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Early years

06th Mar 2020

Some days I’m so tired I don’t even feel like I’m a real person anymore

Melissa Carton

Sleep deprivation is extremely common when you have a small baby at home.

Whether it’s night feeds or teething, sometimes the nights can feel never-ending.

My daughter started a bedtime routine recently and for the first time since she was born, I was actually getting a proper night’s sleep.

Then some new teeth decided to make an appearance and now most night’s she’s waking up several times cranking with teething pains.

I’m back in work so when she keeps me up all night there’s no chance of me catching a few ZZZs during her afternoon nap.

Instead, I’m sat at my computer struggling to keep my eyes open, hoping the coffee I drank will kick in soon.

When it gets to lunchtime I’ve often too tired to go anywhere and most days just eat a packed lunch at my desk to save myself from unnecessary movements.

The area it hurts me the most though is socialising.

I just don’t have the energy after zero sleep to hold an intelligent conversation, let alone head on nights out.

It makes me sad because I’m fully capable of being a social butterfly but most days all anyone sees is a worn out zombie with no speech skills.

 

I love being a parent but it can be a struggle some days to also be a functioning human being.

When I’m around other people I don’t want to talk about how tired I am but it keeps cropping up due to me having bags under my eyes you could do your weekly shop in.

Most people live for the weekend because they can kick off the work week and have some fun.

At the moment I’m living for the weekend because it gives me a chance to catch up on some sleep.

It’ll be grand though, she’ll start to sleep through the night soon…right?