Lack of sleep when pregnant

[hpsaucey]

Hello there. I'm writing a piece for the next local NCT newsletter on lack of sleep in pregnancy. I'd be really interested in Dulwich Mums' experiences and views. Did you have trouble getting to sleep and find yourself cleaning at 4 a.m. (like me). Did you struggle to get comfortable? Were you trying to get some rest with older kiddies still waking up in the night? I remeber the luxury of at least trying to sleep when you wanted to with number one, which just didn't happen with number two! Did your OH help out and support you?

And what strategies and remedies did you find that helped or didn't you find anything to help?

I'd love to hear any views. Please also let me know if its OK to quote you (name changed) in my article.

Thanks in advance

Helen

[Fuschia]

Being pregnant with twins was very uncomfortable. I must admit I had to have the whole super king size to myself. i also got a huge us-haped full length body pillow.

What really made a big difference was hypnotherapy. I had an mp3 and cd to prepare for childbirth, and I found it so relaxing i ALWAYS DRIFTED OFF. WHEN i WAS HOSPITALISED WITH PRE-ECLAMPSIA, very uncomfortable, listening to the pain relief exercises was the only thing that calmed my aching back and neck long enough for me to catch an hour's kip. But I WAS the only pregnant woman skulking round the antenatal ward at all hours, sleeping for an hour, then hopping in the bath or shower, drying my hair, then starting the whole cycle over again with another session on the mp3 player!

(Mind you, the year since has been even worse for sleep!)

[KateMontero]

I really struggled with sleep when pregnant; even from 7 weeks preggers my sleep got weird. It stayed weird for different reasons right until the end. It never bothered me that much though. And yes, since having the baby the problem is so much worse! Haven't slept through myself for a year and a half now.

[hanstands]

What helped me was getting a softer mattress, we had a firm mattress which we Freecycled and bought a new softer one. This made all the difference to the hipache, backache type pains. The other help was my husband giving me a short back massage just before bed every night - not everyone's cup of tea though.

[jenren]

I had a lot of pain, mostly sciatica, and mostly on my left side (and still in my left hip, three years later!) Once while in Paris had an incredibly bad bed and probably was the only time they had someone call room service for "as many extra pillows as you can possibly find", which I then slept on.

At home I had a body pillow, sent straight from the gods. It basically became my new husband for a while. I wouldn't have survived without it! That said, between getting up to pee every two hours, pain, and those weird pregnancy nightmares, I was exhausted before my son was even born. Mother Nature sure got that one wrong.

[hpsaucey]

Hello there. Thanks for all your replies! hope you don't mind if I qoute some of them. I did the same with the hypnotherapy - put it on and within minutes = blotto LOL. I feel your pain, and your sleeplessness! Fuschia - must be so tough with twins. I've got two of differing ages - 4 and 1 - so at least the 4 year old sleeps through. Guess twins wake each other up. Must be so tiring.

Like the idea of the substitute husband body pillow and the massage!

Wonder why nature does it to us? Can't just be hardening us up ready for after birth?

[Ko]

Can anyone recommend a good hypnotherapy cd please? xx

[Fuschia]

I got a personalised MP? made by Christine Neilands but you can buy various pregnancy relaxation CDs, or Hypnobirthing

http://www.natalhypnotherapy.co.uk/8.html

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hypnobirthing-Natural-Approach-Comfortable-Birthing/dp/0757302661/ref=pd_sim_b_1

[crystal7]

I was lucky enough to sleep well until about 37 weeks. I did have the odd night where I would wake up around 2 or 3 and not be able to get back to sleep. This was particularly difficult when I was working- worked until 38 weeks as a primary school teacher. I used a Dream Geni pillow although I still got an aching hip/upper thigh from sleeping on the same side. Towards the end of my pregnancy I started to get hungry around 4am every morning so would creep downstairs to eat banana sandwiches (oddly the same thing has happened a few times since giving birth- I blame breastfeeding.) And then there were the 3+ toilet trips per night...BUT I do look back on those sleepless nights with nostalgia- this year has been so much more sleep deprived and with baby in our room I can't even turn the light on to read!

[Jo]

Currently 32 weeks, and have had pregnancy insomnia for months now. If I manage to get 4 or 5 hours in a row I'm delighted - of course to add to it there are the twice or thrice nightly loo visits now, so most of the time I sleep for three hours in a row max. Been up since 5.30 this morning, which is an ideal time to do the internet shop...

I second the hypnotherapy cd (I have the natal hypnotherapy relaxation one), which I mostly use in the afternoon. If I don't have an afternoon nap it's like early pregnancy all over again and I'm snoozing by 9.30

[santiago]

I found the hypnotherapy CD absolutely fantastic too at the beginning of the night. And drank a lot of Celestial Sleepytime tea in the middle of the night which seemed to help.

[hpsaucey]

Celestial Sleeytime a good one! Hadn't thought of that. Was too busy trying to down mugs of raspberry leaf - eurrgh!

[sillywoman]

http://www.nctshop.co.uk - The NCT shop (wish I could do the clever word link thing) has them, loads of them, all lovely.

Go for it . . .

[hpsaucey]

SHameless 'bump' in case any one else has tips. Again, hoping no one minds being quoted in an NCT article. Will chack nicknames!