Sleep Problems in Pregnancy

It seems like such a contradiction, being exhausted and yet unable to sleep. It is a situation with growing familiarity as I reach the end of this pregnancy. So after an hour of lying uncomfortably, praying that sleep would take me, I sit to ponder the situation. Why would we have evolved in such a counterproductive manner? It seems unusual that at the time our bodies are most in need of rest also be the time that it is most elusive.
Perhaps those "words of wisdom," uttered by so many, are more than just reassurance for the nervous soon to be mother. Maybe this really is nature's way of preparing us for the sleepless nights to come. I think I'd handle being thrust into a world with a constantly screaming infant much more gracefully if I hadn't been systematically sleep deprived in the preceding months. But I do suppose that as you live with less sleep for a more extended period of time it gets a little easier to handle. Let's just hope that by the time the big day comes I'm not too exhausted to endure that wonderful thing called labor.
Labor is a word used not just in terms of delivering a baby, but any hard physical work. When delivering a baby that hard work is coupled with the discomfort we have all heard about. This makes me wonder if the difficulty sleeping is really just a by-product of my body preparing itself for the discomfort I am soon to endure. The aches and pains, jabs and pinching sensations, all could be seen as minor discomforts easing me toward the grand finale. I still think that I'd better handle the tough part at the end if I were well rested.
Being well rested is definitely an elusive goal at the current time, but it is still something I think fondly about. I know that they say "pregnancy fog," that absentmindedness that comes along with the third trimester, is due to changes in hormones. Somehow I think that the sleep issue comes into play as well. It has been proven in numerous studies that sleep deprivation leads to decreases in cognitive function as well as emotional instability even to the point of psychosis. I'm sure the hormones affect our emotional state and memories, but I think that those hormones are being exacerbated by the frequent trips to the bathroom and constant comfort-seeking readjustments in bed.
I suppose that it truly is a contradiction. Regardless of whether my body is being prepared for the sleep pattern of my infant or the labor process that will place her in my arms, I know that it will remain a frustration until it all subsides. I do not have to like it, or even understand, but I do have to accept that sleepless nights and fatigue are a part of the package being brought by the stork. I can guarantee that no woman struggling with this cycle enjoys it, but I know that this is a common situation. Like every other mother for thousands of years before me I need to just make the best of it while doing my best to get the rest I need.