Fatigue, my new normal or why bananas are so much better than tomatoes

One always pities young parents because you know they are always sleep deprived.  I didn't know that that lack of sleep in fact started already 9 months before.

The first months of my pregnancy I was exhausted...I struggled constantly to stay awake.  Seriously , don't ask me what happened last winter as I slept through it.  I avoided meeting people or planning too much and tried to nap every free moment possible.  All my energy went to trying to perform my job as normal as possible (catching up some work if needed in weekend) and the rest could wait until after my nap.

I really looked forward to passing the 3 months mark as I had heard that my 2nd trimester would be much more energetic. I also planned my agenda consistent with that expectation.  (see travel madness and all the great foreign trip pictures that have appeared here late).  Well...that energy boost came with delay. It was only after more than 4,5 months that my constant need for day-time naps started to decrease.  But at the same time I started sleeping more badly.  Not only did I get to get up 2-4 times anymore to visit the bathroom, I also genuinely started to lay awake, twist and turn, ponder.   Well last May I was simply very stressed over silly things and my mind went in overdrive at night...making me exhausted and emotional the next day. All of that was a bit of an exhausting circle, combined with a busy travel scheme.

And than my stomac started to act up since the end of May.   While I had been so relieved not to have suffered much of morning sickness,  since reaching month 5 I have stomac acid that especially at night likes to come up, burn, burp, bloat, ... You can often see me in the evening/ at night pushing one finger just above my stomac to literrally push the burn quiet.  Pillows under my mattress to create an inclination, medication from the doctor, vanilla pudding, ice cream, ... Last weeks have been constant testing what could help as I can't fall asleep anymore laying fully flat or on my side (yes exactly how I want to sleep comfortably).

Conversations with other moms don't give me much hope.  Nobody had ever told me all those stories before of sleepless nights before giving birth, of trying to sleep "while sitting", of night time chores or tv watching, of drinking bottles of Gaviscon, ... in the last months.  Nobody makes it sound as it is a phase that will pass soon unfortunately.

Carefully monitoring meals, especially dinners without acids (ooooh the horror of tomatoes in my food lately!!  Tomatoes turn me in a serious contestant of the world championship burping) seems to be helping most. A lot of delicious fruits, vegetables and greasy foods are put on my personal forbidden list, but eating a banana as late night snack seems a good natural medicine against stomac acid.  But still...lots of bad nights alternate with several good ones. I hope that doesn't last for the entire 3 last months of pregnancy.   Can I try to catch up sleep a bit before the birth?  Please?  If I'm sleeping fine, this pregnancy is totally a joy.  Nothing beats the giggles that a moving belly give you :).