Sunday, November 29, 2009

If I Could Change Just One Thing...

As I type this right now, I look to my left, and my husband is snoring softly with his head leaned back in his chair. The wee ones are both asleep in their beds, happily (I assume) napping.

This isn't unusual. My husband can sleep anywhere, at any time. It takes him seconds to fall asleep when he chooses. This isn't to say that he falls asleep when he doesn't want to in a problematic manner, but if he wants to nap, he simply does.

I'm not blessed with that gift. No matter how tired I am, I cannot nap. Even when I was on the brink of exhaustion with newborns, I could never sleep during the day. Once I'm up, I'm up regardless of how much or how little sleep I got.

This is coming into stark relief today. Thursday night, Little Miss had a nightmare. At 4:20am, I was jerked awake by her screams of Moooooommmmmmyyyyy! that echoed pitifully down the hallway. My husband (who needs less sleep than me and can sleep anywhere -- as mentioned above) was out doing the Black Friday scouring for us, so it was up to me to comfort her. She babbled about a monster she had dreamt about and simply clung to me. This is exceedingly unusual for her, and it took a good ten minutes before I could convince her to lay down again.

Then I laid down again. No matter what tricks I tried or how hard I worked, I never did fall asleep again, and my night's sleep ended at 4:20am. The irony that I could have gotten up at 4:20 and done the shopping myself was not lost on me.

Fortunately, that meant that when she called for me at 6am to say that she'd thrown up in her bed, I was already awake and was able to get her to the toilet in time for round 2. And Momma don't do puke, so yes, she then climbed into bed with me in clean clothes while we waited for Daddy to get home.

This wouldn't be so bad, except that the night before, Mister Man had come screaming down the hallway yelling for Mommy. At 2:20am. (Mind you, I've trained the wee ones to call for Daddy in the middle of the night when they need something. They have learned to do so, but when it's something really big, inevitably, it's Mommy they need). I caught him before he reached our room, which at least kept him from waking up Little Miss with his screaming.

Apparently the furnace scared him (we were at my in-laws and he has to sleep in the basement there -- more on that in a day or so). Once I explained to him the various bangs and whooshes the furnace made and the causes behind them -- he now understands how metal expands when heated -- he was able to go back to bed.

At 2:50, I got up to get a drink. At 3:30, I gave up and turned on the light to try to do some reading. At 5:20, I had finished counting backwards from 500 after doing some deep breathing exercises. Somewhere around 6, I finally fell asleep. Of course, the wee ones woke me up just after 7. And you know... once I'm up, I'm up.

I'm still exhausted today, and this is after two nights of no wee ones disturbing my slumber. So really, if I could change just one thing about myself, forget the usual things people ask for -- supermodel-dom, wealth, more time in the day, etc -- I simply would really appreciate the ability to take a nap, even if only just every once in awhile.

How about you? What would you most like to change about yourself?

13 comments:

Pop and Ice November 29, 2009 at 5:08 PM  

I wish I didn't need a daily nap. I practically perish without one!

Teacher Tom November 29, 2009 at 6:33 PM  

Oh I love naps. I especially like the 15 minute snooze, in a chair in the middle of the afternoon. I wish that ability for you as well!

septembermom November 29, 2009 at 8:08 PM  

I can't really nap either. I wish I could. I feel like a zombie most of the time. I need to get more sleep!

Unknown November 29, 2009 at 10:28 PM  

Does losing 500 lbs count? I'm still recuperating from a serious turkey hangover. Monday I diet!

Laura November 29, 2009 at 11:48 PM  

my big fat...yeah never mind that I think my intolerance for other peoples random noise it bugs the daylights out of me! Are you coming to join the blogger gift exchange? :D hint hint!!

Hyacynth November 30, 2009 at 7:51 AM  

I would change my sleep needs from 9 hours a night to something more reasonable when you have kids, like, say, 6. :)
Here's tro you getting rested.

xxxx November 30, 2009 at 9:38 AM  

Ohhh, that's a bad one! I can ALWAYS fall back to sleep (I'm not helping here, am I? sorry :) ) Try to get some rest!

WeaselMomma November 30, 2009 at 9:44 AM  

I feel your pain. I too am unable to nap or get back to sleep once I am awake. I hope you get a super good nights sleep soon.

Angela November 30, 2009 at 11:21 AM  

This is something I TOTALLY understand. I never used to have difficulty with sleep. I slept perfectly, at any time and anywhere. Then, over the last few years, I've developed insomnia. Sometimes I just can't fall asleep. Other times I can't stay asleep. Then there are the nights where I doze, but never get into real deep sleep. (The most annoying thing about that last one is, I'm conscious of it happening but powerless to stop it). So I definitely feel your pain on this one!

Last week I was running on empty by Wednesday, after several disastrous nights. Thankfully, I slept GREAT over the holiday (I usually do, as long as there is no deadline for when I have to get up).

Now, I usually can nap if I'm tired enough. And a 20 minute nap (no longer or I'm groggy) is perfect and usually fuels me through the rest of the day. It's workdays (where I can't nap after a poor night's sleep) that kill me!

Pat November 30, 2009 at 12:29 PM  

As far back as I can remember, I've always gotten sleepy in the afternoon around 2 or 3 pm, and if I'm home, I'll take a 15-20 minute nap. Must be a low in my bio. rhythm. What would I'd change about myself? Not being nervous when speaking in front of an audience my peers.

Michelle November 30, 2009 at 8:58 PM  

Carol Lynn -- Yikes, you make a good point. Much as I'd like to sleep, I'd hate to HAVE to sleep.

Tom - Hmmm, that was sneaky. Rubbing it in yet still wishing it for me. Nicely done.

Kelly - I'm right there with you, complete with the black circles under my eyes.

Megryansmom - Hmmm. Nope, doesn't count. ;)

Laura - Oooo you would not like my house then. The wee ones are king and queen of random noises, with my husband as the ummm emperor?

Hyacynth - That would be nice, too. My husband can do the 5 or 6 hours and be fine, but I really need at LEAST 8 and preferrably 9 or 10. I's sad, I know.

Swishy - Ummm no. Nope, not helping at all :)

WeaselMomma - Yikes, and with five kids, I'm sure you're up far more often than I am. No wonder you have your silence at 4am with your coffee.

Angela - Oooo last night was one of my nights to not fall asleep. I feel for ya. If only work offered naps, right?

Pat - Yep, I'll get sleepy at 2 or 3, but I still can't actually sleep. I like the change of not being nervous. That's a good one.

A Musing Mother December 1, 2009 at 12:24 AM  

Wow. Open a can of worms with that one.

1. Perkier boobs
2. More organized
3. Perkier boobs
4. Flat stomach
5. Oh, that's where I'm keeping my boobs.

Michelle March 8, 2010 at 3:26 PM  

A Musing Mom - You know, we so didn't appreciate them fully when we had them, did we? I do like how being more organized snuck in there at number 2 ;)

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