Absolutely exhausted.?

Question

I'm a single mother with a 4 month old gorgeous son and I work full time 40-50 hours a week. Rough stuff. I wouldn't change my life for the world, don't get me wrong... but is there something I can do that I can get my energy level up? All I want to do is go home and pass out but I have to wait until my son is ready to sleep... any ideas?

Answer 1

It will get better, it just takes time! As your son gets older, your life will begin to feel somewhat normal again.

Try to limit your hours at work if possible!

Do you workout? If not, try to start doing that. Even though you are exhausted, when you get home, put your son in a stroller and take a power walk. It will give you so much energy, and your son will love it! He will probably go to bed earlier too because the fresh air will wear him out. I know it seems impossible, but if you force yourself to do it a few times, you will start to enjoy it. You will notice a difference!

Try taking vitamins regularly and drink a lot of water.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Exhaustion is one of those side-effects of motherhood that we really can never understand fully until we've gone through it. You can never explain to someone what the bone-aching, blurry-eyed, mind-numbing feeling is like and even if you could tell someone, they probably wouldn't believe it. My oldest 2 children were born when I was going to school and working. I look back on those years now and have no idea how I ever got any sleep. A few things that have helped me so far get through my 28 years of motherhood are 1) Set your priorities and cut back on whatever isn't absolutely necessary in your life, 2) When things get exceptionally hard, tell yourself "This, too, shall pass"., 3) Take advantage of anyone (within reason, of course, only trusted friends and family) who offers to watch your son. Grandma, Aunts, cousins, good friends all may relish a couple hours of cooing and spoiling time with your son and you can catch up on a couple hours of sleep, 4) Plan ahead so you can eat healthy and consistently. Waiting too long between eating and eating too much fast food or prepared food can make you more lethargic than you already are. Also, keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water and watch the caffeine intake. Caffeine is a stimulant so it'll keep you awake, but may make you too wired to fall asleep when you get the chance. The exhaustion of that first year is rarely rivaled, but sleep-less nights creep up on you throughout every stage of motherhood. Illness, nightmares, drinks of water, needing to go potty, waiting up for pre-teens to be home by curfew, waiting for teen drivers to pull in the driveway, and laying awake worried about your "baby" off at college, moving into their own place, having a baby of their own are all things that pretty much guarantee it a rare occasion to sleep through the night. One last thing that I never tried, but some people swear works is to exercise regularly. I know it is good for you, but I never seemed to make it a regular part of my day, even now. Supposedly it works wonders to energize you.

Answer 3

This will sound weird but - take your son out for an hour walk when you get home. The steady jostling motion will gently rock him to sleep, and the exercise from the walking will help to increase your own energy reserves, and calm you down after a hectic day.

I've been doing this with my daughter since she was born, and it was really the only way I could cope with the sleeplessness.

Best of luck, and congratulations on your boy!

Answer 4

Girl You too,

Man , and here I thought it was just ME,

Listen it does get better, just hang in there,

Ask for help

Go to a friends and sleep and let her help you watch the baby,

I remember those days honey, and it WILL get better,
remember the really good thing about a 4 month old is that they can't get out of the Crib yet,

So just put him in the playpen and turn on the TV,
keep it on low, and fall asleep
Nothing bad can happen to the baby,

M

Answer 5

Eat a banana on your way home from work - the potassium will give you a little energy. Also, you might be able to take a Vitamin B complex pill that will help you out too. Drinking some water/maybe even a little coffee might help too. Good luck!

Answer 6

If he's 4 months, he should still be napping in the late afternoon. Take advantage, sleep when he does. I can relate, I was a single mom too. Mine is now 16 months old, and it only gets more exhausing. I work full time, take care of my angel, take care of the home, everything. I relate, but trust me, take advantage of nap time. It's not just for babies, you know.

Answer 7

Drink Lots of water. If you can go for a small power walk with your baby to get some exercise in. That may help your metabolism.

I guess if your breast feeding you can't have caffeine. My nephew of 9 months is finally sleeping through the night!!!

Answer 8

i know you love your job but you need to admit that being a mother is a fulltime job in its self. its almost amazing that you havent pulled your hair out by now. you should cut back in hours, by like 10-15 is you can just for the time being so you can get your son into a routine that works for you even when you are working your normal hours. you need to dedicate a little more time to him in this situation i think. your missing the big picture it seems. he is only going to be young once and your missing it by working all the time and then passing out. and im sure you know this and it seems like i make it sound horrible but honestly now hun. learn to give up a little for your son for now. you will be glad you did in the end im sure. best of luck ^_^

Answer 9

eat right- the better you eat the more energy you'll have- i have a friend who brastfeeds works ful time and is a single mother- i dont know how she does it but she does and she is very happy- she also excersized and takes care of herself- she has a good schedule going too

Answer 10

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee!!! well it helps for a little while, but having a multivitamin really gets me energized.