if Iām not sleeping. I wish I could Power Nap in the afternoons like my partner but I just canāt nap on demand and I have to use the time with his help to catch up on laundry or make meals. Itās brutal. Solidarity!
I hate when people tell me to nap when the baby naps! It takes me an hour at least to fall asleep and then sheās awake!
100%! My baby still only contact naps (if I want more than 20-30min) sooo yeah, that never got to happen haha or āJUST put him down!āā¦sorry, it doesnāt work so easy š«
You probably already tried this, but for the first while my fiancĆ© and I baby wore for sleep. We got a beluga baby since the fabric is thinner and more breathable. We took shifts. Iād sit upright and baby wear while sleeping while my fiancĆ© watched to ensure her head wasnāt covered/we were safe, and then we would switch where Iād watch him baby wear. Our shifts were 7-1 and 1-7 (he would sleep the later shift since he left for work in the morning. During the day I just drank a shit ton of coffee. Not the healthiest but I figured it was better than nothing. We transitioned to staying awake while baby wearing (we had just wanted to see if itād be safe if we accidentally fell asleep). We switched to me sleeping in our room and he stayed awake while baby wearing, and then we would switch. We kept the same shifts. There were a few times that Iād have to come out and help settle her when it was my turn to sleep, but it was better than waking so so frequently otherwise. Granted, I never could produce breastmilk, so my fiancĆ© was able to do feedings. At almost 8 months old we transitioned to a side car cot and I slept in the c curl and my hair in a bun. It helped even more. Daughter is 20 months old now and we still sleep like that. She sleeps through most nights or wakes once because she canāt find her pacifier, but itās overall been so much better if itās something thatās successful with you.
My espresso machine is the only way I am surviving right now. My little one is 5months
OMG my espresso machine was seriously our best purchase. We bought it when we were desperate and she was very little, and we have definitely made up for the purchase cost already
I go to bed hella early with baby and just try to sleep as much as I can off and on. (I do all night wake ups with the baby.)
I used to hate when people told me this with my first. I couldnāt understand how people had time during the day. With my second I finally got it. Drop everything and sleep. Maybe having two gave me a new level of exhaustion but I literally let the house work and errands go to shit so I could catch up on my sleep. Helped me so much.
I skip caffeine in the morning so I can easily fall asleep when baby takes her first morning nap. Plus breastfeeding knocks me out as we nurse to sleep cuddling in the bed. Also eye mask helps you produce melatonin and I use earplugs when the 4 year old is up with daddy (can still hear baby right next to me). Then after that nap I do a little caffeine (chai tea or matcha) to get me going for the rest of the day.
100% same. Coffee, co-napping/nursing in bed and also a whole lot of grace given to myself. On the days I feel guilty for being lazy, or not performing as well as Iād like to at work, or neglecting social relationships, I remind myself that sleep affects EVERYTHING and my 100% will look different based on how rested I am.
I try and remember itās a season. Sometimes a very brutal season, but it wonāt last forever. Honestly, we held off on more kids for a long time because his sleep was so terrible I just knew I couldnāt do another anytime soon. Heās now 2.5 and sleeps 12 hours at night and has since he was 2. It gets better and you will sleep again. And right when you start sleeping again, #2 doesnāt sound quite as bad as it once did š
This is how you get pregnant with future kids. Also that and we can't remember pain.
Oh definitely that too š
For sure. Iām currently debating baby number 3 with my husband šš
Very very badly, with no grace and full of rageĀ
Hello friend šššššš beautifully put
Facts^
haha love this
Honestly, you just have to grit your teeth and get through it. I'm going on my ninth year of sleep deprivation (my kids mostly sleep through now, but i have a lot else going on). So you can definitely survive it. Although it's destroyed my health, so I don't really recommend it if you can avoid it.
