Last night we had an unwelcome and unexpected visitor...
To be honest, Joel had probably been carrying the little blighter around for a few days. No, not head lice... Worse; a vomiting bug. Marvellous.
I was a bit surprised, as often you do have a clue when your kids are going to be ill. They're a bit grumpy / badly behaved / off their food / just not right... None of this happened yesterday; Joel was on good form. Sadly, that wasn't much consolation when I was helping to catch (maybe) the 14th lot of vomit at four in the morning... I had actually lost count by then, and so had Joel... He must have been ill...
So today, Joel didn't go to school. He's actually been surprisingly perky, and although not eating completely normally, he seems well on the way to recovery.
I wish I could say the same for me.
One night of rubbish sleep, and I'm a wreck. Where did my stamina go? Actually, in my defence Joel probably slept better than I did; as he went straight back to sleep each time, where as I just lay there waiting and listening for the next installment (I know, lovely this isn't it...)
The thing is, back when my children were tiny - I remember feeling fabulous (OK, pretty great - mustn't exaggerate too much...) if I could just get four hours sleep together. Despite the fact that the sleep deprivation phase just seemed to last forever. I also remember wondering if I would actually ever sleep a whole night through again - it just seemed so unlikely. I was wildly jealous of the people getting full nights of sleep, who weren't appreciating it... It just seemed so unfair, that as the tiredest person in the world (sleep deprivation obviously leaves you entirely rational) I was getting the least amount of sleep...
In my time as a midwife I lost count of the number of times I reminded people that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture, and that it wasn't surprising that they felt pretty shoddy. I know, I was a little ray of sunshine, wasn't I?! (In my defence, I was probably trying to explain to them that they were experiencing normal motherhood, and that there wasn't something terribly wrong with their little bundle of joy... Midwives should all carry a neon sign that says: "Yes, it's normal", because it normally is!) Still, having had two babies of my own, I truly empathise with the long term sleep deprived mother... It does get better.
So now, predictably, I am going to have a nice bath, and go to bed, hoping that I get to stay there; and that there's no more vomit in my house (or anywhere else in my life for that matter) for at least a month. Optimistic or foolishly unrealistic?
Ah well, wish me luck.
Sweet dreams xx
Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Wisdom and Tractors
Nathan's been at home with me for the last couple of days, due to him having the same virus as me (we like to share!)... As you know from my last post, being ill and coughing all night doesn't fill me with joy, and I hate seeing the children poorly too; however - there are silver linings if you look for them...
I spent this morning in pyjamas, (Thank you Sarah for doing the school run for me xx) playing snap, having cuddles and warm drinks, and generally chilling out with my littlest boy. Life with Nathan isn't always fun and games, but his concerns are generally less complicated than a grown up. We spent a fair bit of time sat on stools in the kitchen, pretending we were riding on a tractor. The biggest concern in Nathan's head wasn't: "This cough is really annoying and tiring, and I wish I felt better" - valid though that would have been. His head was occupied with much more interesting things, like how to make the best tractor engine noise, and which location we should visit on our tractor next... Obviously it's perfectly plausible to ride on your pretend tractor to Thomas Land, and then continue on to go Ten Pin Bowling... in Africa. And then drive back to your farm again.
Sometimes I think I could learn a lot from Nathan and his approach to life, (although maybe not his geography!) The way he's feeling doesn't interrupt the more important things in life, like playing; or when it is bad enough to properly get in the way, he just comes to me - knowing that I'll do my best to sort it out for him, he trusts his mummy, and doesn't waste his time and energy worrying about things he can't sort out anyway.
After lunch today, he just crawled up onto my lap. When I asked if he was tired, he said he was - so I took him up to bed for a nap. As we walked up the stairs, he said "then I can play later"; something I always used to say to him to convince him to have a nap, 'so he had the energy to play later'. Hmmm... Resting; so you have the energy to do something later. Sounds like another useful tip to me.
