Today I went to the store for the express purpose of buying two items: eggs and valentines (and no I’m not egging my valentine, smart allecks.) As of this writing, I sit at my house 86$ poorer and yet unpossessing of either eggs or valentines. But hey, I have a fancy humidifier I found on clearance! (Which will become important to our story in a bit.) In addition to the supermarket slipup, I also drove my kids to their music lessons 10 minutes late and a day early, cooked brussels sprouts in the microwave and then forgot about them for an entire day (the stench caused my 7-year-old to ask “Mom, did Other Brother fart in the microwave and shut the door again?” causing me to shriek, “What do you mean AGAIN??”) and, worst of all, I completely spaced a good friend’s son’s baptism. For the love of little green apples, kids only get baptized once in their entire lives (unless they convert to another religion and break their parents’ hearts so we won’t go there) and I missed it. FOR NO GOOD REASON. Sigh.
P90X + infant = I has a tired. (And you know I’m really tired when I have to resort to LOLcat-isms to express myself.)
When I first started P90X, people who had done it before would pat me on the shoulder, wish me luck and then invariably warn me about the plyometrics day. They spoke of it with such shock and awe that I was nervous for two days before we did it. Then the day arrived and I strapped on my highest-impact sports bra and put on my “bring it” face. (For those of you uninitiated, inventor Tony Horton is not referring to the cheerleader movie by the same name that everyone has seen and yet no one will admit to watching. “Bring It” is P90X parlance for your best fierce face and it is required for every workout. Although now that I think about it, I would pay money to see Tony Horton do a Kirsten Dunst cum cheerleader improv. He is a funny funny man.) Anyhow, the fabled plyo day is basically 60 minutes of different variations of jumping up and down. We did “rockstar” “ski” “frog” and even “Mary Katherine” (oh yes we did!) jumps – the only thing missing was a few Masai and/or a Metallica mosh pit. But for all the jumping, it really wasn’t that tough of a workout. Don’t get me wrong – we sweated aplenty – but I think we’re so used to bouncing around for an hour when we do TurboKick that this didn’t challenge us in the way I thought it would. As Gym Buddy Krista put it, “That was hard but it ain’t no Lindsey circuit.”
Before I could get all cocky about my P90X prowess however, the following day was the legs and back workout. That sucker knocked me on the ground, took my lunch money and then rubbed my face in the grass until I thanked it for the privilege of kicking my butt. Gym Buddy Jeni (I managed to rope two new Gym Buddies in for this Experiment; everyone give a holla to Jeni and Daria!) summed it up thusly, “This is the worst day of my life.” Right before dry heaving over the waste basket. That night I had a “metabolic reaction” and crashed and burned on my kitchen floor – ah, just like old times! And we’re doing that workout again today. Joy.
Now, back to the humidifier. See the reason I got all aflutter and forgot the eggs and valentines (that Child #3 needs first thing in the morning, of course) is because Jelly Bean has her first cold and is all kinds of snotified. It’s bad enough when a grown-up gets a cold and can’t sleep but for a breastfeeding infant who isn’t allowed anything but weak Tylenol it’s total misery. And when Jelly Bean is miserable, we’re all miserable. You know that old saw of “sleep when the baby sleeps”? – it only works if it’s your first kid. So nobody’s sleeping, is my point. And then I thought perhaps a humidifier would decongest Jelly Bean enough that she’d succumb to the sweet arms of slumber and I could get my brain back. (Side note: You would think that babies would be born knowing how to sleep, it being a natural bodily function and all, but no. You have to teach them to sleep. And for whatever reason they fight it kicking and screaming every step of the way. Why is this??) But first I had to spend an hour in Target reading the box trying to decide why such a fancy humidifier was on clearance for 50% off. Because when there are fires to be put out I say always go for the smallest one first.
You may have heard the recent research about how new parents driving sleep deprived are as bad as drunk drivers? I need a driver. Stat. The other problem with sleep deprivation for me is it gives me mad sugar cravings as my body tries to keep itself awake. That one was easier to fix: cranberry white chocolate cookies! But hey I made them with my fancy new flour so that makes them health food right?
So anyhow, I just logged on to write a brief note telling you all there would be no post today because I’m so keel-hauled with exhaustion that I’m a menace to society and, well, this happened. Someone make me feel better and tell me the dumbest thing you’ve done whilst sleep deprived! Um, good night now.
