Tag: over tired

Categories
Family

Frazzled

Lately, I have felt frazzled. On edge, tired, annoyed, exhausted, overworked, too much to do, waiting for something to happen and then nothing does, upset, worried about money, worried full stop about everything, unable to do things I had planned, sad that I had to cancel plans that I was looking forward to and a lot of other things that I find I cannot name.

I think all these feelings have stemmed from the COVID Pandemic.  As well lockdowns making sure that we are all stuck in a small house and the outcome means that there is no time for anything that I wish to do, or the space to do it, or the money to do it and when I might finally have time I am looking after kids and that means I cannot do my thing at all anyway, so I don’t bother. Yes, no time for me at all! 

Sometimes I feel rather sad, miserable, and downright depressed. Sometimes I am feeling happy and upbeat, and then most of the time I am feeling downtrodden and ordinary. 

I am getting up and doing what feels like five million jobs. I do a week’s work, and then do more work at night, to then have children argue with me about just helping around the house.

Normally I keep myself busy but for the last two years, I feel like I have been running a marathon non-stop and not getting a break. 

Oh, what would I give for an all-expenses trip to a beach somewhere? On this beach, I would have a cocktail in my hand, and I would just be lying on the beach resting. Oh, there is that word, resting….

I have not had much of that lately. The good old downtime to rest. God knows when I have really rested. When I am resting, I am worrying about all the things that are yet to be done. 

My weekends consist of being with kids and attempting to get a very messy house for the week ahead, and of course that comes with a tonne of clothes to wash, fold and ask that people put away, but they get added to the bedroom floor and then tossed around, thrown, and of course stomped on to then need washing again. 

Geez…. Why can’t someone just do as I ask the first time!!!!!! Put the clothes away. Pick up the mess on the floor! C’mon you say, and all you get is yelling, moaning and doors being slammed in your face. So of course, you give up as all you wish to do is to rest and have a quiet house for a change, however that never happens. 

Not sure if being frazzled is a medical term or a condition. Maybe it is a direct outcome of the COVID lockdowns and aftermath it has caused. 

This is quite accurate.

You might have thought that it is all getting better in the world. Well, I thought so too. However, my car was recently stolen, driven terribly that it was practically falling apart and then set on fire. Yes, burnt everything down to the ground. If it hadn’t been for the weeks of non-stop rain the stupid horrible beasts and dickheads that took my car could have caused another bushfire. Yes, it was dumped and set on fire in the middle of the national park…. not smart but these are the idiots that steal cars so I guess they don’t think about that type of thing. 

I bought the car before the four-month lockdown and have hardly driven it. It seems rather sad but also very ironic, that it is now gone. I did think that I caused the lockdown with my car purchase.



I am still very miserable about the loss of my car. I miss it. My car gave me independence, it allowed me to do whatever I wanted, and now it is gone. I have been fortunate to have good insurance so now I need to find a replacement.  I just now need to do all the research I did the first time with my car that is no longer here anymore. Currently, I do have an idea of what I want but it is a bit out of reach now, and yes, another thing to be annoyed about!

Also, a new COVID variant making infections increase is not a good sign of what is to come. I do hope that we don’t have another lengthy lockdown. I could not handle work and home-schooling again. The only solution for this I believe is to lock things down again but personally, I don’t want that to happen either if we have too many more I wonder what the solution will be other than a lockdown?  

Let’s just hope that we will still be able to travel in our state as the kids and I are really looking forward to visiting their Grandma and Grandad and also the beach. No offence to my in-laws but the kids, especially the youngest is hanging for the beach (they are excited to see their grandparents but the beach is the highlight at the moment) and I am right there with them. I think we need it after being cooped up not being able to travel.

My fix for feeling frazzled is a holiday (It would be nice to have a little holiday on my own as that would allow for less frazzle). A holiday where I can rest, not worry, just be and finally relax. However, this holiday is coming soon, it is still a while away yet and one that will be greatly welcomed. 

I am sure I am not the only one feeling frazzled this year. Have you been feeling all mixed up lately? Is it a feeling of being frazzled and on edge? I feel like this year has just piled more terrible things on top of each other that you just shrug your shoulders and say, of course, yes it makes sense that would happen. 

