Will I ever stop being tired?!

I've been a morning person for my entire life.  Even in college, I didn't become a night owl staying up till 2am partying or studying.  I didn't mind having 8am classes and would rather get the day over with than sleep till noon.  I work from 7-3:30 and love my hours, I don't even mind getting up at 5am nearly everyday.  Being a morning person is just a part of who I am.  My mom and dad are both morning people and I think I developed my habits from them at a very young age. 

That was until I got pregnant.  I have never struggled so much with exhaustion and sleeplessness in my life.  I knew that being pregnant was going to be really hard on my body, but I never imagined it would change me so much from being a morning person.  Getting comfortable at night is a daily chore, I'm lucky to stay awake till 9pm and waking up a few times a night to make a bathroom run is not my idea of a good nights sleep.

I've had to skip my morning coffee for most of the pregnancy because of the heartburn it causes.  My midwife said it was okay to have 200mg a day and I load my coffee with cream, but the minute that sweet nectar hits my belly I'm in a world of hurt.  It's just not worth it to me anymore.  Now I start the morning off with water and fill up my cup at work at least three times a day (it's a big cup).

I had a big event at work on Wednesday and had to be up at 4am in order to be at work a little before 6.  The event ran from 7am till 4pm and I was pretty much running the show by myself.  By the time I got to my car I wondered if I could drive home without falling asleep, I made Andrew talk to me till I turned onto our street to make sure I didn't pass out.  I had to take my shoes off to drive because my feet and ankles were so swollen.  After feeding the dog, I decided to lay down on the couch.  I immediately fell asleep.  I've never been a nap person either, until I got pregnant.  At 6:15 the front door opened and there was Andrew standing over me wondering how long I had been laying there, it had been a good hour or more.  He made dinner that night, bless his heart, and let me rest.  I was in bed by 10 and didn't wake up till 6.  I figured there was no rush to get to the office since I had worked so long the day before.

I know everyone keeps telling me how awful my sleep will become once the baby is born and I'm not trying to argue with any of them.  I do plan on getting the baby on a feeding and sleep schedule, I've done a lot of research on this topic and it makes so much sense.  Having the baby get into a routine at a young age makes them more adaptable to routines as they get older and being a creature of habit I want this for our daughter as well.  While I plan to breastfeed, I don't plan to attachment parent because that often messes with a child's sleep and really messes with the parents when you introduce co-sleeping.  I will keep the baby in our room for the first few weeks in the bassinet section of her pack in play, but then she's going to the crib.  I'm standing firm on this because I know I can do it and I know it makes sense for our family.  I know people who have kids in elementary school and they still co-sleep and they look like (and tell me) they never get a good nights rest.  I can't even handle having the cat in our bed let alone another human!

I pray that one day I will go back to being a morning person, that our child will also be a morning person and that she will be kind enough to let us sleep through most of the night before I am done with maternity leave.