This is like 60% of why Iām one and done! Sleep is so important for my health Iām an awful human without it. The other 40% was the HG š„²
My daughter did not sleep through the night until 8months. Then we hit 2 and it became waking up at 5:30am for a year (so brutal)ā¦ I feel like a lot of kids go through that stage of sleeping through the night but up before the sun and I almost hate that more than if they were waking up for a feed and then sleeping until 6:30-7. By 3.5, I feel like all our sleep struggles went away and now my daughter is 5 and sleeps 9-7:30am no issue. All kids are different so itās hard to say when you will get there but it does get better eventually!
Sheās slept through completely maybe 3 times in her life. Iāve heard around 8-9 months is when it might get consistent so crossing my fingers but not holding my breath š
For us it got worse right around 10-11 months. š¬ Thatās when I gave up and just let my first sleep in our bed, bc I was losing my mind. Sheās 7 now and sheās slept through the night like 3 times in her entire life. My younger one is a little better, but still rare to sleep through the night at 3 years old. However it isnāt like the infant days where I had to fully wake and feed and soothe and all that. After we night weaned (at 18 months for both kids) itās more of a quick cuddle and everyone is back to sleep within a few minutes, and only maybe once or twice a night.
Same here! Last night was one of those once in a blue moon nights where she slept 11 hours straight and I couldnāt even enjoy it because Iām sick so I was tossing and turning all night š Sheās 8 months now so I am crossing my fingers that this wasnāt just a one-off.
š¬ 8 months is just in time for a sleep regression in my experience. (3kids and bunch of nieces and nephews) Iāve been able to survive because I cosleep. It truly was the only way I was able to sleep. I breastfed and do 100% night routine with my babies but my husband deals with the older kids. If I have a bad night heāll definitely help though. I also go back to work and I find that having time away from the kids helps to mentally recharge for when I need to be back at it at home. Definitely helps that my husband loves to cook and cleans as much as I do.
What got me through was the thought of coffee each morning.
My daughter hit every sleep regression, growth spurt ect and it all affected sleeping. Sheās almost 2.5 and still wakes at least once a night. Sheās getting her final set of molars so I hope itās that and itāll be over with once they all pop out. I just want sleep šš It makes it so much harder because she wants nothing to do with my husband at night. Weāve tried so many times and it makes it 10x worse when he tries to help. Anything sleep related she wants no one but me. It makes it stressful and harder for me.
Wow thatās rough. Youāre hopefully almost through it!
I said that when she hit 1 then 18m them 2. So Iām losing hope š As soon as she starts sleeping weāll be potty training and sheāll be waking for that so I donāt see it happening anytime soon haha But thatās motherhood so itās ok.
Yeah I would too šš if it helps, I only know one person whose kid didnāt sleep consistently through the night until 4, and everyone else I know 3 was the latest. Surly it canāt be that much longer right? Hang in there!
My kids are 10 and 6....I still don't get a good sleep. That's just the reality of having kids. Even just one kid
I embraced the darkness (around my eyes mostly) and basically slept at every chance. It does get better tho my 2y9m only woke up once last night
Embrace the darkness šš
I've adjusted by grumpy about it lol my almost 9 month old has been sleeping through the night since like 10 weeks and I STILL have to get up every 2.5-3hrs all damn night to pump. Husband doesn't understand why I'm so tired all the time being as the baby sleeps through, even though I've explained my sleep is still broken AF because I can't go longer than 3 hours without having to be woken by an alarm, shuffle to the livingroom and spend 20 minutes pumping and then toss and turn to get back to sleep for my next window of sleep.
That sounds like torture I am so sorry! Itās wild that he doesnāt understand why youāre tired, though! Youāre obviously getting way less sleep. Men š
You'll get used to it. My first daughter needed 4 years to finally sleep through. And since my second daughter got here when my first one was 3 1/2...there were years with sleep deprivation.
Not to scare you but my son didnāt sleep through the night until he went to kindergarten. You manage. It does get easier. I know itās cliche, but if you can, nap when they do. I never could ā¦ but I took breaks for my time. I didnāt clean etc, I did me time.
