Majorly sleep deprived.
I need some kind of spell please. To help make things better!
The first day of work went by, I was yawning the most part of it despite it being a relaxing day. I crashed for a power nap during lunch, and headed home early. But, I hardly had the time to rest.
Dinner, start milking business, bond with baby, prep him for bed (wash up, clothes change, milk feed) and my baby refused to sleep. Round of coaxing and twinkle twinkle little stars later, his eyes are still bright and big while I was cursing silently under my breath because I wished I was in bed.
Finally he konked out after an hr. 11.15pm. Time for bed? No.
A whole pile of the day’s soiled bottles and pump parts await me at the wash basin. I wish I have a wand to make them go away, but I only have a brush and some soap to get it through.
I am sooooo dog tired and man, I really think working mothers are superhuman. I so cannot rise up to the task.
And if you are wondering why I am not sleeping since everything is done.. Well, almost. The bottles are in the sterilizer and I’m waiting for them to be done so that I can dry them for tomorrow’s morning usage. And I’m typing this, just so.. I won’t doze off before they are done.
Can I quit? I feel like a sore loser because sleep deprivation is getting to me. Meanwhile, the husband is playing with his iPad. -_-”
There should be a law that all men must be house husband for a month when their wives give birth just so they can understand and care for their spouses better.
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Cherie
Hi there! Thanks for popping by. I'm Cherie, a ftwm (full-time working mum) to 3 lovely kids (2 boys & a princess) and my motto in life is to BE HAPPY. Sure, life isn't all that smooth but it's the mentality that counts, no? This blog documents my life. Or rather, snippets of my life that has passed me by. I love capturing life memories in the blog and being able to read back and laugh at myself (or anyone). I love to eat (A LOT), travel and paint my own nails so the blog is mostly about that. Is that considered lifestyle? Of cos, the family is also very much an integral part of me so there would be loads of memories about the husband and my kids - Jerry (9yo), Jerome (7yo) and Leia (2.5yo) and everyone else that's close to me. I like documenting the kids' milestones, their growing up years, their achievements (and sometimes, mine), and my struggles and battles with motherhood. It sure ain't easy. I love seeking out good food and travelling, is trigger-happy, love new gadgets, love exploring new places and strives to live life to the fullest. I aspire to travel the world as much as I can, to soak in the different sights across the various continents and visit all the Disneylands in the world (almost there!). Have fun reading and do drop me a comment to say hi! Love, Cherie Lim Find me on Instagram.
27 Comments
missustay
when my husb took one month off to do confinement with me, it was the TOUGHEST time of his life. he found it more challenging than army and everything else. hahaha!
cherieladieblogs
My hubby only spent 3 days with me and it was already pure torture for him with all that sleep deprivation.
I had to admit. I view all mothers in a different light now. They are all damn tough to survive it.
jzlyn
Why don’t you get him to help with washing / prepping the bottles? Or even your mom? Get 2-3 sets of bottles, pump equipment (funnels, etc) so you don’t have to keep washing after every use. Get your mom to wash the set you use at night in the day while you are at work?
cherieladieblogs
Haha. My hubby will say ok, continue with his iPad business and then before I know it.. Dozed off to lala land and I will still have to wash them myself.
Don’t wanna tax my mum too much since she already spent the entire day looking after the baby and all the household chores, plus all our meals.
cherieladieblogs
And oh, I already have 2 sets of pump equipment, but I don’t wash them at work cos no place to dry/sterilize them.
jzlyn
Get 3 sets… So on very lazy / tired days you can skip washing and still have one set ready. I only pump once or twice a day and I have 2 sets lol. And if you pump overnight, say 11pm then again in the morning before work, don’t wash after the night pump, put in ziplock then refrigerate. Wash after the morning pump or wait till you get home from work, wash with the work set.
BTW, I stop sterlising after 6 months, so that should save you some time in the future.
cherieladieblogs
I wanted to get 3 sets, but my husband think it’s no need. But I really think I should to save my sanity.
And hmm, hearing what you have to say.. I think I look forward to the 6 months mark! Lol. 1.5 mths to go.
How long are you intending to breastfeed? I had the notion of going on for as long as I can but lately, I keep wanting to give it up cos I’m finding it too cumbersome and too tired. =(
jzlyn
It’s not ex to get a 3rd set – i mean not buying the pump but just the funnels, bottles, etc. For your sanity and to save that precious few mins is worth it in my opinion.
Agreed with the person below, I don’t dry my bottles too. The moisture is clean anyway. That ought to save you time as well.
My situation is different, I am not working and she won’t bloody take the bottle. If I have to juggle work, then 6 months. Right now I’d say 1 year, since it’s at the 1 year mark that we can start giving fresh milk to babies. I am hoping earlier if she gets better with the bottle or even the sippy cup. I know I am sounding ungrateful but I am so done with breastfeeding!
cherieladieblogs
i think you have done great especially since you have no help. i don’t know about hk, i got the 2nd set (funnels and parts) for about $140 in singapore. way too ex in my opinion for something so trivia.
there isn’t many places that sells it in singapore apparently, my other concern is.. i don’t know when i’ll stop. 2 days back at work and i can feel the supply dwindling. and fast. 🙁
jzlyn
Did you get it at the medela shop/ svc centre in SG? I bought it from some seller on SMH bulk purchase section, don’t think it costs that much bottles were 26 and I think the pump heads and funnels were maybe 50-60 total. Can’t remember.
cherieladieblogs
i bought it from mums & babes. tried looking around the various shops but the medela products range is not that wide.
there’s no dedicated medela shop in singapore. maybe i should order it online in US and have it shipped over.
jzlyn
I have absolutely ZERO guilt if I have to stop breastfeeding tomorrow.
cherieladieblogs
*likes* you have already come a long way!
ikedee
Totally understand how tired you feel! I remember the days when I just stepped back to work, coming home with breast pumps that needed to be washed and sterilized, and with bottles used for that day. So dead tired already with all the long hours at the hotel line… The thing that kept me going was the look on my baby’s face, haha!