In the Bible there are two women called Mary and Martha. They are sisters who are hosting Jesus and his friends, and there's obviously lots to do (sound familiar?) Martha is cross - as Mary is spending all her time listening to Jesus, and not helping her with the work. I feel for Martha, I understand the pull of trying to get everything done, and the frustration of not getting the help she thought she should have; but she missed out. She missed the opportunity to sit and listen, to be with Jesus, to rest - so she had the energy to play later. After all, Jesus did say: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
Maybe I need to be a bit more Mary (or Nathan), and a bit less Martha. I think I started today by playing tractors, and ignoring the washing.
I spent this morning in pyjamas, (Thank you Sarah for doing the school run for me xx) playing snap, having cuddles and warm drinks, and generally chilling out with my littlest boy. Life with Nathan isn't always fun and games, but his concerns are generally less complicated than a grown up. We spent a fair bit of time sat on stools in the kitchen, pretending we were riding on a tractor. The biggest concern in Nathan's head wasn't: "This cough is really annoying and tiring, and I wish I felt better" - valid though that would have been. His head was occupied with much more interesting things, like how to make the best tractor engine noise, and which location we should visit on our tractor next... Obviously it's perfectly plausible to ride on your pretend tractor to Thomas Land, and then continue on to go Ten Pin Bowling... in Africa. And then drive back to your farm again.
Sometimes I think I could learn a lot from Nathan and his approach to life, (although maybe not his geography!) The way he's feeling doesn't interrupt the more important things in life, like playing; or when it is bad enough to properly get in the way, he just comes to me - knowing that I'll do my best to sort it out for him, he trusts his mummy, and doesn't waste his time and energy worrying about things he can't sort out anyway.
After lunch today, he just crawled up onto my lap. When I asked if he was tired, he said he was - so I took him up to bed for a nap. As we walked up the stairs, he said "then I can play later"; something I always used to say to him to convince him to have a nap, 'so he had the energy to play later'. Hmmm... Resting; so you have the energy to do something later. Sounds like another useful tip to me.
In the Bible there are two women called Mary and Martha. They are sisters who are hosting Jesus and his friends, and there's obviously lots to do (sound familiar?) Martha is cross - as Mary is spending all her time listening to Jesus, and not helping her with the work. I feel for Martha, I understand the pull of trying to get everything done, and the frustration of not getting the help she thought she should have; but she missed out. She missed the opportunity to sit and listen, to be with Jesus, to rest - so she had the energy to play later. After all, Jesus did say: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
Maybe I need to be a bit more Mary (or Nathan), and a bit less Martha. I think I started today by playing tractors, and ignoring the washing.
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Time to worry, or time to sleep?
I've just put my younger son Nathan to bed. He was really over tired, cranky and sad. Throwing tantrums over the smallest things; apparently teeth brushing is tantamount to torture... Above all, he wanted to not go to bed... Unfortunately, this was the only thing that could improve the situation, so Mummy just had to persevere and get the little man into bed. Once he'd calmed down, he went to sleep in about ten seconds.
It got me thinking: how often do we do the same thing? How many problems that we get ourselves worked up about; seemingly disastrous occurrences; could actually be improved by a good night's sleep? How often do we worry needlessly, when we should really just go to bed?
There's a story in the Bible that I find really encouraging that's found in 1 Kings 19. In a nutshell, Elijah has been very busy doing some awesome stuff for God, but then the King (a nasty piece of work called Ahab) and Queen (an equally nasty piece of work called Jezebel) find out about it, and threaten to kill Elijah. He does what we'd all feel like doing in this situation - runs away and hides...
He then goes to sleep, and then is visited by an angel who basically tells him to eat, and then rest again, giving him the food that he needs. God knew that Elijah was good for nothing without adequate food and sleep. Remind you of anyone?
It's only after this that he goes and meets with God who comforts him and shows him the way forward.
I hope that little by little I might be learning which disasters need immediate attention, and which only need me to trust them to God and go to sleep. God knows, I too am good for nothing without adequate food and rest.
It got me thinking: how often do we do the same thing? How many problems that we get ourselves worked up about; seemingly disastrous occurrences; could actually be improved by a good night's sleep? How often do we worry needlessly, when we should really just go to bed?
There's a story in the Bible that I find really encouraging that's found in 1 Kings 19. In a nutshell, Elijah has been very busy doing some awesome stuff for God, but then the King (a nasty piece of work called Ahab) and Queen (an equally nasty piece of work called Jezebel) find out about it, and threaten to kill Elijah. He does what we'd all feel like doing in this situation - runs away and hides...