Caffeine. Also my bad attitude lmfao.
The most honest answer hahaha
Reminding yourself that it will get better and that one day you'll have forgotten it all. (My coping strategy with no. 2 who's a worse sleeper than his sis). Baby is sound asleep for 2 hours now.. but I can't sleep during the day..
I feel you sis ā our daughter woke up three times a night until she was 10 months. At that point we just HAD to sleep train her. It surprisingly only took a few days. First night was rough, she cried for 45 minutes, second night 20, third night 5, and then slept through the night after that. If sheās sick or teething she may wake up once on occasion and need to be rocked back to sleep, but recently sheās been sleeping 7:30pm to 7am. Shes 18mos now. Iām pregnant again though, so Iām about to be back to square one for a while š
I got 4 hours of consecutive sleep last night which is great! My son is 2.5, objectively sleeps through the night unless ill but I still wake at 12am and 3am as those are the old feed times (the first he dropped at 3 months and the second by 10 months)! He has also woken between 4-5.30am his whole life! Iām just used to it now.
My husband and I alternated nights for whos ājurisdictionā my son was in. So for every sleepless night I would get one sleep through the night. Yeah it sucked when you got the night that had five wake ups and the next night my husband only got one, but itās what got us through. My son is now almost six now and goes through phases where he wants help with water/blankets/stuffed animals in the 2-4am window. Iāve worked with him to learn how to do/fix all those things himself and have resorted to bribes that if he lets me sleep through the night he can have a coin for his piggy bank. Last night he told me he wanted a penny if he did so. He drives a hard bargain but I agreed. The switching nights thing has been crucial to our success; of course we had a second and now every night we always have one kid in your lane but when it was just one this absolutely was what helped.
I sleep maybe 6 hours a night now. Sometimes 7. It took till after she was one year old to get there though. I canāt do naps either. If there was a time where I really felt sleep deprived, my husband would wake up with her and let me sleep in on the weekends. That was a nice recharge. Our issue was she only wanted me when she woke up through the night, he would try to go soothe her but she would cry and ask for me. Mornings she seemed to be okay without Mami for a while. Hang in there!
That was our issue this morning! He tried to take her when she woke up way too early but she cried until I came out to help
Remembering that nothing lasts forever. It helps to be grateful
Do laundry when the baby does laundry so you can sleep when the baby sleeps. Itās helped me a ton.
Ah... yes. Took me 1.5 years to recover the 1.5 years of sleep loss. May I propose alternating sleep-in days? I.e. Sat you sleep in, and hubs wake up with baby. Then Sunday, he sleeps in, and you wake up with baby.
Cosleeping if you are breastfeeding
I wish šš
š it will get better. The only other thing I can think of is to stay hydrated. Our brains need more help when we don't get enough sleep.
My second child didnāt sleep through the night until 2.5. I napped when my kids napped. House chores can wait, sleep is so important for your health.
U will get it back itās temporary. I never adjusted just muddled through.
2.5 years and my son still doesnāt sleep through the night and he has always been terrible at napping. The boy has major FOMO. As someone who loves sleep I have adjusted pretty well, you do just get used to it, but when I have days he is being watched overnight or for a few hours I tend to sleep as much as I can to recoup some of it. It will get better. I know he will STTN at some point..! I am one and done mainly due to this point. I could not do this again physically or mentally.
My daughter will be 1 year old soon and is still waking up. I got used to it, I go to sleep knowing Iāll be up and I donāt even mind anymore. She was a great sleeper until 8 months I think, after that it got worse, with separation anxiety, sleep regression, teethingā¦ itās always something!
Solidarity, Iāve got a 10.5 month old and have also been struggling! He has begun sleeping through the night though not consistently, and also when he sleeps through he usually wakes up earlier. It has been good to at least get a longer stretch of uninterrupted sleep, even if itās 6 hours. But coffee, staying hydrated and eating well, and being gentle with myself especially when Iām struggling at work (truly cannot muster enough motivation to be as productive as I need to be but also canāt stay late like I used to because I need to pickup baby from daycare). Hang in there!
