A moan about lack of sleep

[NewMummy5July2011]

Hi
I posted a while ago about trouble sleeping and just feel the need to rant again as getting so upset. I'm 24 weeks and haven't slept properly in SO long.. I seem to wake up every hour or 2 throughout the night, lay awake for ages, before managing another hour or two. I can't sleep past about 5:30 or 6am most days.

I've tried everything from going to bed earlier, later, different positions, warm milk before bed, NOTHING works. My heart races at night, plus I wake up every time I move positions.

Some days are okay, but other days, I just want to cry from pure exhaustion. I'm so excited for our baby to arrive, and so happy I'm pregnant, but the tiredness is just taking it all away.

Is anyone else in the same boat, and how do you cope?

I'm due on 2nd july got a 2yr old who wakes at about 6 every day and i work. I've also got pgp (pelvic pain) and wake usually 2 or 3 times a night I'm so tired some days i just want to cry and if anyone else tells me that if i think this is bad i should wait till the baby is here i think i'll scream.

Sleep when you can daytime, evening whenever you can. I have a pregnancy yoga dvd with a relaxation section in it I always sleep better when i do this just before bed. I also use this technique when i wake at night and can't get back off to sleep.

Get your OH to do as much as possible around the house to let you rest Good practice for when the baby arrives as he'll have to do more practical jobs then anyway.

Dear NewMummy5July2011
I think I've experienced exactly what you are describing! I am now 33 weeks and it has got a lot better (although last night was an exception)!! I have slept absolutely horrendously throughout my pregnancy and some days I only managed one or two hours and would get in a massive panic about it (particularly if I had to work the next day). I went to pregnant yoga classes and that helped a little bit to relieve some of the tension, and using the breathing exercises helped to calm me down at night when I was getting cross and anxious that I couldn't sleep.
I also found that just accepting that you will sleep like crap and there's nothing you can do about it helped me to get on with things. I have since met lots of ladies who have had similar problems and they said that when the baby came it was a relief because they slept so much better! In doing this i actually started to sleep better because I didn't get so cross when I woke up as I'd started to accept it. And funnily enough, that meant I could get back to sleep quicker. Just remember, it isn't going to hurt your baby or you if you don't sleep well. Its surprising what your body can put up with and I've found I can deal with less sleep as long as I don't start worrying about it. Just make sure that you don't go at a million miles an hour during the day or you will definitely burn out!
I'm sure you'd much rather hear from someone that has a miracle cure so you can sleep through the night and if they do, I'd love to hear from them too... but if that doesn't happen, I am confident I will make it to 40 weeks without falling over and dying from exhaustion!

Thanks so much for your replies. I think it's just hard sometimes becuase some people don't really understand how it feels - like you both, I work too and I get awfully panicy if I'm awake and can't stop thinking how tired I'll be the next day!

Maybe trying to accept this is the only thing to do now and to try to stop worrying so much about it. It's good to know I'm not the only one experiencing this - sometimes it feels so lonely in the night!

My sympathies, I slept terribly in first trimester, then it settled - now at 28 wks the insomnia has returned. I can get off to sleep fine, but I wake several times in the night for a wee. Now I'm finding I can't get back to sleep after I get up at 3 am or so - I manage a bit of fitful sleep not sleep at best, just lie there & eventually get up at 6 or 7.

Didn't help that my 2 cats decided to be idiots this morning from 5:30 am by demanding food, chasing each other all around the house, jumping twice into the baby's crib which made a big crashing noise (no mattress, just assembled & no room door as it's being dipped & stripped) and then set off the alarm by leaping around the kitchen. I was very close to losing it & feel like an irritable mess now. They, of course, are now sleeping.

I am very very sympathetic. You could be me. I did not sleep between about week 14 and week 27. And I wanted to cry all the time as a result. I don't have a cure but will say don't listen to all those people who will tell you it's worse when the baby comes- that way lies insane rage .

I was told to try shake my bed routine up which did help a little - eg sleep in a different bed or, if like me your dh comes to bed much later , ask him to sleep elsewhere or come to bed at a different time (I found I was clearly subconsciously waiting for him). We went away for a few days and did very little which I found helped too.

Now I still wake up but it's not every hour and is a bit easier to cope with

Good luck.

I had this as well in my first pregnancy - I remember being up 2-3 hours in the middle of the night unable to sleep and totally miserable. I found I had to powernap in the day at any opportunity!

I'm pregnant again now and it hasn't been as bad (yet...) but I have listened to a relaxation/self hypnosis recording just before going to sleep or if I wake up for more than 15 minutes at night and it seems to really help me with getting a more restful night

Same - due 3rd July and can't get a wink.

Sometimes the bolster pillow helps, sometimes I hurl it out of the bed in a rage. There's no consistency.

Sleeping in pregnany is a pain in the butt!! Then if you have other kids as well then they want to do stuff and your like oh no I tooo tired so I then feel like a crap mum as well double whammy! I think if you just got to bed try to forget about not sleeping which is not easy! I know. I dont sleep during the day as then I find by 10 at night I can sleep better. Is still dont sleep all night but can sleep better. I feel exhaused during the day but have a 5yr old to sort out. I also get housework done. Im 37 weeks now. Gaviscon is good before sleep as well as acid reflux wakes me up too! Anything to eliminate things that could wake you up!