20 Big Signs You're a Sleep-Deprived Parent

Forgetting who's who...

"There are days that my children's names—and the pets' names—become interchangeable. I used to laugh at my own mother for doing that!" —Leesa Carel

"I tried to put my one-year-old's jacket on my six-year-old and couldn't figure out why her arm wouldn't go in." —Nadine Gaab

"Tried to put a pacifier in my husband's mouth." —Rachel Marie

"Having that awkward 'I-hope-she-can't-tell-I-can't-remember-her-name' conversation on the playground and realizing 20 minutes after you get home that you share the same first name." —Amber Simon-Power

"After hours of rocking and patting my colicky son, I absentmindedly started burping the dog when she jumped into my lap." —Judy Smithcronk

...and creating unusual storage solutions...

"[Putting] the [leftover slice of] pizza in the junk drawer." —Samantha Grissom

"Couldn't find the baby wipes... ended up finding them in the freezer." —Ashley Walicki

"Putting a dirty diaper in the fridge." —Sara Knapp

...and creating less-than-appetizing options...

"Pour[ing] your cereal into your morning cup of tea instead of the bowl." —Eva Duve Creel

"I was calling in an order for Chinese food while my husband was upstairs getting ready to go pick it up. I completely lost the words in my head in the middle of the sentence. I ended up asking the girl for 'alcohol chicken.' She was like, 'Alcohol chicken?' And I was like, 'You know. Chicken with alcohol flavor?' My husband yelled down, 'Bourbon chicken!' Yikes." —Rebecca Sue

...and forgetting how things work...

"Standing at the front door to my home hitting the unlock button for my car wondering why it won't open." —Jennifer Grant

"Sitting at a four-way stop sign... waiting for it to turn green." —Robin Monahan

"At one of those bag your own groceries stores, I paid for my groceries and walked halfway out to my car before realizing I had no groceries and had left everything on the conveyor belt." —Lindsay Perry Schneider

...and going on autopilot...

"When my son was a newborn, I took a full shower not realizing I never took my bra off." —Emily Laroo

"Actually finding time to do a load of laundry from start to finish, and as you pull the clothes out the dryer you aren't thinking and put them back in the wash and start it... and then you realize what you've done." —Abigail Hanson

"Not really funny, but one night someone hit the driver's side of my car while it was parked at our apartment. I drove to work the next morning and back home and still had no clue until my neighbor told me." —Amy Matthews

"One morning I woke up very groggy and looked over to my youngest sleeping in his crib with a large wet stain underneath him. Apparently, I'd gotten up in the middle of the night to change his diaper, but never put a clean one on. Whoops!" —Miriam Halbrooks

"Brushed my teeth with glitter glue. I didn't even notice until my coworker pointed out my sparkling pink and purple teeth." —Sara Pepper

"Got pregnant with baby #2!" —Shelly Kandula Healy

...but, luckily, it happens to dads, too!

"After the delivery, I got lost in the hospital and went back to the wrong room. I only discovered my mistake when I leaned in to kiss my wife on the head and realized it was someone else!" —John Poehner

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