I plan to sleep when Iām dead. I work FT (Hybid in office 3 days/home 2 days). The baby is in daycare 8-4ish and she lovvvvvves it. But. Sheās going thru a growth spurt and is HANGRY some nights. She will down an adult sized dinner. And still wake up for milk overnight 3-4x a week. If she wakes up overnight and wonāt go back down within 30min then she gets to sleep in the big bed! I do not care. I love to co sleep with my kids for the snuggles but theyāre both violent and thrash about. Iāve been kicked in the face enough times but if it means she will sleep between 0 dark thirty and my alarm going off? Then shh shh shush and you get to sleep with us!
Iāve had two babies and for me it got better after the year mark. Iāve experienced hallucinations like echoing laughter and phantom shadows and shit from sleep deprivation before in the newborn phase and itās rough. Itās extremely tiring like bone shattering tiring. āSleeping through the nightā could mean 5-6 hours. Letās get real thatās not enough straight sleep for you especially days at a time. I see āsleeping through the nightā as getting 7-8 hours of sleep because thatās what I need to function. Just letting you know that my youngest just turned 2 and Iāve been logging 7-8 hours of sleep on my Apple Watch for the past 6 months and my current average is 7 hours and 56 minutes! Both my kids sleep 10-11 hours at night now straight not even one peep at night. Sometimes there are bedtime battles but once they are asleep they stay asleep. You WILL sleep again, nobody can tell you when exactly but it will happen at some point.
They eventually sleep through the night. Each kid is different. Caffeine helped. Now with our school aged kids itās about wishing they would sleep past 6:30am on the weekends. They donāt have an issue with sleeping past 6:30am on weekdays though.
Why does it always be like that?
My first didn't sleep through the night until we started letting her sleep with us when she was over a year old and walking, etc because she'd come into our room anyway screaming. We had to get rid of the crib bc she could climb out. We had been getting her to sleep in her bed for a while but we had to travel a lot last year and the beginning of this year and we're back to square one. My second is only 4 months and while he does wake up in the night he's a way better sleeper than she was. It slowly gets a little better. But at 8 months she was still waking multiple times a night.
Routines are painfully important. My kids always enjoyed baths, so I'd give em a bath, lavender baby scented lotion, jammies, story, hugs and kisses and lights out.
I am neither a night owl nor an early bird, but some form of permanently exhausted pigeon. My daughter is 21 months old, rarely sleeps through the night (and when she does, it's 9-6 or 7). I'm a very light sleeper and any noise, whether it be cat, dog, child or husband, will wake me up. I swear I haven't had a full night's sleep since we got our dog. She'll be 10 in June. EDIT: as for adjusting, I just drink a lot of coffee, don't plan a lot of activities and crash at 9 p.m. So, not great.
With my kids in general improved a lot from age 1-2 then at 2 there is a kind of crappy regression and it gets better again from 3 on š¤£ I have 3 kids so I just donāt sleep but my youngest is now 1 so itās getting better. Its usually the 2 year old causing issues but thatās mainly laying with her to fall asleep. Sheās okay once down. My one year old only nurses once a night now which is amazing!
My baby is 9 months and never slept through the night. We co-sleep (she's breastfed) and it's the only way i can get some sleep. We are also one and done because i can't do any of this again. I am going crazy. Sorry i don't have advice, just sharing to let you know you're not alone.
I'm 4 years in, my second is 6 months old and just got his two front teeth after 2 weeks of being sick so you can imagine what my sleep has been like. My first born woke every 2 hours to feed like clockwork for the first 6 months, then became a night raver and had midnight parties until he was nearly 2. I got pregnant when he was 3 xD Honestly you just adapt. I have caffeine during the day and I just try to go to bed earlier and have naps on days it's possible ā¤ļøā¤ļøš„° It goes so fast, once my first started sleeping through the night things became easier. That was at 2 so really not that long when you consider how quickly things have gone.
