Since coming home from Asia on Wednesday night I’ve struggled with sleep and it’s been challenging to be a mom to my kids.
My sleeping patterns are crazy.
- Wednesday night I arrived at 9pm and only slept from 11-4am
- Thursday night I slept off and on from 11 – 6am hit with big gaps throughout the night
- Friday night I slept 10am – 4am with gaps
- Saturday night I slept 10:30 – 5am with NO gaps, probably my best night yet!
Husband back to work on Friday meaning I’m home alone with two small children while trying to recover. It’s been challenging. Yesterday, I convinced 14mo (Sam) to sleep at 10am and I managed to sleep for 30 minutes before 3yr old (Charlotte) came to announce she had to “go potty”. Sam slept on till 11am but hope for me was gone.
The post-morning nap through lunch was filled with two movies, Monsters and Aliens which I let run twice because I was too tired to get up and change it! Charlotte watched it both times! At one point I wondered why the creators could not have been more creative in using more scream options at the point of introducing the aliens. The TV kept emitting the same shrill scream, over and over.
During the marathon movie run, both kids spent 30 minutes in their room emptying every single toy onto the floor. I let them play uninterrupted because it gave me a break to sit and not move for awhile! Zombie mom, well at least it’s October!
In the afternoon I put Sam down at 2pm and then spent the next two hours in bed. I think the first hour was uninterrupted while Charlotte watched Ant Bully but she grew bored and came to pester me for the next hour with books and taking down my entire collection of jewelry, demands for banana bread, etc! I literally kept my eyes closed through most of the chatter, besides opening banana bread and begging her to go back and watch the movie. Somehow 4:20 hit and Sam had still not woken up. Feeling guilty for ignoring my daughter all day, I desperately needed to get out of bed so I asked her to go wake Sam – which she LOVES to do. That will force me to get out of bed. A text from my husband came through saying he was coming home. Feeling more pain from exhaustion then I ever remember feeling, I dragged the kids outside to play in the sun where I knew it would force me to wake up. There I sat for 45 minutes waiting for husband to come home and provide some relief.
Our evening together was lovely. I managed to prepare snacks for the kids while husband listened to their stories. As Charlotte excitedly proclaimed the days events I realized my feelings of abandoning her were not completely accurate, she had quite enjoyed herself! Sometimes we mom’s are harder on ourselves then what is necessary.
We went out to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Tijuana Flats, followed by an hour at Target searching for the perfect costume for Sam. It was a fun evening, made better with husband’s guiding support. To be honest, I hadn’t left the house all day for fear I wouldn’t have the strength and energy to make it.
In summary, this trip to Asia was harder on my body than I anticipated it would be. Eleven trips in eleven years, you’d think I might have a clue on the impact but never before have I done it while pregnant and coming home to two small children. Not sure I’d recommend this to anyone in similar circumstances. I plan to spend the next week easing back into work SLOWLY, after all, it is work that got me into this condition in the first place!
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