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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Dog tired but can't sleep

25 replies

hairylights · 06/10/2011 05:13

has anyone got any tips? I am 25 weeks pregnant and am dog tired all the tired but I typically wake at 3am and find it really hard to get back to sleep.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

hairylights · 06/10/2011 05:13

All the time

OP posts:

GwendolineScaryLacey · 06/10/2011 05:17

No tips but lots of sympathy. I'm 27 weeks and am awake every night between about 2 and 5.30. Doesn't matter what I do. It sucks :(

Original poster

hairylights · 06/10/2011 05:41

:( It's usually 3am for me and back to sleep by 4.

I also wake up hungry as I can only eat a small amount at a time these days.

Gah.

OP posts:

georgethecat · 06/10/2011 06:55

Hi me too sometimes like tonight :) rescue remedy night sometimes helps and body shop do a smelly sleep potion to tick on yr pillow, worth a shot?

Original poster

hairylights · 06/10/2011 08:14

Thanks George I'll try that!

OP posts:

themightyskim · 06/10/2011 09:30

and can you keep a snack by your bed to save you moving?

my sleeps rubbish all the time - the GP keeps saying its pregnancy preparing me for birth typical bloody man no help at all what about working on what we call 'sleep hygiene' at work so stuff like no drink after about 8-9 so your bladder isnt being awkward and make your last drink a horlicks if you like the stuff, you need a wind down period something like very slow music or a warm bath, oils on your pillow is a good idea and maybe check your room isnt too hot, works more than it doesnt for me, although its usually my mouse bladder thats waking me up

Original poster

hairylights · 06/10/2011 10:08

Thanks skim :)

OP posts:

idlevice · 06/10/2011 10:49

Same here at 26wks with 2nd pregnancy & was the same in first pregnancy so much so that I begged GP for sleeping pills - no joy. I tried everything in first pregnancy & nothing worked so I am pretty much resigned to it this time

MersyMersy · 06/10/2011 15:55

Oh same here, I'm 26 weeks and this started a few weeks ago. I've been up since 3am today took my DP to work at 5 then had to meet clients off a train and host a day of tours meetings and entertaining. I could've cried this morning. Thankfully I dont have to do that much or I'd be a zombie. I really feel for anyone who has little uns to take care of or long journeys to do.

I'm sooo tired now. I seem to take ages to get to sleep and then wake around 3, then I'm really hungry to the point where I feel sick and then my back pain reminds me its there and then I'm at the point of no return and I cant get back to sleep :(

I think it must be natures way of preparing us. I also think that maybe the baby/ies are moving around a lot making it hard for us all to settle or unwind. Either way it is horrible. I'm going to try the routine suggestion, I think tonight I'm going to have Horlicks and a nice relaxing lavender bath before bed and see if that works. Fingers crossed!

If it works I'll be sure to let you know!

localcrackpot · 06/10/2011 17:53

I've been struggling with this. I have to get up to throw up several times a night (36 weeks now!) or just go to the lavatory. Things I do:

don't eat things I struggle to digest after 8pm (blueberries, grapes etc are problems for me because of the skins)
going to bed slightly later (11pm or just after instead of 10pm) because I fall asleep more quickly and choke less
lots of pillows to keep stomach acid down more
go to the toilet as often as it occurs to me while getting ready for bed (4 times in 10 mins is fine)
sleep on left with a Dreamgenii pillow under my tum
when I wake in the night, go straight to the bathroom & don't put it off, then come straight back as I can often manage it half-asleep
play sudoku on my iphone until I fall asleep seems to be efficient!

threecurrantbuns · 06/10/2011 17:58

I feel your pain but only 12ish weeks was hoping it would improve once I stopped waking feeling hungry and or sick. :( my youngest is also having a bad sleeping patch waking at 5am :(:(

BeeBread · 06/10/2011 18:02

Me too! I am 24 weeks' pregnant with DC2 and have just started with the insomnia. It is very familiar, as it dogged me through much of my second and third trimester last time.

Bizarrely I find that I can go back to sleep quite easily and deeply if I am in a cold bed. So often come 3am I hop into bed in our spare room, open a window - somehow feeling chilly also makes me sleepy. It's like I curl up go into hibernation. If I am lucky I then sleep until morning and have just the one short awake period rather than hours of tossing and turning.

It was worse in this recent hot spell but (woohoo ) winter is on its way...

