Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[kherbert05]

Oh man! You just gave me trauma flashbacks. TAAS and TAKS were the nasty words in our house.

Weirdly, I always (except one year) did great on them. But the leading up to them was always brutal. And one year they lost my essay portion to the english test and I failed my grade because of it. (How they lost it is a great mystery. If I remember correctly the thing was attatched to the booklet! But seven kids' essays disappeared.)

Yikes I bet heads rolled over that.


A few years ago a troubled student burned down a historic HS near me. The TAKS tests had been counted and locked up the principals' office to be shipped back to TEA. They burned. The kids had to retake that round of tests - there were death threats against the boy and his family.

[kherbert05]

Speaking of waking people up, when our first daughter was a newborn, she would sleep for several hours at a stretch in the night.  We thought this was great.  Our doctor, not so much.  "Infants shouldn't sleep that long between feedings.  You have to wake her up and feed her."  That seemed brain-hurty to me, but we did it - ONCE.   The poor wee thing cried so hard, we couldn't feed her, so we just rocked her back to sleep.   Then we looked at each other and said "That was dumb.  Let's never do that again."

Mom was given specific instructions to feed me every 2 or 4 hours. I was a pretty sick infant. Dr. George found out Mom followed instructions to the letter (medical researcher), when he found out Mom was waking me to feed me. He told her to let me sleep if I got hungry I would wake up.

[MariaE]

Speaking of waking people up, when our first daughter was a newborn, she would sleep for several hours at a stretch in the night.  We thought this was great.  Our doctor, not so much.  "Infants shouldn't sleep that long between feedings.  You have to wake her up and feed her."  That seemed brain-hurty to me, but we did it - ONCE.   The poor wee thing cried so hard, we couldn't feed her, so we just rocked her back to sleep.   Then we looked at each other and said "That was dumb.  Let's never do that again."

Mom was given specific instructions to feed me every 2 or 4 hours. I was a pretty sick infant. Dr. George found out Mom followed instructions to the letter (medical researcher), when he found out Mom was waking me to feed me. He told her to let me sleep if I got hungry I would wake up.

Not always. The first week of her life, my niece had to be woken up for feedings - she didn't wake by herself. Fortunately her parents disocvered this while they were still at the hospital.

I agree that it's rare, but I just want to make sure people don't think it never happens. My niece almost died because of it.

[MommyPenguin]

I was told that a newborn shouldn't sleep more than 2-3 hours between feedings.  My newest little one, however, would sleep 4-5.  Or more, probably, because I usually woke her after about 5.    I wanted to make sure she got enough feedings during the day.  She did okay being woken up for feedings, although I often had to disrobe her to keep her awake to eat.  She did that for about the first 3 weeks of life, then she started waking on her own every 3-4 hours.  Still does, now, at almost 4 months.  Fun fun.

[FlyingBaconMouse]

I had insomnia last night and ended up coming down to the couch to sleep, finally falling asleep at about 4:30am. At 7am the kids started getting up for school and DH got up as well, everyone moving around the house woke me and I got up to help the kids with a few things. At 7:30 DH told me to go up to bed and he'd come wake me in a few hours. I had just drifted off at about 7:45 when I heard someone crossing our very creaky bedroom floor. I looked up to find DH there who said "Did I wake you? I was just checking to make sure you were asleep." I said "Well, I was..." and thought "When I'm coherent again this is going in the brain hurt thread!"

I know he was just being concerned, and I love him for taking care of me, but yeah. 

A co-worker was telling me how when her son was an infant, she would poke at him and wake him up while he was sleeping, to make sure he was still alive--she was a very nervous first-time parent. I will admit to having stared at certain people to make sure they were still breathing in their sleep, but actually waking someone up seems a little counterintuitive to me.

I do this with one of our cats--she's nearly 16 and gave me a scare once by lying on her side and not moving or showing any signs of breathing.  I couldn't yell at her since she's deaf.  I shook her a little--nothing.  Panicked phone call to boyfriend.  Shook her some more, harder.

She woke up...and boy, was she mad!

I do this kind of thing to my cat: Jasper is 15, and ever since my friend's cat of the same age had to be put down, I panic whenever I can't immediately see he's breathing. He is also, naturally, fond of sleeping face-down on the top of the sofa. 

[laud_shy_girl]

When Boo was born she had her first feed and then I was taken to the ward, I was told I "Had"(With implied dire results if I failed) to feed her withing 5 (I think) hours. so I woke her to feed her.

