Confession: I enlisted Nick to take this month’s self-portrait of me. And when I told him I wanted to use this post to elaborate on the sleeping patterns of pregnant women—and the pillows that must accompany them—he laughed. “Well, if you’re going to do this, you need like, A LOT OF PILLOWS.”
So, friends, my husband took it upon himself to art direct this shot of me. By “art direct”, I mean drag every pillow in our house into our bedroom and plop it onto me as I tried to maintain a look of feigned “peaceful” sleep before bursting into laughter. “Gail, we’re trying to be satirical here…can you focus, please?” [snap, snap] “Yes!” (giggle) “I’m trying!” (giggle) [snap, snap]
Now that I’m on the topic, let me just say something about being a pregnant woman and trying to sleep and that is this: No one tells you BEFORE you’re pregnant that the sleep deprivation that plagues you with a newborn actually starts WHILE YOU ARE PREGNANT.
Now that I’m in the home stretch of this pregnancy, I’ve had fellow moms come out in droves to commiserate about how trying to get comfortable and sleep while you’re with child is a mission impossible.
Case in point: Since month three, I’ve had problems with hip pain while sleeping at night. If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked, “Have you tried sleeping with a pillow between your legs?”, I’d have this kid’s first year of college paid for by now. The answer? Yes, of course I have. Every night there is a pillow between my legs. Two behind my head. One behind my back. And one to hug and prop my belly up from the front. In short, THERE ARE PILLOWS EVERYWHERE. It’s a goldarn PILLOW FORTRESS I’ve built up around me!
And it is the disrupting and rearrangement of said pillow fortress that is what really wakes me up every night, even more so than the multiple trips to the bathroom. And the heartburn. And the insomnia that hits at 4 a.m.
Pretty soon, I’ll be nostalgic for what little sleep I’m getting even now. I understand this. But I have to say, it’ll be a glorious day when I can go back to just one pillow for those cat naps I’ll be grabbing in the newborn days. Cat naps I intend to catch gloriously stretched out on my stomach. Because my left side and I? Well, we could REALLY use a break from one another right about now!
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I am such a horrible sleeper now, I can’t imagine it being worse when I get pregnant! P.S. You look cute with all those pillows!
Bravo to Nick for the excellent exaggerated photograph. You need a pillow palace to sleep when you’re pregnant.
Ah, I never had this problem, but I did miss sleeping on my stomach when I was pregnant. And another thing no one tells you? You can’t sleep on your stomach AFTER the baby comes b/c your boobs hurt too bad. I’m totally publishing a “Things They Don’t Tell Pregnant Women” book. Chapter 1? Mesh panties.
A-M-E-N, sister! The night Mr. Baby made his dramatic exit from my person, I climbed ever so gracefully into my hospital bed, eased down onto my squishy, empty belly and fell into the deepest sleep I’d had in 6 months. The day is coming, dear girl. It’s coming.
Hi Gail! I don’t know you but you shot my high school chum Mandi’s wedding a year or so ago and that’s when I started following your blog. I work in the wedding photog industry so your blog is right up my ally (I work on the finance side, not the photography). All that aside, I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed this series.
I am the mother of three little boys, three and under (yep, I have a one year old, a two year old and a three year old). I can honestly say that even when I had a two year old, a one year old and a newborn I was not as sleep deprived as I was when I was pregnant each time. It gets better when the baby is born. Your body is amazing and gives you crazy adrenaline and different perspective and you can sleep on your tummy again (thank you Jesus!). The first and last six weeks of pregnancy are the longest and the hardest (this is especially true if you are sick at first) so hang in there and soon you will have a huge reward (and some restful sleep).
Congratulations!
Hahaha…I love Nick :) And I can so see your fake, I’m not laughing smile here! First thing I did when I got home from the hospital? Stretch out face first on the floor. It was glorious. If only someone would invent a twin bed with a circle cut out in the center for a pregnant belly. I’d pay CRAZY for that 2 years ago.
A friend of mine swore by the Snoogle! http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Snoogle-Total-Body-Pillow/dp/B0000635WI
Gosh I remember those days. My hip pain started around 9 weeks. I got out of bed one day and almost hit the floor. And yes, I remember lying on my stomach the very night after I had Z and thinking.. THIS IS AMAZING!! :)
Oh my dear, how deeply I do feel your pain. When I was pregnant with #1, the not sleeping was so bad that I would stay up so late at night until I literally could not hold my eyes open because I absolutely dreaded going to bed. And the hip pain? Mine was so bad I cried in the mornings. Yes, cried. Real tears. And then after one really long night, I woke up the next morning and despite all of the reservations I had, I made an “emergency” appointment with a chiropractor. Let me tell you — I was a huge skeptic, but it was absolutely life changing. I could sleep again with NO hip/leg pain. As soon as I hit my 12th week this time around, I was back in his office and plan to go throughout this entire pregnancy.
Oh I love this shot! Photo sessions with your other half are the best. Sending much love and good sleep vibes.
Haha! This is such an awesome shot! And of course, your writing… always love your writing!
Oh no Gail, Erin is right! I was dreaming of sleeping on my stomach again after my first baby and then realized that I couldn’t bc of my boobs!!! But, it still is way easier to get comfortable in bed without a huge belly. I’m right there with you in being uncomfortable. And what’s worse is that all day long my little boys wants to roll around on the floor and rough house and I just can’t do it anymore with a 35 week belly! Poor little guy doesn’t understand why mama has to sit on the couch so much. Ah, soon it will be over…
I think I told you about the sleeping thing…if not sorry! :) It’s God’s way of preparing you NOT to be sleeping once the baby arrives. ;) It is so annoying!
You are so right! And then if you ever nurse while laying down, you’ll need the pillows propped up under your back again. And Erin is so right, too. But it’s crazy how from one night to the next (pre-delivery to post-delivery) you can finally sleep comfortably again. It’ll be here before you know it. A friend liked to remind me that it’s difficult to sleep while you’re pregnant because God is prepping you for when the baby comes out. ;)
Yup, I hear you. OMG it was so glorious when I was able to finally sleep on my belly after I delivered Aviv!!! I swear I could hear angels singing ;-)
Aw…Your hubby is funny, but he did take a sweet pic! I know nothing about pregnancy, but I know I would hate being disrupted sleeping because of pillow rearrangements! I hope it gets better for you before the baby gets here!
Just had to comment as this is a problem I can identify with at the moment -I’m due 9th November! Pillows everywhere…. :)
Oh my goodness, I can TOTALLY relate to this post – tons of pillows, hip pain, sleepless nights! I’ve also had numb hands and arms! It’s all going to be worth it in about 14 days!!! Cannot wait! Our little guys will have to meet – they will be so close in age! Best wishes to you!
tru dat.
You’re probably one of the cutest pregnant women ever. Just sayin’
I took Calm, an all natural powder magnesium supplement when I was pre go….and let me tell you, it helped LOADS with the hip pain, sciatica, and constipation…eh hem, yup, I said it! AND, it helps you sleep better in general. Of coarse check with your doc first, but mine said it was perfectly fine. You can buy it on amazon cheaper, but VitamanWorld and GNC sometimes carry it. The proce is SO worth it! It’s a bit sour tasting, but add it to caffiene free tea at night time before bed, and voila! Wish I had known about it with many #1 and #2 lol.