Can I go to bed yet?! One tired mother

When you get pregnant and make an announcement about it, you will undoubtedly start getting ALOT of unsolicited advice and comments. Most of the ones I got didn’t really ring true- for the exception of one. I got told over and over again “sleep now.” At the time I kept hearing that I honestly didn’t think about it too much - I mean surely the sleep deprivation couldn’t be that bad - right ?…………… WRONG!

My oldest daughter was born in 2019 and I haven’t had 8 solid hours of sleep since. I’m currently on my third baby- he’s about 3 months old and he STILL wakes up every 2 hours! All of my kids have been that way- I swear every time I hear someone say “my baby has been sleeping through the night since they were a month old” I want to scream. At this point DON’T ask me about sleep because that sh*t doesn’t happen for me. Even after my oldest was sleeping in her own bed she would wake up through out the night and come and ask me for different things and when she finally stopped doing that my second daughter was born just a few weeks after that so I never honestly got a break with a full nights sleep. Most days it feels like I’m running on caffeine and prayers.

What I would give for a day with absolutely NO ONE in my house - I probably wouldn’t move from my bed if the house was on fire!

I really was not aware it was even remotely possible to survive or even function on so little sleep but apparently all of my children think sleep is for the weak.I used to daydream about sitting on a beach, now I find myself just wanting to lay the hell down and take a nap! Anytime my husband asks me if there’s anything I would like I very quickly tell him “an ambien and a hotel room!” He laughs and shakes his head but I don’t think he realizes I’m actually quite serious about that one!

People do keep telling me that it does get better and that eventually I will sleep again and this will pass but it’s very difficult to picture that ever happening while I’m experiencing this exhaustion now. I haven’t really found a great way to get past the exhaustion per se but I have found that what helps is taking everything one day at a time and also finding joy in the little moments. I have found that if you can find joy in the little moments that even though you will still be tired - all of the exhaustion will feel worth it because your cup will be just a little more full.

In the meantime

Be calm and nap on!

Sincerely,

The “F” Bomb Mom