Do You Suffer From Mommy Insomnia?

The moment you become a mom, sleep becomes your new best friend. You can see it in the creases, or eyes of new parents. From the pillow hair down to the worn-out pajama bottoms, there is a universal mom-to-mom knowing where words aren't needed. And there aren't enough congratulatory care packages, flowers, gifts or casseroles in the world to make up for it.

My kids are older now, and they both sleep through the night, thank you very much. But this doesn't mean I don't still suffer from time to time from what I like to call Mommy Insomnia. My daughter might lightly hum in her sleep, I get up and go to her room to make sure she's OK. The dog burps, and I'm up again. Everyone else sleeps, and I'm up. I can't get back to sleep, so I'm wide awake, thinking, warming some milk in the microwave. My husband, mind you, is still sound asleep, clueless. He's not the least bit bothered by my momma-bear insomnia tendencies. Let's just say he's gifted in the sleep department. The man once slept through an earthquake when we lived in Seattle.

When I lose sleep, I get the urge to eat carbs and drink caffeine continuously through the next day. There's nothing like a large green tea and chocolate almonds to get me through even the most mundane tasks. When I worked outside of my home full-time, rolling into the office on four hours of sleep was a norm, so Ibuprofen and tea were my best friends. (Not so good for my health, hence why I chose the independent pr consulting route.) My hormones recently turned 40-something, causing me to experience random bouts of hormone-induced insomnia. When I do sleep, it’s glorious. I’m talking about 6 straight hours. Nothing major, just uninterrupted sleep. Sleep without being awakened by my kids or my overactive imagination. Sleep without making that ubiquitous mommy list at 1:15 a.m., circa Sarah Jessica Parker. Sleep without freaking out about how much I need to do the next day or stressing that I’m going to be too tired to do it. Sleep without glancing at the clock at 12:13 a.m., 1:23 a.m., 3:02 a.m., 4:02 a.m. and counting how many more hours I can sleep without oversleeping and forgetting to get up in time for get my kids ready for school.

I once slept until 7:49 a.m. and was the ONLY person awake in my house. (This NEVER used to happen when the kids were babies and toddlers. They would run into our room at the crack of you know what and get me out of bed. I loved seeing their little bodies jump in the middle of our bed, but didn’t look forward to the exhaustion that followed.) Now that they are older, (both of my kids turned 8 and 11 this week), they tend to sleep later, which is both a blessing and a curse. Basically, this means if I don’t get up, no one else does. Even my husband, bless his heart, who is still sleeping as I write this. 

In case you missed it, I appeared on WPRI TV's The Rhode Show recently to chat with TV host Mary Larsen about my new book, How to Spread Sanity on a Cracker. We had so much fun making cheese dip and talking about mommy whines! Although I didn't get much sleep the night before the interview, I feel great now. (Thanks to green tea!) Here is the link: http://www.wpri.com/dpp/rhode_show/mom-publishes-book-about-rants-recipes

Please join me for my first book signing at Barrington Books next Thursday, April 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. My new gift book, How to Spread Sanity on a Cracker, is on sale now at Hollies on the Ave.! I'll also have another book signing at Hollies on Thursday, May 17 from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring custom jewelry by local artist (and mommy friend) Diane Stratton Ballou. I hope you can join us!