Babies Born ~ September 2007 #74

[AnyDream]

No, it's on a very strict schedule. First sleep has to start 2-3 hrs after you wake up & then every 2 hours they lie you down & calibrate the sensors, and then you have to keep your eyes open until the exact minute when the test starts and then they switch off the light & out they go. And then ??? mins later they reappear & haul your sorry ass out of bed juuuuust when you're getting all comfy & snoozy. LOL.

FWIW Arte, dream recall is not always a reliable indicator of whether you are dreaming or not. All the sleep techs think its hilarious because people will say they haven't slept at all when they've slept heaps AND dreamed, other people say they have dreamed who didn't even fall asleep, and one person even fell asleep while they were talking & had rem sleep & woke up again in the middle of saying they hadn't slept at all. LOL. Mind you for the purposes of this exercise a single sleep spindle counts as sleep, so if that's 3 seconds of stage 1, that's still "sleep" for the purposes of the test. So rest assured, you probably do dream, but you just don't wake up during REM.

ETA - if you're still in mummy sleep deprivation land, you probably have REM-rebound where you do MORE dreaming than normal, often earlier in the sleep period. It's like your brain is making up for it. Sometimes this means people remember more dreams but sometimes it means they remember fewer dreams. It's all about when/how you wake up.

[Artechim]

Yeah, I know that the recall isn't a good indicator, but you would think that considering I get woken at random times during the night that at least some of the wakings would interrupt a dream lol. It isn't too bad on the sleep front now. E still wakes most nights but she just brings herself to my bed now and I haul her in. She is a bit wriggly but it is a million times better than it was.

When do you get your results?

[AnyDream]

So glad to hear you're getting a bit more nod. Yay for E bringing herself to your cosy kingdom - much better than you getting out of bed and having the cold feet! LOL

Gah. No wait for results. Dr rang today. Turns out I FAILED . No REM sleep (even though I dreamed, only the vivid dreams count as REM). The overnight sleep was better than the last one they recorded & I slept a lot during the naps, BUT I was outside the medication approval zone by .9 of a minute . And I was wrong about the microsleeps. I was popping out microsleeps all over the joint. The diagnostic criteria is that you need to be asleep for a full 15 seconds in each 30 second interval for it to count as sleep so even though I slept all over the place it didn't count. But I told him how they bellowed at me to stay awake when I was drifting off prior to the first test (causing me to wake with a start and then not sleep) and he said there's often a first test effect where people don't sleep because they are unfamiliar with the process. All leading to a recommendation of doing another study because despite failing by a whisker there's plenty of evidence I've got something going on. I just want this to be done already!

[Artechim]

0.9 of a minute lol. I hope you sleep those extra few seconds next time round. Sucks you have to do it over. How are your brain meds working for you now? Is there a noticeable improvement in thinking quality?

I am totally procrastinating on my current assignment. Which is dumb, because I am also stressing about how little time I have to do all the course work as well as the big essays this semester. Third year papers definitely take a lot more time and effort than the second year ones. Oh how I miss Chemistry, where a huge 3 page assignment would have included several graphs

[Cally]

FIL definitely has cancer. It was in lymph nodes as well as the main tumour. He is seeing surgeon and oncologist on Monday week. He and MIL were pretty shook up the day they found out, but were in a much better frame of mind when I saw them last night. DH seems to be OK with it, I think he had braced himself for that result last weekend.

MD - what a bummer you failed by such a small amount! Hope the next one goes better (or worse??)

I hardly ever remember dreams. I had one the other night where some guy attempted to attack me while walking home from a house next to DD's school. Woke up with a start then. Can't even remember the last time I dreamed before that. I know I shouldn't, but I'm starting to stress out about daylight savings starting again - last year my sleep wento to crap around that time.

I went and helped out at school again this week - I was in charge of listening to the readers. Is it wrong to be proud of DD being one of the ones that has to get a new one from the Yr 1 room rather than being a stock standard kindy level one??? And I somehow volunteered to be in charge of the rides for the school fete next year. Not sure about that one.....

[Artechim]

Cally, it is never wrong to be proud of our kids when they are doing well at anything! Good luck with the fete. Try tart cherry capsules when daylight savings rolls around. I have heard good things about it.
I hope that the news for your FIL when he sees the onco is good.

[Artechim]

Trill, I hope all is well with you and yours and that you are finding time to fit everything in. Is this your last semester of uni?

Cass, you have gone quiet too - hope all is well with Miss E and the house sale prep isn't too overwhelming.

[AnyDream]

How are your brain meds working for you now? Is there a noticeable improvement in thinking quality?

I think I should leave that up to the jury to decide... LOL. Seriously though, not sure about brain clarity, but I've got a bit more follow-through happening, hard to tell whether that is memory/cognition or just an effect of having a bit more oomph to get through the day. I do feel much better & more positive now than I did @ this time last year when I was having my annual mid-winter fall-in-a-heap.

Cally - good that your PIL are seeming in a better state of mind - such a shock to start with, but hopefully they will feel more in control after they see the surgeon and onc. Cally I totally know what you mean about daylight savings - can you get in early with some measure like fitting block-out curtains/blinds, changing lightbulbs over, etc? And yes you should be totally proud of all of your DD's achievements, no matter what they are!

Arte, did you edit your post? I thought I read something about planning to give your subject the flick? I guess all you can do is weigh up the benefits/pitfalls. I just keep grinding through mine joylessly. The thing that keeps me going though is all the other writing stuff that I do - so if the study isn't hitting the spot, find something else that will keep you interested & that you enjoy. Even if that's knitting tea cosies or folding paper cranes while listening to stimulating international radio.