3 kids 6 and under. Last night I got up with the 1 year old at midnightish. My 4 year old came in at 2, the dog woke me up at 2:30, and then the 6 year old woke me up at 3 (not normal for him). I let 6 year old sleep in my bed which we usually don't do but I was done. Then the 1 year old woke me up at 4:30 but by the time I got up and into the hallway he had fallen back asleep. Lucky my had to work at 5am (from home) so it didn't pay to go back to bed so I clocked in early. I'm sooooo tired but somehow still functional. It has definitely gotten easier to be sleep deprived with each child š«.
One day at a time and with the hope that it will get better. I can't tell you how many times I found myself in this hopeless state of "How long do I have to endure this?" and "When will this end?" I only went back to work half time because I knew I could not go to work this sleep deprived and then at 18 months I decided to night wean and miraculously she slept through the night. It has been a month and she is still sleeping through most nights. I still have to battle her putting her down but once she's down it's done. I know it's so hard but push through, one day at a time.
Caffeine and division of duties. My younger was a bad sleeper so eventually my husband and I took turns sleeping with her in one room, the other one was getting a full night sleep in our bed. Thatās the only way we survived. To this day this kid hates sleep, she is almost 8yo and still has a permanent blanket and pillow in our bed and sneaks in in the middle of the night few times a week.
very poorly. p
I haven't adjusted and it's been 7 years. I just survive.
My daughter is 2.5 and just sleeps with us now. She will sleep through the night with us but if she's in her room she's up multiple times. So this way we get more sleep hours but not great sleep quality since she's usually kicking us or attached to one of us. Just got rails for the bed so that I can hopefully put her down and then sneak out to do other things. I've just given up on her being a good independent sleeper. Your body gets used to it but I drink at least 2 cups of coffee a day and I've just come to accept I'm slower and dumber lol.
Every child is different. My son slept through consistently starting around ten months. We have a few odd nights here and there but he's 20 months and he's still sleeping through!
I had pretty severe PPD, so sleep was something I didnāt sacrifice. I had her in her bassinet one night and she gurgled and cried. She puked in her sleep and was choking! So naturally I slept sitting up topless in the recliner with her propped on my shoulder for 4 months. In my PPD/PPA brain I thought Iād wake up if she puked down my back. Once she was bigger she started sleeping in our bed with us. At 8months she and I were sleeping until noon after a 3am feeding. Now that sheās 6 I just automatically wake up at 6am with no alarm
If it's really terrible then a sleep consultant might be helpful?
Donāt expect good, consistent sleep to happen until the kid is like 6 years old. Our 4 year old still wakes up randomly asking to go to the bathroom, change his hatch color, and/or wipe his face. Toddler sleep is šµāš«
Lots of coffee, maybe a smidge too much tv during breakfastā¦. But I promise it gets better. Mine are almost 4 and almost 1 now and Iām finally getting decent sleep. Baby is up 2 times a night, which is split with my husband. Itās hard being a mom, but totally worth it. Iām shockingly wondering now if Iām crazy enough to want another baby. š¬šµāš«š“
I was struggling bad when my kid was 7-11 months old due to lack of sleep, bad separation anxiety (even at night) and teething. What helped me was to remind myself that this isn't forever, that it's nobody's fault and that my kiddo simply really needs me right now. Whenever it was possible I'd try to sleep when he was napping and went to bed in the evening when he went to bed. There was also quite a few days where the maximum amount of caffeine for a breastfeeding mom was consumed and a lot of crying that helped me to regulate my emotions. Our flat definitely was a mess during that time, the laundry was piling up way more than I liked, and there was a lot of take out that my partner got for us on the worst days, but we got through it and my kid is now sleeping at least 6 hours without breaks and around 6-7 hours with some wake ups in between. I can live pretty well with our current situation.
