Exhaustion? What's THAT?

First off!  Thanks to all for your input on my hair crisis.  I have an appointment for this weekend---and I will only be getting my layers put back in and my usual trim.  All I needed to hear was that the short 'do was more "mom looking" and would fit better with the minivan image.  HA!  I love my kids dearly, and I love love love being a mother more than anything else in this world---BUT---I like to keep an identity that does not scream "MOM!" at all hours of the day.  Long it shall stay.  Maybe people will think I'm borrowing the minivan?  Okay not so much.....but...thank-you for playing!!
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I'm not sure I can relate to the term "exhaustion" anymore.  It seems too light for how I would describe life lately.

It's really awesome when your nearly 3-year old daughter randomly will say "I'm exhausted!".  Hmmm I wonder where she has heard that one recently?

School is, in a sense, winding down.  I can say that because I am nearly done with my clinical rotations for this semester.  I will not be back in clinical until January 2012 after this!  I'm taking the fall semester off of clinical as I feel I will be doing a lot of Peds clinical rotations right from the comforts of home--ha!  I will have just 8 (7?) credits this fall and my usual working 3 days per week at Mayo.  Plus 2 babies and  a 3-year old.  I am not so sure the exhaustion will let up, in, oh.....the next 18 years?

With school "winding down" for the semester comes tons of deadlines.  Ones that I don't feel I can finish.  Because of this overwhelming exhaustion.  It would help if usual sleeping hours didn't need to be filled with homework, quizzes, etc.

I feel buried but this too shall pass...it always does.

At my recent glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes, I had some routine pregnancy blood tests drawn. Two infiltrated IV's and 3 venipunctures later, I know that my hemoglobin is low.  I'm anemic.  That really helps with the overwhelming exhaustion, ya know?  Iron supplements aren't easy to take, so my doctor has elected not to treat me just yet.  The stomach side effects of iron tablets, at this point in the game when I'm already nauseated and trying my best to consume enough calories for all 3 of us, aren't worth it.  So---I need to suck it up.

And eat a big fat steak

If steak were appealing to me, that'd be great!

The good news is that I did pass my 3-hour glucose test!  Woop woop!  I was pretty sure I'd fail it.  I did fail one of the hourly levels, but you have to fail 2 of the 4 levels to completely fail the whole test and be diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  I didn't pass "with flying colors", so that is enough to convince me to cut out some carbs or pure sugar that I just may have been guilty of consuming thus far in pregnancy.

I don't need my babies to go hypoglycemic on top of everything else that could be thrown our way.  No thanks!

I now dismiss myself to go bask in my royal slumber what I merely consider an attempt at sleep these days....

Does anyone have any really great knock-out remedies for sleep?  That do not involve overindulgence of alcohol??  HA!!

I'm too exhausted to sleep!