Completely exhausted - but happy?

Are you sure it comes from building?

An ex of mine was also constantly tired during the day, he could have slept anytime and anywhere. In the sleep lab, they then diagnosed sleep apnea. Ask your wife if you snore loudly and if she possibly noticed that you have breathing pauses.

Hi katho,

regarding the house construction, I can't tell you much about it. I think you feel similar to ypg – you worry about everything and try to have everything under control (monitoring). The constant uncertainty about whether everything will work out as planned and the endless replanning probably take away your inner peace. At the moment, you probably can't really switch off and relax. If that’s the case, then moving in should take some of the burden off your shoulders.

Here’s a small example from me:
When my wife was pregnant, the "inner pressure" kept increasing for me. This manifested in various problems with my lower back (lumbar vertebrae). Two months before the birth, I could hardly crawl anymore and took strong painkillers several times a day. Sleep was almost impossible. Nevertheless, I had to keep functioning. From the week the little one was born, I suddenly felt much better. For a year now, the back pain has disappeared like magic.
I hope this psychological stress won’t have similar effects on me when our first groundbreaking takes place. Because then I can forget about doing various DIY jobs (outdoor landscaping, painting, flooring). When you can hardly tie your shoes anymore, ... At the moment, despite the planning stress everything is still tip-top.

By the way, today I often feel completely exhausted standing up. Again because of the little one, who has been waking up every night between 1:30 and 3:30 (deep sleep phase) for months to tell us he’s hungry. At the moment, I’m glad that I have more than an hour commute to work by public transport. Then I can at least somewhat make up for the sleep deficit.

But look at it this way: Only about two more months including a (more or less recovery phase at Christmas) and you’ll have made it.

...When my wife was pregnant, the "inner pressure" kept building up inside me. This manifested itself in various problems with my lower back (lumbar vertebrae). Two months before the birth, I could barely crawl and took strong painkillers several times a day. Sleeping was hardly possible either. Nevertheless, I had to function. From the week the little one was born, I suddenly felt well again. For a year now, the back pain has vanished as if by magic.

That sounds very familiar to me. I don't take painkillers, but my whole body seems to be totally tense. Well then, let's hope this ordeal is over in 2-3 months.

That sounds very familiar to me. I don't take painkillers, but apparently my whole body is totally tense.

If it also affects your lumbar spine area, you might also have trouble falling asleep. It helps to keep the legs elevated (this way the lumbar spine lies flatter and the muscles can relax better). This elevated positioning of the legs is also achieved in hospitals by adjusting the bed.
Normal people don't have such beds - so you have to look for alternatives. For me, it was initially a plastic carrying crate padded with a blanket. Later I tried - please don't laugh - a gym ball. It looks really silly going to bed with an 80 cm high ball. But it has the advantage that this ball is 1. softer than a crate, 2. can be used for various exercises, and 3. can eventually be kicked out of bed (which is hard to do with a crate). I stuck with the ball option.

So - enough about illness stories. It's almost like at the retirees' meeting. There, too, people always talk about various diseases and ailments.

I want to share something about myself: We had a prefabricated house built specifically because we didn’t want a long construction phase. At the same time as pouring the foundation slab, my son was born. On top of that, it was the year-end business at the office... in November/December, our customers go crazy every year...

We lived about 30 km away from the new home, so almost every evening I drove 60 km to the empty house to air it out. In addition, I often received calls at noon from very good craftsmen who pointed out small mistakes in the planning or had practical tips on how to do things better. So there were always visits either for inspection or a “small acceptance” (they needed a non-binding signature at the end of their work), or a meeting with the site manager. All this combined with sleepless nights... you can roughly imagine how you feel at times like that.
You were constantly on the phone because you still had to clarify this or that, or because the site manager once again didn’t keep up on time. Unfortunately, we had little luck with a beginner professional, which means I took over his work to prevent it from turning into a planning disaster.

After the interior construction, there were 4 weeks of personal work during every free minute... always with the child in tow. That’s exhausting, but with the goal of home ownership, you manage it. I also stopped tolerating coffee. And anyone who knows me would be surprised, because I am coffee. Without coffee, I don’t write a single line of code, not a single database query.
What helped me wonderfully as a “replacement drug” was green tea. It has approximately the same amount of theine (caffeine) and is easier on the stomach. Don’t buy just any rubbish from the supermarket; have an oolong tea or white tea sold to you in a tea shop, buy a pretty pot and enjoy the breaks while drinking tea. Those were my moments of calm apart from the evening cuddling with my little son.

These small breaks give you the energy you need.

Now, 6 months after moving in, I still notice that I’m organizing this and that. Child, daycare job, wife working again, garden still not done, the attic and the utility room are still missing inside. It’s probably time to slow down again. You willingly let society drive you to this pace.
Five weeks, then it’s Christmas... a good time to take on less stress.

Substitute drug for coffee: Club Mate