Thirst or Burst

On sleep and pregnancy:

When I was pregnant with Elsie, I slept so well.  I slept 10 hours a night, often solidly, until the very end.  Even then, I'd get up to pee and fall back asleep with ease.

When I didn't get my 10 hours, when I had to stay up late, or get up early, it was puke-time the next day.  Guaranteed.  That lasted through my entire pregnancy.

Maybe it's my inability to sleep 10 hours a day that had me feeling so lousy for so many months this time.

*****

3:00 am is the witching hour.  I wake at that time almost every night, and have since I fell pregnant.  I generally can't get back to sleep for at least an hour, often not until the sky begins to brighten.  Often, I spend the entire time thinking about Lauren. 

I mentioned my insomnia to the chiropractor the other day.  It's the first time I've been to a chiropractor.  My midwife recommended it for the sciatica.  Linda has been in the profession for 25 years.  She also dabbles in traditional Chinese medicine and touchy-feely energy stuff like reiki.

Without blinking an eye she said,

"3:00 am.  That's grief.  Do you have anything you might be grieving over?" 

*****

Pregnancy is funny.  Hormones surge, juices flow, and my sex drive is higher than it has ever been.  Yet I'm exhausted.  Far too tired for sex most of the time.   

This conflict resolves itself quite neatly.  I just pass out and enjoy sexy dreams almost every night.  It's really amazing.  Other pregnant friends have confirmed the phenomenon.  I know I'm not alone.  It's a thing.

Too bad husbands don't have such satisfying dreams when their wives are pregnant!  Too bad that when I do have the will and the energy, the hormones tend to make me extremely moody.  I'm just as likely to pick a fight as make a move.  Poor Hub!

*****

Every night, I want to avoid water so that my sleep won't be interrupted by my full and ever-smaller bladder, but I also get a lot more thirsty than usual these days, and thirst can wake me up just as easily as having to pee.

Last night, I chose the liquid fast.  All night I dreamed that I was drinking glass after glorious glass of cold, clear water.  I kid you not.  My nightly hormone-charged dream schedule was interrupted for this.  Water lust.  I woke up parched, but at 5:00 am, which qualifies as a semi-reasonable hour and a nice solid night of sleep these days.

*****

I vividly remember a dream I had when I was pregnant with Elsie, in which I gave birth to a slimy, healthy, adorable kitten.  Then I was left to wonder, "Is there still a baby in there?  I know I saw her on an ultrasound.  Or was she actually a kitten all along?"

Pregnancy dreams -- trippy!