After I am done with work, I need to really focus on getting organised for Christmas. I have the gifts but need to wrap them and loads more to be all good to go for Christmas Day.  I just want to be finally done for a bit and put my feet up for a bit longer than 5 minutes, I am sure you know what I mean.

So, as you can see 2021 has been a HUGE year, and I am sure you are in a similar situation. It would be nice to have a bit more luck in 2022 and for the car and holiday gods to smile on me in 2022. 

I’ve now put my out of office on and I am officially on holiday! Let the relaxing begin.

Let me know how you are going? Have you been feeling frazzled too? 

Categories
Family

Tips to help with Night Terrors

Night terrors are horrible.

In fact, they are just a pain in the bum. There is screaming, more screaming and the noise just gets so loud!

Not only is there a lot of yelling and screaming from the child who is having the night terror but there is also hitting, kicking and trying to do things that might hurt the terrorised child.

Being overtired can lead to night terrors. I do find that if my little boy hasn't slept he does have a night terror.
Being overtired can lead to night terrors. I do find that if my little boy hasn’t slept he does have a night terror.

My little boy has suffered from night terrors and they seem to happen every now and then. However, for the past week (starting from mid-week last week and to this week) he has had a few nearly every night.

He was not well and did have a fever for a few days so I put it down to the fact that he wasn’t well. I have even picked him up earlier from childcare to help with the lead up to bedtime and allow for quiet time. This plan didn’t work and therefore I was up again all night dealing with an upset kid.

I’ve had “NO” Screamed at me so loud I think that I have lost part of my hearing.

So what is a night terror?

A night terror is when a child wakes violently after a few hours of going to bed and is still asleep although appears to be awake.

Night terrors usually happen to preschool and primary school kids, and in time they grow out of it.

It is hard to calm the child when they are having a night terror due to the fact that they don’t know you are there and are dealing with something upsetting.

Night terrors are not nightmares. “Night terrors are part of a group of Non-REM sleep arousal disorders or parasomnias. Your child may remember being frightened, but without specific dream content and will not usually remember the night terror the next morning.” (https://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/fact-sheets/nightmares-and-night-terrors)

What are the signs of a night terror?

  • Seems awake but is still asleep, don’t try and wake the child. If you do the night terror will last longer.
  • Wakes screaming
  • Thrashes around, hits, kicks and tries to hurt you if you are there.
  • Throws things
  • Tries to hurt themselves
  • Yelling things that make no sense. My little boy just yells, NO!, and sometimes other things about what he doesn’t want to do or wants to do.
  • Sometimes the child having the terror has their eyes open but is not awake.
  • Sweaty and breathes heavy

One thing that was screamed at me while Alexander was having a terror was, “I WANT A T-REX!” I then said, of course, we can get you a T-Rex, and then he took a deep breath and rolled over and went back to sleep.

I must say that I am glad that he has no memory of me agreeing to get him a T-Rex. Honestly, we don’t have room for a T-Rex and currently struggle with the items we wish to keep.

Super glad my little boy has no memory of me saying he can have a T-Rex.
Super glad my little boy has no memory of me saying he can have a T-Rex.

Things I have noticed that might mean a night terror could occur:

  • Overtired
  • Sick
  • Fever
  • Upset/Worried
  • Teething

Sleeping is what all tired little kids should be doing. Yes, I'm hoping that I get to have a goods nights sleep soon.
Sleeping is what all tired little kids should be doing. Yes, I’m hoping that I get to have a goods nights sleep soon.

What can you do while your child is having a night terror?

Since your child will be not asleep or awake they will not understand you are there and could lash out. Stay in the room and make that your little one will not hurt themselves, for example falling out of bed, hitting their head on the corner or end of the bed or possibly tip items onto themselves.

If your child is talking try and talk to them, however, if they become more agitated and scream more loudly when you talk (this happens with my little boy) just sit and be quiet and say some calming things every now and then.

