Goodbye Shut-Eye
Looking at the clock at this hour is always infuriating.
At 31 weeks pregnant, I’ve begun resigning myself to the fact that I will never, and I do mean never, get a full night’s rest again. I’ve gotten used to waking up one to three times in the middle of the night having to pee, thanks to an ever-shrinking bladder, intensely thirsty, and more often than not, completely famished. Drinking water is very important during pregnancy, so I never deprive myself, but I know that drinking just one cup means I will be waking up at least one more time during the night to relieve my bladder. It’s a vicious cycle.
Despite the cycle, I think it’s good preparation. Depending on her individual needs, my daughter will be waking up every 1-4 hours needing to nurse, a diaper change, or just not wanting to be asleep at 3:00 am. Babies are like that, or so I’m told. My own mother has warned me that it doesn’t get any better as the babies grow up into toddlers, children, teenagers, and eventually adults. There’s always going to be that silent alarm in the middle of the night that makes you wake up to see if children are still in their beds and that they’re still breathing. Even if you don’t actually get out of the bed, you will never get a full night’s sleep again. And I’m looking forward to this.
I greatly value my sleep, so it has been rough adjusting to waking up so frequently, but now that it is the norm, I’m a lot less bitter about it. I’ve finally figured out which lights to turn on that don’t wake up my husband and don’t wake me up more than necessary, how to roll out of the bed so the pressure isn’t changed on the mattress, and where to eat my midnight snack so I’m not too loud. I almost think it would be weirder to actually sleep from the moment I get into bed until morning.
Was it hard for you to adjust to a new sleep pattern? Did you still get enough rest by taking naps or upping your caffeine intake?
