‘During Christmas dinner I was snoring next to my child’
Image: Getty Images
Try staying awake during that dangerous cocktail of December stress and chronic sleep deprivation called the holiday season.
Lonneke (45): “They call it pregnancy dementia, that you can’t come up with names, walk out of the supermarket without groceries and spend hours looking for your mobile. I suffered from it all three of my pregnancies. I even went to the doctor because I was worried and wondered if there really wasn’t something wrong with me. And after every birth, fatigue took over my brain.
“I hid Sinterklaas and Christmas gifts around the house, which I only found months later”
For example, I once put my phone in the fridge and turned my whole house upside down to find that thing. I hid Sinterklaas and Christmas presents around the house, which I only found months later. And I now have extra bunches of keys, because I got tired of my searches. I am happy that my children are now bigger and sleep through the day and my brain has finally recovered from those tropical years.”
Read also – ‘Who makes what for Christmas dinner? As I read, the courage sinks into my shoes’ >
Fallen asleep
Miranda (32): “A few years ago I would have tried really hard at Christmas Day dinner. The whole family joined us, so I had a lot of stress in the kitchen trying to impress and prepare a turkey. Several times my sister asked if she could help me, but no, I would arrange this myself. It ended up being a lot more work than I expected—timing has never been my strong point—and the turkey and the rest of the dinner arrived way too late.
“I missed the big turkey cutting moment that evening, because I was snoring next to my child”
That was no problem for our guests, because my friend had fed everyone with chips, nuts and Christmas wreaths. But for my little man, Max (3), it had taken too long: he fell asleep over his plate. I took him to his bed and decided to lie down next to it for a while myself… Anyway, I missed the big turkey cutting moment that evening, because I was snoring next to my child.”
This article is in the Kek Mama Winter Book 2022.
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