Why Mommy's So Tired

It's not uncommon for a pregnant woman in her first trimester to have difficulty sleeping due to emotional anxiety, hormonal fluctuations, physical discomfort or what-have-you. That's not been the case exactly with Stef, though. Actually, she's been sleeping (in fits and starts) about 12 hours a day, and she'd probably sleep more if she could. Heck, even when she's not sleeping she's still spending most of her free time resting or lying down. That's not her being lazy, though. She's well and truly tired. And the reason the Monster has her so wiped out, according to Stef's OB/GYN, is Progesterone.

Progesterone is "the hormone of pregnancy", and it does a lot of neat stuff. It keeps Stef's immune system from kicking out the Monster as some sort of disease, it keep her from lactating, and apparently, when the levels of progesterone drop, it'll mean Stef's going into labor. It also makes some women tired, and by "some women," I mean Stef.

Now that we're in the eighth week of pregnancy, the source of all this crazy progesterone should be switching over to the Monster's placenta, and perhaps Stef will liven up a bit. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I just don't think Stef wants to sleep through this exciting part of our lives.