Third trimester insomnia. Help. Me.

[Valentinx]

Oh my god I’m 37 weeks and don’t think I’ve slept more than around 4 hours a night in over a week. I am so exhausted by the evening that when I go to bed I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, but literally 2 hours later I’m wide awake again. This continues all night till around 430 when I just get up cause I can’t take it anymore.

If one more person says ‘get used to that when the baby comes’ I will scream haha! It’s like I know that’s why I am so desperate for some rest now! Anyone else in the same boat or have any tips that could help?

Hi OP, I'm only 29 weeks snd suffering from this already!! Tossing and turning all night then knackered all day.
Hopefully someone will post some tips for us soon. I'm dying for a proper night's sleep!

I’m 37 weeks and feeling the same. I’m actually a bit scared that when labour comes I’ll be too exhausted to do anything! A lot of mine is toilet related and then just seem to dose in and out rather than sleep. I’ve started having two breakfasts. One at 5am and then go back to sleep until 9am for my second!

Hi, 38 weeks and this has been me since about 28 weeks!

No advice really! Try to avoid going on your phone is all I can offer. I wake about 1, 3 and 5 without fail every day!

Sometimes if I get up and put a show on really quietly I'll drop back off on the couch!

@sel2223 Isn't it so rubbish :( I feel the exact same, just desperate for a few hours of solid sleep!

@Lovelostnfoundx haha I do the exact same thing with the 2 breakfasts. and me too, I keep thinking oh god I hope she doesn't come early or im gonna need matchsticks to keep my eyes open through labour!

@Ginfilledcats Oh god 10 weeks of this I feel for you! Yeah I am definitely bad for checking the time on my phone when I wake up, Im always gutted when I've gone to bed at 9.30 and then when i wake up its only a few hours later.

@MsChatterbox This is a good idea I may try this, sometimes just laying in bed just makes me frustrated!

I'm exactly the same. Just getting more and more annoyed which stops me dropping back off!

I'm exactly the same OP, 31 weeks and cannot get a full nights sleep. Doesn't help that we've recently moved and our black out blinds still haven't been delivered!

I agree with everyone saying about getting used to it when the babies here, makes me so angry 🤣🤣🤣 glad I'm not alone! Hopefully we will all get some sleep soon xx

@valentinx to be honest I'm used to it now! I don't really nap (never been able to or if I some how drop to sleep watching something in the middle of the day I feel SO vile after it's not worth it. I'm generally going to bed about 9:30 and winding down, often falling asleep about 10:30/11. Wake up for the day about 6:30 thanks to the baby elephant that is my husband and then get up properly for the day about 8ish. I find as long as I rest I'm ok! But I've been WFH for the last ten weeks and now mat leave so appreciate others don't have that luxury.

I found reading books (not kindle) and the calm app or soothing playlists helpful initially. Now I've just given up and accepted my fate haha

With my first I had it from about half way through - I actually finished work early because I couldn't keep my eyes open at my desk. I used to go and lie on the sofa, eventually get really hungry, have a bowl of cereal and then maybe get another hour or two after that. Horrendous.

My sleep was so much better with a newborn because once he had finished his feed I'd go straight back to sleep the second my head touched the pillow! I'm dreading the same thing happening this time.

Try magnesium chloride gel. Perfectly safe to take during pregnancy and it helps you sleep. I used it throughout my third trimester and never had problems sleeping. Hope you get some sleep soon!

Yes I def get this -37 W 4 days. I don’t think it helps when the sun comes up so early. Lots of loo trips and constant changing from one side to another. I just try to stay in bed and rest -even if not sleeping I feel it must be restorative. Not long for us to go now tho.

@Byets Its the most annoying thing isn't it haha! I know it's the most normal response for people to give but still gets me every time! Black out blinds sound like a dream, I need to get some of those. Hopefully yours will come soon!

@Ginfilledcats Im also terrible for not being able to nap. My partner always encourages me to but I convince myself that if I nap during the day there will be even less chance of sleep that night! Im the same as you, was WFH and started my mat last week. The one silver lining of this lock down for me has meant I could roll out of bed literally 10 minutes before I had to start work!

@Colouringinbook Oh my god that sounds so awful. I feel like until youve experienced insomnia like that its hard to convey to people how truly awful it is! Fingers crossed you don't get it this time! That reassures me massively that you actually slept better with a newborn though!

@mouse1234567 Totally agree about the sun coming up so early. I always hopefully look at the time thinking it must be around 06:30 when in reality its 4am! And so true, we're all nearly there, we can do this!

