The Pillow Saga, pt. 3

Sleeping with the body pillows worked for a while, but slowly I began to notice the back pain creeping back into my body.  Maybe I just don't know how to sleep with the pillows appropriately.  I don't know.

Needless to say, I needed to come up with a new solution.  Even having two body pillows wasn't fixing the issue.  Yes, I could simply roll over and use the a pillow on each side.  (No more stuck under my pillow wake-ups.) But the backaches were persisting.

I did happen to read online about sleeping in a recliner.  Well, well, well, what an idea.

The Russian and I found a great local sale on furniture and figured worst case scenario was that I could rock the baby and sleep during late-night feedings.  That alone makes buying a recliner worth it, right?

So we bought a recliner that takes up approximately half of what will be the nursery.  I don't care - we'll figure something out.  At least the chair matches the soon-to-be thematic decor of the room.

Last night, after the 4th straight morning of back pain, I decided to bid the Russian farewell and take up residence in the recliner.  Let's just see how this works.  I snuggled into pillows and blankets the Russian was kind enough to bring to me.  It's kind of odd falling asleep not completely laying down, but after a few minutes, it doesn't seem to matter.

My night haven

My night was filled will strange dreams about a family painting contest and matching the artist to their work.  The garbage truck came at too early an hour, and barely registered in a hazy almost-awake state.  I heard the alarm go off in the other room, yet I could not force my eyes open.

Finally, I woke this morning with no back pain.  None.  Not a twinge.  Victory at last!  Hopefully, this will last throughout the rest of the pregnancy.

(I might not sleep with the Russian again for the next 6 months.  Granted, he's not too upset, as I'm not taking up 3/4 of the bed with myself and the pillows...and sleep is a very important necessity.)

The Pillow Saga, pt. 2

After learning that my backaches are indeed pregnancy related (seriously, already?), I decided a body pillow (or two) was exactly what I needed.

A trip to my parents' house cemented the need for a body pillow in my mind.  My brother oh-so-graciously allowed me to claim his unused pillow, but I forgot to pile it into the car for the trip home.

The solution: buy a gigantic pillow as we near the house.  Fantastic!  A pillow, a couple pillowcases...all for less than the cost of a 'maternity' pillow.

Falling asleep with my log isn't a problem.  Unfortunately, I only have one.

This leads to a new problem... waking up flat on my back with the pillow clenched in my arms above me.  I feel like a beetle stuck on its back with no way to flip over.

Apparently, what is happening is that I feel the urge to roll, but the weight of the blankets is too heavy for my sleep-laden appendages.  I guess I do need two pillows.

The Pillow Saga, pt. 1

It started two weeks ago.  I woke up with a backache and a pulling on my side.  At first, I think I just slept too long on one side.  But then it happens again the next night.

I have a sinking suspicion that this is pregnancy related.  But all I can think is: Are you kidding?  I'm 11 weeks along there, 11.  I can't imagine what it will be like when I'm 8 1/2 months along with a ginormous stomach to boot.

Needless to say, by the end of the week, I'm looking into maternity pillows.  Anything "maternity" seems to mean insanely expensive, so this option isn't too thrilling.

Imagine my luck when I take a trip to visit my parents and find out my brother has a body pillow...one he doesn't use.  As we're stealing his room from him while we're in town, I have the opportunity to use said pillow to my heart's content.

As sleep weighs heavy on my eyelids the first night, I crawl into bed.  Laying on my right, I snuggle into my body pillow as the Russian props an extra pillow against my back for support.  Perfect!  This should be a great night's sleep.  I don't even mind as I feel the Russian cuddling the pillow at my back.

I groggily wake up and wrestle my pillows around to face toward the Russian at some point.  (Of course, I can't spend the whole night on one side.)  A few hours later, I wake again and stumble down the hall to relieve myself.  Climbing back in bed, I realize something unfortunate - the Russian has a new best friend.  I go to grab my pillow, but it's cemented in his grasp.

Sleep slowly comes back to me, but I am devoid of my new comfort.  I wake again a few hours later, an ache slowly claiming my back.  That's it.  I grab the body pillow and pull with all my might.  The Russian finally lets go, sighs, and rolls over.

Victory at last!

(That's not to say that I didn't wake up with a backache again from spending half the night without the pillow...)

Nights in the rainforest

A sunny day as I enter the Amazon basin

It is commonly accepted that the white noise of nature is soothing and helps one relax.  Many people in the world use nature sounds to lull them to sleep every night.

I decided to join their prestigious ranks.

This decision was mainly based upon the fact I like to listen to music to fall asleep.  However, it could possibly be said that the music that appeals to me on certain nights does not lead to restful sleep.

My solution:  Rainforest sounds.

Perfect, right?  I mean, the rainforest is my favorite place on earth (somebody should tell the fiancé before it's too late and I make him move there).  There's nothing like laying there and hearing the rainforest swelling around you, enveloping you in it's humid grasp.

