The House of Tiny Tearaways
Family Four: Sleep
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Michelle (28), Matthew (three years and six
months), and Ross (two years and two months) from Glasgow
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Michelle is a 28-year-old lone parent from Glasgow.
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She is an exhausted nursing student who is very sleep-deprived
- getting only half the sleep she needs per night.
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Ross has never slept through the night since he was
born. He wakes between four and 12 times during the night. When he wakes,
he will cry uncontrollably.
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As a result of his tiredness, Ross is often bad-tempered
during the day. He lashes out at older brother Matthew, as well as at
his mum.
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As Matthew's sleep is always interrupted by Ross, he
ends up sleeping on the sofa. Matthew becomes very badly-behaved when
he hasn't had much sleep.
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Michelle's studies are really beginning to suffer, and
she is especially anxious because she has exams coming up.
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She had planned to start a nursing degree in September,
but is currently finding it too hard to balance study with motherhood
and is thinking of deferring.
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Michelle was once very sociable, but friends have fallen
away because she is constantly exhausted. Overall, Michelle has started
to think she is a bad mum and her confidence is at an all-time low.
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