Then when I got home and the Midwife came and saw me she said babies can go as long as 12 hours between feeds with no ill affects.

That really hurt my brain until I asked at the breast feeding support group.
Lisa explained that babies have a special brown fat they can use if they don't get enough food and are fine for a really long time. the fat is unique to newborns and can be broken down almost instantly. It's not ideal but wont hurt them. Barring any medical conditions etc.
But... A baby has to eat withing so many hours of their first feed or it's really really dangerous.   

She said a lot of people hear the part out babies having to eat withing so many hours and latch on to it (no pun intended)

N.B This is only with healthy babies who are not under weight or have an underling medical condition.

I used to keep a pen light by Boo so I could shine it in her chest to make sure it was still moving but DH did not think that was odd as he did it too.   

[Twik]

I had insomnia last night and ended up coming down to the couch to sleep, finally falling asleep at about 4:30am. At 7am the kids started getting up for school and DH got up as well, everyone moving around the house woke me and I got up to help the kids with a few things. At 7:30 DH told me to go up to bed and he'd come wake me in a few hours. I had just drifted off at about 7:45 when I heard someone crossing our very creaky bedroom floor. I looked up to find DH there who said "Did I wake you? I was just checking to make sure you were asleep." I said "Well, I was..." and thought "When I'm coherent again this is going in the brain hurt thread!"

I know he was just being concerned, and I love him for taking care of me, but yeah. 

A co-worker was telling me how when her son was an infant, she would poke at him and wake him up while he was sleeping, to make sure he was still alive--she was a very nervous first-time parent. I will admit to having stared at certain people to make sure they were still breathing in their sleep, but actually waking someone up seems a little counterintuitive to me.

Hand mirror. Seriously.

When we first got my baby cousins living with us, Girl!Cousin was kinda sickly and my mom would wake her up to make sure she was still alive.

So I got my makeup mirror, held it beside her nose and mouth and showed mom the steam. Until that poor kid was four, a compact sat on the table beside her bed. Then when I tried to put it back in my purse she cried because it was "hers" so I give it to her.

Kimblee, may I say if I'm ever sick, I'd want you (or someone like you) to look after me? You combine compassion, cleverness and common sense so well.

[Piratelvr1121]

Yesterday I ran out to the dollar store and when I reached the register, the woman started cooing at my youngest and trying to get him to talk to her.  Which is rare that he'll talk to someone he doesn't know. He'll smile, but rarely talks to strangers unless he's in a real chatty mood. 

Anyway, I saw her nametag and noticed that her name is the same as my bff and said "hey look, her name's *Cathy* just like your auntie!" The woman looked at me and shook her head saying in a voice like she was still talking to the Piratebabe drawing out a "Nooooo!!"    Lady, the name's on your nametag, I can read.  I guess there's the possibility that she forgot hers and wore someone else's, or the boss put her first name down without asking what she goes by but it still made my brain hurt a bit that she would respond in that way, like she was talking to someone slow.   

[Lynn2000]

I was told that a newborn shouldn't sleep more than 2-3 hours between feedings.  My newest little one, however, would sleep 4-5.  Or more, probably, because I usually woke her after about 5.    I wanted to make sure she got enough feedings during the day.  She did okay being woken up for feedings, although I often had to disrobe her to keep her awake to eat.  She did that for about the first 3 weeks of life, then she started waking on her own every 3-4 hours.  Still does, now, at almost 4 months.  Fun fun.

My friend had to do something like this with her new baby, per doctor's orders. (Not wanting to get into medical stuff here--I assume the doctor had a good reason for telling her to do it.) She also had to undress the baby so he would be a bit too cool to fall back to sleep, and even dabbed him with a cool, wet washcloth (all suggestions from the pediatrician). So that doesn't seem too weird to me. I think he wasn't gaining as much weight as he should have been at the beginning.

[WillyNilly]

Seriously though, can the feeding babies stuff get its own thread?

[NyaChan]

My mom texted me the other day to share with me that her ipad's screen was cracked and the volume button ruined.  I called her to check in on her and she was crying and really upset.  Mom kept saying how she felt so stupid and that she is always messing things up.  She kept berating herself & referencing how my dad is so responsible and HE never has stuff like this happen to him. 

