Figuring It Out 101: What They Didn't Tell You About Pregnancy- Sleep

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about how to prepare for motherhood. Jokingly, I said that there really isn't a way to be totally prepared, but it you bought a cat, you might get a small taste of what it was like as far as lack of sleep was concerned. I thought it was funny, I hope you did too.

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   Before I found out I was pregnant, I didn't get the morning sickness or heartburn right away like other women I know, who have had babies before me. What I did get, however was exhaustion. Just pure exhaustion.

   My husband and I got married the summer before we were to start our senior year of college. Our families lived on two different sides of the state and we wanted to be married when we had to start applying for jobs after we graduated.

   Well, towards the end of April, the final stretch of senior year, I noticed that I was so tired! At first I blamed the cats and school, we were, after all, preparing for finals. At some point, I wondered why my lady's time hadn't come so I went and got those fancy sticks that you pee on and sure enough, a second pink line appeared.

   I don't know how I made it through the end of semester and passed. I was so tired all of the time. I was falling asleep in my classes and could barely write the 13+ page reports assigned to me and the other students. Studying for finals was also out of the question because I just COULD NOT stay awake. I remember my husband saying, "Britt, you have to study" or "Britt, you need to finish your homework" and me crying because the thought of keeping my eyes open to do something that just didn't interest me at the time, exhausted me even further.

   After my first trimester, I perked up- especially after the morning sickness I also had subsided. I'm so glad, however, that I wasn't that tired for my other two babies. I sincerely think that my IO Psychology professor only passed me because his wife was going through the same thing with pregnancy as well. I was very fascinated with his class and his enthusiastic teaching, but couldn't stay awake. I apologized to him and told him about my condition and he congratulated me and took pity on me. Thanks Prof. W!

   I did pass my finals and my classes, barely! Thankfully, a D+ counted as a passing grade. I had never felt that exhausted before, even after the baby was born. I always knew that having a baby was going to leave me feeling exhausted for a few months, maybe years and that it was something that most parents get used to, but I was not prepared for that level of exhaustion so early on in my pregnancy.

   Did you have a hibernation form of exhaustion with your pregnancy? What did you do to help keep you awake?