Insomnia in pregnancy

[LittleTiger007]

In the past couple of weeks I have really struggled to sleep. I’m 24 weeks pregnant. This week I am exhausted due to taking hours to get to sleep and then waking up for what seems like hours in the middle of the night and then waking up early. In the morning I feel like I’ve been drugged and can barely get up! I’m struggling to be productive during the day. In part it’s due to my growing belly and simply not being able to get comfy, or wanting to turn over and having to shift a million pillows which are positioned between the knees, under bump, behind me so I don’t accidentally sleep on my back ...etc. But even when I’m comfy, I just can’t sleep!
I’m such a good sleeper normally, it’s almost been a joke in my family. I could sleep for Britain. If sleeping were an Olympic sport I would clean up. ... normally. And please don’t say this is preparing me for the birth. I know I won’t sleep then. I really need to sleep now. Any suggestions or tales of hope that this will get any better?

I am in the same boat since week 11 and I am currently into week 17. I fall asleep fine but wake up in the middle of night sweating and turning and then its hard to fall asleep again. I feel like my mind is subconsciously worried about me sleeping on my back and on my tummy so keeps me up for so long and then makes feel drowsy in the early morning when I don't want to get out of bed but still not sleeping and wide awake. I used to sleep like a baby and was a morning person before my pregnancy. I have read here on mumsnet that Pregnancy Insomnia Is very common.

Thanks, it does seem to be common. I’m not being very productive and have so much work to do... ugh. Must power through

I’m 36 weeks and I’ve been sleep deprived since week 25. I have tried lavender spray, having a bath before bed and nothing works. I am so tired at night but like you just can’t sleep because of bump and ache and pains now. For some reason I get a better nap during the day so try and fit them in where you can! you got this

I'm 25 weeks and have tossed and turned a lot at night for the entire pregnancy- I wouldn't mind but I partially wake up each time, and it makes for a very poor night of sleep, with very broken dreams. I understand that the sleeping body must wake up at least a bit to move (this is an anti sleep walking mechanism we humans have) but gosh it is getting tiring!

I feel like I'm sleeping normally at 30 weeks... it's worried me because the same study that said lying on your back increases risk of stillbirth also made a correlation between waking up once or less in the night and stillbirth. Strange to be saying this but I'm actually a little jealous of your insomnia!

I’m 24 weeks too and finding sleep difficult at the moment. I seem to go through phases of sleeping the clock round and really struggling to sleep this pregnancy. Problem is, I feel tired during the day and early evening so all I want to do is go to bed, then once there can’t sleep! I haven’t found any answers yet, but if I do I will gladly share

Hanging out on mumsnet because I can’t sleep... 😖

I’m week 9 and been up since 3 I usually sleep well so

I'm 12 weeks today, been awake since 2.30 am and I've not been sleeping well for a while. Also I think I've either got trapped nerve or I pulled a muscle in my back and for the life of me I can't even get comfy in bed 😭 Feel for you ladies 💐

I'm 19 weeks and I've been up since 4:30am ... to be honest though that's the longest I've stayed asleep since I can remember! Lol 3:30 is normally my wake up time at the moment

I had it horribly with both my children. I had bad heartburn as well which didn't help.

I found sleeping propped up helped a bit ... but that was mostly the heartburn.

A nap in the day also helped and I tried to schedule that where I could.

I am in the same situation, wide awake after 1.30 or 2.30 AM but still manage to get little naps till morning. Not going to lie, I wake up again every 30 mins. But what keeps me napping is not touching my phone (no matter how awake I am), not turning on any lights ( even if i got to the loo) and not reading or anything else. Just try to sleep in the dark. Once the blue phone lights or any light hit your eyes, its difficult to sleep again. Just like we do it for babies for them to sleep through the night.

Ladies, I feel your pain. Partner woke me just before 3 and was awake until 5 at least, despite being so tired I drop off in front of the TV in the early evening.

A long body pillow was a game changer for me, as I could lie on my side with legs bent, one over the cushion. For some reason having my hips 'open' like that really helped the comfort level. The only other thing that helps is avoiding my phone in the evening and going out for a daily walk.

Pregnancy insomnia is crap, I keep thinking I'm wasting valuable sleep time before the new baby is here

I am 28 weeks and the same, just can't get comfortable and have piles and heartburn waking me up! You definitely sleep better once baby is here in my opinion as it's a better quality of sleep. I can't wait to sleep on my back again!

You have my sympathy. I had insomnia during my pregnancy and I was averaging 2-3 hours of broken sleep a night. It was a relief when DD arrived as I actually slept more! I got through it by just going to bed as earlier as possible, I figured just lying still would help me rest. I went on maternity leave at 32 weeks as I didn't feel safe enough to drive my car as I was that fatigued. I would also recommend biting anyone who suggests it's your body preparing you for when the baby arrives.

It's horrible and sadly there isn't a huge amount you can do. I made sure I had a good bedtime routine, lavender baths etc and made sure I cut out screen time before bed which helped a bit. I read a lot of books! I also found using hypnobirthing relaxation techniques could sometimes get me back to sleep again. It was horrible though, I really struggled through the whole of pregnancy. You have my sympathies.

I'm 37 weeks tomorrow with a very large bump. A few weeks ago I had chronic pregnancy insomnia and was wide awake for over an hour every night (as well as the multiple loo visits) but I have seemed to have turned a corner so wanted to encourage you that it shouldn't last for ever. Also, there was a full moon last night which can affect sleep patterns- if you believe in things like that.

Thanks for your comments ladies! It really is miserable being sleep deprived. I had not realised this was a thing in pregnancy. Roll on the sleepless nights with baby! 🙂

I'm the same... 38 weeks and I take hours to nod off, and pre pregnancy I've always been known to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow!

This is my 5th baby, and I can honestly say I have always gotten more sleep with a newborn than when pregnant! I want this baby out now 😳

Im 25 weeks and here I am 2.20am on here lol! Its awful. Cause I have bad sleep at night come evening time its a fight not to doze off and nap, then this jas a knock om effect where I cant sleep at night and its just one big nasty cycle. Was sitting with my 5YO at around 5.30 this evening and dozed off, woke up 7.15 no dinner had or anything and DS had taken himself upstairs and said he was 'letting me nap' when really he was off on his switch lol luckily we have a spare room so i dont sleep with hubby really atm having a nice quiet room is helpful and i invested in a good pregnancy pillow that has made me a bit more comfy. I try to stop drinking abit earlier too so im not being woken up needing to wee but im so thirsty sometimes i have to drink. I feel your pain OP. ☹

29 weeks and it's a killer! I'm so tired but just can't sleep, no position is comfortable and my mind is racing

I really struggled at that stage too and everyone told me it would only get worse but I’ve been sleeping much better since about 34 weeks. Could you ask for a blood count check? Some deficiencies can cause it - I’ve been better since taking iron and magnesium (but obviously don’t dose up on anything without speaking to a doctor or midwife!)

That’s a good suggestion, thanks @jamie980

Oh and @LittleTiger007 - buying a decent eye mask also helped me! Found when I was waking up that the slightest bit of light made me suddenly super alert... the mask stopped that and also discouraged me from looking at my phone to see what time it was and despairing! It has made it easier to keep my eyes closed and drift back off. Good luck to you I really hope you find a solution, it is miserable while you’re in it x

I wake myself up snoring with a blocked nose.