Posts Tagged ‘Sleep Deprived’
I was in the final touches of writing a really helpful post about post-tonsillectomy recovery for children. I planned to put the finishing touches on it this morning.
Then Hannah refused to sleep last night. That girl was up every 1.5-2 hours all night long. She complained that her “mouth was on fire” and no matter how much pain medicine or ice cold water we gave her, she was miserable all night. Which translates into Jonathan and I being up all night {and truthfully, pretty miserable too}.
Exhaustion has set in and my brain is no longer functioning at a blog post worthy level. And while I’m craving a nap like nobody’s business, Hannah’s acting like last night never even happened….
Is It Time to Call It Quits?
Posted on: October 12, 2011
- In: Life
- 10 Comments
I clearly remember hitting a point in my pregnancies with Julia and Hannah where it was challenging to actually be around people. Doesn’t that sound awful? But, it’s true. I didn’t want to be around anyone. I just wanted to bury myself away and sleep until I went into labor.
I’ve officially hit that point again.
The difference between pregnancy 1, 2 and 3 is that you get less and less of a choice to hide away. Kiddo 1 and 2 simply won’t allow it. And while my natural instinct is to crawl into my bed and stay there until Joseph arrives, Julia and Hannah are helping me put on my game face and face the world. It’s good for me. It’s good for our family. Well, so long as I have my coffee.
So, is it time to call it quits? Not quite. But please excuse me while I drink another pot of coffee in hopes of waking up.
How Pregnancy Ruins Your Sleep
Posted on: July 11, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
In the last two weeks, I’ve started tossing and turning more and more as I sleep. Then, like a bolt of lighting, my sciatica has reared it’s ugly face making hip pain a major problem at night. I’m like the Princess and the Pea. I can feel every lump, bump, and hump in our bed no matter how many pillows I use. And when I get up, I limp around like an old man until my sciatica lightens up. It’s left me extra tired and wondering if the remainder of my pregnancy will be spent sleeping in the lazy boy.
And then I found this:
Just looking at this picture makes me want to take a nap. A giant pillow to snuggle on that supports all the right places. Mama likes.
The only set back I’ve found is that it’s $69. Which I don’t want to spend on a pillow. But it sure is tempting at after a night of tossing and turning.
I’ve positioned my pillows so they mimic the Cozy Comfort, but unfortunately, they move around too much. And my tried and true methods from Julia and Hannah’s pregnancies aren’t seeming to work this time around, as Baby Boy is sitting a lot lower than either of the girls, making for some new adjustments. Sigh. Perhaps I can get a large mattress cover and make my own Cozy Comfort? After all, it’s just a big pillow with a whole in it. How hard can it be to make?
If you’re pregnant, or have ever been pregnant, what’s your favorite sleep positions and pillows?
Beating Night Time Insomnia
Posted on: March 8, 2011
- In: Life
- 6 Comments
In college I perfected my sleeping skills. After all, isn’t that what college is about? Learning to sleep in class? No? Well, all the same, I learned how to nap effectively, sleep anywhere and fall asleep fast.
However, I never learned how to stay asleep. Which is fairly crucial, especially as a mom. But, I’m learning and thought I’d pass along my tips for middle of the night insomnia.
1o Ways to Battle Nighttime Insomnia
1. Stay in bed – Unless you just have to get up to pee, don’t get up. Getting up just makes you wake up even more.
2. Don’t look at the clock – During my pregnancy with Julia, my insomnia got so bad, I’d be awake for hours. I remember a co-worker telling me to turn the clock around, so that when I did wake up, I wouldn’t fixate on how much sleep I was loosing. It helped more than I expected.
3. Read – This is best done with an iPad or Kindle, so you can keep the lights to a minimum, but reading can help put your mind at ease and induce sleep {or just get you through a few more chapters!}.
4. Journal – A lot on your mind? Right them down to get them off your mind so you can rest again.
5. Watch T.V. – When I just can’t sleep, and reading doesn’t help, I slip downstairs and turn on some PBS. Snooze….
6. Drink some hot chocolate – Typically speaking, I avoid eating anything overnight, but drinking warm milk does wonders. It’s soothing and relaxing.
7. Warm shower/bath – The warm water is a lot like warm milk – soothing and relaxing.
8. Change locations – Moving to a spare room or the couch can help trick you mind into thinking it’s time to go back to sleep.
9. Embrace your “alone time” – Let’s face it, sometimes sleep just isn’t gonna happen. So do something. Clean. Prep for the day. Catch up on emails. And hope you can get a nap the next day.
10. Pray – Saturday night, I was up for 4 hours. I even took a crawesome 3 mile run at 2:30 am. None of my “tricks” for falling back asleep worked. In the end, I just prayed. And prayed a lot. I battled through some crazy fears and doubts. By the end, I fell asleep peacefully.
Do you battle with insomnia? What are your trick/tips?
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
Unintentional Co-Sleeping
Posted on: January 19, 2011
- In: Life
- 14 Comments
Nap time in the Big Bed
When Julia was born, I was firmly against sleeping in the same bed with her. I viewed our master bed as a sanctuary, a safe haven from the day. And as such, I didn’t want to share it with anyone but Jonathan. Which in reality meant, I spent a lot of nights sleeping in a rocking chair. But despite the hours spent sleeping nearly upright, I never gave in.
And then we had Hannah.
I was way too tired to make the trip 20 feet to Hannah’s bassinet and back every few hours. Before I knew it, Hannah was 6 months old and co-sleeping. Honestly, Jonathan and I didn’t mind, both knowing it gave us a little more sleep. However, somehow {maybe intuition?} Julia caught on to our new sleeping arrangements and demanded to have a spot too. Well, demanded might be a tad strong, maybe begging at 3 am is more like it. And really, who were we to fight it? {Ah, the life of sleep deprived parents}. Slowly, we weaned both girls out of our beds {well, Julia never fully – she still managed to find her way back in every few nights}.
Once we moved to Texas, we had the horror {and I do mean horror} of discovering that our movers broke Hannah’s crib. So, much before she {or we} were ready, Hannah was bumped up to a big girl bed – a twin mattress on the floor. Before we knew it, Hannah was coming into our room every.single.night. We pushed both girls’ beds together, in hopes that it would deter Hannah from leaving. But it did not. And, if Hannah left, Julia was sure to follow.
So our sleeping arrangements are back to unintentional co-sleeping. And while we don’t love fighting over the space at 1 am, I’ve learned to deal with enjoy having baby feet in my face every night. After all, this won’t last forever. Right?
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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