3rd trimester exhaustion and anxiety.

[Pipistrellina]

I would love any advice on how people cope with this kind of thing. I?m 36+1 and really struggling. Am waking up frequently due to sore calves, needing the loo etc. and am unable to sleep past 4am. I'm taking as many naps as possible but not getting much extra sleep. Resultant exhaustion makes me worried and anxious (am prone to that anyway and have a history of anxiety disorder) and am not sure how I'm going to get through the next 4 weeks, let alone labour and a newborn. Would love to hear how others have coped with this. I have had a very straightforward pregnancy and am very lucky in every other way, but am finding this quite tough!

[SpannerPants]

I'm watching this - 36 weeks and I'm exactly the same! Please someone say it gets better....

[KeepOnSwimming]

I'm 38 weeks and also suffering! I suffer from anxiety anyway.

I'm coping by having one long afternoon nap - if I have several naps they don't help so much - and by reading lots of stupidly happy-ending beach read books...

I am up every 2 hours without fail at night as I get very uncomfortable due to SPD and can't roll over. Seriously though - several daytime naps mean you don't get proper sleep, so I have one 2 hour afternoon nap, and if necessary go to bed a bit later as a result.

I'll watch for others' advice!

[Coppernoddle]

I used that badger sleep temple balm from boots. I haven't checked whether your allowed to use it but you don't use much and it's all natural stuff, it's like a lip balm you rub onto your temples, really works for me!

[Joannezipan]

I am 39+4 now and I was having some major sleeping problems until I hit about 37 weeks as well which also made me very anxious about the whole birth/mummy thing. Suddenly I got much better then though (not just me another in my NCT class had the same thing happen around the same time). I only get the odd bad night now, which is so much better. I also found things improved massively when I stopped working. I wish I had been able to stop sooner as it made such a difference to me. I kept working until 37+5 in the end, but it was really hard towards the end. If you are finding it really difficult talk to your mw/gp/consultant as there are things they can do to help you such as signing you off work or giving you meds for the anxiety. Prenatal depression and anxiety are more common than you might think so they are preped to deal with it. I have even heard of someone being offered and CS as they were so anxious about giving birth it was a valid medical reason.

[reastie]

hi, I had a similar thing - infact, I had horrific anxiety throughout my pg - think the hormones made me a little flipping mental. Tbh I think the last few weeks are exhausting no matter what to most people (prob not what you want to hear). I remember trying to sleep in the days before my due date thinking I must sleep well tonight incase I go into labour so that I have enough energy to go through it as I felt shattered the whole time and labour was like the last thing I thought my body could do or manage. I think that parts pretty normal, the anxiety thing is a killer though. Things I did was have 2 really long realxing soaks in the bath every day (with a radio and book to keep me company), relax in the day (even if I couldn't sleep, I'd lie down and watch a dvd or something) and get some fresh air every day (I could barely walk and there was snow about when I was in 3rd tri, so it usually consisted of me standing or sitting in the garden taking deep breaths and soaking in the fresh air). For me the anxiety stayed uintil I had dd, and then, it remained but manifests itself in different ways, but I am an extremely anxious person and had a very difficult pg. Sleep, however, came and went - I'd have a couple of qweeks of barely being able to sleep and then I'd sleep alot better for a while. Infact, thinking about it, the last couple of weeks of pg I slept really well aside from the usual loo trips and waking with aching legs every now and again, but it was a nice quality of sleep iykwim. not long to go - take every day as a day closer to getting there. good luck and hope that helped.

[Pipistrellina]

Thanks everyone, it's very reassuring to know there are others in the same boat and that it's common not to be bouncing with energy and feeling on top of the world as the due date approaches. Sounds like things will sort themselves out sooner or later, and those suggestions are really helpful too, thanks.