Sleeping at this stage is SO hard (I'm 34 weeks). In previous pregnancies, I didn't reach this stage of sleeping awfulness until more like 36 or 37 weeks. So this stinks. Not only is it hard to get comfortable, but let me paint you a picture of my sleeping challenge:
1) varicose veins- I can't lay on one side very long before that leg starts to feel dead and aches.
2) restless legs syndrome- when I'm not preggo and this happens (which is waaaayyy less often than when I am pregnant), sleeping on my tummy nixes it in the bud. You can see why that's not an option at this point.
3) sleeping on my back doesn't work because at this stage, you're not supposed to because of the pressure of the baby on your that one artery which name I can't remember. And when I try, I get dizzy.
4) hormones & insomnia- the hormones that are surging through my body cause insomnia for me. So even when I do manage to get comfy, or find a position that works for my legs, some nights I'll just lie there- exhausted, but wide awake. Plus, every morning I wake up at about 5:30 or 6. Not on purpose. Not because of my other kids, who have (almost) all been blessed with my not-a-morning-person genes. If you know me, you know that mornings aren't my strong point. My kids' school starts at 9 am. And they were late this past year. A lot. Because mom sleeps in. (I know, I need to work on that).
5) pee breaks- lots and lots of 'em
6) aches- in my lower right back I get this deep pain that hurts. It usually develops at night. If I wake up in the night with it, I have to reach for my Miracle Ball and position it in a way that'll work out the knot that is there in my muscles. Drives me crazy.
So, you see that this gets complicated? Most nights I start out with about 7 pillows, and I prop myself up so I'm mostly sitting up (think hospital bed), then I prop up my legs to help my varicose veins. If I'm blessed to actually fall asleep, I will awake soon after to pee, or just because it's hard to stay asleep (again, thanks, hormones). Sometime during the night I'll usually reconfigure my entire pillow set up and do this weird belly-side position that works sometimes. Needless to say, I am tired. All the time. And I am tired of being tired.
A friend, who was expecting her fourth, asked me if four kids were really hard. I said, "Not as hard as having three and being pregnant is." Yes, I am looking forward to the birth of this child not only because I can't wait to meet her, hold her, kiss her, put cute dresses on her, and love her, but because life will actually begin to get easier. My energy will slowly be going up, not down, I will slowly be getting more fit, not less, and the hormones will begin to be flushed from my body (albeit, in a pool of sweat that I will wake up in every morning for the first few weeks, but I don't care. Bring it.) At this point, all this sounds like paradise.
And when life gets easier for Mom, life gets better for everyone else, too. I try to nap every afternoon so I can have some level of energy to make it through the dinner/bedtime routine. I put my three year old down for her nap, then I go down. My older kids have strict instructions to NOT wake me unless someone is bleeding or there's a fire. And that's not a joke, you can ask my kids. Hubby comes home from work and never really knows what to expect- if I got a nap, dinner is probably nearly on the table, and the house may have a chance at being semi-clean. If I didn't, he has to morph into Superman and do dinner, be upbeat for the kids, and try to coordinate them to do some cleaning up. So, needless to say, we're ALL excited for me not to be pregnant anymore!!!!
I realize this was kind of a whiny post. Just trying to keep it real. On the up side, I had a midwife appointment yesterday and now my next appointment is my HOME VISIT!!! Whoo-oo!! That means I'm SO CLOSE! AT 36 weeks, your midwife will come do your appointment at your house. This ensures she knows where you live. My midwife will also do the beta-strep test then. (I'll talk about that more after my next appointment.) There's no point in a midwife doing a home visit before 36 weeks, because if you were to go into labor before then, you'd be having a hospital birth. You must be a minimum of 36 weeks to have your baby at home, that's pretty standard among all the midwives I've known. Before that time, your baby is very likely to need some TLC from sophisticated medical equipment, so off to the hospital you will go if your labor starts before then.
Blessed sleep and energy, oh how I miss you. Can't wait until we meet again!
