The first sign of Mom Fatigue is leaving weird stuff in the fridge. Olivia Walch once got so tired that she put a box of Cheerios in the refrigerator. For Erin Wamsley, it was mugs of coffee and clean dishes; for Amanda Lamp, a pen. Maya Cash Carpenter told me her car keys sometimes turn up there.
As I interviewed mothers about the symptoms of their persistent exhaustion, they described brain fog, sleepiness, and general discombobulation. “I can’t remember the words I’m trying to say, or a concept I’m trying to convey to people,” said Jennifer Wood, a mother of four and a nurse. And they mentioned, unprompted, the refrigerator. (I, for one, recently bought a $7 pint of fancy ice cream and quickly placed it on a shelf next to the eggs and milk because I, too, am a sleepy mom.)
Believe it or not, mothers of young children sleep on average more than eight hours a night—technically “enough” rest. But many wake up each morning feeling like they could easily snooze for two to 10 more hours. Even after they no longer need to breastfeed in the middle of the night, many moms feel zonked, fantasizing about naps (for ourselves!) and spacing out during conversations (when we’re lucky enough to have adult time). This problem seems to mostly affect mothers specifically, not paren...
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