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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Can't sleep - dead legs and aching hips!

12 replies

oysterpots · 28/03/2007 17:34

I'm 23+4 weeks and since sleeping on my side I have been waking up with a dead leg every few hours throughout the night. This morning I woke up and my hips were really painful - is this SPD?

Does anyone have any tips for avoiding dead legs or is this just part and parcel of pregnancy? Not sure I can bear it for another 3 and a half months!

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mmelody · 28/03/2007 18:53

Pillows are your friend! Im 22+4 and have a belly pillow longways to support ever increasing bump. I then have a between the knees pillow and one at the back of me to stop me rolling onto my back. I wake up every time I turn over, but the pillows really help with dead legs and cramp. My DP says its like sleeping in a soft furnishing department!!

eclipse · 28/03/2007 21:18

oysterpots, this was my only pregnancy pain but oh my god did my hips ache in the night. And I kept having to shift my legs. Don't know if it's spd but it should have a name if it's not. I found the only position I could sleep comfortably through the night was lying on my back but with pillows under the left side of my back so I was tilted to the side to keep the weight of the baby off my spine. Like mmelody said, get lots of pillows and experiment. Poor dh. Whenever he wanted a cuddle, or even to see me, he had to conquer Pillow Mountain.

PurpleLostPrincess · 28/03/2007 21:40

oysterpots, I completely understand. I've been getting the exact same thing and had started to worry about spd. I've only heard about spd on mumsnet and from what I've heard it affects walking. The strange thing is, I ache around my hips all day and getting up and sitting down hurts and I hurt all night but I can walk fine! I usually sleep on my tummy so I put it down to my body readjusting to sleeping differently. I'm only 14+4 but this is my third pg and my tummy is expanding rapidly!

Also, I've been waking up with the whole of one side of my body either completely numb or its got pins and needles, including my arms - very strange!

Hope it gets better for you and that lots of people come along to offer advice - I know I'm going to invest in some of these pillow mountains now lol!

Miaou · 28/03/2007 21:45

Agree - it is part of the pains of pregnancy! I am 23 weeks pg too and am starting to think about getting the pillows out again !

kellogs · 28/03/2007 21:49

Hi
i've got spd have had it since 14 weeks. ended up on crutches. it affects how i walk (hence i'm now being called jemima puddleduck). if i were you i'd ask to be referred to physio cos they really help, it's not very nice & it can flipping hurt, hence the fact i'm counting down the days i've got left religiously

Princesspowersparkle · 28/03/2007 21:55

I've been suffering from this too! Sunday I was in so much pain (hips and back and stomach)and the baby was churning around ALL day. Anyway, after major movement of the baby in the evening (sticking its foot out and moving it across my stomach) my aches eased off quite a lot. I think it had changed positions and taken the pressure out of my pelvis. (Before it was laying across and very low into my pelvis). Don't get me wrong- still aching across the front of my stomach but a lot better. I thought might by SPD too, but could it be where the baby is laying? Definitely worth getting it checked out and mentioning SPD to the MW- physio etc will help you. Also, have you got a bump band as these are supposed to be really good and help to relieve the babys pressure.
Sorry its long winded!

kellogs · 28/03/2007 22:04

had a band type thing had to stop wearing it cos the bump too big, it did help though. another thing you might want to try is laying on the sofa instead of sitting in a chair with a pillow between your knees helps to ease the pressure a bit. only hassle is you might need help getting up (i did cos i'd get stuck)

BakuJen · 08/04/2007 16:43

What is spd? Suffering from all of above symptoms and now paranoid, but new to Mumsnet and still trying to work out a lot of the shorthand!

mamacita10 · 14/11/2010 20:44

I have all these pains also, and the dead legs are the worst!!! Keeps me up all night! The only thing I find that helps is sitting in the shower or taking a bath.. but then as soon as I lay back down there back! :( I need to invest in more pillows too i think.. I only have one between my legs right now! Hope it gets better!.. it's a good thing after all these complications with pregnancy that you get the most amazing gift in the end!! (Only thing that gets me through the day :) )

Deliaskis · 15/11/2010 09:32

I have the same trouble getting comfy at night. Lots of pillows helps, but it seems as soon as I find a new position/construction (my pillow constructions should really have planning permission), it's fine for a few nights and then something else starts hurting.

I think it's just 'one of those things' unless it's complete agony that lasts beyond just night time.

My best effort so far is propped up on about 4 pillows (almost sitting up), and lent over to left hand side quite a bit, with another pillow behind my back.

abbypumpkin · 07/05/2012 03:49

I have the same problem. I have a mountain of pillows but the only way I can avoid the hip pain is to sleep completely sat up ( though this does give me backache!) .

Enfyshedd · 07/05/2012 11:34

BakuJen - there's a list of common acronyms used on Mumsnet near the top of the page - www.mumsnet.com/info/acronyms.

SPD is symphysis pubis dysfunction. Here's a Wikipedia entry on it for info. Hope that helps explain things.

Doesn't seem to matter how many pillows I use or how I arrange them - I just push half of them off the bed in my sleep and end up waking up on the wrong side with my shoulder in agony. Suppose I am 37 weeks now so I'm on the home run and it's only in the past couple of weeks I've starting being really bothered by the aching hips, but it's still annoying...

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