Tired mamas: how do you recharge?

[marrymeflyfree]

What do you all do when you really just need to recharge and relax a bit? I've got a very active 14mo daughter and another baby coming at the end of September-ish, and I am just POOPED. I really feel like I need to recharge and store up some fresh mental and physical energy...seriously, I'm at the point where I think I'd be in trouble if I had to birth this new baby right now, and am getting a bit worried about whether or not I'll be ready by then.

It hasn't helped that my iron is low, but I'm working on that with food, hemagenics, and floradix, and it is helping. And July has been hell between hubby being away a LOT this month for work as well as having had many visitors over the last few weeks. Fortunately that is slowing down as well and I'm sure it will help a lot. But I just feel like I can't catch up. I have a little mommy-vacation planned in a couple of weeks; a couple of nights at a hotel with nothing but sleep, a good book, and a massage on my agenda. I've not been away from DD for more than a few hours, and I think a couple of nights of kidless sleep may help. Seems drastic, but I haven't had a really deep sleep or long stretch of sleep since before she was born. And when awake, I am always going, going, going.

What do you guys do when you really need to unwind and recharge?

[SandraS]

The last time I was fully rested was over 16 years ago. I am no help here.

[marrymeflyfree]

Bumping up in the (futile?) hope that not all mamas are dog-tired!

[Just1More]

Super tired here and kicking myself for reading yet another post on MDC instead of going to bed.

I just don't often get a chance to recharge. I just often remind myself that someday I'm really going to miss the business around me, and I marvel at how fast it's going. I feel like I just want to grab one day and hold it, but instead we are constantly marching to bedtime. Marching. Marching. Marching. Always things to do, always places to go.

So, instead of lamenting how tired I am (I'm not saying you are, btw), I try very hard to embrace the loveliness of my life. I try to savor every moment my children are small. It makes being tired not feel quite so bad, and it renews me to give my all to them.

But, when I'm sick or just run down...I fake that I have to potty and I read or something for a few minutes. It's pretty rare I actually get to sleep to recharge no matter how tired I am.

[Snowflower]

i am having a hard time keeping up with my hyper -active 21 mo old! wow.
what i have to do on a daily basis to 'refresh' is put my feet in freezing cold water. sometimes with ice cubes! especially on these hot days..it is shockingly refreshing! when i have a minute i'll scrub the rough parts off with a foot file, slather my cold wet foot in some lotion and rub it in with a washcloth or put socks on for a minute.....aaaaahhhhhh. the coolness stays for awhile.
not like a grand scale recharge, but when i can't go on but have too, it wakes me up and feels good.
oh, and when i was preggo- ice foot baths ALL THE TIME! my feet were a swollen mess though.

[meemee]

for me what worked what really really worked was change the way i thought. you know like byron katie says hell is : help is on its way, heaven is: there is no one coming. i was tired, frustrated you name it. my marriage was breaking down and my then dh was not around. so one day i was in deep despair. the hardest for me was lack of me time. how to get some me time. by 5 pm i was done. seriously if anyone wanted to adopt my child i would have handed her over without blinking an eye.

so i decided to just sit and watch her. why couldnt my time include or involve her in some way. oh boy i never felt soo connected or inspired as i did watching her play, watch her tell me stories. but mainly just watch her with every pore of my body. all my tiredness just disappeared. i felt i could do anything i set my mind to.

that charged me like nothing else ever did. it is still one of my most precious memories of mommyhood. that moment when my shoulders relaxed, the breath left my body and i just sat and watched every little detail of her.

[rusha84]

Seems like you desperately need that vacation you're talking about. Pls tell us if that vacation worked for you. Seems like a handful of mommies here also need to recharge. Me included...haha

[inkslinger]

I live on a delicate balance of caffeine!

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I think my energy revives come when baby is down for a nap...4yo watching a movie or keeping himself busy...i read a book or take a shower....catch some rays...get online...really only need about 45min to an hour. Pedicure does wonders for me....i love that...or a massage...really get's me back in tune.
Here lately i'm not getting any free time.

[teale]

I'm a busy Mama myself, and there are most days where I am just exhausted.

I try to schedule my weeks with DS so that we have a day or two where we just chill at home, and relax. One of those days, I tend to have my own lazy day where I don't really do much around the house, and the other day, I make sure that I do get a good portion of housework done, but still relax.

Other then that? I nap when DS naps if I can barely stand it. I drink coffee, sometimes way too late at night, and sometimes, a nice glass of wine helps me get to sleep when I'm overtired.

Hope that helps- it sucks being so tired.

[ms. pacman]

meemee- That is beautiful! Sometimes stillness speaks! I need to do more of this silent being...awareness, observation, appreciation.

I recharge by talking with a friend on the phone, drinking coffee, dipping in the pool, looking forward to "me time" in the evenings, and sometimes succumbing to the fatigue and going to sleep with the kiddos.

[marrymeflyfree]

Originally Posted by Just1More

So, instead of lamenting how tired I am (I'm not saying you are, btw)...

Oh but I am and I do.....! DH and I were discussing this a couple of weeks ago, and I told him that I knew my attitude was part of the problem. I've been so run down that the littlest thing feels like a major chore. It gets me down, makes me whiney and resentful, and of course that just makes me feel even worse physically and mentally. I *detest* whininess and really get annoyed with myself over it, honestly.

But, I had a couple of decent sleeps last week and am feeling a bit more energetic lately...maybe because of the iron supplementation. I think there for a while I was really feeling some mama-burnout and getting really anxious about how I would handle the birth and then having two very small ones by myself while my husband is away for work. That's what makes it hard; being the 24-7 parent with no family or close friends nearby to lean on once in a while. Major kudos to those of you who are truly single parents - I honestly don't know if I could do it sanely!

Thanks for all of the suggestions and whatnot, everyone - feels good to vent a bit to someone other than my husband! I've been hesitant to admit how I've been feeling to family and friends who do not live near us...maybe it's pride, not wanting to admit that I'm not super woman.