Life is so monotonous...

Mojisola

debtfreesomeday wrote: »

Yes, I am so tired. Physically and mentally. My son has never been a good sleeper and I have probably had 3 full night's sleep in the past 2.5 years. I'm so tired of being tired. Hubby is very good at getting up early (5am most mornings) with DS, but by that time I'm awake and the sleep doesn't return.

There's a very good reason why sleep deprivation is used as torture - after 2.5 years of poor sleep there will be detrimental physical changes in your brain and body.

You need to make getting some regular sleep a major priority!

Could you sleep at someone else's house for a couple of nights a week and let your OH look after the little one? If you do it on the nights when he doesn't have work the next day, he could catch up with a snooze during the afternoon when you're home.

Once you've caught up with your sleep, everything else will seem so much easier.

I very firmly second balletshoes' post - the people who matter won't think badly of you and the ones who do don't matter. Who gave them the right to pass judgment on you!

Bennifred

....and remember: it's a phase - this too will pass! I can remember desperately telling myself that when my children were small, and it was true!

Mojisola

debtfreesomeday wrote: »

I have put on quite a bit of weight in the past few years which has massively affected my confidence.

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss

8. Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight
When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.

Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. “Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite,” says Siebern. “Shortened sleep time is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin.”

Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.

teabag29

There's lots of cheap ways to have fun, does your little one enjoy arts and crafts? Also like someone mentioned family bike riding can be alot of fun, take a picnic and go to the park/nature trail or even the woods. We have had many memorable days doing this. Vue cinema's do a kids screening weekend mornings where all tickets are £1.50. Do you have a wii? this is a great way to have fun with the family

Mrs.W_2

As balletshoes so eloquently says, be very selective about those whose opinions mean a damn to you.

And, please, turn a deaf ear (maybe add a half-hearted smile if you feel generous) to every other voice that might want to put forward an opinion. They don't matter.

When I found myself in a similar position to yours, a few years back, a friend told me, "They don't matter, and I don't mind."

I took those words to heart.

EDA: I'm not as eloquent as Balletshoes. Sorry.

ciderwithrosie_2

Bennifred wrote: »

....and remember: it's a phase - this too will pass! I can remember desperately telling myself that when my children were small, and it was true!

I second this! Some days when my 3 were little, I could have just sat and cried once they'd gone to bed (and probably did), but the next day we'd start all over again and time would pass.

If it was a wet day and they were all climbing the walls, I used to put them in old clothes and wellies and take them to run round the BMX track in the park across the road, up and down the bumps and through big puddles. They'd be worn out and settle down then.

It's a shame you don't feel up to Mums and Toddlers - that was something that we all looked forward to every week, as it can be very isolated being at home with young children. I made some good friends I'm still in contact with now and my boys are all grown up.

Mojisola

Don't forget groups like Home Start - https://www.home-start.org.uk/ - if there's one in your area, have a word with them.

Don't be afraid to ask for help now - there's years ahead of you when you'll be able to offer help to other people.

alwaysbrassic

I second jogging. My kiddiewinks are now a little bit older, but recently I started feeling down in myself, life felt a bit same old. I decide I needed a bit of time to myself so I have started jogging!
If you knew me you would know I was the last person to do this, unfit and unmotivated, but I love it.
I get 30 mins to myself, I feel on a high when I have finished, And I am getting fit! Don't get me wrong, I am still building myself up, but exercise is proven to improve mood. Worth a try for a few weeks?

barbarawright

Another vote for jogging. Google Couch to 5k which is a brilliant programme designed for people with zero fitness (literally - at first you're alternating a minute of running with 3 minutes of walking). I'm a size 16, completely hopeless and I love it. It's almost free too - you can start off in a pair of trainer and buy cheap running shoes when you're sure you'll stick at it.

Also check out your local library, not just for kid's activities. Most will run book groups and other activities for free. Even an online book group might get the braincells going a bit

kingfisherblue

Here are some more ideas for cheap/free activities:

* junk modelling
* planting seeds in eggboxes - you can sometimes get free seeds over the internet
* building towers with yoghurt pots
* blowing bubbles - try making your own with washing up liquid, glycerine and water. Use pipecleaners to make shaped blowers
* play with small cars, using household items as ramps. Have races between a low gradient and a high gradient - which is fasatest? (A bit of early science here )
* decorating plain cakes or biscuits
* baking - use a kit if you don't want to buy all the bits and bobs
* pizza faces - great way to include veg
* draw around your son's body on a large piece of paper - the back of a roll of wallpaper is great as the paper is quite strong. Play a game where he names each part of his body and points to it on the paper as well as on himself (arm, foot, etc)
* feed birds in the garden or ducks in the park
* play with a bowl of warm soapy water. Use different containers
* hide plastic dinosaurs or animals in sand. If you don't have a sandpit, you can use a large bowl outside. Sand is about £3 from toyshops and a bag will last you absolutely ages
* build a tent with a sheet over the washing line
* have an indoor picnic for lunch. Get your little boy to 'help' to set out the cloth, bring small dishes of finger foods from the kitchen, and tidy away afterwards
* sing
* make a pirate eyepatch, decorate a cereal box as treasure, and use a cloth as an island. Hide the treasure under the cloth and let him find it (I know it sticks up, but most children love this game, especially if they cover their eyes while you move the treasure time after time)
* make worms - roll a piece of breadstick in honey, then roll in crushed bourbon creams. Messy, but quite a nice activity
* make a snake - cut a paper plate into a spiral, let your son decorate, then add eyes and hang one end from a string
* fly flags - tape tea towels to a piece of dowelling on a windy day
* make a place mat - let your son draw or colour a picture on A4 paper and laminate. Some community centres and libraries offer this service if you don't have a laminator at home
* treasure hunt - colour a square of each of the main colours onto a piece of card and help your son find something the same colour. This can be indoors or outdoors
* paint feet and walk on a piece of wallpaper
* print animal masks off the internet, or make your own with paper plates
* read a book together
* measure your son against a wall (maybe outside with chalk). Show your son how to measure teddy, his beaker, etc (you don't need to use numbers, just words like bigger and smaller)
* practice cutting skills with safe scissors and old catalogues. Glue the pictures onto paper
* mix up all of your son's socks and play a matching game - maybe straight from the washing machine
* make skittles from juice bottles
* go for a splash in some puddles, or when Autumn comes, a scrunchy walk in fallen leaves
* blow up a ballooon and bop it about. Great with some music in the background


You might also find these websites useful:

https://www.dltk-kids.com

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

http://www.persil.co.uk/category/kids-activities/ (might be a bit old)

http://fun.familyeducation.com/hobbies-and-interests/games/33380.html

http://www.thestay-at-home-momsurvivalguide.com/p/toddler-activities.html

Hope you enjoy some of these OP x