Tha pic is so cute & how I feel when I am sleep deprived & driving to UCLA for dental work like tomorrow morn. Yes, the dumbest thing I have done sleep deprived.. drive! I have a real prob staying awake! OH NO!!!! OK, I could skip my workout before I go to UCLA so I get more sleep but not an option with me! 🙂 I am sure you understand.
Love the sound of that P90X!
Hope baby is well soon!
Oy! go sleep woman!
I don't do sleep deprived because my body hates no sleep. But I have gone to work and sat through VERYIMPORTANT meetings during the Soccer World Cup a few years ago, but we were forgiven for our lack of focus because, well, everyone was staying up to watch. So the whole company looked like drunk idiots.
That day I got my dad to pick me up because I couldn't walk home!
Oh, and P90X still scares me.
i always get caught in a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation during the semester. it's like i should be going to bed now but i have sooo much to do. and then i have to start it all over again. and there isn't enough time on the weekend to make it all up!
i think after a certain period of time my body just accepts it. not that the physiological effects go away but i just get past the point of no return. i know last semester i was running on 3-4 hours a night. and my body likes 9. yikes!! i definitely do feel drunk at certain points.
and i totally broke out my humidifier in hopes of combating a sinus infection. hope your little one feels better!!
It may have been a forgetful day, but alas, you managed to bring all your children home with you…so, you did do something right. I, on the other hand, am likely to leave my kids wherever I go (however, it won't be attributed to sleep deprivation nor will it be by accident). It's been a rough day 🙂
Worse thing I have ever done was drive – it was back in college after finals and staying up all night I decided it would be a better idea to do the 4+ hour drive home rather than sleep the day away and then drive at night. The 1st hour was OK but after that the monotony of the highway got to me. I ended up pulling over several times to sleep at rest stops but kept my windows closed because I was afraid of random people so the car got stiflingly hot very quickly. I even attempted to go to my sister's in NJ only to find that she was not home (no cell phones back then). I tried the windows wide open, radio blaring, AC on full blast, banging on my thigh so hard I had bruises, you name it. I somehow made it home in one piece (and think I slept for about 24 hours straight) and have never done it again – how stupid was I???
Who ever came up with the term "sleep like a baby" was crazy. Babies don't sleep!
My husband asked me what was wrong a few days ago. Um hello sleep deprivation caused by a 3 yr old having re-current nightmares of a "lion putting my head in his mouth". I had no idea before kids how much chronic sleep deprivation can effect you (wait….effect or affect….akk I can't think)
Hope the humidifier works and the bean and you get some sleep tonight!
I've battled insomnia most of my life, so I've learned to survive on very little sleep. However, in my worst sleep deprived times (facilitated by massive heartburn and stress keeping me up all night – thank you grad school) I learned that trying to do science while in a sleep-deprived coma is not a good idea. You really shouldn't be allowed to handle infectious agents and carcinogens when you don't have full control of your mind or body.
I've slept 5 hours total since Saturday, complements of a law school trial competition. Generally, I survive solely on sugar when sleep deprived- which is really a bad scene, and the crash is so bad.
Worst thing I've done while sleep deprived? Honestly, not much, but I think it's because my general state is semi-sleep deprived. I do things like put eggs in the freezer, and bread in the tupperware cabinet, but all in all, nothing too crazy. It usually just makes me ridiculously cranky, which sucks, but I live. I fell asleep during an exam once, but I still did well, so…
I feel really bad for the kids in law school who've had kids recently. They must never ever sleep (except during the classes of boring profs). Yipes.
You poor thing! I left you a comment on the old metabolic reaction post. It happened to me too- I thought it was from cycling up to a high altitude but now I'm not sure?!
Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite.
Freshman year in college. I had been up extra late doing a paper and went to bed about 5am. About 6:30 I was woken my my RA. I was sitting in the basement computer lab of our dorm in a pair of boxers and playing Duke Nukem on the intranet. Apparently even in my sleep deprived/sleep walking state, my instinct is to play video games.
Secretly I like this thought.
One day I was in the college cafeteria (the college where I was studying to be a computer programmer – you know with all the logic and the math, where I was near the top of my class even) wanting a cup of coffee, staring at a pile of change in my hand, and could not for the life of me figure out if I had enough money to buy coffee. A friend had to count it for me.
