No, the worst offender in preventing a good night’s sleep is in fact my own body. I’ve always been what would be considered a ‘good girl’, so I never thought that I had it in me to rebel so much – particularly against myself. But, apparently I do.
Case in point – last night. Last night, due to another condition, I awoke with some quite strong pain that made me get out of bed for a while. Luke joined me and helped me by getting a cup of herbal tea, a remedy that we’ve found very effective. Within minutes of drinking the tea, my pain had settled and I was nestled comfortably back in bed.
This pain is not what is causing me sleeping difficulties in pregnancy, rather it is the after-effect of the tea! Within an hour I was up – a victim against the bitter enemy within my own body – my bladder. I am quite sure that between the hours of going to bed to sleep and eventually getting up the next day, my bladder intervened no less than 10 times in my restful sleep. I say no less than 10 times, without counting I am quite sure it was more like 270. And each time, there’s the uncomfortable crawl back in to bed to try and find a comfortable position again.
The cure seems simple – don’t drink herbal tea when going to bed. Alas, it doesn’t seem to matter how much or when I drink. I could drink absolutely nothing from mid-afternoon and still find that the night time hours when I’m trying to sleep is when my bladder accepts the mission of disrupting a restful night’s sleep.
Strangely, the human body is amazing. And, despite the restlessness of the night, I awake this morning refreshed and ready to go for another day. And each day I continue to be thankful for the journey of pregnancy and the gift that awaits at the end.