And how is everyone else going?

[Artechim]

I did edit. I do that often - I feel like I am an over sharer of the mundaneness of my life lol Yip, giving it the flick this semester. I think I still have a couple of years to do the remaining three papers and I have no steam atm. I was quite enjoying my reading stint, I think I would be more relaxed with a stack of good novels.

What is everyones views on e-readers? I love the organic-ness of books, the physical act of turning pages and the excitement of seeing you are nearing the end but I am terminally cheap and the books on kindle are sooooo much cheaper than paper copies. I had an emergency when we were away where I didn't have the next book in my series and so I read it on DH's new kindle and admittedly it wasn't that bad. I am now thinking of investing in one for myself. Ironic, since DH is in the pulp and paper industry lol. Nevermind, the Chinese will always need their cigarette boxes.

[Cassius2]

i am here! i just am so flat chat. it has been a really horrid day today with house stuff and preparation and just feeling quite undervalued by DH

but i will vent when i have the energy! just know that i am reading and keeping up, but might be a couple of days....

[AnyDream]

LOL @ mundanity oversharing - that's what forums are all about, isn't it?

I have long claimed to be a lover of turn-the-page books - but I also nearly WET myself with excitement back in 2006 when the Kindle was first announced (yep before it was even available). Still, it took me until a couple of years ago to actually acquire one, but I love it. For me the number 1 benefit is that when you fall asleep reading it remembers what page you're on . After that comes the changeable font size, and after that comes the never-ending supply of books all in the one happy place. It's just so darn convenient. I also have a specky booklight for it which I love too. However, we're still constrained in Oz re acquiring legal content at a fair price, so I admit it throws up some ethical dilemmas as potential future-earner of creative content income. BUT I love it enough to be thinking that I might even need to trade up for one of the paperwhite models soon.

ETA - Hang in there, Cass. This is going to result in a massive life-improvement for all of your family!

[Cally]

Arte - I've had a kindle for just over a year now and absolutely love it. It's just such a good size and so convenient having everything right there. Plus, you can get a cover that coordinates with your bedspread if you're that way inclined!! DH was a bit against them, but he borrowed mine during swimming lessons over summer and has ended up buying a tablet to use as an e-reader (as well as numerous other things).

Cass - hugs! Just keep thinking of the end goal.

[AnyDream]

Oh yeah, tablets. I think having a tablet is probably the best was to read across a heap of formats (because you can read different formats using different apps if you need to, without having to convert files) so that's kind of tempting too. Except for the extra screen-light factor, plus I think they are a bit heavier than your typical e-reader, but on the plus side most tablets give you a bigger screen (I think). If I was using it to read newspapers/magazines, I would probably go the tablet. But for novels, e-reader is still best for me.

Aren't I such a fiction nerd, parroting on about it like that? LOL

[Cally]

DH's tablet is only an 8 inch, most tablets are 10 inch, so his is about the same size as the kindle. His also adjusts the light automatically when it goes into reading mode (Samsung Galaxy note 8) - a lot of research went into that purchase........

Feeling very flat at the moment. My back has been quite sore lately and I think it's getting me down. Hopefully the weekend in Cbr will perk me up - we're going to a Lego exhibition!!

[Artechim]

Cally, is it sad that I am actually jealous of you going to a Lego exhibition? I hope that you feel better soon xx

MD, we have had that exact conversation about kindle vs tablet. The kindle is better for reading on than a tablet, but the tablets have so many other functions etc. The screen on the kindle is matt rather than the shiny of a tablet though. I do wish the kindle was a bit bigger in size though. It is very small. If it were a couple of inches bigger then it would be better.

I have decided to keep going with my paper after all of that - I missed the withdrawal with fees returned date so I may as well plough on and if needs be then I can withdraw before academic penalty.

[AnyDream]

Cally - dead jealous of your trip to CBR and the Lego exhibition. There was a Bricks art thingo here last year which I knew was coming then totally missed because of my flakey memory . Take it easy with your back .

Arte - the solution might require getting one of each. FWIW some of the newer Kindles have bigger screens (ie the Kindle is the same size but the touch screens take up more of the front face). Good luck with the plowing on plan.

[Artechim]

Cally, I hope you are having a nice weekend away.

Cass, looks like you have been busy with painting. How much more do you need to do before it goes on the market? Hope E is doing alright xx

MD, we have an iPad and I could read off that if it came to it I guess. But then I looked at the new books I want to get and they were only a couple of dollars cheaper on ebook. But then if we are moving soon it may be the only viable option.

Trying to get through a massive essay. A is sick. I can't even be bothered looking at DH, that man irritates the hell out of me.

[AnyDream]

Cally, I hope your weekend was nice!

Pretty ordinary one here, but there was some sunshine today and I got out of the house a) by myself and b) with my family so all good I suppose.

Arte, good luck with the essay from hell. I'm sorta ignoring my study this weekend. Yes, this will bite me. Que sera, sera LOL. Sorry your DH is provoking the irrits.

Cass, if you're reading, good luck with the house-prepping/selling, etc.

I bought some xylitol chewing gum for Miss E (clinically shown to improve the glue ear situation). She has been munching away at it for short periods, not sure if it's enough to improve the hearing situation though. She had her first bigger-than-ben-hur school-friend party today. Still faffing about what to do for hers. September is rapidly approaching, ladies!!