I know other moms go through this so I need to know how you do it...
I have 2 very sick kids and a sick husband. No one is sleeping at night because of coughing and congestion. All three of them take medicine and have vaporizers going. We have been to the doctor and have taken all the steps there are to get through this.
My question is... how do other moms make it awake through the day?? I am pregnant with my third child (so caffenine is limited to none), do daycare 4 days a week, and work 6-8 hours a week outside of the home during the evening. I can't nap because my 3 1/2 does not nap and when my 1 1/2 year old and the 11 month old daycare child sleep that is our time to do things.
To be honest, I feel worse then I did after having babies and being up nursing all night.
We (my husband and I) were hoping to have a night to ourselves tomorrow and the kids go with grandma and grandpa but with the snow we are suppose to get tomorrow that does not look like a possibilty.
I will stop writing a book... guess I needed to vent a little too. THANKS all you mommies out there!!
Sadly I ended up with just what I was hoping wouldn't happen... I AM SICK!! But my hubby and I had a night to ourselves. We literally were in bed ASLEEP by 10 pm and slept until 8:30. Did not realize how much we needed it. Last night I was asleep by 8pm and my husband got up with the kids. It feels good to be able to rest...
THANK YOU to everyone for reminding me that this too shall pass!! I guess I just needed to know how to help it pass and not feel like I am letting things or others down.
Good for you for asking for help. Now you need to ask Grandma, Dad, or a friend for some help - even if it is just one hour that they spend at your house watching the kids, so you can get some rest!!! You can't take care of your family if you don't take care of yourself first.
Good Luck!
hi, i just wanted to tell you that i can totally empathize with you. I only have one child and he is 17 months old. His name is Daniel and he also does not take naps. Once in awile he will. He did not sleep through the night till he was 13 months old and even then till now he still semi-awakens and wants a bottle. ( I know he shouldn't but if I don't give him a bottle with water he starts to scream). When he was born he had colic and he literally awoke every 1 and 1 half hours. So needless to say I have been through 17 months of very little sleep. Fortunately I do not work right now so that helps. The best advice I have is this. Try and at least rest. Laying on the couch for a half hour or so can help. Or sometimes it is best to stay so busy you keep yourself from feeling tired. I know your husband is sick but when he comes home from work tell him you really need to take a nap and then do it. don't feel bad if you are not with the kids. You do need your rest especially being pregnant. Hey wasn't the first pregnancy the best when you could nap when you needed to? Anyway I hope all of your family feels better soon and i hope you and your husband get your break this weekend. My husband and i just moved to de pere 3 months ago and we do not know anyone or have any family anywhere close. so we are never alone. It is hard but we get by. Good luck.
Wow, you have a lot going on. I only have one child that has woken during the night for the past 9 months 1-5 times a night. She's slept through the night about 3 times in total. I went through periods of feeling frustrated that I had no control of my sleep. Now, I find that when I stop focusing on the fact that I'm not getting enough sleep, then I don't feel so bad. Plus everything your dealing with now, will pass. Put your focus on things that make you happy and you'll start feeling better. Your colds won't last too much longer. Your pregnancy won't be forever. Just think about how your kids make you happy. It really works.
Feel good, P.
Awww R., you're having a rough time. I feel for you, I really do! I don't have a lot of advice only a reminder that "this too shall pass". I pray you get that time alone with hubby soon and that everyone is well soon too!
There's nothing worse than being pregnant and ill, cuz we are so limited as to the meds we can take while pregant. Take care of yourself.
I think we are all baffled at how we manage to make it through those times. When my husband died, I had 3 small children and a foster child plus daycare kids and managed to get through the days with either no sleep or 1 - 2 hours a night.
Taking an hour a day to yourself helps! Take an hour a day, even if you have to break it up over the day and do something just for you... a hot bath, read a book, a cup of tea in a quiet corner.... It helps to break up the caos of the day and give you some serenity. GL/HTH!
I am doing the same thing right now w/ 2 sick kids & husband. I honestly don't know how I am functioning right now. It helps my 2 year old naps in the afternoon and my 4 year old will watch TV so I can catch a nap at the same time. I would forego trying to "get things done" when you could nap. If you don't get enough sleep, you too will get sick and then it will be even worse. Ask your husband for some help even though he is sick. If you were sick too you would still have to take care of the kids. Good luck and hope you get some rest.
Yuk. I think we've all gone through this kind of phase, and luckily...that's exactly what it is. But, to help, my husband and I would take turns for a few days until we had our strength up. He took a turn sleeping at night, and then me...and so on, until we were both healthy again and could take turns in the same evening. You'll be amazed what a huge chunk of sleep will do for your body. Or, you could have Grandma come over for an evening and you go to bed early knowing that you will soon be awaken in the night. You need to take care of yourself. Good luck.
can the 3 1/2 yr old have "quiet time" (watch movie, play puzzles etc) for a few days when the other kids are napping...this way if you can catch even 20-30 minutes of rest it could help. let things go for a couple of days and go to bed as soon as you put the kids down for the night. there are often nights that i go to bed at 8:30 as soon as the kids go to sleep to catch up. it is amazing what a few solid hours of extra sleep can do for you. too bad hubby is sick, but he needs to buck up a little bit so you can get a little rest....if you get sick too it will really suck!
Here's what I do. Slave all week and then make DH get up with the kids and let you sleep in on the weekend. If he's not willing to do that then tell him he can get up with the kids at night and he can sleep in on the weekend. What we end up doing really is both of us take turns with the kids (actually it's just one kid that has a sleeping disorder) and then I will sleep in one day and him the other on the weekend. That way we both get caught up.
I was completely wiped out when I was pregnant too. It's hard when you can't nap like you did the first time around. Maybe you could try and slow down the schedule a little while you are pregnant if you can.
Best wishes,
J.
