One time, and one time only, I became so angry at my little one's crying that I apanked him -- I HIT HIM to get him to stop crying! It didn't work, of course, and I will never never never live down the shame, but it has given me such empathy for parents who have reached the ends of their ropes. I am, in general, mellow in the extreme, and he is and was an amazingly sweet and gentle soul, and here I was, completely irrationally furious at this little helpless creature. I still am stunned at the personality change that the combination of sleeplessness, frustration, and the inability to communicate with a little wailing bundle can create.