Sleep Patterns

I remember required Sunday naps during my childhood. I'd reluctantly go to my room and read (not too reluctantly, since I enjoy reading). There were a few times I ventured back out to the living room, only to be told I needed to go back to my room. It wasn't required that I nap, just that I be in my room so napping could take place if possible.

My preschool and kindergarten classes never had a 'nap period,' but I couldn't escape those Sunday afternoons... I quickly figured out that my parents were the ones who wanted to nap, and so they enforced the ruling on the entire house. I remember thinking at the time that grown-ups were crazy. Why on earth would someone choose to sleep in the middle of the day? Wasn't having to sleep at night bad enough?

Oh, to be back in those halcyon days... when the thought of getting a good night's sleep was puzzling, because what other kind was there? Neither uncomfortable position nor loud noise nor multiple bathroom trips stayed me from eight full hours (or more) of sleeping like a log, dead to the world.

Now? Ha.

We have a sleep number bed (which we both love), so I've actually been pretty comfortable as my avoirdupois changes its shape. All the same, I thought it'd be a good idea to get a pregnancy pillow to help me stay on my side rather than shifting to my back. Like a good girl, I researched online for others' experiences and comments. I managed to save myself the headache of paying close to $200 for the privilege of an adult-sized Boppy pillow.*

I'm technically an ethnic Euro-mutt, but a lot of my contributing heritages have reputations for being reluctant to spend money (Dutch, Irish, Scottish, German). I'm not willing to pay $200 for an item I plan on using for less than a year. We found body pillows at Bed Bath & Beyond for $10 apiece instead, which was much more in line with what I was willing to pay.

So... bought two of the things and got them home, only to realize we had no pillow cases which fit. Not a big deal: safety pins and a few fleece blankets, and voila! Insta-body pillow cases. I thought I'd work my way up to using one for front and one for back by my due date. I imagined a sort of pillow cocoon, from which I'd emerge gracefully each morning.

The factor I missed in my imaginings was the size of our bed. One queen-sized bed minus two body pillows does not equal space for two adults. We finally kicked both of them out of bed and slept peacefully without them. I've tried a couple of configurations since then, but I always end up fighting the pillow, feeling frustrated or claustrophobic (or both), and subsequently dumping the pillow overboard to the floor on my side where I can trip over it the next morning.

I'm told that the problems with sleep during pregnancy are one of the ways God gets people ready for sleepless nights with infants. The thought isn't terribly reassuring from where I try to sleep during week 16.



*[Note: I won't insult your intelligence or mine by delving into the mysterious etymology or definition of 'Boppy.' Suffice it to say that the term is one of the many terms apparently necessary to the syntax of parent-speak.]