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kmpls
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Pregnant and can't sleep. Help!
I am around 6 months pg and I can't sleep at night. I am waking up every day exhausted.
I fall asleep fine but then I wake up multiple times in the night. I have to pee, can't get comfy, crazy weird dreams, etc. It doesn't seem to be just one thing.
I have dr appt on Monday but does anyone have any suggestions?
I started walking in the evenings or going to the gym which helps some.
I am so f**cking tired!!!!
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Re: Pregnant and can't sleep. Help!
Ugh, I'm so sorry. I wish I had something more encouraging but this is classic third trimester. Slip a nap or 8 in whenever you can and see if you can't make up what you're losing.
Good luck and hopefully the doctor has better advice.
Click me, click me!
Just had DD two weeks ago, but I went through this same issue during her pregnancy.
Some ideas...
Do you have a body pillow? Do you have a journal or note pad to write in before bed? Maybe you have pent up worries or thoughts that jotting down and getting out on paper will help you settle more. Try not exercising too close to bed time - the chemicals exercise causes in your body can also keep you awake. Avoiding caffeine. Drinking more water. And, maybe you should try sleeping in a different location like a guest room bed or even a comfy sofa. For me, sometimes switching the place I slept for a few nights helped me get more rest. Good luck!
This was me from about 5 months on. I tried everything. Pillows, exercise, more sleep, Unisom (my doctor ok'd), separate bed from H, sleeping in a recliner, etc. Nothing worked and I was getting maybe 4 hours a night. It was miserable. Finally, out of sheer desperation one night, I laid down on the floor in our living room, right under the AC unit (this was in July) and cranked it up until it was about 60 degrees. I fell asleep and stayed asleep-- it was amazing! It didn't completely solve the insomnia, but made it much more tolerable for the duration of my pregnancy.
I also found that I would fall asleep if I put the tv on to something that was familiar and I liked, such as an old favorite movie. I needed something that I'd pay attention to enough to keep my mind from overworking, but something that I didn't concentrate on so hard that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep. Mixed results with that technique. I'd dream about whatever it was and then wake up again as soon as it was over.
Whether any of this will work for you, probably not, but keep trying different things. Hopefully you will hit on something that does the trick. Also, I will say that when M was an infant and waking up every 2-3 hours, it honestly was no big deal because compared to pregnancy sleep, I slept great in between feedings. It was downright luxurious.
i had the same problem with both pregnancies... would pass out at bedtime but wake up around 2-3am and not be able to get back to sleep.
My OB said i could take benedryl (which is the "sleep" part of Tylenol PM) if needed... and that helped - i tried not to take it that often but when i really needed to catch up on sleep- i'd take it.
At a prenatal visit when I was around 34 weeks or so, my OB's awesome nurse asked how I was sleeping. I said "Not too well" and she said "Let's get you some Ambien."
Normally I hesitate to resort to meds, but the stuff is freakIng amazing! I was immediately sleeping very well and started functioning MUCH better during the day. Among other things, it greatly reduced work stress by shutting up a few coworkers who were bitching that I wasn't getting enough done. And I was happier in general. Ask your OB for some, seriously.
I've been on a getting-more-sleep mission lately. One new-ish thing I tried that helps me get a thorough, unbroken sleep is making sure the room is as dark as possible. I got heavy, dark curtains, no night lights or light out in the hall, made sure no gadget LED's were glowing. I'm thinking a good sleep mask would accomplish the same thing more easily if you can tolerate it. In the evening, try to keep lighting to a minimum and if possible cut out screen-time about 1hr before bed (easier said than done!). YMMV, but I feel better rested if I go to sleep earlier and wake near sunrise rather than going to bed late and sleeping in with the same number of hours.
GL! I remember having pretty crummy sleep in 3rd tri. A nurse said that's how nature prepares you for newborns. You'd think nature would cut people a break second time around
Sorry. Sounds pretty normal to me. Sometimes it's the hormones that do it and there is nothing you can do about it.
My only advice is to enjoy the waking time alone while it lasts. At least it's quiet now. Pretty soon you'll be dealing with screaming and nursing during that time.
Hang in there
This. Absolutely this.
Pregnancy sleep is the WORST. I'll take short spurts of quality sleep over pregnancy sleep any day. I've always slept wonderfully once the baby was born.
A pregnancy pillow helps, but it doesn't help the bathroom breaks.
I took Ambien, too. With #1 I had the normal wake up, pee, roll over. It was annoying and I was tired but I could function. With #2, I would wake up and lay there awake for 2 hours, sleep an hour, wake up again. I felt sick and had major headaches. My OB was concerned enough about my overall state that I knew she was giving me the Ambien for a reason. She never even suggested it with #1. It was the best thing.
I fall asleep quickly but like you, wake up several times a night. I've had to find super comfortable PJs, I put a small pillow between my legs (no body pillow, just a small throw pillow) and I have a routine - I lay on my left side for about 5 minutes, then my right side for about 10 minutes, then my back for 5 minutes, then back to my left side and bam, I'm out like a light.
I've also had to kick our dog off the bed some nights, which makes him sad but its one more thing making me uncomfortable.
I cut back on my water intake too. I try to drink throughout the evening and then at 9 I just have one final small glass as I'm getting ready for bed and we're watching TV in bed - so I pee before i get in bed, pee once as we're watching TV, and then a final time before I actually go to sleep, and only have that small glass of water, and I swear it has helped. (I usually fall asleep sometime after 10.)
Last night I only woke up once! yay!
Have the baby. Seriously. I've been sleeping better now that baby is here. Sure we have to wake up in the middle of the night but it's only once and I sleep soundly before and after.
ETA: Okay so here's an attempt to be actually helpful since you obviously can't just "have the baby"; when I couldn't sleep while pregnant I watched episodes of 30 Rock on my iPhone. It usually knocked me out right away. 30 Rock = my Ambien.