31 weeks and exactly the same. If it’s not needing a wee keeping me awake, it’s the bump, pain or anxiety! 🙁

Its bloody traggic isn't it 🤯🤦🏽‍♀️ i'm 35 weeks and i dread going to bed... up and down peeing all night or my back breaks so im tossing and turning and then i get up bounce on the ball to tire me out get back in i dont know how my other half hasn't suffocated me with his pillow yet 💁🏽‍♀️

@Valentinx it's awful isn't it! I am 37+5 and just want to go to bed at night, fall asleep and wake up in the morning at about 7am. Wishful thinking! I am sick of waking up between 2 and 4am (always needing a wee) and being wide awake. Virtual hugs, we got this and not long to go! :) x

I'm only 28 weeks but already starting to struggle to sleep. I'm prone to insomnia at the best of times.
Things I have found that makes it hard for me to sleep is being too warm, not hydrated enough and needing the loo. I am finding that to sleep I need to be cooler than I would usually need to be to sleep. I have been struggling to stay hydrated too. I now have a flask of cold water by the bed and if I can sleep even I don't feel thirsty find that have a cold drink can help me get to sleep.
If that doesn't work I pop to the loo, if nothing else it gets me out of bed for a few minutes and it helps reset the clock on time in bed.
I have a white noise app on my phone which sometimes helps other times listening to the radio 4 helps too.
If I'm not asleep by the time I've been in bed about 90 minutes I get up and go to the spare bed or the sofa. Surprisingly I often fall straight asleep in a new setting.
To help me fall asleep I play mental maths games I try to do the same one every night other times I do a-z shopping games or a-z name games. The important thing for me is to do the same game every night for at least a few nights with the same answers. Trying to get my brain into that I already know the answer so I can switch off state like when you are driving to work but have no recollection of doing so. It helps bore my brain to sleep and can help stop the nasty anxious thoughts that can stop me sleeping.
If I have had a particularly bad night I try to be gentle with myself the next day if that means more time sitting on the sofa or needing a nap that is what I do. Your brain and body needs the down time even if you aren't able to sleep further.

It's lots of little things that help me, a bit of trial and error about what will help on a specific night and sometimes it is only when I have done the same thing for several nights that I notice the improvement.

We have really good thermal blackout curtains from dunelm which are brilliant at this time of year. They have a few ranges that are thermal blackout.

I’m the same, I wake up almost every hour through the night. I’m 35 weeks pregnant and on maternity leave so I just try not to and nap in the day if needed. I figured my sleep will be messed up once the baby is here so just sleeping as and when I can is good to get used to. I definitely sleep slightly better if I have a bath before bed

Honesty the best thing you can do is get your body used to sleeping in small chunks throughout the day. So nap, nap, nap. If you can't sleep at night get up and do something and make up for it during the day by napping.

Just popped onto MN to have a whinge about being awake since 3am and saw this thread going...

39+2 and not sure if the insomnia is down to nerves, weak bladder, constipation, giant uncomfortable bump or all of the above 😂

I had this towards the end of my pregnancy - got to the point where I’d be in tears in the evenings cos I couldn’t face another night of tossing and turning (I’m sure pregnancy hormones played a part too 😂)
The only thing that helped a little bit was sleeping in the spare room away from DH 😂 turns out that was good practice for when baby arrived as “shift work” means we constantly sleep in different rooms now.
Be aware though - I also ended up with post natal insomnia for about two weeks after DS arrived as well 😅 I’ve never suffered with any sleep problems before being pregnant 🤔 it’s crazy what having a baby does to your body and mind!!

@SquigglyOne we've just started sleeping in separate rooms in the last week, definitely helped on the warmer nights. Although I'm jealous as I can hear him snoring in the other room!

Yep remember it well. I used to get up and tidy in a nonsensical way. I still can’t find things I ‘tidied’ up!
On the plus side it’s great when the baby comes because your used to being awake all the bloody time. Try and nap during the day? So sorry for you.

Oh everyone i'm so sorry to hear you're all feeling the same but it does also give me comfort to know i'm not the only one suffering with this haha! @SquigglyOne Me too it gets to the evenings and im so exhausted and cant wait to sleep but also absolutely dread it as I know what the night is about to bring!

I wish we had a spare room! we're renting in a 1 bed so its bed with the hubs or sofa for me! Also definitely not going to complain about the lovely weather but it being so hot at night is also not helping!

This might be a slightly odd suggestion so bare with me.
When I'm remotely anxious or on edge about getting to sleep it is then really hard to get to sleep. It sort of makes sense, go back a few 10,000s and it would be a bad idea for the body to go to sleep when your spidey senses are saying something is wrong but now rather than being life saving its a nuicence.
What I find can be helpful in the situation is to think of a strong memory of when you have felt safe and secure - generating a patronus (Harry Potter) and fly to neverland (Peter pan) level strong and it helps me feel less on edge.
The memory I use might seem strange as it's when I was having a severe allergic reaction unable to see and struggling to breathe I had the most amazing paramedics who spoke in such a calming way and made me feel safe so now I call on my memories of them when I need to get into a happy place for sleep.

@Valentinx

We lived in a 1 bed house until I was 14 weeks and I had insomnia right at the beginning. DP slept on a blow up bed in the front room for a bit as I couldn't deal with his snoring/breathing/him at all as he was getting sleep and I wasn't...if you haven't got one already it may be worth trying to get one on express delivery? We've got one of those that looks like a proper bed and it's well worth paying a little extra for a good one as it's been well used by friends/family/us.