Anyway, some little tricks that might help u 🙂
– BF baby lying sideway, so you get a bit of a booster nap during the feed
– get more bottles and maybe another set of pump? I had 3 manual pumps and 8 bottles at one point of time
– get the hubby to contribute to washing the bottles, pumps and baby clothes
– train baby to sleep thru night so u have more adequate rest (will be tough on beginning though…)
I remember I couldn’t tahan after a mth or so. I began dragging the hours to the next pump till I could go home after 12 hours with overstuffed boobs that were threatening to explode! Just so I don have to bring and wash the pumps. Hehe!
Get more rest k, a mother’s well being is very important! Not just baby!
cherieladieblogs
I already have 2 sets of pumps equipment and 21 bottles! Quite extreme I think.
My baby has already slept through the night since he was 2 months, but the past 2 days he was especially cranky (as if he didn’t have enough of mummy time) and kept waking up. He woke up 3 times last night!
I just hope everything settles back into routine. I lost it last night cos I was sooooo tired and shouted at baby and ask him to sleep please cos mama has to work! I feel damn guilty thereafter.
=(
ikedee
Aiyo… Poor u… Good thing is baby won’t remember that 🙂 ya, maybe he also settling into new routine, thus the waking up at nights. Hope he will settle in soon and everything will work well for u 😀
cherieladieblogs
i am wondering if its cos mummy isnt there to spend as much time as before and hence the increased crankiness.
my mum says my son adores me and always excited and have a ready smile for me.
i hope things smoothen out soon! looking forward to the weekend!
syun
I don’t know about you but I don’t dry the bottles after sterilising because the water that is in the bottles are ‘sterile’ water. The baby will not ge tummy upset from drinking it. In fact, I think some cloths used to dry bottles are ‘dirtier’ cos got more ‘chemicals’.
Anyway, my tip is to do whatever gets you some rest. Get your hubby to help and tell him that you really need a hand. Otherwise, it will be small things like that which stresses you and also the relationship between you and your hubby.
Hope this helps!
cherieladieblogs
haha. i know the bottles are supposed to be sterile. but being wet makes me think dust will stick to them.. (its just me) i dry them using a drying rack, just to air it dry.
and by the way, thanks for the tips! hopefully, things would be better soon!
*keeping fingers crossed*
jzlyn
Actually using a drying rack defeats the purpose of sterlizing. They will only remain sterile in the sterilizer (unopen). Best practice is to sterlize, cap the bottles and put everything in a clean ziplock bag.
Jerry is old enough now. Plus in the old days I am sure our parents only boil everything once a day 🙂
cherieladieblogs
Agree with the olden days analogy! my mum still boils my bottles sometimes (and burns holes in them!).
seishouai
You know, when sleep deprivation got to me really badly, i gave up breastfeeding. It sounds horrible but giving P FM preserved my sanity & brain.
Can someone at home help you out with washing the pump & bottles?
cherieladieblogs
my mum is already taking care of the baby during the day and has to cook meals for the family, so i thought it would be nicer of me to wash my own bottles. besides, i’m rather anal about the cleanliness and my mum got bad eyesight (sometimes, i still feel the bottles are still oily).
the other person left is hubby. i should go poke him more.
seishouai
Get him to help…my hubby or MIL washes the bottles & sterilises them. Even up till today. Don’t refuse any help and try to find ways to save extra steps or time.
It takes a village to raise a child and it’s tough doing everything by yourself, on top of juggling FT work. *hugs*
piggy_pat79
Hello!! Long time no speak- been a silent reader on your blog so I hope u don’t mind!!
Congrats on mummyhood- we’ve all come a long way! I wanted to share my gg back to work experience w u: Like u I also had no help and had to deal with the same thing. Pump before sleeping, pop it into steriliser, pump when I wake and then sterilse w boiling water.i remember those tough days (2 yrs ago) and I only had one pump. But don’t worry u will get used to it, as u said, mummies are the best! We are stronger than we think! Be positive.:)
cherieladieblogs
hi pat! long time no see/speak! have u stopped blogging completely? i missed reading your entries (and exercise regime).
thanks for sharing! feel very encouraged with all the advice/help/tips that everyone is sharing here. i’m just getting through one day at a time and i’m sure, it’ll be all behind me soon. shall just feed on the happiness of seeing my boy grow each day.
piggy_pat79
Haha yes! Theexercise has gone completely down the drain! I do try to run on weekends when my daughter naps but it gets increasingly tough as i try to also cook dinner, take her to the park AND hv an early dinner!!! Sigh. The sacrifices we make!
But yes ur son def knows that u are away fr him and it will take a while for him to adjust but don’t worry they are adaptable and will be fine. My daughter went on a milk strike on my first week back at work and she also didn’t sleep the whole day on my first day back ( I had to stay till 9 that day somemore!) so it was also v distressing! But after a while she got the hang of it and was ok. So don’t worry ok!