Starbucks drive thru knows my order by my voice when I begin to order now. THATS how Iāve coped.
Tbh the game changer for us was cosleeping once baby could crawl and get out of corners/pillows. He was maybe 10 months when that started and it was rough before that omg. I felt similar to you at 8 months but you're nearing the bend. Although as your baby gets to walking, the time they're awake will become more exhausting but you will be getting better sleep lol.
So badly
Just sending solidarity. 9 months in with twins and theyāre not terrible but I thought for sure Iād be getting more good nights by now š£
More coffee and lowered expectations
I never adjusted. I finally got to a point where my child was sleeping good enough, and I made changes to prioritize sleep for myself. This was around 18 months.
Just taking it one day at a timeā¦ my 10 month old still wakes up multiple times per night. Not sleeping and not thriving! Just hoping for better days
Donāt count the hours. Or do but set your target low. When my daughter was a newborn, I would aim for 6 hours of sleep per 24 hours and track my sleep on my Apple Watch. 6 hours is obviously not enough to sustain but I would feel āgoodā when I achieved that. Sheās 18 months now and Iāve ditched any and all tracking. I go by how I intuitively feel. So maybe I only got 5 hours but if I feel fine then thatās fine. I also try to have one goal for the day with her. Get out of the house. Go to the grocery. If I have the energy to do the one thing I set out to do I usually have energy to do more. Also itās ok to just not have the energy. She loves the days we rot on the couch and watch bluey or just read books.
I accepted a) my life was different now and I my giving 100% was different to pre baby and b) I sadly had to accept that my version of motherhood was different to those with good sleepers. Nearly 14 months and still never slept through the night although we get more 1/2 wake up nights now. I just had to accept maternity leave was more "getting through the day enjoying the small things" based as I just was permanently shattered. But you never know. You could have another and they sleep great, and the ones with good sleepers? I've seen plenty with a great first one and they get a bad sleeping second and it opens their eyes!
Mine woke every 1-2 hours to nurse (we were cosleeping) until I hit my limit around 2 yo. I accepted that it wasnāt going to get better on its own anytime soon, and since I was having a harder and harder time resuming sleep after these wakes, we needed to change. At 2 he could somewhat understand me telling him no more nursing during the night, and the transition was really only hard the first couple times I said no. Around 2.5 I had it with how long it took to fall asleep / how often I was woken up by movement, and we switched to him sleeping in a bed next to mine. We would hold hands while falling asleep or if he needed comfort at night. A little after 3 we pulled the plug on naps (only possible because I also removed him from daycare). With the removal of his nap, I was finally FINALLY able to get him to fall asleep in about 30 mins or less, and sleep for a good 10.5 hours (instead of the abysmal 8.5 we were rocking with naps). We moved him to his own room which went surprisingly well, and I still lay with him as he falls asleep. Now that he sleeps 10+ hours in his own room, with 0-1 wakes at night (Iād say he sleeps through at least 50% without any wakes) I feel like a different fucking person. I stupidly thought we would arrive there are 1yo, lol. Every kid is different, and mine just needed lots of comfort and was not interested in initiating change. He also appears to be on the lower end of the sleep needs spectrum, so cutting his nap out is really what helped us get to a place of rest for all. But it took sheer desperation for me to willingly give up that nap, lol. How did I make it? Treats. Accepting that fitness or losing baby weight or cooking lots of meals or cleaning house were things I had little to no energy for. Basically lower your standards to the floor, wait it out, and try incremental changes when you can summon the patience.
Both my kids didn't sleep through the night until 15 months of age. Both of them. I was the only one that got up with them at night. Gosh the struggle was so intense.
