How do you get enough R&R during subsequent pregnancies when you have older LO(s) who still have endless energy? We've done an embarrassing amount of screen time but I've also tried really hard to keep up some activities. We did play group and a birthday party this weekend but today (and tomorrow) I'm not sure what we'll be up to. I'm worn out!
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This is one of my biggest road blocks before I am ready to try for a second one. We don't have family nearby and I had hyperemesis gravidarum least time.
So far my plan includes a moms morning out program at a local church for 3 hours once a week. Maybe a mother's helper one afternoon too. I am tempted to try sooner rather than later just because she's still on two naps...
Would anyone from your play group be open to a baby swap? Entertaining two isn't too much harder than one and you could use your swap time to chill.
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It was really hard. Lots of screen time and I tried to nap when he did. And dh got up with him some weekend mornings.
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I relied on DH a lot more after work. Although, I wasn't nearly as tired this time around as my first (and a lot less sick although I did not have HG). I think I had gotten used to the sleep deprivation by the time I got pregnant with our second.
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It was really hard- and I didn't have HG or anything serious, just regular old pregnancy exhaustion. Lots of screen time. Play dates at friends houses where everything is pretty child proofed so we could sit around and chat and supervise. And I started her in a two hour a week drop off program so I had those two hours to myself. Plus I napped it rested during almost every nap time. Oh and hiring a monthly cleaning person- I was way too tired for deep cleaning plus I couldn't even reach the tub by the end!
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I try to get out most mornings. Then I nap when he does daily! He is so busy and exhausting!
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DH is amazing! Don't know how else I'd manage.
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@Applesandbananas: I'm starting to feel a tiny bit more energy now at 10 1/2 weeks (that 1/2 feels really important!). But for a few weeks I had to nap when she did. I just slept in her bed with her for the full 90 minutes. Other than that we'd go outside in the morning and afternoon. I just had to force myself. It made everything so much better, helped with nausea, energy, and fatigue.
I didn't have caffeine until this week, and we don't really do screen time, she gets like maybe 30 minutes a week. So fresh air and naps were it! -
It got better after the first tri. He had a lot of TV those first few months, but I found I had most of my energy back from about 14 weeks. I'm just starting to get really tired again now at 34 weeks, so there is a lot of passing toddler duty over to DH as soon as he walks in!
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DH takes over a lot. They're currently outside walking the dog while I lay in bed and try not to throw up. DH also brought in all the groceries and put them away
️. We end up doing a lot more screen time too.
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Tv and relying on dh a lot. The worst part for me is i feel bad that i cant run around with lo all day like i used to, and on top of the guilt, im also much more short with her. It's not easy to be a good parent in the first tri!
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DH has to step it up, otherwise I don't get any rest and turn into a giant B that he doesn't want to be around lol.
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I try to rest a bit when she's at preschool (although I'm usually out and about instead). She won't nap anymore so we spend a lot of the afternoon in the den playing or she'll do some independent play while I sit and watch from the couch. I'm almost 34 weeks and can see myself slowing down a bit.
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At the beginning of my pregnancy DS still took two naps, so that was helpful. By the end the sheer amount of screen time was...horrifying. but we lived. We did the pool a lot because DS could burn a lot of energy and I could weigh less for a bit.
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Screen time and lax house keeping.
I took naps any chance I could. -
I really wasn't able to get enough rest and ended up being signed off sick from work for exhaustion. Not ideal at all, but my body desperately needed the rest and I had become quite ill. I hope you find a less drastic way
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@Cherrybee: signing off from work? Does that count toward your maternity leave?
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@catomd00: oh yes- DH took all the toddler motn wake ups because I just could not deal when I was up all night and everyone would suffer. It was terrible. But also good practice for after the baby was here and he had to take the toddler wake ups since I'm nursing the baby.
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Like others, I'm napping while LO's do (at least during the first tri) and allowing more iPad time than usual on the weekends. Otherwise, I really have to push through the exhaustion. I meet the caffeine limit often.
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Ain't gonna lie. It was brutal. I was working full time and my toddler was NOT napping. DH had started a new job and was working a lot of nights. I got laid off while pregnant and worked a summer temp job as well. Not sure what was harder. Going back to work after being off for 2 months while pregnant. Or being home with a toddler 5 days a week while pregnant.
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It was rough. I was puking until the third trimester and my LO is very high energy and doesnt nap. DH took over a lot and we enrolled him in a bit longer hours at school so that I had more rest time over the summer (He was part time as I was home over the summer). It was a long difficult pregnancy and I wouldn't have survived without my DH's help.
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