Last year was very hard on me. I severely underestimated what a time suck a new baby would be, and frankly, I’m exhausted. And little wonder. I average about four hours of sleep per night. Typically I write at night after the kids are in bed. I’m lucky in this regard as both are usually asleep by eight. Then Whit and I have our time before he goes to bed at ten. I’m rarely in bed before one, and have to be up at six to corral Loud Azz Boy #1 to school. Then I have to LAB #2 up and feed him. Then off to school. Then back home. Kell takes two naps a day, and that’s usually when I do housework. And he goes to physical therapy as well. That being the case I have no time for myself, and am always tired. What do I do when I’m tired? Eat. Mostly carbs. So right now I feel awful and school starts next week plus Luke is in club soccer, which means two evening practices during the week and at least one game on the weekend.
So, I’m thinking about getting up earlier. Maybe five o’clock in order to get some exercise, prayer and meditation time in. I would love to take morning walks by myself. I haven’t been alone for nearly two years. For an introvert like me that’s horrible. I can’t workout at night. It triggers my insomnia. My main problem is that I can’t wake up that early on my own, and if I set the alarm, that will wake Whit up. Does anyone else do this? How have you found time for yourself? I’ve got to do this. I feel and look bad. My hair is coming out. I’ve gained weight and I’m always tired. Help!
the one who writes 
Damn girl you have a lot on your plate! You need an assistant and more hours in the day to get all that done! But I have a few suggestions though…if you have a cell phone with an alarm you can set to vibrate stick it under you pillow and you won’t wake ur bed partner and I also plan my meals for the week and have plenty of healthy snacks on hand. Hope that little bit of advice helps 🙂
Ah, that’s a great idea! I’ll start doing that! Thanx
Yes, I agree. You MUST plan ahead and keep healthy snacks in the house. I went to an exercise class last night, and one of the topics discussed was getting proper rest! You should at least shoot for 6 hrs of sleep each night. Your body is stressed. My friend has been in the hospital a couple of times because she’s been running on 4 hours a sleep each night for about three or four months now. Her body shut down twice. I don’t want that to happen to you, but your stress is coming out through your hair.
Would it be possible to take at least a day for yourself before school starts? Even if you just slept all day. The body has to rejuvenate. Get a room at a hotel.
Tracey
I was also going to mention the vibrate on the alarm. Also, in terms of snacks, maybe the salad-bar prep method might work for you? Get medium sized fridge containers, one for each kind of snack (different veggies, protein like nuts and cheese.) There are the cheap, resuable ones in the same section as the sandwich bags. Then prepare everything for the week at one time, so precut the veggies, portion the nuts and cheese, then store it in the fridge containers. In the vegetables ones, also add a damp paper towel to each container, so the food doesn’t dry out. The vegetables will keep at least a week like that, and cheese and nuts will stay good for even longer. If you don’t like cheese, boil a dozen of eggs at one time and keep them in the egg carton. Try to aim for eating one thing from each container daily. If you are going to be running around, you can preportion the snacks further into ziplock bags and keep them in the containers. THe only vegetable that this doesn’t really work for is carrots, but you can buy baby carrots instead.
Then you have gotten enough protein and vegetables in your snacking, and this will help shake up your metabolism and assist in sleep. I’m an insomniac, and I find that getting a bit more protein and iron in my diet seems to help me stay asleep better at night, so maybe add a multivitamin if you are not already doing so.