What I say to my child while he is screaming and having a night terror: It’s okay you are safe, you are in bed and all right, Mummy is here, calm down, it’s okay.

Once he calms down and the screaming, kicking, and hitting subsides I try and let him know I am there and sometimes he wakes up and other times he rolls over and goes back to bed.

If he does wake he gets some soothing cuddles with mummy and a drink and then goes back to bed.

Oh and if your little one is overheated that could bring on a terror too!

Make sure to not touch your child as this can agitate them and make the terror worse and last longer. If the child is going to hurt themselves or you need to move them this is fine as it is an emergency but might cause the child to freak out a bit. Once calmer you can touch and reassure the child.

Night time and crossing fingers and toes it is a night free of night terrors.
Night time and crossing fingers and toes it is a night free of night terrors.

Things I am doing to trying to calm down before bedtime

  • Quiet time
  • Bath to relax my little boy
  • Time in his room reading books and just relaxing before he goes to bed
  • Cuddles
  • Stopping his TV shows and making sure we have some playtime with his LEGO or cars.

Sites that can help if your child is having night terrors too:

Do your kids have night terrors or if they are older did they suffer them too? Have they outgrown them? They are common in preschool and primary aged children but after primary many outgrow night terrors.

I hope my little boy outgrows them soon as they are exhausting for both mummy and my little boy.

 

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Categories
3 years and beyond

Oh Sugar

Yesterday we went out to get the laundry done at the Laundromat (washing machine is broken, have purchased a new one, but there is a 2 week wait).  It was a bit of a production to get everyone and the clothes to the laundromat, but this was achieved.  As it was Sunday no one was around, so we had our pick of the washing machines. I organised all the clothes and set up the washing machines to start, all 4 washing machines would have the laundry done in under 30mins. While we waited we all went off to get some food and other shopping.

The girls were a bit out of sorts as I think they were over tired. Saturday they spent the day with our friends while we were at a friend’s birthday party in the city. James and I had a great time and it was so nice to see our friends once again. Pity we could not carry on all night. We had a great day and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

We were told that the girls were very well behaved and good for our friends.  This was not the case yesterday. Sunday the girls were little monsters. Not only did they start the day tired, they just got worse as the day progressed. Biting, kicking, hitting, pushing and if you can think it, it probably happened yesterday.

After lunch I had a square of dark chocolate and the girls asked to have some too. I saw no harm in this as they have chocolate every now and then, and it was after lunch. I did not think about the ramifications of a sugar overload or effects on kids who hardly have sugar, but this I think was my downfall, as you will see by reading on…It was the chocolate I tell you.

The little monkeys were running up and down the hallway, getting toys all over the place and getting things out to play with left, right and centre. It was chaos. Julia was being incredibly naughty and James was trying to sort it out, however this was met with a very headstrong and upset Julia.  She tried to throw things at daddy and if they were not weighed down it might have done some damage. Lillian had the same annoyance and naughtiness bug hit her also, and she scratched daddy, he was unaware until she mentioned there was blood and she left to get a towel to fix it.

I needed to be online to talk to my group for university; we are doing our group assignment, so during this period James decided to take the kids to the park. I believe that this idea was for them to burn off energy and get tired, so they could go to bed. This however did not happen; when the girls came home they were more revved up than before.

We both looked at each other and were shaking our heads, what was wrong with the girls? What did they eat? What could be causing this burst of activity? It was then that I recalled that I gave them the chocolate. We think it was due to the chocolate that they were so all over the place.  Has this happened to you? Does your child act strange after sugary treats?

I was curious and decided to search the internet to see if sugar/chocolate can be responsible for this behaviour – From what I have read there appears to be no link. Two of the links are suggesting that it could be additives in the candy that kids eat, or it could be the way the body processes the refined sugar and how it eventually wears off.

I am not sure if sugar is responsible. I really think that the girls like anyone, get moody, upset and angry when over tired. Maybe the chocolate did not help. However, they hardly have chocolate and candy, they have it very sparingly.

What do you think? Is sugar causing kids to run wild? Does a spike in sugar make them turn into little monsters? What do you do when this happens at your household? Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog.