- a form of psychological torture inflicted by depriving the victim of sleep
Source: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
-a sufficient lack of restorative sleep over a cumulative period so as to cause physical or psychiatric symptoms and affect routine performances of tasks.
Source: dictionary.webmd.com/terms/sleep-deprivation
All us moms know sleep deprivation. Babies take time to get into a sleep routine. Toddlers get sick and wake you up in the middle of the night. Moms of older kids run from one activity to another and if you are like me you are lucky if you can get in bed before midnight.
The past two weeks have been a huge adjustment for me. I was spoiled and used to waking up between 7-8am. My kids are 9,8, and 6 and quite independent. They mainly get themselves ready and can sometimes even be quiet when they wake up. Besides that they are good sleepers it is rare if someone wakes before 6:30am, and my youngest will sleep in until 8 or 9am if left alone.
My new nanny job requires me to be at work 6:45am. Luckily the drive only takes 10-15 minutes so I aim to leave the house at 6:25am and get up at 5:15am. Needless to say I have been seriously sleep deprived for two weeks now and that makes me one cranky mommy and wife.
I envy the people who can get 6 or 7 hours of sleep and feel refreshed. That is just not me. I can function on 8 hours of sleep but feel best after 9 or 10 hours of sleep. Crazy, I know but that is how my body works. My husband doesn't get it since he can function just fine on less sleep. I truly notice a difference in how I feel both physically and emotionally after getting enough sleep.
Here is my biggest problem, I cannot get to bed early enough to get 9 or 10 hours of sleep. 7:15pm is not a reasonable bedtime for a mom of 3, neither is 8:15pm. My goal is to be in bed by 8:30pm and be sleeping by 9pm. This becomes difficult when you factor in activities for 3 children every evening. Last night we had a class at church and didn't get home until 10pm.
I guess this explains my haze when I worked at the law firm and had to be out of the house at 6:15am each day. As a mom we have to make sacrifices. In order to minimize daycare costs and time away from my kids each evening I start work early. In a perfect world I could work 9am-2:30pm, get sleep and not be away from the kids too much. But our world is not perfect and you do what you need to do to get by.
Hopefully after a couple weeks I will adjust to my new routine and get better at managing my time. Until then thank the Lord for coffee to get me started each morning!
11 comments:
I hear you. During my twins first month, they would wake every hour and a half or so and I ended up getting so sick, I was hospitalized for almost 2 weeks. I just can't do sleep deprivation. lol. I feel best when I have 9 hrs or so. I don't usually get that, but I aim for it. :)
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I need 8-9 hours to function at my best. Less than 8 hours makes me feel so foggy and slow and sleepy all the time. I feel for you honey! At least you are waking up for cute babies and not cranky law people! :)
I know how you feel, and I don't have kids yet.
Hang in there! I find it gets easier once I really get into a pattern.
I'm like you....I need 10 hours of sleep. Good luck getting some shut-eye!
Oh girl, I hear you. I just started a new job that requires me to get up at 5:45 am. Painful doesn't even begin to describe my stumbling around the house in a stupor trying to put mascara on. Scary, very scary.
I hear 'ya! It does feel like we adjust to one thing to to move on to the next adjustment. I am suffering from major sleep deprivation these days too...'tis no fun, keeping up with kids and hubby! I really do hope that things even out for you in the next couple of weeks...chin up~
Maybe it's time to start thinking about a new nanny job!! ;)
I also need at least 8 hours if not more to feel awake and alive the next morning. My kids are older (10 and 13), but it seems like with sports and homework, and then housework, laundry and all that other stuff, it's nearly impossible for me to go to bed early enough!
I've been training for a half marathon and the only time my friend and I run together is 5:30 in the morning. That is just too early to be out of bed.
Glad I stopped by from SITS! Now go get some sleep...
I need at least nine hours of sleep, too. Considering I'm lucky if I get five or six, I have to work extra hard to be patient with the kids and even keep my mind straight. (Although the latter is hard even with enough sleep.) I'm also B12 deficient which causes exhaustion, so I've got a double-whammy. But, yes, you do what you've got to do to get by. I remind myself that I'll sleep when the children are grown and out of the house. :-)
I can relate! I hope that you get accustomed to the new hours, maybe you can catch up on the weekends? Or perhaps coffee will be your new best friend!
Good Luck to you on that one....You are a Brave woman to do that for sure!...I already feel deprived with just one child and waking up at 7....5:15 just so wouldn't happen!....
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