He then goes to sleep, and then is visited by an angel who basically tells him to eat, and then rest again, giving him the food that he needs. God knew that Elijah was good for nothing without adequate food and sleep. Remind you of anyone?
It's only after this that he goes and meets with God who comforts him and shows him the way forward.
I hope that little by little I might be learning which disasters need immediate attention, and which only need me to trust them to God and go to sleep. God knows, I too am good for nothing without adequate food and rest.
Thursday, 19 August 2010
A side order of self-confidence
Have you ever wished you could just go to the super market and buy something completely ethereal? I know I have... When the boys were small, I used to wish (and sometimes still do actually) that I could just go and buy 48 hours sleep. Or maybe a second pair of hands...
I think we can probably all list a number of impossible purchases that would make our lives better / easier / less stressful. Personally, at the moment, I would really like a portion of boldness, with a side order of self-confidence.
I'm doing a few things that go against my naturally reserved state at the moment, but the thing I really want to feel confident about is playing my guitar and singing at the same time. This is not easy; I'm profoundly impressed by anyone who does it well, as it takes an awful lot of my brain power. I'm playing and singing more at the church I go to; and so far, I think it's gone really well actually. I would just love to be able to do it without feeling nervous and self conscious - after all - these people know me and love me, so how bad can it it actually be?
One of my favourite verses in the Bible is Joshua 1:9. It says:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."(New International Version)
This is pretty clear really. I don't need to worry, because God is always there with me; whether I'm playing the guitar in public or actually doing something properly scary. Now I know not everyone believes in God, or that what the Bible says is true. I do though - and I'm just wondering how amazing life would be if we could actually manage to live out our lives according to some of these awesome promises.
John Ortberg has written a fabulous book (actually - he's written many - check out http://johnortberg.com/?page_id=2) called 'If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat'. It looks at the famous incident in the Bible where Jesus walks on water, and Peter tries to walk to him (see Matthew 14). The book explores how although this looks like a big failure for Peter, he was actually the only one brave enough to have a go; and how much he learned from this experience. Then it goes on to look at how we only develop as people if we step out of our comfort zones and try something new.
So although it would be easier to just buy some boldness from a shop - I know I'll learn more from the process of doing the challenging thing. I think the only true way to gain confidence is by facing up to the scary thing and doing it anyway. So I guess it's time to just 'woman up' and get on with it...
I think we can probably all list a number of impossible purchases that would make our lives better / easier / less stressful. Personally, at the moment, I would really like a portion of boldness, with a side order of self-confidence.
I'm doing a few things that go against my naturally reserved state at the moment, but the thing I really want to feel confident about is playing my guitar and singing at the same time. This is not easy; I'm profoundly impressed by anyone who does it well, as it takes an awful lot of my brain power. I'm playing and singing more at the church I go to; and so far, I think it's gone really well actually. I would just love to be able to do it without feeling nervous and self conscious - after all - these people know me and love me, so how bad can it it actually be?
One of my favourite verses in the Bible is Joshua 1:9. It says:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."(New International Version)
This is pretty clear really. I don't need to worry, because God is always there with me; whether I'm playing the guitar in public or actually doing something properly scary. Now I know not everyone believes in God, or that what the Bible says is true. I do though - and I'm just wondering how amazing life would be if we could actually manage to live out our lives according to some of these awesome promises.
John Ortberg has written a fabulous book (actually - he's written many - check out http://johnortberg.com/?page_id=2) called 'If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat'. It looks at the famous incident in the Bible where Jesus walks on water, and Peter tries to walk to him (see Matthew 14). The book explores how although this looks like a big failure for Peter, he was actually the only one brave enough to have a go; and how much he learned from this experience. Then it goes on to look at how we only develop as people if we step out of our comfort zones and try something new.
So although it would be easier to just buy some boldness from a shop - I know I'll learn more from the process of doing the challenging thing. I think the only true way to gain confidence is by facing up to the scary thing and doing it anyway. So I guess it's time to just 'woman up' and get on with it...
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