Sleep Deprivation (Practice runs)

When it's 3.30 am and you've been awake over 2 hours, you know it's not a good night. I remember a quote, "People who say they sleep like a baby, usually dont have one". I'm told that babies sleep for a couple of hours at a time, and our baby is doing his best to ensure I get all the practice I can before he is even born! I'm sure of it! How can our baby be keeping me awake?

I'm lucky enough to have avoided sleeping next to a snoring sleep partner my entire life; until my wife fell pregnant. Now, there are nights when Im sleeping next to a choking goat (but noisier)!! There are many struggles your partner must go through during a pregnancy to bring you the best gift you'll ever receive, and I've found that developing a snoring habit has been one of them. Noone tells you to expect these things! It's all 'cravings', 'morning sickness' and 'hormones' - noone ever mentions the fact that you'll also have to cope with a motorcycle starting up repeatedly in your bedroom each night!

Tonight, when it first woke me I was conscious of how warm the room was and so opened a window. I crawled back into bed and rested my hand on my sleeping wifes pregnant belly. It's worth being wide awake in the early hours unvoluntarily, when you get to feel your unborn son kicking against your hand. I've never felt him kick so much! I dont know if he was as appalled as I was at the racket his Mother was making at such an ungodly hour, or if he was laughing so hard that Daddy was being kept awake! I'm going to guess at the latter. The changes his creation has brought upon his Mother these past few months are the early stages of preparation for him being here - I'm sure of it.

A pregnant womans bladder never keeps her asleep for long. Infact, I've decided that it's the only thing that actually gets smaller during pregnancy! It was only going to be a matter of time then, that I wasnt the only one awake in the room. When my wife awoke tonight for one of the multiple bathroom visits, I decided to let her know that I'd felt the baby kicking so actively. Her response?

"He's probably wondering why you have the window open!"

And when his Mother wakes to read this blog?