Sleep? I vaguely remember that! Pregnancy insomnia support thread

[isthismummy]

I thought it would be nice to start a thread for those of us out there suffering with the torture of pregnancy insomnia.

In my case I'm 11+6 with twins and tonight have attained my personal best of 90 minutes sleep. Just finished vomiting as exhaustion brings on my already dreadful nausea. I am at the end of my tether already. I was taking an overcounter sleep aid which I'd researched as being safe in pregnancy. However my pharmacist advised yesterday to be cautious and to drink camomile tea instead Spoiler alert: it doesn't work!

Please let me know I am not alone in my suffering. Rant away at your leisure...

28 weeks and been awake since 5am 😴

I hear ya. No problems dropping off at night but I'm waking any time from 2am for a pee and struggling to get back to sleep. Pass the matchsticks! I'm around 9 weeks X

I have found my people. I've been up from 2am every night this week (apart from last night) where I woke for the toilet and couldnt get back to sleep. It's a vicious cycle because the sleep deprivation is making me feel so sick.

Currently 10 weeks. Only 32 more to go (I have late babies). I've tried hypnosis on YouTube which has had mixed results. OP what over counter sleeping tablets were you taking?

I fall asleep fine, wake up about 2 to go to the loo and that’s it for the rest of the night!. Then just before my alarm goes off at 6 I drop off again, how ironic. I’m exhausted and finding dragging myself into work so hard! I’m 11 and a half weeks. At least we can whinge together now!

I took Benedryl (or the UK equivalent) for a few nights Maverick because everything I read online said it was safe to take and I was desperate. The pharmacist says they couldn't recommend it though, so now I'm too scared to take more.

I'm utterly desperate though. I can't live like this. It just seems inhuman that women are expected to put up with so much shit when pregnant. I refuse to believe that there's no medication out there where the benefits to not being half dead for 40 weeks don't outweigh the risks.

to everyone who is struggling. It is so shit

Going to try Bachs Rescue Remedy Night. I am not hopeful.,,

I’m only 6 weeks ish at the moment so it hasn’t hit me yet. But I suffered terribly with this in my first pregnancy. I remember saying to people that sleep couldn’t possibly get any worse with a newborn, they would laugh but actually, I did get more sleep with a newborn! Not looking forward to the inevitable insomnia this time.

The attached image is how I’ve been feeling for weeks 😫

How are people functioning? I've vomited four times already through lack of sleep. Even my anti nausea meds aren't helping me. Not going to be able to make it to work after a whole two days back following a fortnight on sick,

Mild HG and insomnia. It's the dream combination

I didn't get the insomnia as early as you guys so have no advice, sorry :( this morning I have up and got up for breakfast - as soon as I ate I wanted to go back to sleep so I'm thinking I might be waking because I'm hungry? Back to the morning sickness days of keeping crackers by the bed I think

The joys of crackers by the bed Bojangles

32 weeks and tortured with insomnia! Restless legs not helping either.
Bought some magnesium spray from h&b and been spraying over my legs every night an hour or 2 before bed. Lifesaver! I've noticed insomnia worse if I sleep during day to catch up.

I have to say I'm surprised at how early the trouble sleeping has hit me - I'm 15 weeks & for weeks now I've been making 4+ trips to the loo each night for a wee, & then woke up at 5am Monday & couldn't get back to sleep!

I am a bit stressed at the moment waiting for some pretty serious genetic testing results to come back so I'm also waking up with a clenched jaw every morning which is doing my head in!

I was pretty bad in the first trimester but am sleeping kind of ok at 23 weeks... in that I fall asleep at 10ish but then wake at 1 for a wee and some restless leg action and 3 (the 3am wake up usually about an hour) and quite often 3 year old DS likes to wake up around 4 and make me get into his bed which is not comfortable for my big pregnant bump. Then he’s awake for the day at 6-6.30 (although he likes to lie in bed and sing and chat to his toys for a while, bless him).

I had it quite bad in the last trimester with DS1. Any time anyone said anything about getting lots of sleep before the baby came I wanted to murder them.

I recommend people try ASMR videos on YouTube. I don’t think it works for everyone and they can seem quite odd at first but I found in my first pregnancy that listening to them (has to be with headphones, preferably earbuds) did send me to sleep. There are hundreds and it is a weird thing and lots of different kinds out there but if it works it works! I like the ones with crinkle noises and whispering.

Oh tonic water can help with restless legs too.

Hi ladies

18 weeks and this bloody insomnia is a nightmare - around the sleep I do get I dream weird stuff lol

Never had this with dd1 or morning sickness so this time round I'm friends with cinnamon balls and the toilet lol.

Ladies - raise our gaviscon to each other and say "morpheus you better arrive!"

I've got one word. Quetalapaine. (might have misspelt that) as my insomnia is anxiety related.

Can I join? Seeing as it is 3.45 and I am wide awake! Another one plagued by not being able to get back to sleep after the toilet trip.

I recently tried listening to the mind the bump mindfulness app but found it so irritating that I felt more wide awake than I did when I turned it on!

Padding off to the spare room and reading seems to be the only thing that works eventually so back to my book I go.

29 weeks and haven’t slept more than an hour at a time for weeks!

4:20 Iv been awake since 1am thank god for Netflix I’m going crazy 🙈

Ive been awake since 1.50...

I'm 37w and I seem to have pulled a muscle or something in the centre of my bump. 'Tis very uncomfortable. Swollen hands and feet, constant needing the loo not helping either.

Haven't slept more than a few hours a night for weeks. Roll on maternity leave, I am going to be napping for England.

I thought I was suffering from pregnancy insomnia for the past month but went on Maternity Leave on Friday and slept pretty well since (as in only up once or twice in the night and back to sleep quickly). I guess stress at work had been made worse by feeling I needed to get everything ready for handover. Has made me think seriously about finding a new job after maternity leave.

I'm 34 weeks and having awful insomnia. Napping definitely means I wake up more during the night but also means I feel generally less tired so it's worth it.

A PP mentioned about being hungry... I had a theory this was contributing and for the past two nights have eaten something just before going to bed, and although I've woken up I've been going straight back to sleep instead of staying awake. Might just be coincidence though!

I'm 22 weeks and I haven't slept a full night since falling pregnant 😩 I'm either up every 30 to 45 minutes for the toilet or I can't get comfy. I'm doing my degree and keep falling behind cause I just can't concentrait during the day!!
On top of the exhaustion I have SPD, chronic hypertension, gestational diabetes, daily migraines, suffer bad round ligament pain in my lower abdomen and get restless legs every night... just can't catch a break lol 😒
It's nice to find other fellow zombies, not nice to be one tho 😬 xxx

I haven't had morning sickness so I guess I am quite lucky 😏 x

I wake up constantly, maybe every half hour, but going to sleep is no problems. Frigging love sleeps. Just wish I’d stop waking up