Parenting Emotions - Fatigue

We have our babies and life seems comlete

Or does it ???

How many times over the next few months/years/decades even

are you likely to use the words......

Thats it, I'm exhausted !!!!!
 

Broken

There is nothing quite like being up all night and finding yourself watching the clock not hoping you can fall asleep but instead wishing the sun would rise and you could start a new day.
We all seem to accept that new born babies take a while to sleep through the night, ironically the night they do manage to sleep through the night for the first time is usually when you are still awake, watching over them and wondering why they haven't woken as usual for a feed !!
Finally we get our baby to sleep through the night once, then maybe a couple more nights and we feel even more exhausted then when we were getting up twice a night, then comes the night when once again we have to get up during the night and it almost finishes us off
There is no real cure to Broken Sleep, and there is no such thing as getting used to it either, yes it can become a part of our routine, but losing sleep at regular intervals is something we never get used too
The only self help there is available is to make sure we rest and get naps when we can, usually when baby is having their naps or when we have a reliable family member or friend who is happy to watch baby so you can catch up on sleep.

Lack of Sleep and Toddlers

We all know the physical demands of a toddler, it seems that as soon as you turn your head, they are once again doing something they shouldn't be doing. They have boundless energy to the point you feel tired just watching them run around,
They demand attention all the time and you spend every day running around picking up after them, trying to organise everything around the house at the same time.
Then you have the Toddlers that refuse to settle nicely at bedtime. They will fight to keep awake as long as they can, checking on them every 5 minutes trying to get them to lie down and  you end up even more exhausted.
Toddlers are naturally energetic and inquisitive, however one of the best ways I found of tiring my toddlers was plenty of fresh air !!! Take the toddler for walks, even if its a trip in their buggy to an open area where they can run around. Spend the day giving them the opportunity to wear themselves out but establish an evening routing early on which consists of slowly winding them down. You will find it very hard to settle a toddler for sleep if you just stop whatever they are doing and putting them to bed because its their bedtime. Plan the evening around their bedtime, a relaxing bath, a story, a milky drink, quiet activities or help your toddler to slowly relax and be ready for sleep.

Afraid to Sleep and Teens

Afraid to sleep ???? Why would that be ????
Usually for one of the following reasons:
1) They could sneak out of the house
2) They could miss their curfew and you need to catch them
3) They may sneak someone into the house
4) They may eat/drink/smoke something they shouldn't
5) They may get a kick out of telling you what they really think of you whilst thinking you are asleep !!!! LOL

There are so many reasons that if you have Teens in your house, you lie half awake all night listening for the slightest noise that could make you suspicious and worry what they are planning to do next !!!
The tips I used for this was to set realistic targets for them to reach,
for instance I would have one curfew for a school night which would be a sensible time, however on a weekend as long as they kept to the correct times during the week, I would set a reasonable time that we could both live with for the weekends. I had another rule that as long as I knew where they were and they kept me up to date if running late also having a good reason for it, I would not argue with them. Keeping to the rule that there had to be a good reason, forgetting the time was not a good enough reason !!!!!!
Get to know their friends, by getting to know their friends, i would feel happier knowing who they were with
Have moments of honesty where we could be totally honest with each other with no comeback, the only rule would be to keep it respectful, 

Parenting really is the most tiring occupations in the world today, the good news is that it can also be the most rewarding