In the last week or so I started noticing some chatter on Twitter about being a “zombie mom”. I have been there and remember it well, that haze that surrounds a new parent, where sleep is a luxery that most can’t afford. It was a time when I did some really silly things, like left the water running for long periods of time, pouring hot coffee in a mug with a tea bag, then serving it to Willy as just a normal cup of tea, leaving the laundry wet in the washer for days… It was worse with Goose, as I had Woo to keep up to in the daylight, and never got to nap. Woo gave up napping three days after Goose came home from the hospital. The days were looooong.

As I read some of these tweets from these new moms, I felt sorry for them, but was secretly smug.  Smug because I am so far past that stage.  My lils, for the most part, are great overnight sleepers. If they wake in the night, they are quick to settle and we barely notice.  Willy is always the first to get to them anyway, so I get the shut-eye that I need. If I don’t it is my fault for going to bed too late. Then Willy went away and Goose got croup.  I hate croup.  It not only sounds horrible, but it destroys the sleep of whichever little is currently afflicted.  Who could sleep through that awful cough?  I can’t, and I am not the one making all that racket.  We have become pros at taking all the precautions we can and managing it at home so that we don’t have to go to the doctor or hospital, but every now and again they get a bad case.  Goose has a bad case.

The first night was not too bad as she only woke twice so my tired was a manageable tired. The second night was way worse, and she woke at least once per hour.  Then the thunderstorm hit and I was finished sleeping for the night.  I lay in bed and started thinking of my day. Worried that I would fall back to sleep and wake late, I started jotting down important things that I was worried I’d forget.  Things like get file from office, pack a lunch, get dressed, bring camera… … get dressed.  I had to remind myself to GET DRESSED for work. It took two short days, and I am a Zombie Mom again.  I am afraid of what will happen next.