Not enough sleep and my brain just shuts right down.
I recall boiling water for tea and then pouring it on my cheerios when I was studying for my university finals.
At the moment I'm sleep deprived too…work + MSc + kitchen renos.
Lordy…
I don't drive when I am tired. Period. I'm of the sort when I get tired enough I fall asleep wherever I am. Which doesn't make for safe driving…and is really stopping me from doing MSc research (read and sleep at the same time? Now *that* is a skill I need). I think tonight I'm cancelling my bellydance class and sleeping for a few hours…I hate to miss it, but I also really need to sleep.
Zzzz…
Here's wishing us both some sleep…
I swear that my senior year in college I was nodding off while eating lunch and walking from home back to campus for my next class. A few days of that, actually. I was so sleep deprived that year that my roommates actually didn't believe for a time that I left the house at 6:30am and really did work all day until 11:30pm. I guess they thought I was sneaking off for fun on the town. Not until the sleep deprivation made me crazy did they see the toll 2 majors can take on a gal.
Anyway, I also just got p90x and was SO SO excited to join you in this month's experiment. That is, until bronchitis came my way. I'm going insane! This is the longest I've gone without working out since my honeymoon. Hopefully before your experiment is over, I'll get to leg day too.
I bout a couch instead of paying my car payment. Bigger mistake than valentine's and eggs. Hope Jelly Bean feels better soon and you can get some sleep. My solution to this would be to stay in bed instead of doing P90X, but that is why I am chubby. At least I am happy about it.
Oh, Charlotte, reading you is like taking a laughing pill. Just for that, I present you with sleepy bear can't stay awake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5c0X4MW_zE
Worst sleep-deprived action? I don't recall, but I'm sure I sprained my ankle or made an expensive shopping miscalculation.
I am going to suggest that the Metabolic Reaction you had was a very strong release of human growth hormone in response to the hard work you did.
Normally HgH will make you slightly tired, a bit hungry, or very horny about 2 hours after you quit working out. However, when you've really put new demands on your muscles, it rallies all it's forces and aims for quick and early repair of the damage.
It puts you to sleep.
I don't know a sure fire way to control this. But a big dose of protein and carbs – like your cookies with a tall glass of milk- often mitigates the situations. HgH is not released (or not in high doses) when you have lots of insulin floating around your blood stream.
I
sat
on
my
newborn.
(She's 6 now, and completely fine… thank goodness!!!)
Oh, my comment would end up right after that one. I understand if you miss this comment (especially in your current state of mind).
I can't think up any clear cogent comments anyway, since I spent most of the night staring at the ceiling. I hope the JB gets better soon so that you can all catch up on sleep!
Um Charlotte, did your friend that loaned you the DVDs also loan you the program schedule? I ask because the DVDs should be done in a specific order to avoid this crash and burn. Legs and Back are NOT done the day after plyo, it's too leg instense and you have no recovery.
If you need a schedule message me
Our baby was almost 4 months and we showed up to Christmas at my parents house and forgot all the presents! At least we remembered the baby! But we laughed that between the two of us no one remembered! He had to drive back home and get them.
After the birth of our second child I went grocery shopping and put the eggs in the china cabinet, my keys in the fridge, and nearly left both kids in the car.
I remember the P90X legs & back workout.
Not fondly.
Oh, and my 2 year-old was watching "Blue's Clues," and I couldn't put all 3 clues together.
NO KIDDING.
Thank goodness I don't have kids. My sleeping issues and bouts of insomnia are bad enough without little ones around to wake me up.
Boo to sleep deprivation! In response to Jody, it's gotten to the point where I refuse to drive anywhere- I don't trust myself behind the wheel because I KNOW that I'm tired pretty much 24/7 and that it's not SAFE for me to be a driver on the road. Not a big loss, since I don't like driving anyways, but at the same time… that's not good at all.
Really hoping you can get some rest, Charlotte!
I think the dumbest thing i ever did while completely sleep deprived was to take a container of leftovers out of the fridge and then I put it in the bread box instead of the microwave. I even stood there for a moment, waiting as though it was heating up.
I realized I hadn't started the "microwave" and I actually got frustrated, trying to find the button to start it… and then I realized that it was my bread box.
Duh.
