Sunday, January 31, 2010

sleeping

things are really rough right now, but we are thankful for the lord's love and guidance and we trust that we are following him...but still our hearts ache. but i don't feel like writing about that. i was realizing how neurotic i am when it comes to sleeping... well ok when it comes to a lot of things, but my sleep routines are so odd and OH how i love sleep. all these things have accumulated over the years and here is what my nights look like now....
fan has to be on low, baby monitor has to be on so i can hear it, but not too loud. constantly adjusting the volume. cover the monitor with a black sock because it glares light and i need it as dark as possible in the room. i always, of course, pee/brush teeth... then a few more minutes of reading or whatever, then i pee again and peek in on saylor. though if i get caught up in the book/movie for more than 5 minutes i have to pee/peek in on saylor again... sometimes this will happen 3 or 4 times... feels OCD. finally going to sleep i start on my right side, then flip to my left... if i can't fall asleep it goes again.. right side [snuggle with colin] then back to left... here's where it gets weird- i can't hear or feel my heartbeat. so if my arm is across my chest and i feel it i'll have to move. even weirder- i can hear it pulse in the ear on the pillow sometimes. so i'll have to scoot my head off the pillow so my ear isn't on it so i won't hear the heartbeat. the side up ear i'm also neurotic with. i can't have it exposed to air so i have to have a blanket cover it, or at least my hair. i also have to have something touching my mouth- usually a blanket. currently i am literally snuggling with our sheet- it's balled up and i hold it to my mouth when i sleep. yet my nose needs to be completely free of anything close to it so i can breathe easily. on top of that i have chronic neck/back pain. the neck is always an issue at night, i'm still looking for a decent pillow. so there's constant folding of the pillow, adding blanket and moving around to make my neck semi-comfortable. once i finally am still i find i start itching, so annoying/crazy. so then i'm itching all over and trying to ignore that. and now of course, being pregnant i've got the belly... i usually would sleep on my stomach and now i've got to side angle it...
i also have to have on my nightstand- tissues, chapstick, water and an earplug. if i wake up to someone getting ready and can't fall back asleep i put an earplug in the 'side up' ear.
in addition- my hands can't touch my face at all, i wake up at least in the middle of the night to pee, i have to bobby pin my bangs off my face, i'd rather be cold than hot [only when sleeping that is], and i often shake my foot or leg to relax...
and i'm sure there's more. it's just so funny because i love to sleep and i do all this without even thinking, the only thing that's frustrating is trying to make my neck comfortable.
i'm sure i'm not unique though and i know everyone has their own sleep routines... so funny...
poor colin putting up with my getting up to pee all the time then tossing and turning....my only hope is that with age i'll care less instead of getting more particular!

4 comments:

Olive said...

gosh i identify SO MUCH with this. ive had insomnia since college and i have specific requirements that i need to adhere to in order to fall asleep. like, nothing can touch my ears (except the pillow), i've got to tuck the blankets under my chin, ear plugs in, etc. in periods of intense insomnia i just take a benedryl and sleep like a lamby

Colin Rigsby said...

oh honey, i love you. i wish i could do something to help. but, you know my bedtime routine... head hits the pillow, then i wake up to an alarm.

The Rigelsky Family said...

You are SOOOOOOO cute. I think I need you in my life. I can't believe our kids names! CRAZY....and you? your hubby? SO ADORABLE. Can I say I love you on my first comment? I so am following you!

The Rigelsky Family said...

You gotta add a follower thingy on your sidebar to make it easy for peeps to follow you :)