How do you sleep on your side?

[TH22]

Hi all!

I have always been a belly or back sleeper and have yet to manage this side sleeping malarkey!

My friend kindly gave me her pregnancy pillow, which I have been using since week 10 (now nearly 16). However, every day without fail, I wake up on my back, mouth wide open (and catching flies lol).

Is it something your body just gets used to? Do I need a new pillow? I know they say not to worry until week 20, but...my body does not want to stay on its side!

I always end up on my back too. From what I read it's fine as the majority of the night will be spent on your side

Have you tried putting a pillow behind your back? From what I’ve heard, the position you go to sleep in, is the position you spend the most time in. So try to go to sleep on your side. Apparently you’ll naturally wake up if being on your back if causing problems as it’ll become uncomfortable and you’ll shift. Just roll back up your side and go back to sleep. Don’t stress about it too much.

I found by 20 or so weeks I naturally slept mostly on my side because the weight /comfort gets to be different.

There will come a point where you just can’t lay on your back. It is too uncomfortable and you feel like you’re being crushed by your bump. Until then I wouldn’t worry.
Oh, I can’t wait to be able to sleep on my front again.

Thank you all! :)

How do I sleep on my side? Badly 😬
I am a front/back sleeper too. Until about 20ish weeks I was same as you, waking up on my back. That's ok, as long as you roll onto your side before going back to sleep.
Once the belly got bigger, it became uncomfortable to sleep on my back so I stopped rolling onto it completely, however I started getting blooming hip pain when sleeping on the side. Now at 36 weeks, I sleep on top of the spare duvet, with a pregnancy pillow, and 3 other pillows positioned to try and take pressure off the hips. And hip pain still wakes me up everyone I turn in bed.

I'm (mainly) a belly sleeper and was worried about squishing bump during the night. MW assured me its fine and safe for aslong as I'm comfortable to sleep like that. So that lasted until the 20 week mark I think. Since then I try and sleep on my side (constantly changing sides), but nearly always awaken several times in the night on my back, sore and slightly breathless. It's not a problem as our bodies tell us we need to switch positions by waking us up. 34 weeks now and counting!

It’s been ok, you get used to it, I sometimes wake up on my back but just turn back into my side, they emphasis left side but either is much better than your back.

With great difficulty! As pp said, at a certain point you'll be crushed by the bump if you're on your back anyway. It's something you eventually get used to, although at 36 weeks I'm desperate to go back to sleeping on my back! (Sleeping on my front will still be a distant dream due to the breastfeeding mega boobs )

What shape is your pregnancy pillow? I've got a long one with a slight bend, sort of boomerang shaped. I can't be bothered moving it to the other side every time I turn over (which I do a lot due to hip pain) so when it's behind me I sort of snuggle my back into it which stops me rolling on to my back IYSWIM? Could be worth a try rather than just hugging it.

I'm a belly/back sleeper too.

I find a pillow behind my back doesn't work (it wriggles away in the night and is awkward to put in the right place).

I find using the pregnancy pillow to prop me up from the front works, particularly if I wedge it under the bump. I'm more or less on my side but it still feels like I'm sleeping on my belly so I can get to sleep easily.

Oh OP I am exactly the same! I'm traumatised that I can no longer sleep on my front. I just don't feel cosy and ready to sleep in any other position.

I'm 22 weeks and I've found that having an extra duvet on the bed to lie on is comfortable. I then push my half of the duvet we share in to the middle put my pregnancy pillow in line with that and then have a single duvet over me while I can then slope my leg over the mound. When I wake up for the toilet or with a dead arm (every few hours!!) I move down to the end of the bed and sleep on the other side and don't have to keep moving the pillows. The mound keeps me on my side too. I think my husband thinks I have lost the plot but it's working for me at the moment with the random top and tailing

I ended up on my back a lot - I was strictly a back sleeper pre pregnancy! And now two years on, I can only sleep on my side

I’m a belly sleeper and only 8 weeks but already trying to sleep on my side... I hate it! I just don’t feel comfortable. I guess I need a pregnancy pillow but will wait until after the dating scan for that.

Gonna be watching this thread for tips!

I've been quite lucky in that I haven't got uncomfortable in the night (currently 34 weeks). I'm normally a front sleeper and mostly sleep kind of halfway between my side and my front with my leg bent up a bit to stop me rolling fully onto my front. I am lucky to only have a fairly small bump though, have generally been measuring small throughout. I'm sure as I get right to the end I won't be able to do this anymore! I haven't used a pregnancy pillow, just occasionally an extra normal pillow if I feel like I need it.