Sleep is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. While I'm pretty sure that most mothers will admit to not getting enough sleep, I've read some scary numbers on just how many of us are popping Ambien or chewing Tylenol PM like they're Reese's Pieces. My normal inclination to any problem that smacks of, "It's all in your head" is to say, "Yes, it's all in your head, now stop it."
Editor's note: This does not include clinical depression, or children with things like ADHD, bipolar disorder, etc.
While I'd like to scoff at these women and repeat a line from my favorite faux children's story - Go the Fuck to Sleep - I just can't.
Because I'm one of them.
Either I sit there in the dark reviewing all the things that haven't been done at home or for the kids or my husband or the dogs or the car or how I should really apologize for every rotten thing I've ever done to anyone.... or I toss back those great blue pills and sleep the sleep of the medicated. Of course it's not every night, but enough nights to safely say that something must be way out of whack when you just can't calm your mind long enough to rest.
Most women I know don't really talk about this. We just accept it as a fact of parenthood. But is this the mental price we pay for trying to do it all? Is it worth it?