Cue brainhurt moment - My dad is a very very dependable and smart person.  That said ---

He has nearly taken his hand off with a chainsaw (so so lucky), almost killed himself trying to beat the garage door on foot, ripped open his palm using screw drivers/knives twice because he was holding the object he was working on in his hand rather than putting it on the table, got thrown from his bike because he was thinking too hard and didn't notice the wire stretched across the trail to block cars, got into a car accident because his engineer's mind couldn't stop debating the possibility that the house on the giant hill he was driving down was built crooked, and has crashed a grand total of 3 cars (he wasn't the cause of any of these accidents). 

I reminded my mom of the cars, and she kinda paused and goes, "Oh. Yeah.  I forgot about that."  She stopped crying (thank god! Crying freaks me out). 

[Sheila Take a Bow]

He has nearly taken his hand off with a chainsaw (so so lucky), almost killed himself trying to beat the garage door on foot, ripped open his palm using screw drivers/knives twice because he was holding the object he was working on in his hand rather than putting it on the table, got thrown from his bike because he was thinking too hard and didn't notice the wire stretched across the trail to block cars, got into a car accident because his engineer's mind couldn't stop debating the possibility that the house on the giant hill he was driving down was built crooked, and has crashed a grand total of 3 cars (he wasn't the cause of any of these accidents). 

That part's brain-hurty for me.  I've done that once, and it was painful enough that I will never make that mistake again.  (Plus I have a scar to remind me to be careful!)

[Adelaide]

One of my friends mouthed off to a Dean about how bad his course load was last semester and got some sort of permanent "mark" on his account. I know that being in law school doesn't automatically make you a slick, smooth-talking politician, but at this point in your life what don't you get about "You catch more flies with honey"? 

[ladyknight1]

He has nearly taken his hand off with a chainsaw (so so lucky), almost killed himself trying to beat the garage door on foot, ripped open his palm using screw drivers/knives twice because he was holding the object he was working on in his hand rather than putting it on the table, got thrown from his bike because he was thinking too hard and didn't notice the wire stretched across the trail to block cars, got into a car accident because his engineer's mind couldn't stop debating the possibility that the house on the giant hill he was driving down was built crooked, and has crashed a grand total of 3 cars (he wasn't the cause of any of these accidents). 

That part's brain-hurty for me.  I've done that once, and it was painful enough that I will never make that mistake again.  (Plus I have a scar to remind me to be careful!)

DH, a locksmith, has drilled the palm of his left hand and tried to catch a piece of falling metal with his left that cut 1/2" into the side of his hand. He still hasn't learned.

[Miss Tickle]

So my Mother calls  me up one day:

Mom: This computer your friend sold me is full of viruses!!! (No hello, how are ya, nothing)
Me: What?
Mom: It stopped working! It has to go back to the shop!!!
Me: uhhh..
Mom: click.

...

Mom: Now I have to bring in the peripherals too! This is INFECTED!! It's garbage!!
Me: Wait. The what?
Mom: The printer, the mouse thing, the keyboard, all of it's infected!
Me: No, that's not...
Mom: And the new keyboard and mouse were from the GOVERNMENT so we know it's not infected, it's your friend's computer that's the problem!!
Me: Do you mean the new wireless keyboard and mouse your stepson gave you?
Mom: Yes!!
Me: What exactly was the problem? How did you know it was a virus?
Mom: I turned on the computer, it started up but then nothing happened, I couldn't get it to do anything.
Me: Anything how?
Mom: The thingy wouldn't go.
Me: The what? The mouse?
Mom: Yes. the mouse thing didn't go, it froze because of the virus.
Me: Did you check the batteries?
Mom:...
Me:...
Mom: Batteries? Why would it need batteries? The last one didn't need batteries!
Me: The last one plugged in to the computer. This one runs on batteries, not magic.
Mom:...
Me:...
Mom: Well, this is going to cost me a fortune isn't it?
Me: Probably.  Please, don't do anything with the computer without checking with me first.*

Five minutes later:

Friend: Hi, uh,...
Me: Let me guess, the batteries in the mouse were dead.
Friend: How did you know?
Me: It took twenty seconds.
Friend: We have to charge her a diagnostic fee and charge for the batteries.
Me: I told you not to sell her a computer.
Friend: But we're a computer store.
Me: And I told you not to sell her a computer.

* Last time was "You're computer Is infected! Send You're CC to XXXX and We'll fix it!!" and she did. And then blamed me because I should have warned her about pop-up spam.