I have been a walking zombie for the past few days, and almost everyone who sees me asks, “Are you OK? You look pretty haggard. Go home to bed. Oh yeah, and your bulging zits are grossing me out. Get a paper bag for your head or something.”
Despite getting close to eight hours of sleep a night, I am perpetually exhausted. This baby is sucking the life out of me and it’s taking all I’ve got to grow him/her a placenta. Who would have thought that something the size of a cherry could zap your energy so much?
And last night was no walk in the park. I woke up around 11:30 with the worst nausea I’ve ever had. I thought I was supposed to experience morning sickness, not middle-of-the-night pukiness. I didn’t throw up, but for almost an hour I was writhing in bed clutching a barf bucket, trying to fall back asleep. After a few hours of fitful slumber I awoke to my guts rumbling and I sprinted to the bathroom and had the most violent diarhhea. It was really not cool. And it happened about 4 more times.
I felt a bit better after getting all of that out of my system and was about to fall back asleep when Rylie (my mother-in-law’s black lab) started barking like a rabid beast at 2:30 am. Her bark is so loud and deep I was afaid that Abby would be woken up by it, but luckily she slept through it all. Steve said he heard a bang and went outside to investigate. He was gone for about 15 minutes outside and there I was lying in bed, thinking that my husband had been attacked by a burglar with a baseball bat. Thankfully he came in and said that it was just the wind that had been rattling the roof of the shed at the bottom of the orchard and he just had to put some logs on it to hold it in place. He had made the mistake of taking Rolo outside with him, though, and our pooch was now a muddy mess. So Steve had to give him a bath at 3 am. I had barely slept all night, and now Steve was all tuckered out from his late-night venture. We both crashed for a few hours before the sun came up, neither of us feeling quite ready to face the day.
Sleep deprivation is torturous, but I suppose I can look upon last night as somewhat of a trial run of parenthood…getting up multiple times each night and waking up feeling as though a train has run over you.
Good times.
What have we gotten ourselves into?!
7 Comments
Aw Amanda. You should start going to be earlier! I was in bed by 9 most nights of my pregnancy. I know I’m probably the cause of you staying up late sometimes but only because I like being with you so much!! :) Hopefully Christmas will be nice and relaxing for you. Maybe this afternoon you can take a nap in your momma’s arms.
Ditto on the bedtime…for both pregnancies I had WAY more than 8 hours of sleep each night..
But yes, last night was a good glimpse of newborn-hood :)
We had an irish setter before we had kids and decided that we’d be awful parents. That dog ruled our life. But, i’m glad we had kids – so much more gratifying getting up for a sweet baby. (Obviously the years have clouded my memory). This too shall pass, Amanda. You guys will be wonderful parents. Love, Pam
Poor Amanda. I’m sorry you’re having such a rough time of things. I pray you can get some relaxation in when your mom and dad come. They should be there right about now. Enjoy.
Doesnt sound like this latest well described sickness is related to pregnancy. Must have been something you ate. If it occurs in the future, roll onto your Left side with knees bent up. Slowly massage the web of skin (how is that for descriptive) between your outstretched thumb and index finger with your thumb and index finger of the other hand. Keep a good pressure there for a few minutes. That should help. M
It’s true Amanda. The left side rubbing the web thing does work!
Sigh, the good old days! This too shall pass and then you will have a new challenge. It’s incredible the adventure that we are entrusted with, isn’t it? I found that lying down on a cold floor, although not that comfortable, would alleviate the nausea. Also, to beat the morning sickness (although quite often it isn’t morning… hmmm I still haven’t figured that one out) a gingersnap cookie and a glass of milk brought to me in bed worked quite well. I’m not even kidding and the cookie thing was terrific!
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