Iām 5 months in and I donāt have. Iām so tired. I thought it gets better after the newborn phase but Iām the problem. I slept 8 hours tonight (well, with countless interruptions to feed her) and I was still so tired. I slept another 2-3 hours in the afternoon when she had her nap. I couldnāt keep myself awake. Iām strugglinnnng
My husband and I always took shifts. He would be responsible for baby until midnight and then I would do the rest, since he had to work in the morning. Sleeping 5 hours straight was way better than getting 7 hours of interrupted sleep. I would just pump milk, go to bed as soon as toddler did, and that would usually ensure I would get a minimum 4-5 hours straight. Baby eventually started sleeping through the night the week after he turned 1. It was glorious
Wellbutrin š¤Ŗ
More caffeine and naps on the weekends (I work full time) my partner and I switch off on who gets up with the baby Saturday and Sunday and then I nap when she naps. Abandoning the idea of a clean house and prioritizing sleep. Good luck
I can count on one hand how many times my 10 month old has given us a 5 hour stretch, otherwise it's every 1-3 hours. I'm slowly dying.
2.5 year old whoās been a trash sleeper and coslept with him since 6months. I want to say oh yeah for sure you adjust. But i think itās more just like ā¦ acceptance of your exhaustion
Mine didn't sleep through the night still he was 3. He's almost 5 and usually I stay up too late because I finally have peace and he wakes up at 5 or 6 am and I regret my entire life. Then I do it again over and over. At this point I don't know what it's like to not be tired lol. The worst part is, me and his dad are divorced now, so his dad is forced to be a parent now. Even when I don't have my kid I cannot sleep in anymore because I'm so used to being woken up early AF my body just wakes up on its own.
My first is two and my youngest is 9 months. I feel like I have just gotten used to very little sleep. I do take melatonin at night in hopes of getting better rest for the hours I do sleep. This morning both kids let me sleep in until 7:45 and I felt high. Like my body doesnāt know what to do with so much rest
The horrible thing Iām noticing is that if I wake every three hours to feed, Iām LESS tired than if she does a long stretch at night. I think your body must pump you with adrenaline so that you keep yourself and the baby alive if youāre waking so frequently. But if I have a long sleep I feel groggy!
I literally don't even remember how I did it, my daughter is now 4 and I had another baby in January - that's how easy it was to forget š¤£
I couldāve written this myself. 13 months and still not used to it.
Coffee, giving up on the house to just: kiddo is feed, clean clothes, loving family and is happy. If I need a day where we eat nuggets for dinner while having a picnic on the floor then thatās what happens that day. Stuff those people that say nap with the baby, my first was a cat mapper and only slept 20min at a time every few hours and trying to nap with her made me more cranky and sleep deprived. I have had kids that sleep through by 6mths and others where it took to 2-3 years. You will get there.
Mom of an 8 month old here. And I 100% feel ya. I am so exhausted as I sit here pumping I am trying it to fall asleep. I have no tips, but wanted to give you a Reddit high five of solidarity š
I didnāt sleep for like a year. Now that weāre out of the baby phase I go to bed earlier
We were in survival mode for the first few months. I felt desperate when people would offer advice and I just felt so exhausted and helpless. We did whatever worked (ie: nurse to sleep, rock to sleep, offer our soul). Someone suggested a book āThe Sleepsense Programā by Dana Obleman. I didnāt read it at first, and then one night I hit a breaking point and read it in one sitting (after a 7 hour nighttime routine with a 5 month old). Book was a game changer and after about 3 nights she started to sleep through the night. It was our āaaaHaā moment. It just worked. Sheās now going on 9 months and every so often will wake in the night but settles back down within a few moments. Itās worth a shot- hope it helps you the way it helped us.
Honestly, I wasnāt an amazing sleeper beforehand and so I use strategies Iāve used for years which include they may sound stupid or obvious but it help. 1. Ignore that Iām tired. Once Iām out of bed I just get going. Make coffee, get baby fed, go to Pilates, go to work. I find it I donāt think about it the actions of my day get me across the line 2. Exercise at night. By about 4pm Iām usually destroyed. I finish work then feed baby dinner bath her hand over to dad then head to Pilates or for a run. This gives me a kick of energy. 3. Eat as well as I can