I just want to SLEEP! What can I take?!

[melliebobs]

Only 11+4 but if i have to spend another night not being able to switch off then listening to DH spend the night snoring like a warthog and only getting 3-4 hours sleep and then having to go to work when i already feel like crap, i might just top myself.

I've looked at Kalms and Nytol and neither can be taken during pregnancy. Does anyone, know of anything i can have

Chamomile tea works for me.

Yoga has been working for me, even if i only get one or two nights GOOD sleep its worth it.

I went to the docs because I was suffering severe insomnia at about 15 - 18 weeks. He flat out told me that there was nothing at all that I could take......

He recommended making sure I practiced good sleep hygiene - sufficient exercise during the day, eating regular meals, not drinking too much caffeine, etc.

I found that going to bed early with something that distracted me (I did my knitting but a good book works well) so that my mind was switched off from the day, and replacing my usual cup of evening tea with hot milk and cinnamon or nutmeg was enough to get me back into a good sleep pattern. Don't have a problem with sleep now (23 weeks).

I feel for you - I really suffered for a few weeks.

Are there any thoughts in particular that are keeping you awake? I found writing out my thoughts when I woke up was a really good way to fall back asleep. Apparently there has been a study that shows it's a cure for insomnia!

Cut out caffeine completely, don't do stuff that overstimulates your mind late at night such as the computer and Tesco do a night time tea that zonks me right out.

Nothing! I hated the fact that all doctors/midwifes ever say is "well that's pregnancy for you!".

I found that second trimester = lots of sleep.
Third trimester = even less sleep then the first! :(

I actually HATE DP at night, I'm always starving at the mo aswell. He had a go at me for eating his biscuits last night at about 5am, there was nothing else in! (Plus it was in a slightly spiteful you're sleeping so I shall eat your biscuits then pretend there was nothing else I fancied )

I've had the same thing throughout my pregnancy, you've just got to get yourself to switch off. I know it's really hard, and I dread bedtime with a passion because of the nightly fight to relax, and not being able to sleep winds you up even more.
Can you make some small changes, like do something to relax for an hour or 30 mins before trying to sleep, such as read in bed? I find that eating very soon before bed knocks me out, and writing To Do lists does help.
I also wish there was a quick fix; some tablet to take, that'd be sooo good!

Thanks for your ideas guys. I'm off tea and coffee so my caffeine intake has been zero for some time and the past few days I've been trying to go to be Half hour earlier and reading. Which does make me tired and heavy eyes but when I turn the light off I'm wide awake again!

Think I'll try a herbal drink or horlix before bed and see where that gets me.

I don't have any thoughts in particular apart from the excitement of having a baby! Got our first scan tomorrow so maybe I'm subconsciously wired. Hopefully tomorrow it'll all calm down

My consultant recommended piriton an antihistamine that is fine to take in pregnancy...
Good luck

I had this in last pg, try a hot bath before bedtime... Worked for me

rellea what I'd give to have a bath! Unfortunately when me and dh bought our house it had a newly fitted bathroom with an amazin walk in shower. No bath :( I was tempted to go round me mums and have one buy I couldnt be bothered driving back in me pjs all relaxed!

i found one extremely effective solution - called the spare room, which is where poor hubby resided for much of the first trimester!

if it's any consolation the sleep improves in 2nd trimester (at least it did for me) and its not until T3 and the hourly wee trips kick in that its all ruinated again.

isnt this just such bloody good fun?!

I've heard that you shouldn't drink chamomile tea whilst pregnant.

I downloaded an app by a guy called Andrew Johnson. It's called 'deep sleep' and it was AMAZING! I still use it for naps.

Since I was 4 months I have been unable to sleep for a whole night. Several factors contributed:

• Lack of a Confortable bed.

A bed that you think is good may not be as good when you are bigger. To make matters worse, we are renovating the house and for a month we had to move to the spare room with an even worse bed.

To get me through the period in the spare room I got those memory foam mattress topper.

Now back in our room and on an enormous very good bed I am so comfortable I don't even need pillows around me anymore.

Obviously I still wake up to go to the loo, indigestion, pins and needles on arms but I know it could be much worse!

• Indigestion / Reflux

Sometimes even with just lunch on my stomach I would have such bad reflux, I had to sleep sat down against about 5 pillows.

As I got bigger it just got worse, midwife was useless at offering something decent for relief. I am now taking some hardcore acid reducing med that I got from a friend and that worked a treat... I still need a rennie or two during the night but it's better than 4/5 like before!

• Lack of Iron

During my second trimester I had very low iron and coupled with the lack of sleep at night, all I wanted to do was nap between 4 and 7pm.

I recommend anyone even if you don't need to take some Spatone with juice everyday. Two sachets or even 3 if you are already down.

Not long after I got my iron levels back to normal I felt a huge difference and slept better too.

• If it's hot : Get a fan!!

Yesterday we bought our first ever fan and I am in love with it :)

It's worth trying out a number of things and seeing what really works to get you relaxed enough to sleep before the baby comes. Once it's here, you'll have quite a few months of broken nights, but (hopefully) long patches of the day when he or she is sleeping when you can catch up on sleep. As a new mum last time round, though, I found it impossible to wind down enough in the day to have a nap. As a battle-hardened second timer, I shall be making the most of every opportunity this time round!

When I was pg in 3rd trimester I came down with a terrible cough, my GP prescribed a cough linctus with codeine that had the added benefit of sending me straight off to sleep, was the best sleep I had in whole pregnancy. Can't remember the name though (and was prescription only).