Some nights I would fall into bed and not even care that I was sleeping on the bare mattress — the mattress bare not me. My unfolded, clean sheets would be on the foot of the bed, where I dumped them from the dryer. I was just too tired to actually make the bed, so I would crawl under one of the loose sheets or comforters and go to sleep.
I must confess, that it happened a number of times, and a number of nights in a row. I would whisper to myself, “my mother would be horrified to see me doing this.”
But sleep through the night?
NO, not since I became pregnant with my first child — and she’s 33 now. I still do not sleep through the night. Kind of a bummer. Maybe after five kids, my body just doesn’t remember how to stay asleep. Maybe I’ve reached that age when you don’t sleep as much.
None of my babies slept through the night. We would drive them around in their car seats, hoping they would fall asleep. Finally, they slept through the night just as the next baby arrived.
We would have kids in our bed, at the foot of the bed, on the floor, and just about anywhere they could squeeze in, when a nightmare brought them to our room. We were like a pack of wolves. My husband would sneak out to the couch and get some much needed sleep.
One time I told my doctor that I would like something to help me sleep, just once in awhile. (All the kids were older by this time.) She gave me a prescription and informed me that she would not refill it — that I would have to go to a sleep center and get tested if I wasn’t sleeping. I stopped going to her. Electrodes would definitely interfere with my sleep.
I don’t take prescription drugs for sleeping. But sometimes, one good night’s sleep is all I need after a few restless nights. I’ve tried a number of things.
- The melatonin chews — kind of work.
- Chamomile tea — not so much and I don’t like to drink too much before bedtime.
- Benadryl — nah, it makes me restless. (It’s in Advil PM and Tylenol PM)
- Unisom — that works for me, but it also gives me quite a hangover the next day. I took this drug everyday when I was pregnant. It’s the same as Bendectin, which was prescribed for women who barfed a lot during pregnancy.
- Listening to Hugh Nibley on my iPod — works to distract my mind from going over inconsequential fears in the middle of the night.
- Magnesium — I take it because it’s good for my heart, but I don’t think it helps me sleep.
- A cool room — that does work for me. I like it about 64 degrees. My husband doesn’t agree.