Jennyrosity · 06/10/2011 20:50

Oh thank god, I thought it was just me! I'm 24 weeks and have had this for a few weeks now - I get to sleep ok, but wake up between 3-4am and cannot get back to sleep. I'm WIDE awake too, not just lying there feeling drowsy - I get very frustrated as I want to get up and do things, but can't because I'll disturb DH. Usually I start feeling sleepy at around the time I need to get up for work, and then I'm a zombie all day.

This morning I woke up at about 3.30am, then later in my sleep-deprived state cheerfully rocked up at my obstetrics appointment an hour late - I knew what time it was scheduled for, I just couldn't seem to make the connection between that and the time it actually was, it was very weird.

notlettingthefearshow · 06/10/2011 21:37

I'm 28 weeks and don't sleep well. I'm not usually awake for very long periods but usually wake every hour or two. I'm always a restless sleeper but keep waking up whenever I roll onto my bump, probably subconsciously worried about squashing baby.

I haven't found anything that helps so will be following this thread with interest!

LunaticFringe · 06/10/2011 22:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GwendolineScaryLacey · 07/10/2011 03:11

tum te tum....

hermionejgranger · 07/10/2011 06:53

I'm 21 weeks and am early rising - not having particular problems with going to sleep but I am historically a bit of a poor sleeper and early rising seems to be The Way To Go. I've been decamping to the naughty bed in the spare room with my laptop and checking MN, then FB (sorry) and then putting on a DVD that I've seen a million times (so I know what's coming up and I don't feel the need to stay awake to watch it!) and eventually I drop off again. Sometimes not til it's time to get up though :(

Who invented this glamorous malarkey we call pregginess, anyway? Hmm?

BeeBread · 07/10/2011 08:18

Gwendoline . I was wide awake at 2.30am and thought about posting but couldn't be arsed to get my iPhone from downstairs.

Cold bed trick didn't work last night .

harassedandherbug · 07/10/2011 08:22

29 weeks here and also awake in the middle of the night. It's been worse the last couple of nights as baby has moved right down and is now on my bladder!!! I was getting up once for a wee, but I lost count last night.

I also have bad spd, and have prescription strength cocodamol from gp. The first two nights were bliss as that totally knocked me out, but I seem to be immune to it now .

Things that help: lots of pillows for bump and being propped up, not going to bed until really tired, no tv in the bedroom or reading now.

I've also been signed off sick for 3 weeks with the spd (another week to go) and being able to rest has made the biggest difference! I know a couple of people who've been signed off for a week or two purely for being exhausted......

LadyMaybe · 07/10/2011 08:22

Hi hairy!
I second getting up to wee as soon as you realise you're awake, try to keep one eye closed while getting there and back. Try eating half a banana before bed if you think it's hunger. If you get thoughts swirling around I find putting a podcast on does the trick - Melvyn braggs in our time does the trick for me, they're interesting enough to stop competing thoughts but I've never heard one all way through yet!
I think developing the skill to go back to sleep quickly after a disturbance is a good one.

GwendolineScaryLacey · 07/10/2011 10:28

7 times last night harassed. I've beaten my personal best :o I'm currently googling adult nappies, or do you think a bed mat would do? I've got hundreds of those.

BarbiesBeaver · 07/10/2011 12:59

Just an idea that I've been thinking about trying (when I've downloaded it onto my MP3 player...) is to try a sleep or pregnancy relaxation cd. A lot of the women on the Childbirth/hypnotherapy thread have said they've fallen asleep every time they try to listen to the whole cd so it might be worth listening to that on headphones to get you back to sleep? Worth a tenner to try - there are lots on Amazon or I bet you could download them.

BubaMarra · 08/10/2011 07:51

35 weeks and wide awake pretty much every night between 3 and 6. Just when I manage to fall back to sleep it's time to get up for work. Horrible. I will turn into a nasty nasty woman by the end of the pregnancy.

catgirl1976 · 08/10/2011 20:13

I don't have any tips but I have a lot of sympathy. Am 35 weeks and can't get off, then do, wake at 5am and watch the minutes tick by tll 7am when my alarm goes off.

cravingcake · 08/10/2011 22:35

I have a lot of sympathy, I too have nights when I'm wide awake at 3am (4am, 5am) and then doze off again before I have to get up. My only tip is to try to do as much as you can during the day physically, not run a marathon but try to do a 20 - 30 min waddle walk, or a good bit of housework as then when you do go to bed you need the sleep. This works for me, not every day but i do sleep better when I've done more physically during the day.

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