Yesterday, I used the humor that is my daughter to drag myself through the day, and put me in a better mood. Today, however, I will be inserting a coffee IV to simply keep me alive. I have no gotten more than 5 hrs of sleep at night for the last month, with only one exception. Last Friday, Littlest E slept through the night and I only woke once with a coughing fit. My allergies have been worse this year than they have in the last couple, and when they were at their worst, we had several dust and plaster filled projects going on that left their particles to settle in my lungs. The last two weeks Littlest E has gotten two of his molars in (One on top and one on the bottom- on opposite sides. For some reason, I find this weird.) and therefore has been waking every half hour after midnight, and due to the dust in my lungs, I was spending the first couple hours coughing and trying to get comfortable. I’d finally fall asleep just in time to be woken by a cranky little man. And, despite the state my home is currently in, I have been up until waaaay toooo late cleaning multiple times a week, for the last month. So short story made long and boring- I’m tired. So very tired.
We were supposed to have someone coming to the house for an inspection this morning and so I ran frantically yesterday (we didn’t get the notice until right before I left for a weekend away) trying to unpack and clean… with two children (MissE and Littlest E) who are either having allergies or are coming down with something. So as much as I could do with two little ones who don’t feel good (especially considering one is just over a year… and therefore becoming a stage 5 “clinger”). And then I stayed up until 1:30am cleaning. Or attempting to, in my sleep exhausted state. Staying up when I’m that tired is really kind of pointless, because I move in such slow motion. I finally climb into bed and just as I drift off, littlest E wakes up and is not happy. He remains unhappy until almost 6, and then sleeps until about 7:45ish. I then rush around doing a final clean up before the 9:30 appointment, only to find out that it’s been cancelled.
It’s only 11 and I’ve already endured 3 hours of pretty constant whining and have only had a brief reprieve from having multiple children (simultaneously) try and form themselves to my leg. I finally get Littlest to release his vice grip on my leg, so I can attempt and get something productive done… only to turn around and have him run screaming to me. When he settles I finally see what’s going on… there was a bucket that still had some paint left in it, without being sealed shut. He had eaten some, had it smeared all over his face and hands, along with his brand new clothes. And it’s not all over one of my favorite shirts and one of my 2 pairs of jeans that actually fit.
I clean him, and myself, as much as can, and feed him (to get rid of the paint taste if nothing else). And while he’s content to play for a moment, I grab the computer looking for a moment of reprieve. Only to find that Hubbyman has messaged me to tell me he’s going out to happy hour with some vendors from work tonight and that Friday they’re going on a “booze cruise” (a paddle boat ride around one of the rivers) as a work outing. I’ve decided I’m not going to respond until I’ve gotten at least 10 hours of sleep. At this rate, I will be responding in late December.
I no longer track my sleep by how many hours I get (why would I when the number is so low and scary, like last nights >2?), but by how many cups of coffee will be needed to keep me awake. Today, I will be requiring an IV.
What do you do when you’ve gotten no sleep after multiple nights?
laborofwonder 
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