Sleep...I miss sleep....

Something you should know about me: when I was in high school and college, I was an Olympic-worthy sleeper. And we're talking gold medal caliber, not just that I made the team. I could easily sleep until 11:00 am, and often until noon. My bedroom was on the side of the house that stayed dark latest into the day, and it was right above the vent, so it was always either nice and chilly in the summer, or warm and cozy in the winter. Prime sleeping conditions. It didn't hurt that my mom also enabled me, reminding my family to be quiet, as "Po is sleeping!" Never mind that I'd been doing so for the last 10+ hours and it was nearly lunchtime. When I would finally waltz into the kitchen, my dad would always ask me, "Did it hurt?" (Meaning did it hurt when I woke up. A variation of what he'd ask when we fell of our bikes - "Is the sidewalk hurt?") Getting me to wake up in time for school was nothing short of a miracle. My dad would come in and wake me up on his way to the hospital; my alarm would bleep at me; my high school boyfriend would call me; finally, my mom would drag me out and I'd stumble into the shower. Post-college, when I lived in Broad Ripple with Emily, she told me several times she actually felt sorry for me because I looked like I was in physical pain in the morning as I zombie-walked to the shower. So - you get the idea. Sleep and I go together like peanut butter and jelly. We used to be best friends.

Cookie and I starting week 18.

Well. As you might imagine, now that we're kicking off Week 18 of incubating our Cookie, sleep doesn't come quite so readily. Sleep is something I think about a lot these days. Mainly, how to get a better, uninterrupted night of it. Between getting up to go to the bathroom, back aches, and trying to not sleep on my back or right side, a quality night's sleep has begun to elude us here at the Blythe house.

I am usually in bed by 8:30 with a book or magazines; I try to be off of all devices by 9:00, and lights out by 9:30. Pre-Cookie I would sleep straight through until 6:45 am. Those are days I remember fondly. Now, there are the bathroom trips; always the bathroom trips. If you've been reading my previous posts, I drink about a gallon of water in an attempt to wash the pre-natal down quickly. Strike number one. I go to the bathroom right before I fall asleep but I inevitably have to get up at least twice a night, regardless of how I try to time things. And it's rare that I fall straight back to sleep after getting up. When this happens, I want JBB to know. If I can't sleep, it's only fair he can't. This baby is half his, after all. Last week, when I couldn't sleep, I dramatically sighed, harrumphed, and floundered about in an attempt wake him up. I'm not proud of this. As he continued to sleep like a log, I indignantly sat up, poked him, and announced in a strident voice, "JBB!! I can't sleep." "Okay," he said, as he continued to sleep while rubbing my head at the same time. I begrudgingly laid there, jealous of his sleeping prowess. He apparently doesn't have the same issues I do. He also pops out of bed at the first tinkling sound of his alarm and skips into the shower. He doesn't even know how to work his snooze button. He is a magical sleep unicorn.

Then there is the act of trying to sleep on the left side of my body, which is apparently the way you're supposed to sleep once you're past 4 months. I sent JBB my "Gerber weekly email update" with this information in it, and came home that very night to find our nightstands and pillows switched so that I could still sleep on my left side and be the little spoon at the same time. (Have I mentioned how sweet my husband is?) Apparently, I am not a natural left-sider. I always end up rolling over in my sleep; JBB then rolls me back over, and this goes on throughout the night. He says he's going to make me a kick-stand; until that kick-stand arrives, we've added a new addition to our bed. Bill the Pill(ow). Mom and I picked up the body pillow at Target, thinking it would help with my back. It's main purpose has turned out to serve as the Berlin wall between JBB and I, and act as my "kick-stand" to keep me from rolling over. (JBB also says it serves as a great toot guard. Too much information? I can't help it. I'm pregnant. Side effect). The pillow is giant, and I typically end up throwing it on the floor in the middle of the night, and then almost trip on it during one of my many trips to the loo.

The other man in my life. Bill the Pill(ow).

As you can see, the nights aren't the most restful. I can't wait until the leg cramps kick in. And here is the kicker - I always seem to fall asleep the hardest and soundest about 5:30 am - just in time to have to wake up in 90 minutes. Grr!!! On the bright side, I guess I can view this as preparation for when Cookie comes - I know we won't be getting any sleep then! Might as well get used to it. And dream of those 12 hour nights.

All snuggled in for a good night's sleep.

Signing off...I'm sleepy.