Today's worry - coping with DH's snoring with a newborn!

[Beaver80]

This sounds slightly crazy but please bear with me, am worried enough about the impending lack of sleep!

My DH and I have been together ten years and currently have a happy, symbiotic sleeping arrangement - he is a loud snorer and I am a light sleeper so I wear ear plugs every night.

BUT I am currently pregnant with my first and I'm worried about how this is going to work with a newborn... I was envisaging having the baby in a moses basket by the side of our bed, but obv will want to be fully alert to baby's breathing and noises so the ear plugs are a no no... I guess I'm answering my own question here... will we have to sleep in separate rooms?? Indefinitely?? That just seems so depressing! Has anyone had a similar experience? I'd love to hear how you dealt with it. Thank you :)

[inbetweener]

OMG thats so weird ! I was lying in bed this morning listening to DH snore and removed my earplugs to see how loud it was and the same thought occured to me !!

My 3rd is due in July and will be in with us for a good few months before we move to a 3 bedroom house and I do not how it will sleep !!! Do they just get used to it ??

[skidd]

my DH is a terrible snorer and I have wanted to murder him sometimes as I sit up feeding and he lies there snoring! I go for kicking [meanie emotion] which means he usually stops just long enough for me to get to sleep - three babies in and none of them have been disturbed by it

[NotSoPukeyMum]

My DH doesn't snore too badly - certainly not enough to wake DD when she was a baby - but I was always peed off about having to tiptoe around not to wake him when doing night feeds. And peed off at him lying there sound asleep whilst I fed (and fed and fed...).

When DH did wake up at nights, because I was bf he was as much use as a chocolate teapot!

This time around, I'm planning for separate rooms from the get-go and I'll move in to the nursery with the new baby until it can sleep by itself.

[eldritch]

You might find the baby doesn't mind or is even comforted by the familiar noise - he/she will have been listening to it for 9 months by the time he/she is born! I've heard similar WRT babies born into households with lots of noisy dogs. (Sorry, don't mean to be flippant comparing your DH with a dog! ). I mean that babies often sleep through loud but familiar noises with no trouble. You might also find that with earplugs in you can still hear your baby as you'll be so tuned in (this is what I found anyway).

[hippy3]

If your baby is tired it will sleep through anything. It is good to get them used to external noise, after all what happens when its asleep in the day and you are out and about with them?

You dont want to make rod for your own back..it dosent need to be deadly quiet for them to fall asleep as the baby will get used to that, then and will need that to fall asleep....i wouldnt worry about it too much. Its probably been used to hearing it through your stomach anyway....

I am sure it will be fine..and if not make hubby sleep on the sofa !

[LisMcA]

Beaver I hear your fears!! It's not the snoring waking baby up, it's that you can't wear the earplugs because you want to listen for baby through the night.

Has your DH been to the GP about his snoring? If it's bad anough you need to wear ear plugs he should.

My DH snored very loudly, he got fed up of me kicking him all through the night so went and got himself sorted. He had his nose reset (been broken twice, think rugby player Mike Tindall) and now no snoring!! It may not be as simple for your DH, but GP will be able to advise. Good luck!!

[GingerbreadGiraffe]

I had this issue- I went to one earplug on the "outside" ear (i usually sleep on left side). Then I could block enough sounds and hear the baby.

it will work out. :) good luck

[strandednomore]

Oh separate rooms, definitely, You will all be much happier.
And make sure you train your dh to wake up when the baby cries for when it moves to it's own room and you replace your earplugs.

[Beaver80]

Thanks LisMcA, that's exactly what I'm worried about (although feeling a bit bad now that I wasn't worried about keeping the baby awake ). DH hasn't been to the docs yet but that might be worth considering if this becomes an issue - thanks for your advice :)

GingerbreadGiraffe that sounds like a good idea, I'll make a note to try that!

strandednomore, I like it! Good plan.

[VeryHungryKatypillar]

I did exactly the same as GingerbreadGiraffe Beaver 80 - slept with one earplug in and could easily raise my head to hear better if I did hear something. Because DD's snufflings and cry were at a different pitch to DH's snoring, I heard her through the earplugs anyway.

And your DC will not be bothered in the slightest by your DH's snoring.. it will be more used to it than you are by the time it arrives!! Will probably be comforting!

Out of interest - what ear plugs do you all use? The best I've ever had were ones when we flew Virgin - they sent me some more when I asked where the got them from but I've never found any that are quite as good on sale....

[inbetweener]

Mine come form Superdrug.. Little yellow foam ones, they are really good and do block everything out !

[Beaver80]

My DH bought me a massive pack from Screwfix (here) that has lasted for years!

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Can't he do anything about his snoring?

I made DH wear those nose strip things for a while, and then he got his act together and lost 2 stone and no longer snores. Bliss :)

[picc]

I've worn those for both DCs. Still hear everything except lightest breathing when baby's in the room.
Still hear older DS in next room if he needs us.
But it dulls everything enough for me to sleep....

[lolajane2009]

I am probably a lot less tolerant than the rest of you. When hubby snores I usually hit him with my pillow tell he wakes up then tell him to roll over. If he does it and disturbs the baby he'll have to sleep on the sofa bed downstairs.

[FindingStuffToChuckOut]

re bulk earplug purchase!!!! I think I need to get some too, not that DP is a really bad snorer but I am waking in the night and then can't get back to sleep due to his snoring.

Re hearing the baby, if baby is beside your bed, I think you will hear it no matter how load the snoring, or how good the earplugs. I'm usually a very heavy sleeper, but I was always very aware of the baby in the night.

[givemespace]

i have done similar to lolajane lol

but honestly i worried so much about this before ds was born and it was fine. Bc baby will sleep thru it as pps have said and so long as yr dh helps out lots youll be more tolerant of it bc youll see how tired he is, and youll be so zonked youll sleep thru anything too!

[rosie0000]

I know what you mean, Beaver. My DH snores and after DD was born, between bloody DH snoring away and DD snuffling like some sort of strange badger pig, I ended up in the spare room by myself! I still woke up no problem when she needed feeding- in fact, one morning DH thought she'd slept through as he didn't notice her wake up and me come in and feed her. Not sure what I'm going to do this time (DC 3 due in a few weeks)- if I can persuade DH to move rooms, I might try that.

[MouseLove]

Don't worry. You'll hear baby through the earplugs and snoring. I wake at the unusual sounds even thought we're TTC.

I was like you, DH snores and I wore earplugs. When we moved house and started talking about TTC I stopped wearing the earplugs and weirdly DH stopped walking me so much. I don't really hear him snoring anymore and it was because we got a new mattress. Now don't get me wrong, when DH snores the windows rattle it's soooooooo loud.

However, now I don't wear earplugs my ears pop all the time, I wore them for around 15 years total. I still wake at small noises outside but I'm tuned not to listen to DH. I wouldn't worry about hearing baby. X