Help me sleep....PLEASE!

[StormBird]

Hi,

I should be used to feeling this way as this is my 4th PG (hopefully our second child) but this time I feel worse than ever.

I recently took a test to confirm PG so I'm certain I can only be about 6 weeks (3+ on the CB digi).

I am so sick ALL day, I can't concentrate, I have a constant headache and sinus pain occasionally but I CANNOT sleep and all these ailments I seem to have feel 10x worse in the middle of the night.

Can anyone give me some advice to help me sleep - I'm sure a few goodnights sleep will help ease the way I feel but I'm at a loss as to what to do.

Thanks in advance x

Sympathy but no great suggestions here - I was the same way in my first trimester. What did help a bit was listening to radio dramas on the iplayer. Formulaic stuff like agatha crystie mysteries, etc. It gave me something to think about outside of how miserable I was and was dull enough to fall asleep to when the time came. It did end after the first few months, good luck to you - I hope yours goes sooner.

I was like you. Literally couldn't sleep. Two things that changed it for me was buying a memory foam mattress topper. Cost about 100 something pounds for John Lewis and totally totally worth it. The second thing was I bought Marie Mongan's hypnobirthing CD and listened to it every night when I get into bed. Puts me to sleep/hypnosis in under 10 minutes. Really worth it.

Hope these help you too

I was going to suggest relaxation CDs too - I always fall asleep to them when am having a bad bout of pregnancy insomnia.

I've been putting a few drops of neroli oil in my bath and on my pillow, it really relaxed me in the 2nd trimester! Not sure if you can use it in the 1st but I'd certainly recommend finding out and trying it if you can.

Also, now I'm 39 weeks I've been adding some clary sage oil, which has totally knocked me out. I can barely climb out of the bath before I'm fast asleep. However you should NOT be using clary sage oil until you're considered term so that doesn't really help sorry.

I tend to lay on a duvet now and snuggle my Babies r us comfort pillow, seems to be working (I am 24 weeks)

I don't know if it'll help with sleep but I use motion sickness bands, my doctor recommended them during my first pregnancy, used them everyday until about 26 weeks, and I can honestly say; I have not been physically sick or felt badly nausea, only slight in all 3 of my pregnancies.

They're uncomfortable at first, especially if you don't get them on the right pressure points but after a while you get used to them. I put them on first thing, had about an hour with them off during the day, then back on until bedtime and repeated. You can sleep with them but I've never tried to know if that works.

I used sleep palm and pillow mist, while listening to my iPod. I can only sleep on my stomach or side as I suffer from sleep paralysis so can't recommended anything, I just suffered haha.

I had really bad insomnia last week (combo pregnancy insomnia and general sleep issues), and so far so good this week. I've done the following and it seems to work...

• going to bed at the exact same time each night, with a routine of reading until I can't keep my eyes open, whether it's ten minutes or three hours.
• having something small to eat right before bed (I found part of my problem was severe nausea when I laid down, so a few grapes or a Ryvita keep that at bay)
• a pillow between my knees (I suffer from joint pain, so think that might be an issue, too, especially as I can't take my regular meds)
• keeping the bedroom a bit cooler than usual (I read somewhere that pregnancy can make you overheat a bit, so I cracked the window a bit to get fresh air and drop the temperature)
• no naps during the day, no matter how tired I get

I've slept a bit better, but still go to bed expecting insomnia to come back each night.

Hope it gets better for you!!