The dumbest thing I've ever done while sleep deprived was get in the shower fully clothed. I washed my hair then went to shave my legs and realised I still had jeans on. I was so tired I started crying because I had to 'waste' (wash away) the liquid soap in my hand to take all the clothes off.
I go to the grocery store every week with one or two things on the list. I leave with a shopping cart full of stuff I don't need (read goat milk cream cheese) and WITHOUT the items I originally wanted…and I usually always get at least 8 hours of sleep. If I have kids, I think I'm going to be in big trouble. 😉
Best of luck with the rest of the month Charlotte. I knew this would be a tough one, but you're almost halfway there!
I hope jellybean gets better soon, poor little mite !
I've been a hard-core insomniac for most of my life so I have done some stupid things.
Watching the Shopping Channel is dangerous when sleep deprived. You'd be amazed at what seems like a great idea ! I have ended up with a Total Gym (sorry Chuck Norris – that thing is a dangerous waste of time and money); a machine thing that dries flowers (What was I thinking ? I don't like dried flowers !); A "special" blender thing for herbs and many other pieces of crap.
At work I've fallen asleep at my desk, bungled big-time; and gone to meetings unprepared, which wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't running them 🙂
I've driven home from work – to the wrong house, made phone calls that I'd rather forget, started craft projects that in the light of a few hours extra sleep were insane.
Oh – and regularly eaten an entire weeks worth of groceries in one night.
I hope you get some decent sleep soon.
yeah.
You know I know. 😉
Yes, yes, yes!
Finally someone who realizes how impossible it is to nap while the baby sleeps when you have other kids around. Especially kids that are in school.
I NEED at least 7 hours of good, quality sleep. Now, I'm getting one hour increments if I'm lucky. Today, I managed to lock my keys in the car with the baby, who at only a week old doesn't know how to undo her carseat and flip the lock button. Thank God I forgot to lock the front door and was able to grab the spare set.
oh lordy, i remember those days of sleep deprivation SO well even though my kids are 10 and 7 now. kudos to you for still getting in your workouts! that part amazes me. seriously! and you still have your sense of humor about you, which is so important. or is that delirium? 🙂
and dumb question, i hear about it all the time, but what is the P90X – is it a video, a wii thing or what?
hang in there! i hope jellybean de-snotifizes soon so you guys can all get some rest again.
I once missed my good friend's bridal shower for no good reason. I had it on my calendar. I went all day just lollygagging around the house. Then, I looked at my calendar that night (after it was long over) and this wave of shame washed over me. I was so embarrassed. In fact, I'm STILL embarrassed, and she just passed her 8th anniversary!!
Are you doing all this whilst eating your low calorie, vego diet thing? I would think your body requires food that will more effectively feed it for such intense workouts…. you probably need more protein (as they tell you to eat with the program) and you probably need to try and maintain your sugar levels so you don't crash out (as everyone before me has said)… there's a reason why marathon runners drink gatorades while they run and why they don't run marathons every day, because it breaks down your muscles and your body to do that to it constantly
Your post and the comments have me laughing, loudly! I can relate to almost all of the comments – though I've never sat on my babies. The worst is trying to have a coherent conversation that inevitably turns into an argument because your husband doesn't understand and you're disgusted that he can't intuit the meaning.
OOO ooo, pick me, pick me!!
Let's see, I was working two jobs (but I was only 23, so you know…), one from 9am to 1pm, then the other one from 3:00 pm to midnight. And I had taken the night off from the second one in order to take my niece and nephews to the Aerosmith concert.
I was tired. And probably had a contact buzz. But anyway, I stopped for gas on my way home, then went to bed after I arrived home.
I go out to my car the next day and the gas door is completely open and the gas cap is nowhere to be seen. I try to think back and I honestly have no idea if I even pulled the pump out of my car.
To this day, I have lost 4 gas caps total. Those suckers are $15 a piece.
I'm so tired now that my husbands usually annoying habits have become funny. Yay 4 week olds that don't sleep!
i like your blog really.
Although the article talks about it being disproved – you now have a catchy name for it – placenta brain.
http://www.momlogic.com/2010/02/placenta_brain.php
I remember being sleep deprived driving out to MN. It was 2 a.m. in the middle of winter in picturesque Nebraska and I don't remember driving for about 10 or 15 minutes. Luckily, we all made it here safely. My husband has designed airplane parts being sleep deprived. He does it almost everyday! We're sorry you missed the baptism.