Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Bedbugs and Ballyhoo

I don't get a whole lot of sleep around here. I've had chronic insomnia for as long as I remember and having kids and cats only adds to the problem. I have tried everything possible from meditation to drug therapy. Drugs seem to work best. Lunesta is my current drug of choice. It helps me fall asleep but I still awaken easily to most noises. For example last night:

I took my Med early so I could be in bed by 11. I work part time evening shift so on those nights my bedtime is 2 am. On my nights off I've been staying awake untill MN. I want to start going to bed earlier to see if I feel less fatigued and more inclined to exercise during the day.
Anyways, I fell asleep quickly in bed aroung 11pm. Suddenly, it seemed, I was talking in my sleep "there are no bedbugs"..."what?" Then I realized I was not dreaming, my daughtor E was standing at my bedside wailing "A BEDBUG BIT ME A BEDBUG BIT ME, IT BURNS, MY EAR BURNS, WAAA!" she cried. E does occaisionally sleeptalk or walk but she was clearly awake at that time. My hus and I jumped (struggled) out of bed. He went upstairs to check her bed, I took her to the bathroom to check her ear. Sure enough there was a red welt on her left ear. "It was a hornet" Hus yelled down to us. Well E wasn't getting back into her bed anytime soon so I let her have mine and I took the couch. It was 1:00am.

The effects of the Lunesta still present, Ifell back to sleep fast. Then I heard my Husband shouting from the bedroom "SON OF A B*TCH, MOTHER F*CKER!", I asked what was wrong, I was scared. He told me that our cat, our sweet, loving, elderly siamese cat Cokee had thrown up all over the bed, even on my husbands feet. Yuck! I felt sorry for him and my daughtor so I helped change the sheet and blankets. It was 2:00am.

It took me a little longer to fall back asleep this time, but I managed. Then a little while later my other cat,
my overweight middle aged cat Arthur, started jumping on and off the couch and running to the front door and back in an attempt to get me to let him out. For cripes sake it was minus 2 outside. I threw a pillow at him an hoped he would give up. No luck. So I got up and let him out. My hus would be up soon for work and could let Arty back in, so I figured he probably wouldn't freeze in that amount of time. It was 3:00AM.
E woke me up at 6:30AM when the alarm woke her up.
I've been drinking a lot of coffee today.
Most nights are not as dramatic as last night. Usually its my son who keeps us up. T talks and cries in his sleep and has the occaisional night terror, and sometimes even falls out of bed. Last night he was the only one who slept queitly and soundly all night. Good for him.

Will I ever get a good nights sleep again?