So, what did I do?  I downloaded several rainforest tracks and when it came time to place my head down on feathers and let sleep claim me, I was ready.  The unmistakable rise and fall of the oropendola's call flutters to my ears and assaults me with memories of the impossible task of trying to sleep early mornings with oropendolas nesting right next to the camp.   The burping call of another feathered friend reminds me of pensive moments along the riverbank.  The intermittent rain reminds me of the sudden storms while out on multi hour treks and how we used gigantic banana leaves as makeshift umbrellas.  The soft humming of the huatzin's four stomachs reminds me of how their mismatched oddities came to be familiar with each trip to the lagoon. The cadence of various birds shifting across the background dredges up memories of early morning bird tours in tiny dug out canoes, as well as afternoons sitting at camp watching the Indigenas playing soccer.

I miss the jungle - the sights, the sounds, the smells of it.

The night track brings me back to every night I lay on my mattress, enshrouded in my mosquito net that didn't always quite keep the bugs out if the door wasn't zipped completely closed at all times.  I remember wolf spiders in the showers, cicadas of surprising size that paid a visit to our evening candlelit cuarenta games.  A bewildered marsupial who waddled into our haphazard kitchen one evening, and on another, our surprise visit from a nocturnal monkey.  There were times where I just sat and looked at the stars in the night sky.*

Night falling in la laguna after fishing, a swim, and bird watching.
After dark, we search for caiman.

Memory after memory came back to me as I lay on my bed:  The snooty German who insisted on leaving after the first intolerable night filled with insect noises.  The friendly Germans who used me as a translator when our guide spoke no English.  The American couple on their honeymoon.  The Ecuadorian couple who were newly dating.  The one man who snored so loudly no one slept at night.  Walking through the swamp and misstepping into water up to my knee.  Searching for anacondas to no avail.  Waiting for various bugs to crawl off of me (most notably the wolf spider, but there was a conga ant on a trip before that - they have a nasty bite).  Catching a blue and orange fish on accident.  Grating yucca.  Letting bright blue butterflies land in my hair.  Spotting a double rainbow twice in the same day.

Things on the verge of being forgotten seeped their way to the forefront.  This, perhaps, isn't a good way to sleep.  I have a rather active imagination and what used to be a good memory before grad school.  Laying in a dark room listening to sounds from my past transports me back to every moment I spent there.

On one hand, it makes me homesick.  But...it does bring a smile to my face.

What is not happening at night is sleep.  My mind awakens with memories of the mysterious swirling through the dark.  If I want to sleep, I might have to switch to ocean waves...or maybe just rain.

*I've done it with binoculars on several occasions.  Ever tried?  What we perceive as merely dark sky isn't, when you look through binoculars.  Instead of being covered by a blanket of stars, we are at the bottom of a million-mile-high pile of them.  It's breathtaking.

It's not just my Tangled obsession...

Disney's Tangled is probably best known for the sky lanterns that motivate Rapunzel to leave her towering jail cell.  Not only do these paper lights call to a young girl, they brighten the sky in scenes of splendor.  They elegantly flicker to life and silently float away.  Sky lanterns aren't the only great thing about Tangled*, but they do captivate an audience.

A couple of years ago, while lounging about a hotel room in Cuenca, Ecuador, I glanced out the window to a vision I did not expect.  Lanterns were silently passing by my balcony.  The urge to slip outside and observe was too intense to ignore, and out I went.  It was beautiful.  Awe inspiring.  Surreal.  (Or maybe I'm just romantic and nonsensical.)  Apparently there is a tradition to release sky lanterns there in honor of a saint...just don't ask me which one.

Either way, I've been a sucker for them.  So imagine my surprise to find this while browsing the internet:

Must.  Buy.  Now.

*Ask the manfriend.  I beg him to buy it every time we walk into Best Buy or the movie section of Wal-mart.  Thus far he's been able to ignore my pleading.

Early morning encounters

At six in the morning, it's still dark out.  There's a sliver of a moon and no stars in the cloudy sky.  The air is cool this early in the day.  The days are creeping closer and closer to that inevitable holiday, Halloween.

Ghost stories abound.  Any horror the mind can create has been thought up.  People maybe start to wonder "what if" when unsettling noises begin.

Or, the mundane becomes creepy.

This morning, on my way back from the gym, a man was strolling down the street.  Following the proper safety guidelines, he even sported a nifty reflective vest so cars would see him.  What he probably did not expect was for a car to slow down as it neared him, until it was almost a crawl to match his pace.

What's going on?  Murderer?  Thief?  Kidnapper?  Thoughts must have been running through his head. I tried to smile and look friendly, but, with no light, I doubt he saw.  He quickened his stride, shot me a sidelong look, and took off. 

In his defense, it's dark and there are strange people out in the world.  (There were also strange sounds emanating from the yard - I heard it on my way out the door.)  In my defense, he was walking in front of my house and I needed to turn into the driveway.

Stopping to smell the ...er, moon?

The sky was beautiful last night...so I decided to snap a picture.  I really liked the eerily silhouetted clouds when the full moon ran behind them.

(Honestly, my camera died and the camera on the iPhone 4 is nice, but not professional type quality...and maybe being in a moving car isn't conducive to picture taking.  Moon shots don't work out so well.  So this is the best you get.)

Oooooh, aaaaah.

Isn't it pretty?  Did you check out the sky last night?