Too Early for Cake

The most important aspect to pain management in all chronic pain is sleep management.
****A blog about sleep deprivation, written by a really tired woman. Please lower expectations!!!****

Children are disruptive to sleep.

I think this is what separates Myalgia Mommies from other women who also suffer from chronic pain.

We added a dose of kids. So we aren't in control of "sleep management" our kids choose our sleep schedules. This weekend my toddler is treating us to a cold and waking up at 5am (instead of her usual 6:30, which is still pretty harsh) we are in boarding school or Guantanamo. I'm not sure yet. I do know this much coffee so early is not good for me and I am going to switch to yerba matte soon.

Yesterday I made a bundt cake. My older daughter decorated it and we came up with a wonderful litany of reasons to have a cake. I ate way too much and went to sleep with the baby having been up on a marathon of taking care of a sick family since 5 am. There is a special level of care taking that a mother gives. We add a dose of our own neurosis. I sit and pace, wondering if I can worry her symptoms into the deadly and rare variant of croup that kills children in the mountains of Eastern Europe.  She has a lingering common cold, but I am a creative and loving mother. Also, I apply menthol vapor rub with the perfect touch.

This morning the toddler starting demanding "Pie" or The Cake at 5:45 before we were able to make coffee. I've started a strange conversation on twitter at dawn.

My husband and I have never been morning people. When we met we we both law students. In Washington, DC in the late 90's we both went to Law School in the Evenings because we were having too much fun working as attorneys during the day. We put in 70 hour weeks and did not rise on the weekends until noon.

Both our daughters are those shiny, sunlight, bubbling creatures that alight with the dawn. I have no idea how this happened. The last decade has been a struggle and an evolution. Now we wake up early. Our girls outshine us in the mornings but we have coffee and catch up to them by 8ish. Comparing our situation to other parents, I think it is a common affliction.

None of this changes the fact that I am not in control of the sleep pattern my body wants this week.

So, I'm getting more coffee. Today we are having cake with second breakfast.

Cheers,
ALJ

Mommie Blogger FAIL and Insight!

If you see me in real life my baby is wearing leg warmers. It is not me having a childhood flashback. She is in a cast.


It's a long story but most things involving parenting are. Mommies have a different road. My poor baby just woke up. She cant stay asleep for her naps because of the cast.

We were at the hospital on October 13, with a 13 month old baby and I was sending emails about a 2013 calendar as a fundraising project.

I had to call in a refill on a "break thru" drug and it said refill untill "7/13" so I called the parmacist thinking it was 14/Ocotober/14. Im so tired, I am time traveling.

I wanted to post that on facebook but my husband said it just sounded weird and I should go to bed.

That pretty much is how I feel about blogging about being a Mom who suffers from some form of Chronic Pain. The more I grow up, research, make deeper connections to other women, the more I realize that most of us have some major issue in life that is chronic pain.

My really deep thought for the day is that I met a woman who has a husband who is being tested to determine what his chronic pain is being caused by. They have 3 teenage girls. That's heavy lifting. So I met a myalgia mommie by proxy because she is reading all the tests with her husband and probably understands more medical terms.

My other deep thought is that all the research from every disease keeps coming back to one thing: healthy sleep patterns.

My blogging time is when my baby girl is taking her mid morning nap and my house is not a biohazard. That can be a narrow window. We live dangerous lives. Also, need more sleep.

I feel like I did one good deed today. I reminded the myalgia mommy I met to check her husband for vitamin D levels. Often just a piece of the puzzle but they don't check it in men. My amazing island Doctor taught me that.

If you read this, and have had a child in a cast, please feel free to post tips for keeping her entertained and cleanish!

Thanks.
Anna-Lisa