A Good Night's Sleep
A good night's sleep can truly be a blessing. We women go through sleep-phases; as least I have. I don't recall having sleep issues growing up, or in my teen years. As a newlywed I slept fine.
Then pregnancy happened. What woman sleeps well when her belly is growing and changing daily for 9 months. The kicking, hiccups, stretching of your growing baby is a nightly sleep depriver. Not to mention the endless trips to the bathroom!
Next the baby stage of sleeplessness. You have a new baby and they need to eat, often, and during the night. You can be up every 2-3 hours a night or even more often than that. Fortunately, I had good sleeping babies that slept through the night almost from the start.
Once you reach the toddler stage, you hopefully are sleeping more than 3 hours at night without having to go check on something. But if you sleep with a monitor in your room, you hear every movement and that disturbs your peaceful night's rest. Little ones tend to come to Mommy and Daddy's room when they wake up during the night and can't go back to sleep without a snuggle. During potty training days, there are nighttime visits to the bathroom, again.
Finally, after 15 or so years you have all your children beyond the nighttime feeding days and potty training days and you think you are finally going to get to sleep through the night again. Hahaha
No such luck! Now it's the time of a woman's life where her body is again going through changes, this time indicating the end of those childbearing years. Hot flashes, night sweats, moodiness, weight gain issues, and more sleeplessness.
You go to bed at night exhausted, then toss and turn for hours. You drink a cup of hot tea at bedtime, go to bed, and toss and turn for hours. Next night you try a sleep aid (a natural type that's non-habit forming), go to bed, and toss and turn for hours. You try getting up earlier so you will be very tired at bedtime, only to end up taking a nap during the day because you aren't used to getting up so early. That night you go to bed, toss and turn for hours. Will you ever sleep for more than 3 hours a night again?!
Finally, you sleep one night for 8 uninterrupted hours! Wow! A good night's sleep, how did that happen? The next night you sleep for 8 hours again. Two in a row; dare I get my hopes up!? The third night and you sleep again. I think we're on a roll here! Just maybe that phase is coming to its end. But before you celebrate give it another week or two!
A good night's sleep can be so refreshing and should never be taken for granted! You feel like you can actually face the day when you get a good night's rest. Now to conquer that getting up early thing!
Then pregnancy happened. What woman sleeps well when her belly is growing and changing daily for 9 months. The kicking, hiccups, stretching of your growing baby is a nightly sleep depriver. Not to mention the endless trips to the bathroom!
Next the baby stage of sleeplessness. You have a new baby and they need to eat, often, and during the night. You can be up every 2-3 hours a night or even more often than that. Fortunately, I had good sleeping babies that slept through the night almost from the start.
Once you reach the toddler stage, you hopefully are sleeping more than 3 hours at night without having to go check on something. But if you sleep with a monitor in your room, you hear every movement and that disturbs your peaceful night's rest. Little ones tend to come to Mommy and Daddy's room when they wake up during the night and can't go back to sleep without a snuggle. During potty training days, there are nighttime visits to the bathroom, again.
Finally, after 15 or so years you have all your children beyond the nighttime feeding days and potty training days and you think you are finally going to get to sleep through the night again. Hahaha
No such luck! Now it's the time of a woman's life where her body is again going through changes, this time indicating the end of those childbearing years. Hot flashes, night sweats, moodiness, weight gain issues, and more sleeplessness.
You go to bed at night exhausted, then toss and turn for hours. You drink a cup of hot tea at bedtime, go to bed, and toss and turn for hours. Next night you try a sleep aid (a natural type that's non-habit forming), go to bed, and toss and turn for hours. You try getting up earlier so you will be very tired at bedtime, only to end up taking a nap during the day because you aren't used to getting up so early. That night you go to bed, toss and turn for hours. Will you ever sleep for more than 3 hours a night again?!
Finally, you sleep one night for 8 uninterrupted hours! Wow! A good night's sleep, how did that happen? The next night you sleep for 8 hours again. Two in a row; dare I get my hopes up!? The third night and you sleep again. I think we're on a roll here! Just maybe that phase is coming to its end. But before you celebrate give it another week or two!
A good night's sleep can be so refreshing and should never be taken for granted! You feel like you can actually face the day when you get a good night's rest. Now to conquer that getting up early thing!
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